C. E. Lawrence

Silent Stalker

CHAPTER ONE

The girl was too pretty not to know it. She was, Carver thought, the kind of girl whose whole life was defined by her prettiness. It trailed after her like the tail of a comet. She smelled faintly of strawberry blossoms, delicate, pink and white, like her skin. Her laugh, too, lingered in the room afterwards, soft and lovely, like the gentle tinkling of bells. It didn’t seem fair that someone like her had been endowed with so much-but then, Carver knew life wasn’t fair.

He was about to even the score. He knew where she went, when she went there, and who she went with. Most important, he knew when she would be alone. Carver was patient-oh, so patient. It was one of his most useful virtues.

Crouched in the darkened hallway of the tenement building, Carver glanced at his wristwatch. Eleven-twenty-five. She would arrive any minute. Rehearsal ended at eleven, and she would have stopped by the deli to pick up something on the way home-a salad, yogurt, or something equally healthy. Like all actresses, she was vain, always watching her figure.

Carver shifted his weight from one leg to the other, ignoring the Rice Krispies crackle in his knees. He bent over and stretched his back, touching his toes. He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, using his training to control his body’s autonomic responses. He was more nervous than he had expected. Not scared exactly-more like excited, like on Christmas morning.

The bare fluorescent bulb hanging from the ceiling blinked and quivered, casting its sickly yellow glow over the dilapidated foyer, with its thick layers of peeling paint and drafty doorways. Carver smiled. These Hell’s Kitchen tenements were filled with struggling actors who streamed into New York from their mundane lives in the hinterlands, hoping some of the city’s glamour and glitz would rub off on them. Most of them gave up after a few years of drudgery waiting tables or stints as tour guides, trudging through Midtown followed by packs of Swedish tourists. Still others became high-end prostitutes, living off the generosity of Japanese businessmen looking for a night of fun.

The aroma of frying onions and garlic floated down from the third-story landing. Someone upstairs was making dinner-maybe the old biddy he had followed into the building, after fumbling in his pocket for imaginary keys. He had helped her with her grocery cart, and the look she gave him was so grateful. It was pathetic that a woman like her should have to lug a heavy cart up flights of rickety stairs. It was disgusting what people were willing to put up with in this town. Assailed by a fresh wave of cooking smells, Carver’s stomach rumbled in response. He tensed his already taut muscles in an attempt to squelch the sound. He would not allow anything to betray him, much less his own body. His command over his own flesh was unflinching and rigid. He loathed self-indulgence of any kind, and regarded daily bodily needs as a hindrance to his own darker agenda.

He heard the metallic clunk of the dead bolt on the front door. She’s here. Carver held his breath and waited for the sound of the door to close behind her. When she was inside the tiny foyer, he stepped from the shadows into the light, a broad grin on his face.

Her brief smile of recognition was replaced almost instantly by the expression he had fantasized about for so long: pure animal terror. It flooded his body like a drug, filling him with a delicious tingling sensation. He was upon her before she had a chance to cry out.

CHAPTER TWO

The sound of the ringing phone blended with Lee Campbell’s dream. It took him a moment to realize the harsh bleating came not from the woman in his dream, but from the parallel world of reality. He shook off the fog of sleep, dragging his unwilling brain back into consciousness. Flinging off the thick winter quilt, he grabbed for the phone, knocking the headset onto the floor, where it landed with a clatter.

“Damn! ” he muttered, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. Dropping to his knees, he groped under the bedside table for the receiver. Sitting on the hardwood floor, he put the headset to his ear.

“What is it?” he grunted as he craned his neck to see the clock on the nightstand. It was 5:20 AM. “Christ,” he muttered. “This better be worth it.”

“I guess it depends on whether you call the murder of a young woman worth it or not.” The voice on the other end of the line sounded as irritated as he was. Even at this hour, there was no mistaking the borough-accented growl of Detective Leonard Butts.

“Hello, Butts,” he said.

“Well, Doc? Is it worth it, or are you goin’ back to bed?”

“Tell me where to meet you.”

“Forty-seventh and Ninth Avenue.”

“That’s not your precinct.”

“I’ll explain later.”

“I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

“Make it ten.”

He sighed and hung up the phone. The image from his dream swirled in his head. His sister Laura stood before him in a long white nightgown, arms outstretched, her eyes pleading. It had been over six years since her disappearance, but he was still plagued with the same repetitive dream. The location varied, but she was always there, her sad eyes burrowing into his soul, begging him to rescue her.

He shook off the mood of depression threatening to settle over him, pulled on a flannel shirt and jeans, and grabbed his coat. A sharp gust of February wind hit him as he descended the steps of his building, and he pulled up his coat collar, cursing himself for neglecting to put on a hat. There were no cabs on East Seventh Street, so he loped west toward Third Avenue, where the Cooper Union Building loomed stolid and silent in the thin predawn light. Taxis were thick on the avenue, on the cusp of a shift change, and soon he was in the backseat of a yellow cab barreling uptown.

Famously known as the city that never sleeps, there were about three hours out of twenty-four when New York managed a brief catnap. In the middle of the night, just before street vendors began wheeling their carts up the avenues of Midtown, and the Chinatown bakeries flicked on their lights in the predawn gloom, there was a stillness about New York that Lee savored. Looking out the cab window now, he saw that aura of calm dissipating as the city stretched itself, awakening from its brief slumber to prepare for another workday.

The cab lurched to a stop at the corner of Ninth Avenue and Forty-seventh Street. Lee paid the driver and unfolded his long body from the vehicle, blowing on his hands to keep out the early morning chill as he hurried toward the building with the bright yellow crime scene tape wrapped around the front door.

