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She’d found Troy through a Web site designed for killers to talk freely about their escapades, had alerted her perverted CODIS program to his particulars. The sites were filled with poseurs and fakes, like wa

cious seers and the unintended Apocrypha, murderous sy

cophants. After a few false alarms, she’d learned to spot the real ones.

Once she’d found Troy, she couldn’t help herself. She’d known it was a bad idea from the begi

pelled. Obsessed. She wanted to lay eyes on the man who was already such an accomplished, sophisticated killer. She knew he was the one she’d been waiting for. Troy was difficult at the start. He made no excuses, played no tricks. Except his name, of course. He refused to share his real name with her. It was nearly a deal breaker, but he was just so talented, she decided to let it slide. Feeling a bit like she’d been conquered, she christened him Troy.

Charlotte started to gather the remnants of her father’s tea and medications when the phone rang, surprising her. 316

J.T. Ellison

The tea tray clattered to the floor; her father jerked awake with a groan.

She answered the phone, then gave it wordlessly to Snow White. The caller spoke loudly; it wasn’t hard to overhear. Picking up the tubes and jars, the teapot and sugar, she listened.

The call was brief. Her father didn’t bother to say a word. When he handed the phone back to her, he almost look ashamed. That’s when she realized he was scared.

“Who was that?”

“An old friend. Where is Troy?”

“I believe he is teasing the girl.”

Teasing, that’s what Troy liked to call it. Unlike his mentor, he enjoyed conversing with his victims before

hand, getting to know them a bit. Instilling a tiny fragment of hope into their beings that they might, might, get away with their lives.

“Get him out of there, Charlotte. We must release her.”

“Are you kidding? That’s like taking a gazelle out of a lion’s jaws. He’s already sunk his teeth into her juicy little neck. I can’t just let her go. He’s decided on her.”

Snow White struggled up from his chair, stiff and slow. He shuffled to the wet bar, poured a measure of whiskey into a lead crystal highball. His hands shook now; he spilled as much as he got in the glass.

“That was Malik. He is convinced the police are on to us.”

“Us? You and Joshua?”

“You and Troy, too. I told you he was more trouble than he was worth.”

Charlotte tossed her hair over her shoulder in disdain.

“Please. You’ve loved him like a son.”

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“And now he must go. Malik is furious at the transgres

sion. Troy is out of my control, Charlotte. He is out of your control. He must be excised.”

“Who is out of control?” a voice boomed from the doorway. Troy came into the room and poured himself a drink. Charlotte and Snow White froze. What had he over

heard?

“You are.” Charlotte advanced on him, purring. She could distract him, that was certain. Her father’s com

mands were buzzing through her mind. She wasn’t ready to give this up. She was having fun.

“I’m not out of control at all. I’m just getting started. What do you think, old man? We’ve waited long enough. I need her. Let us climb the stairs together, now, and I will hold my hand over yours on the knife, and fuck her with my dick while you stroke her face and watch the light leave her eyes.”

“No!” Snow White slammed his drink down on the table. “You must let her go. We’ve been over this already. We will find you another. We can go right now, we can take two, three. Whatever you wish. But the girl must go home. The police are too close. I’ve received a warning from an old friend who would know. Release her.”

Troy started pacing through the library. “You can’t dictate to me, old man. Maybe I’ve already killed her. Maybe I’ve been lying to you all along.”

“You haven’t. I would smell her blood on your hands.”

He softened his harsh tone, tried to make the boy see reason. “You must understand, sometimes this is what has to happen. Not every hunter gets his buck each time out in the woods. We will find more. That is all.”

Snow White collapsed in his chair, his energy exhausted. 318

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“You can’t stop me.” Troy turned to Charlotte, his fury palpable, barely contained. “I’m going to take her now. She is mine.”

She grabbed his arm. “Troy. You need to see reason here. You’ve gotten us in a lot of trouble. Maybe it’s time for you to listen instead of act. Aren’t you having fun?

Aren’t we giving you everything you ever desired? Aren’t we a family? I brought you into our lives because I knew you wanted a chance to grow, to learn. We’ve given you that, and more. We’ve given you love.”

Troy wasn’t going to take that. Charlotte could see the slow burn flame into a raging inferno. He was dangerous when that fuse was lit, and she consciously took three steps back. He noticed her retreat, and that infuriated him all the more.

“What, now you’re leaving me, too? What is this, Char

lotte, some kind of game? Get me involved only to pull the rug out from under me?”

“No, Troy, that’s not it.”

“Liar!” he screamed, and slapped her. Her head rang with the blow. This was getting out of hand. Her service weapon was in her purse, but it was on the other side of the room.

“How dare you hit me? When all I’ve done is help you. You bastard!”

“Stop it now, both of you.”

The commanding tone was enough to startle them both. They continued circling each other, warily testing for weaknesses, but the tension came down a notch. Snow White slowly, painfully lit a cigar. “Let’s all just sit down and talk this through. I’m sure we can find an equitable solution.”

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“No, old man. That isn’t how this works. I will not be directed. I don’t want to star in your sad little play. I don’t need you. I don’t need either one of you.” He stormed from the room, leaving Snow White to gaze at his daughter, his face etched in a combination of love and abhorrence for her.

“Your plan will fail, Charlotte.” He rubbed his hands together, trying to ease the aching joints. “You can’t control a man who doesn’t know his own desires.”

The shurring noise coming from her father’s hands was grating on her nerves. “He knows what he wants.”

“Oh, come now, daughter. Surely you aren’t that stupid. Why do you think he copies? Why do you think you were able to bring him here, to emulate me? He doesn’t know what he is, and is still testing the waters to find out what he’s truly capable of. You should be wary, Charlotte. Your mother thought she could control me. Look where it got her.”

They were arguing again; he could hear them through the walls into the conservatory. There was a way to settle their dispute. The man she called Troy would be angered, but Father would be pleased. Yes, it was a good plan. He only hoped his father and his sister were powerful enough to keep the bad man away from him.

Forty

Nashville, Te