Twisted

Someone was Eric.

Petra’s watch read 9:28. He’d been back there eight minutes, still hadn’t emerged. Had something engaged him?

Her phone vibrated.

“Me again.”

“Where are you?”

“Back in the car.”

“I was looking for you. How the hell do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Mr. Invisible.”

“I just walked.”

“Sure you did, Master Ninja.” Making light of it but failing to spot him bugged her. Despite her determination to focus, had her mind wandered? God, she hated stakeouts, the erosion of I.Q.

“What kept you there so long?”

“Watching.”

“Anything new?”

“No.”

Hell would be an infinity of stakeouts.

They cut the co

What, the latest edition of Modern Murderer?

Working on his grip strength. Maybe that meant he was getting edgy.

Two and a half hours; had he pla

Preselecting the prey. A nurse. Someone who took care of children. Maybe with lung disease. Maybe an Italian girl, if he was imitating Retzak that closely.

She’d already confirmed that no hospital remained in Elysian Park. When it came to kids, the first thing you thought of was Western Pediatrics Medical Center, back in Hollywood. Not that far from the park, she could see it appealing to Doebbler.

At this hour, Western Peds was at least a half-hour freeway ride from Tarzana, probably longer, so Doebbler was really cutting it close.

Petra knew the hospital’s shift schedule because Billy Straight had been taken there and she’d spent plenty of time at his bedside. Afternoons: three to eleven. Meaning day nurses would be heading for their cars between eleven and eleven-thirty as the night shift arrived. Lots of women walking to and from the outdoor lots.

Shabby side streets, East Hollywood. Not the greatest area and security was lax, but in all her time at Hollywood Division, she hadn’t heard of any serious problems.

With all those women, how would Doebbler pick a victim?

He’d picked already.

Five minutes passed. Ten, fifteen, still no movement from the gray house. A trip to Hollywood seemed increasingly unlikely, so she was probably wrong about Western Peds. Okay, there had to be lots of pediatric units all over the city.

With the time ticking away, Doebbler had probably aimed closer to home. Somewhere right here in the Valley.

Northridge Hospital was a fifteen-minute drive, even less with no traffic. Did Northridge nurses follow the same schedule as the Western Peds staff?

Speed-dialing Eric, she let him know her line would be busy for a few minutes and made the call. The Northridge night clerk confirmed it: three to eleven.

More than enough time for Doebbler to get over there. She had no idea how the parking was laid out at Northridge.

No confidence the site would be Northridge.

The Valley was a big place. When Doebbler made his move, she’d have to improvise.

Didn’t it always come down to that?

CHAPTER 50

THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 10:59 P.M., THE GOMEZ RESIDENCE, UNION DISTRICT

From the upper bunk came the sound of Isaiah’s snoring, loud and intrusive as a leaf blower. The eldest Gomez brother had come home late and exhausted, in a foul mood that silenced the rest of the family. Flinging his work clothes on the floor, he’d lurched straight to bed.

Tar reek bittered the room. Along with alcohol. Isaac would keep that to himself, no reason to upset Mama.

On the other side of the cell-like space, Joel slept on his air mattress, eyes closed, chest rising and falling slowly, a smile on his almost-pretty face. A maddeningly cheerful bundle of libido and superficiality, Joel would always be happy.

Isaac, sapped from his motel time with Klara, had eaten lightly and fallen asleep quickly. His dream cycle was frantic and ambiguous. In the midst of an abstract expressionist nightmare, he woke drenched with sweat and disoriented. The din from the top bunk told him where he was. God bless Isaiah’s deviated septum.

Now he was wide awake, trying not to think about Klara but, of course, thinking of nothing else.

Not the things she’d done. Something she’d said.

There would have to be parallels… otherwise why imitate Retzak.

An eccentric woman, probably neurotic woman, but smart. Too smart to be ignored and now Isaac was sweating for another reason.

A big fat balloon of denial punctured.

It’s out of your hands. Petra knows what she’s doing.

Reaching out for the wooden crate that served as his nightstand, he got hold of his watch: 11:02.

Less than an hour to showdown. Soon it would be over.

Would it?

He closed his eyes and the facts loomed larger. Discrepancies impossible to ignore. Sliding out of the bunk, he found his briefcase, tiptoed across the closet-sized space.

Isaiah moved and bedsprings squeaked. A mumbled: “Whu?”

Isaac left the bedroom, closing the door silently, and went into the kitchen, hoping his parents in the neighboring room wouldn’t hear him. His mother, in particular, had the sleep rhythms of a Chihuahua.

Switching on the dim light under the stove, he sat and thought. Decided he wasn’t being psychotic.

Pulling his laptop out of the case and plugging it in- shifting the rag-wrapped gun in the process- he rummaged some more and finally came up with his seldom-used modem. Co

Neanderthal dial-up. What a joke.

Spoiled boy.

Scared boy.

The modem squawked. Stopped. Made more noise.

His mother padded in, rubbing her eyes. “What’re you doing?”

“Studying.”

“At this hour?”

“I thought of something.”

“What?”

“My research, it’s not important, Ma.”

“If it’s not important, you should go back to sleep.” She blinked, couldn’t focus. “Go back to sleep. You don’t sleep enough.”

“In a few minutes, Ma. It’s my doctoral research.”

“It can’t wait until tomorrow?”

“No, Ma. Go back to sleep.”

The modem buzzed and hummed and beeped, kept chirping its little modem song. Interminable!

“What’s that?” said his mother.

“The thing that co

“Why’s it plugged in there?”

“I’m using our phone line.”

“What if someone calls?”

“No one’s going to call, Mama.”

She looked at the stove. “I’ll fix you something to eat.”

“No.” He raised his voice and she gave a start. He got up and placed an arm around her shoulder. “No, thank you, Ma. Really, I’m fine.”

“I…” She looked around the kitchen.

He guided her back to her room. Wasn’t sure she’d really been awake.

When he returned to the kitchen table, the co

Five minutes later, his heart was pounding so hard, it felt as if it would rip through his rib cage.

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