The redbrick tenement huddled next to its nearly identical neighbors in the cold winter dawn. A few scraps of dirty snow still clung to the pavement, and a couple of fat pigeons strutted nearby, pecking at a heap of bread crusts scattered on the sidewalk. An old-fashioned sign hanging in front of the bay window on the building’s eastern half contained a single word: LAUNDRY.

Lee nodded to the uniformed officer guarding the front door, flashing his credentials. The young cop nodded back and lifted the yellow crime scene tape so he could pass underneath it. As the only full-time criminal profiler employed by the NYPD, Lee was becoming known to some of the rank and file, though not all of them approved of him. There was still prejudice in the force against methods that did not involve traditional forensics, lab results, or hard evidence.

Detective Leonard Butts was a recent convert. After a couple of cases together, Lee had won the chubby detective’s admiration, and the two had developed a close working relationship. He found Butts at the rear of the front hallway, kneeling over the body of a young woman. Detective Butts wasn’t a good-looking man at any time of day, and the bare fluorescent bulb hanging overhead did him no favors. His pitted complexion looked sallow under its unhealthy glow, his small eyes puffy and bloodshot. He wore a gray raincoat that had seen better days, and his thinning sandy hair stood up in wisps.

A handful of crime scene techs in blue jumpsuits were dusting for prints and examining the cramped foyer for trace evidence. The door to the apartment at the far end of the hall was open a crack, and the lined face of an aged Asian woman peered through the slit. When she saw Lee, she closed the door abruptly, and he heard the sound of a dead bolt sliding into place. The smell of pork fat and rice vinegar drifted from the apartment into the hallway.

“The victim is Mindy Lewis,” Butts said, handing Lee a pair of latex gloves. “Struggling actress, lives upstairs, waits tables at a local restaurant.”

Lee slipped on the gloves and looked down at Mindy. She was young, uncommonly pretty, with curly black hair, wearing a red wool coat over leggings. She lay in a congealed pool of blood, eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling with an expression of astonishment. A leather knapsack lay beside her, and next to her gloved right hand was a set of keys.

“Well?” said Butts. “Whaddya think?”

“Blitz attack,” Lee said. “He must have been waiting for her. Any defensive wounds?”

“Nope. I’m thinkin’ either she knew him and let him inside or he was already waiting for her, like you said. And robbery was not a motive.”

Lee glanced at the backpack, which was securely fastened. “Right. This was no mugging.”

“There’s more.” Butts motioned to one of the crime scene techs, a handsome young African American with wire-rimmed spectacles who appeared to be in charge. “Okorie, can I see that mask for a moment?”

Okorie nodded and produced a plastic evidence bag containing a white theatrical mask. It was one of the standard Greek tragedy/comedy masks Lee had seen a hundred times-oddly, it was the laughing comedy mask. A shiver slid up Lee’s neck as he gazed at the empty eye sockets and grinning mouth.

“It was on her face,” Butts said. “So you see why I called you.”

“Yeah.”

“Ever seen anything like this?”

“Not exactly, no. Do you have COD yet?” he asked Okorie.

“A single stab wound to the solar plexus,” he replied. “She would have bled out within minutes.”

“I don’t suppose there’s any trace of the murder weapon?” Lee said.

“No, but it went clean through her, and was quite slender, so my best guess is a sword of some kind. We’ll know more after the autopsy.”

“How long has she been dead?”

“Five to six hours, judging by the amount of rigor.”

Butts ran a hand through his meager hair. “The Chinese couple in 1-A say she often comes home late from rehearsal. ”

Lee looked at the mask, then back down at poor Mindy. “Looks like her killer has a connection to the theatre as well.”

“A groupie, maybe? A lovesick fan?”

“That’s a possibility.”

Butts stretched himself and looked at the head crime scene tech. “You gonna be a while yet, Okorie?”

“A few more minutes, yeah,” the young man replied as he dusted the stair banister for prints.

“I need some air,” said Butts. “Let’s step outside.”

They pushed open the greasy front door with its decades-old layers of paint. Outside, a pale dawn was doing battle with a thick cloud cover that had settled over the West Side. The result was an eerie greenish light that seemed to have no source, as though the air had been sprinkled with phosphorus.

“So why did you get this case?” Lee said as they descended the steps to the street.

Butts spit on the sidewalk. Startled, a pair of pigeons took flight, flapping up to settle on a second-story window sill.

“Connors,” he said. “He took one for me when I had that root canal that got infected. Remember?”

“Oh, right.”

Butts had spent much of January dealing with tooth problems. Though he was delighted to have dropped nearly ten pounds, he had missed a fair number of work days.

“I owed him one, and he’s dealin’ with a sick mom right now, so I took this call. Whaddya think, Doc? Pretty weird, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Is she his only vic, you think?”

“She could be, but I wouldn’t put odds on it.”

“That’s what I was thinkin’.”

As the neighborhood stirred into life, the two men fell silent, contemplating the presence of a murderer among them in the city that never sleeps.

CHAPTER THREE

The tenant in apartment 1-A, Mrs. Chen, turned out to have a husband, Louie, though she did most of the talking. Together they ran a laundry business out of the ground-floor apartment across the hall, which meant that they were the only tenants on the floor. Butts had already interviewed Mrs. Chen briefly, but she seemed eager to talk to Lee as well, so he and Butts accepted an invitation to share a pot of tea and moon cakes.

Louie Chen was a slight, wiry man with a long face and thick black hair. His wife was even smaller, with pale skin and large eyes behind thick glasses. Her graying hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she wore a pink flowered dress. They both appeared to be in their seventies, but moved with a quick, youthful grace. Their apartment was shabby but comfortable, and very clean. A large golden statue of a smiling Buddha dominated the bookshelf across from the couch Lee and Butts sat on. The shrine was surrounded by tea candles and plates of fruit, nuts, and other food offerings.

“Very good moon cakes,” Louie Chen announced loudly as his wife passed them around on a blue willow china plate. “Good, right?” he prodded as Butts took a bite.

“Yes, very good,” the detective replied, though the look on his face suggested otherwise.

Louie beamed. “My wife make. Excellent cook!” he declared proudly.

Mrs. Chen-whose first name Lee hadn’t caught-gave her husband a disapproving look, but couldn’t hide her obvious pleasure.

Louie thrust the plate in front of Lee. “You try! Very good-you try.”

Lee complied, taking a large bite. It wasn’t bad-kind of dry, and not very sweet, but with a lemony flavor. He glanced at Butts, who was washing his down with gulps of tea.

“Now then, Mrs. Chen,” the detective said. “You told me that Miss, uh-Lewis often came home late.”

She nodded vigorously. “Yes. She works in restaurant, also as actress, so she come home late.”

“But you didn’t hear her come in last night?”

“No, we go to bed early, hear nothing.”

“That means the attack was probably over quickly,” Lee remarked.

“Yeah,” Butts said. “If they didn’t hear anything, I doubt anyone else in the building did.”

“We find her this morning,” said Louie.

“When you left your apartment to go to work across the hall?” Butts said.

“Yes.” He looked as if he was about to cry. “She very nice lady, always friendly.”

“You ever see anyone in the building who looked suspicious in any way, like they didn’t belong here?” the detective asked.

Louie perched on the edge of a tattered brown armchair and stroked his chin. “I don’t think so… Wait!” He looked at his wife. “You know Mrs. Mingelone, live upstairs? ”

“Yes!” she said, clapping her hands together. “Mrs. Mingelone, she nice lady but old, you know?” She said this with sympathetic superiority, as if it were an unfortunate affliction.

“Yes?” Lee said, being careful not to smile at elderly Mrs. Chen calling her neighbor “old.” He was reminded of his mother, who refused to join a local bridge club because “it was full of old ladies.”

“Mrs. Mingelone sometimes forget to close door behind her,” Mrs. Chen continued. “We talk to her-everyone remind her-but she forgetful.” Mrs. Chen shook her head with gentle disapproval.

Butts glanced at his watch. “It’s seven-thirty. You think Mrs. Mingelone will be awake yet?”

“Could be,” Mrs. Chen replied. “Old people up early.”

“Like us,” said Louie with a grin, displaying a set of broad, yellowing teeth.

His wife gave a disapproving frown. “Not so old-run business, take care of grandchildren, work all day long!”

Louie looked at the two men and shrugged, as if to say, Women-what can you do?

To Lee’s surprise, Butts smiled. “Yeah,” he said. “You’re not so old, not in my book.”

After refusing another serving of tea and moon cakes, Lee and Butts left the Chens to interview the other tenants in the building. They began with Mrs. Mingelone, who lived on the second floor. Unfortunately, she was a rather addled person-kindly and eager to help, but forgetful and easily flustered. Perhaps the presence of the police in her apartment was too much for her-she offered them gingerbread cookies three times, apparently having forgotten that she had already done so. Lee thought her behavior indicated early stages of dementia.

Sitting with them at her kitchen table, Mrs. Mingelone tried valiantly to be helpful. “Mindy only moved in about six months ago,” she offered, wringing her hands. Her knobby knuckles were swollen with arthritis, the skin dry as parchment. She wore a faded housedress and fuzzy pink slippers, but had slapped some bright red lipstick on her thin lips. From time to time she fussed with her hair, which she wore in a loose chignon. Lee felt sorry for this sweet, muddled old woman, alone in her Hell’s Kitchen apartment, and was glad to see family pictures stacked three deep on top of the bookshelf in the hall.

“You ever see her with a boyfriend?” Butts asked after refusing a third offer of homemade cookies.

Mrs. Mingelone shook her head slowly. “No… I don’t think I ever saw her with anyone. Except once, another woman-older, I think, another theatre type.”

“How so?” asked Butts.

“Well, she was dramatic, you know-the way they are. Looked like she had put her outfit together from bits and pieces of costumes she found in thrift shops.”

“You get a name?”

“It was exotic-Devonia, Camellia, Carlotta, something like that. Mindy introduced me. She thinks I’m lonely, but I’m not. I can’t stand it when people think just because you’re old it means you’re lonely. Know what I mean?”

“Sure,” said Butts. “Anything else you remember that might be useful? Anyone in the building who looked like they didn’t belong, or who you’d never seen before?”

Mrs. Mingelone broke off a piece of cookie and popped it in her mouth. Bits of crumbs clung to her mouth, brown punctuation marks on the cherry-red lips. “I don’t think so… only that nice young man who carried my grocery bags for me.”

“When was that?” asked Butts.

“Last night, when I got home from the store. I was struggling to get out my keys, and he just seemed to come out of nowhere. Very sweet, made sure I got up to my apartment.”

The detective’s expression didn’t change, but Lee noted the subtle adjustment in body language indicating he was on high alert.

“And you never saw him before?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“What time?”

“It was late-I volunteer at the library, you know, and it’s open late on Thursdays. I had a bite to eat and did some shopping afterwards. It was after eleven.”

Lee did the math in his head. Mindy was attacked between eleven and twelve, according to Okorie, which meant her killer would have had plenty of time to wait for her, behind the staircase, across from the Chens’ apartment.

“Can you describe him?” Butts asked.

Mrs. Mingelone looked puzzled. “Well, I suppose I can try, but I don’t think-I mean, he was such a nice boy.”

They always are, Lee thought, until they murder someone.

“Sure,” Butts said, “but we have to check out every lead.”

“Of course, Detective,” she said, blushing. For a moment the years fell away and Lee saw the shy young woman she had been-rather lovely, with her large, dark eyes and delicate nose, though she had the kind of bone structure that hadn’t aged well. “I’m afraid I didn’t get a very good look at him.”

“Just tell us what you can remember.”

“He wasn’t tall-solidly built, though… He had strong hands.”

“Any facial hair?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Eyes? Hair color?”

“He was wearing a hat. Pale, though, I believe. Caucasian.”

“Would you be willing to go down to the station and work with a police sketch artist?”

“I don’t know how helpful it would be, but I suppose so.”

“Thank you very much, Mrs. Mingelone,” Butts said, rising from the table.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t like a cookie?” she asked, waving the plate in front of Lee.

“Sure,” he said, taking one. “Thanks.”

The other tenants were no more helpful. Shocked, stunned, and sad to hear the terrible news, but without insight into who might want poor Mindy dead. She seemed to be well liked but not very well known. No one had seen her with a boyfriend; she seemed to be a hardworking girl who was always on her way to work or rehearsals. Butts did manage to get the name of the company she acted with, a group specializing in classic revivals, the Noble Fools Theatre Troupe. They were residents of a little off-Broadway place just off Eighth Avenue, so Butts decided to make that their next stop.

But the only thing they had approaching an actual lead so far was Mrs. Mingelone’s helpful grocery bag boy. As they ventured back out into the damp chill of February, Lee thought it didn’t seem like much.

CHAPTER FOUR

The Noble Fools performed in a tiny black box theatre on the second floor of a commercial building on West Fifty-fourth Street. As he trudged up the drafty staircase, Lee wondered what it was about theatre that lured people into a life that was anything but glamorous. The theatre was cramped and claustrophobic, with no windows. The bare brick walls were covered on one side with a black felt curtain, and a rickety-looking spinet piano listed to one side on the raised stage. Lee figured the place could fit fifty people on a good night. At least the seating looked comfortable-rows of old-fashioned plush movie house seats, probably snatched up during the demise of the revival movie houses that had bitten the dust in the last few decades.

As they entered the theatre, a large red-haired woman in a purple flowered kimono swished toward them, trailing a cloud of sandalwood perfume. “Davillia Metcalfe-Smythe,” she purred, extending an extravagantly braceleted hand. “I’m the director. Can I help you?” Her accent was mid-Atlantic, artificially refined, reminiscent of film actors of the 1930s and ’40s.

“Detective Leonard Butts, NYPD,” Butts said, shaking her hand. The jewelry on her arm jingled like tiny bells, and her large round hoop earrings bobbed like buoys stranded in a sea of henna.

Everything about her was oversized, from her blowsy figure to the extreme shade of her abundant curly hair-bright crimson with purple overtones. Her skin was so white that Lee wondered if she was an albino, but the paint on her face made it impossible to tell. Her lips were a crimson Cupid’s bow, her arched eyebrows were penciled in an expression of permanent surprise, and mascara hung like Spanish moss from her eyelashes. Her nails matched her lipstick, and had been filed to a point, like talons. He imagined them ripping into flesh… actors probably watched their step around her. Even her name was too much. Davillia Metcalfe-Smythe. Who was she trying to impress?

But Detective Butts seemed unimpressed, grunting as she led them to seats in the audience section of the theatre.

“Now then, gentlemen, what can I do for you?” she asked, settling across from them in a canvas director’s chair. Lee wondered if her name was stenciled on the back.

“I’m afraid I have some bad news,” Butts said.

“Dear me,” she replied, crossing her generous thighs under the purple kimono. “Is one of my cast members in trouble of some kind?”

Butts cleared his throat. “I’m sorry to have to tell you there’s been a murder.”

“That’s terrible!” she cried, but Lee sensed more glee than alarm in her response. This was a woman who fed off drama like a vulture off carrion.

“Mindy Lewis was found dead early this morning in her apartment building.”

“Oh my lord!” Davillia replied, her eyes wide, but she wasn’t a very good actress, and failed to hide the thrill in her voice. “The poor dear! How was-how did she-?”

“We are not releasing the details of her death at the present time,” Butts said.

“But she was definitely-murdered?”

“Yeah.”

“Have you any idea who-I mean, do you have any leads? Any suspects?”

“We were hoping you and the rest of the cast might be able to help us with that.”

“Of course!” Davillia proclaimed, rising from her chair. She swept a fleshy arm majestically over the auditorium. “Anything we can do. Feel free to look around, ask as many questions as you like. The others will be here shortly, and I will put them at your disposal.” She took a stance like a general commanding troops, and Lee had to admire her flamboyant self-assurance. “We will help you find Mindy’s killer!”

Lee had seen a lot of responses to the news of murder, but never one quite like this. He glanced at Butts, but the detective’s face was impassive as he scribbled in the notebook he always carried with him. Butts had a memory like a steel trap, so he rarely needed to take notes on anything, but it was a departmental requirement. A detective’s notes could be called upon during a court testimony, so it was important to have them.

“What can you tell us about the deceased?” Butts asked.

“Oh, she was a lovely girl-talented, hardworking. Had a ways to go as an actress, but then, this is off-off-Broadway, after all. I don’t expect the young people I work with to be at the top of their game.”

Butts plucked a flyer from the seat next to him and held it up.

A Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare

“Is this what you’re rehearsing?”

“Yes. I was lucky enough to find two sets of identical twins for the male leads and their servants.”

“Twins?” said Butts.

“It’s a comedy based on mistaken identity,” she explained.

“How’d you manage that?”

“This is New York, Detective. You can find anything if you look hard enough. We’re also double and triple casting the show to make the cast as small as possible. I’m even playing a couple of roles myself.”

Butts looked at Lee. “You know this show?”

Lee nodded. “I’ve seen it.” What he didn’t say was that he had played a minor role in a college production when he was at Princeton.

“It’s one of Shakespeare’s earliest efforts, but he only wrote one other play that observed the Aristotelian unities,” Davillia remarked, her bangles jingling as she waved her arms to emphasize her point. “And that was The Tempest, the masterpiece of his old age. Interesting, don’t you think?”

“The Aristo-what?” asked Butts.

“Unities,” said Davillia. “The entire play takes place in twenty-four hours. It was one of Aristotle’s theories about theatre.”

Though her extravagant personality and mannered language should have irritated him, Lee was finding Davillia Metcalfe-Smythe hypnotic. Maybe it was the lack of sleep or the warmth of the stuffy room, but the sound of her voice was somehow soothing, and he felt his eyelids growing heavy as she rattled on. For all her artificiality and pretense, Davillia was a big, comfortable earth mother-everything his own mother wasn’t. Lee shifted in his seat, fighting to stay awake. The radiator at the back of the theatre clanked and moaned as steam rattled its aged pipes-a percussion section to the cadence of her voice as it rose and fell, gliding smoothly over the landscape of her speech…

Lee felt an elbow in his ribs and jerked back into awareness.

“… as I was saying, they should all be here soon. Poor dears-I hate to think how they’ll take this terrible news.”

“You use any swords in this production?” asked Butts.

“Why, yes. Why do you-”

“Mind if I have a look at them?”

“They’re just prop swords.”

“Plastic?”

“No, they’re metal, but the blades have been capped.”

“Meaning?”

“Here, I’ll show you.”

She led them backstage to an umbrella stand full of metal swords-foils, epees, even a couple of rapiers. Lee recognized them from his days on the fencing team in high school. Butts put on a pair of latex gloves and pulled out one of the foils to examine it. A square metal cap had been soldered onto the tip to blunt the weapon.

“Are they all like this?” Butts asked.

“Of course. You can’t use real swords in a stage production. Someone might get hurt.”

Butts grunted and examined the rest of the collection. “You notice any missing lately?”

“No, but I don’t keep an exact count of how many we have. Props come and go here all the time, and other theatre companies use this space as well. Why do you ask?”

Her question was interrupted by the arrival of two tall, good-looking young men who could only be actors-the New York variety, funkier and earthier than their California equivalents, but actors nonetheless. Their energy was unmistakable-boisterous, overly cheerful, and needy. Behind their eyes lurked a thirst for approval, the search for love and acceptance. What was more remarkable was that they were clearly identical twins. Dark-haired and lean, with deep-set brown eyes, they were almost a cliche of what a leading man should look like.

“I did not!” one of them said as they entered the room, the metal door clanging shut behind them.

“Like hell you didn’t!” said his brother. “I saw you!”

When they saw Lee and Detective Butts, they ceased chattering and looked uncertainly at Davillia. She drew herself up with dignity and spoke with calm authority.

“These gentlemen are from the NYPD.” She turned to Butts. “This is one of the pairs of identical twins I told you about, Keith and Fred Wilson.”

“Detective Leonard Butts, Homicide,” Butts said.

“No kidding?” exclaimed the taller and thinner of the twins. “Has someone been killed?”

“If you don’t mind, Keith, I’m going to wait until all of the actors are here to break the news,” said Davillia.

They didn’t have long to wait. A middle-aged black man with a noble profile and an impressive head of salt-and-pepper hair entered, followed by another set of male twins, short, muscular redheads with pink skin and pale blue eyes. The only noticeable difference between them was that one of them wore glasses. The last to arrive was a lovely young woman who bore a striking resemblance to the murdered girl, with white skin and curly black hair. She looked around nervously upon entering, and when she saw Butts and Lee standing there she joined her colleagues.

“What’s going on?” she said timidly.

“I’ll tell you in a minute, Sara,” Davillia replied gently. “Is everyone here?”

“Yes,” said one of the redheaded twins. “Present and accounted for.”

“Thanks, Danny,” said Davillia. “That’s Danny Atkins,” she explained to Lee and Butts. “He’s also our stage manager.” She turned back to her actors. “I think some of you may want to sit down.”

“Why? What’s happened?” cried Sara. She looked terrified, whereas the rest of the cast looked merely apprehensive.

“I’m afraid Mindy has been murdered,” said Davillia.

A collective gasp arose from the group, and several who were still standing sank into the audience seats. But the most dramatic response came from Sara, who gave a horrified scream and fell into the arms of one of the redheaded twins.

“Mindy was playing her sister in the play,” Davillia told Lee and Butts.

“It’s not that,” Sara said. “It‘s-it’s-”

“What is it, dear?” asked Davillia. “What’s wrong?”

“I found this in my mailbox today,” Sara said. With trembling hands, she produced a folded piece of paper from her purse and handed it to the director. Davillia read it and handed it to Butts, who glanced at it and held it up for Lee to read it. On the paper, printed in block letters, were two words.

YOU’RE NEXT

CHAPTER FIVE

It took a while to calm Sara, and several other cast members appeared equally shaken. Davillia was remarkably adept at soothing the frayed nerves of her actors. Lee could see why she was a director-she was very good at handling people.

Detective Butts was irritated that the paper containing the message to Sara had been contaminated by so many sets of fingerprints. He pulled on a latex glove, snatched it away from Davillia, and dropped it into an evidence bag.

“Damn thing won’t be much use now,” he grumbled.

“Too many prints on it already.” The detective pulled out his cell phone. “I’m calling the precinct,” he told Lee. “Maybe they can send a sergeant to help interview the actors. Since they’re all here now, it’ll save time.”

What he didn’t say was that catching potential suspects off guard was always a good idea. If they postponed the interviews, it would give the perpetrator time to come up with an alibi-that is, if he was one of the actors. The precinct desk sergeant agreed to send over Sergeant McKinney, who Butts had worked with before.

Some of the actors were dismayed to hear they would be detained for questioning, though others seemed eager to help. First to volunteer for an interview were the redheaded twins, but they looked disappointed when Butts said they would have to be questioned separately.

“But we do everything together,” said Danny, the twin with the glasses.

“Not this,” Butts growled. “So, do you want to talk here or later down at the station?”

“We want to help in any way we can, Detective,” Ryan replied, nudging his brother with his elbow. “Right, Danny? ”

“Sure,” said Danny. “Of course we do.”

Just as they were about to divide up the actors, an extremely tall police officer entered the theatre. Even without the uniform, Lee would have spotted him as a cop. He had that combination of authority and wariness, striding down the aisle with a half-swagger, watching everyone’s reaction to him as he took them in with his carefully composed gaze, calculated to give away nothing.

He was a bulky man, not only tall but beefy-but not in an athletic way. His uniform fit awkwardly, the pants gripping his legs, the jacket tight around his fleshy shoulders. His was an ungraceful form, and his buzz-cut dark hair only emphasized his ungainliness. He lumbered up to Detective Butts.

“About time, McKinney,” Butts grumbled, turning to the actors, who had been staring at Sergeant McKinney with apprehension. The appearance of an officer in uniform seemed to sober up even the recalcitrant Danny, who stared at him meekly.

“You got another room in here?” Butts asked Davillia.

“There’s a greenroom backstage,” she replied. “It’s not very big, but-”

“Okay,” said Butts. “McKinney, you take that room and I’ll stay in here.” He turned to the actors and pointed to Sara, who was on the verge of tears. “Go with him, would you, sweetheart? When you’re done we’ll get you some protection before you leave.”

“Do you think the killer will come after me?” she whimpered.

“Don’t worry-we’ll put a watch on you ’round the clock just to make sure you’re okay.”

“Is that really necessary?” asked Davillia.

“Hell, if it was my daughter I’d sent her to a damn convent,” said Butts.

“Get thee to a nunnery,” murmured Keith, the taller of the dark-haired twins. “It’s a quote from Hamlet,” he explained in response to a glare from Butts.

“This killer isn’t playacting,” the detective said. “The sooner you all get that into your heads, the better.”

Lee stayed in the theatre with Butts to observe the first couple of interviews, which he conducted at a table at the far end of the stage. The actors remained seated in the audience, drinking coffee and talking nervously with one another while they waited their turn.

Butts began with the older, dignified-looking black man, whose name was Carl Hawkins. Mr. Hawkins told them he was playing the role of the Duke of Ephesus, as well as some other minor roles. He hadn’t known any of the other actors before this production, and had been “jobbed in”-as the only member of Actors’ Equity in the cast, he was actually getting paid.

“I don’t like to bring it up around the others,” he said. “It’s not a secret, but I don’t want them to feel bad.”

“Or jealous?” Butts mused, studying him.

“That too. It breeds bad blood.” His voice was articulate, educated, and slightly Southern.

“Sounds to me like there’s already some bad blood,” Butts remarked. “Can you think of anyone in the cast you’d suspect of doin’ something like this?”

“I don’t know them that well-we’ve only been in rehearsal for a couple of weeks.”

“Off the top of your head, say. Any suspicious behavior?”

“Not really. Though Ryan Atkins did seem to have a crush on her.”

“He’s one of the redheads?”

“Right.”

Butts made an entry on his notepad. “Did she reciprocate?”

“Not that I could see. Davillia frowns on that kind of thing during rehearsal, so I don’t know what happened outside of here.”

“Hear any gossip about it?”

Hawkins smiled. “Detective, I’m old enough to have fathered most of these young people. If you want gossip, you’d best talk to one of them.”

“Anyone in particular?”

“The Wilson twins are always whispering together. I guess a Harvard degree doesn’t mean you’re immune to tittle-tattle.”

“They both went there?” asked Lee.

“Class of ’96. I wonder if their folks feel the investment is being squandered in a squalid off-Broadway theatre in Hell’s Kitchen.”

“Thanks,” said Butts, handing him a business card. “Give me a call if you think of anything else.”

The detective took Mr. Hawkins’s advice and called over one of the Wilson twins, while Lee decided to see how Sergeant McKinney was getting on. The smell of sawdust and shellac hung in the air as he picked his way past half-painted flats of scenery, weaving between backstage ropes and pulleys before squeezing through the tight corridor that led to the greenroom.

McKinney was interviewing Danny Atkins, the redheaded twin who wore glasses. The “greenroom” was a musty area backstage that also appeared to double as a dressing room, with a row of mirrors bordered by bare lightbulbs along one wall. A moth-eaten oriental carpet covered most of the floor, and a pair of shabby couches with protruding springs faced each other in the center of the room. Theatrical posters adorned the walls. Sergeant McKinney was seated at a long folding table, with Danny seated opposite him.

“Did you notice anyone suspicious hanging around the theatre?” McKinney asked.

Danny’s eyes moved up and to the left as he pondered the question. “Not that I can remember. I wish I could be more helpful.”

“Anyone in the cast sweet on the vic-uh, Ms. Lewis?” the sergeant said.

Danny looked away. “Not really.”

“That’s not what I heard,” said McKinney. “I heard your brother Ryan asked her out.”

“Oh, yeah, I guess he did.”

“Did she go out with him?”

“I don’t really know. My brother and I aren’t joined at the hip.”

“I thought twins shared everything.”

“That is a misconception promulgated by the mainstream media.”

Sergeant McKinney smiled and scribbled something in his notebook. “You got some ten-dollar words there.”

Danny Atkins looked down at his hands. “Look, Detective-”

“Sergeant.”

“Sergeant. Things have been kind of rough since our mother died, and my brother hasn’t been all that talkative lately.”

“When was that?” Lee asked.

“A couple of weeks ago, right before we began rehearsals.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” McKinney. “You’re the stage manager for this group?”

“Yes-why?”

“You’d have access to everyone’s address.”

“Sergeant, there’s a cast contact list-we all have that information.” Danny removed his glasses and wiped the sweat from the frames. “Is this going to go much longer?”

“Just one more question,” said McKinney. “If you had to put odds on who in this company might want to kill Mindy Lewis, who would it be?”

Danny replaced his glasses and folded his hands in his lap. “I’m sorry, Sergeant, but I’m not a betting man.”

“That’s interesting,” Lee said after Danny had left.

“Earlier he claimed that he and Ryan did everything together, but just now he went out of his way to avoid giving that impression.”

McKinney nodded. “Wonder what he’s trying to hide?”

CHAPTER SIX

Next up was Fred Wilson, the slightly shorter of the Wilson twins. He seemed amiable enough, even eager to help, as he settled his long form on the metal folding chair opposite Sergeant McKinney. Though Wilson was well over six feet, Lee figured McKinney was a good four inches taller.

“Now then, Mr. Wilson, is there anything you want to tell me?” asked the sergeant.

“Uh, no-only that we all liked Mindy. At least, I think everyone did.”

“Maybe one of you liked her enough to kill her.”

Wilson looked confused by the remark. “I don’t get it.”

McKinney leaned in closer. “Maybe you had a thing for Mindy?”

Fred looked horrified. “No! I have a girlfriend. I would never-”

“Anyone who can confirm that?”

“My brother-anyone who knows me.” As he spoke, he twisted a signet ring embossed with the theatrical comedy mask.

“Nice ring,” McKinney remarked. “Where’d you get it?”

“It was a gift from our mother. My brother has one of the tragic mask.”

“Ever trade rings?” McKinney asked.

“Not really. Why?”

“It would be pretty easy for you to pose as one another, confuse people about which one is which.”

Fred cocked his head to one side. “Why would we want to do that?”

Obviously, the sergeant knew about the mask found on Mindy’s body. That was the kind of detail that might not be released to the public, so Lee said nothing.

“Don’t twins do that-switch places just for fun sometimes?” McKinney asked.

“I think that happens more often in the movies,” Fred replied. “Though once Danny and Ryan switched places to see if anyone would notice.”

“Did they? Notice, I mean?”

“Not at first. Ryan wore Danny’s glasses to rehearsal, and everyone thought he was his brother. It’s especially hard when the other twin isn’t around. Even I was fooled for a while.”

“What gave it away?”

“I’m not sure… different mannerisms, and their voices aren’t quite the same, I guess.”

Sergeant McKinney made a note in his notebook, which appeared to make Fred nervous-Lee noticed he wiped his palms on his pants a couple of times.

The interviews went on the rest of the afternoon. They didn’t seem to produce much useful information, but you could never tell. Butts and McKinney went back to the precinct together, while Lee headed home.

Back at his apartment, he locked the door behind him and tossed his mail on the kitchen counter. He reached for the bottle of Glenkinchie and was about to pour a glass when an envelope caught his eye. It was thin and square, with blue and red stripes on the edges-international airmail. The return address was 37 rue Leopold Robert, Paris.

Intrigued, he tore it open. It was handwritten in light blue ink, the script firm, simple yet graceful. He read it standing at the kitchen counter.

Cher Monsieur Campbell,

I am very hoping that you may forgive me for writing to you and that you will respond. I don’t know how much of me you know, but my name is Chloe Soigne. I imagine if you do know of me you have nothing but bad thoughts, and for that I do not blame you. I would feel no different in your place. I do love Duncan Campbell, but that is no excuse for my actions so many years ago. Perhaps I am an evil woman, but if so, I am being punished for my sins, for I am now dying.

I tell you this not because I hope for sympathy but because I wish before I die to know that Duncan has made contact with his children. He does not expect you to forgive him or want to see him again, but I am hoping you may perhaps forgive him in time. I have seen over the years how the decision to leave has gnawed away at him, and left him no peace. But he is too proud to admit it, and so I have watched him suffer these many years, knowing how desperately he wanted to see his children. He would never speak of this with me, but I knew it all the same.

I managed to find your address but not your sister’s, so I am writing to you, and very much hope that you will show this letter to her. Perhaps she will find in her heart the compassion for your father, if you do not. Sometimes women have a more tender regard for the sins of others.

Very truly yours, Chloe Soigne

Lee stood with the letter in his hand, anger flooding his stomach like hot acid. So this was the woman his father had left his mother for, that day he walked out on the entire family, when Lee was only nine years old.

The letter came as a complete shock. He had an impulse to crush it, to tear it into bits, but he took a deep breath and slid it back in the envelope. He reached for the scotch and poured himself a double, neat, draining it in one swallow.

What nerve this woman had, writing to him on his father’s behalf! Didn’t she realize how much Lee loathed Duncan Campbell, how many times he had wished him dead? What made her think he would give a damn about the man who had come close to ruining the lives of everyone Lee cared about most?

He refilled the glass and went into the living room, heading straight for the piano.

The Well-Tempered Clavier was open on the rack, but he needed something loud and fast and angry, so he took out a book of Chopin preludes and banged away at the G minor Prelude, with its pounding descending bass line. Then he played a couple of blues tunes gospel-style, lingering on the dissonance created by the simultaneous major and minor thirds. Finally he turned to Bach, who always put him in a calmer mood. After an hour at the keyboard, he felt better. He rose from the piano bench and stood at the front window, gazing out at the Ukrainian church across the street. The building was dark, its round stained-glass window illuminated only by reflected light from streetlamps. A light snow had begun to fall, muting the sound of passing cars, creating a halo around the streetlights, softening their glare to a hazy yellow glow.

He thought about the power of words to disturb and frighten. Of course they could also comfort and reassure, but the last two letters he had seen were disturbing. He knew Chloe hadn’t meant to upset him with her letter, but she must have realized that it would. As for the killer who was presumably stalking Sara Wittier now, the very brevity of his message was part of its chilling effect. You’re next.

He fed on her fear-clearly that was part of the fun for him. Lee turned from the window and sank into the red leather armchair, with its faded armrests and cracked leather footstool. He would have thrown it out long ago if it weren’t for the fact that Laura had loved this chair. When she’d visited him it had been her favorite place to sit, and she had searched the downtown thrift stores for one just like it. When she moved into the city to attend NYU, he’d planned on giving it to her for her apartment, but she’d disappeared before he had a chance.

Lee slipped off his shoes and propped his feet on the footstool before reaching for a yellow legal pad to jot down some notes. He wanted to be prepared for the meeting tomorrow in Butts’s office. He jotted down a few notes about the offender.

• Stabbing-phallic symbol-meaning of sword in particular?

• Fear important to his emotional satisfaction

• Threatening note-bold, taunting; challenging law enforcement

• Knows Mindy amp; Sara, at least by sight

• Careful planning, low-risk victim

• Highly organized offender, profiles his victims

• Blends in with social milieu of victims

• Upper middle class, educated?

• Probably white, young (25–35)

• Possibly in theatre in some capacity, or a fan

He put down the legal pad and took a swallow of scotch. Had the offender used a sword, as the crime scene tech, Okorie, had surmised? He hoped the autopsy would produce further evidence about the murder weapon. The only bright side was that a sword was much more difficult to conceal than a knife or a gun.

He yawned and looked at the Seth Thomas clock on the bookshelf, a gift from his estate-sale-addicted mother. It was after eleven. Lee had been awake for nearly twenty hours. His stomach reminded him that his last meal had been a long time ago, and he padded out to the kitchen in his socks to rummage through the fridge. There wasn’t much, so he ate a peanut butter and dill pickle sandwich standing at the counter. Laura had loved that combination on Sunday nights when their mother let them have whatever they wanted for dinner.

Whatever Fiona Campbell’s faults, Lee thought, she had provided a sense of security in rituals-family dinner every night, bedtime stories, birthday parties. And his father had been an equally enthusiastic participant-until the day he walked out. After that, something drained away from everyone he left behind. It was more than just loss; it was a filing away of life’s possibilities, as if some of the magic in their world had evaporated. Duncan Campbell was so charismatic, energetic, and enchanting that the three people who should have mattered most to him were left wondering what they lacked, that he could desert them so easily and finally.

Lee looked at the letter on the kitchen counter, neatly tucked into its envelope. The knowledge that his father had suffered as a result of his actions moved him not a bit. His heart was so steeled against the man that the only emotion he felt was a vengeful satisfaction. He hoped Chloe’s death left his father as sad and lonely as he had left his family when he deserted them. He didn’t hate her-he thought she was as much a victim of his father’s whims as the rest of them, in a way.

He slid the letter into one of the cubbies in his roll-top desk on his way to the bedroom. He needed sleep, and had far more important problems to attend to than the welfare of Duncan Campbell. He lay down on the bed and was asleep before he had time to pull the covers up.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Carver looked in the mirror and smiled. Carver. Of course it wasn’t his real name; it was the one he gave himself when he did… what he did. It was his little way of playing a role, just as he played roles as an actor. He studied the crow’s feet under his eyes, the lines in his forehead, the crosshatching on his cheeks from too much sun, and sighed. He didn’t much like his face, and being an actor, he had to look at it more than he cared to. Before shows there was makeup to apply, costumes to wriggle into, wigs and putty and greasepaint. Mirrors were stock in trade for an actor. Because he didn’t care for the sight of his own face, Carver enjoyed roles in which he was able to hide it. He specialized in character parts-disfigured, deformed cripples and clowns, the more bizarre the better. He was never happier than when playing a tortured, reviled loner, feeling more comfortable in costume than in his own identity.

That’s why being Carver was so much fun. It was a part he had invented for himself-a kind of ongoing improvisation where life was the stage and the other actors were his victims. He hadn’t known how much fun it would be-that came as a surprise. Originally he’d been motivated by rage, by desire for revenge, but the satisfaction he got from the deed itself was a revelation. He liked killing.

Of course he was meticulous-the planning, the careful preparation-all of that was important. But the moment of the attack itself brought a thrill, a rush of pleasure unlike any he had ever experienced. Oh, he had killed people onstage plenty of times, but this was different-this was real. He had actual control over his victims-the ultimate power of life and death. It was intoxicating, and he would have more of it, he vowed, no matter what.

He lifted the long blue cloak from the coatrack and wrapped it around his shoulders, admiring the figure he cut in the mirror. The seeds for his bloodlust had been sewn in his childhood-he knew this, just as he knew that he had successfully hidden his darker urges from those closest to him. Even as a child, the injustice of his father’s treatment was clear to him-he alone was singled out for tongue lashing, belittlement, humiliation. Physical beatings were rare, but the emotional violence had done its work. Faggot! Pansy! Girlie boy! His father’s words still rang in his ears whenever he put on a costume or smeared greasepaint on his cheeks-but with it came a grim satisfaction that he was doing what he wanted, his father be damned.

He had been only twelve when he spied on his cousin for the first time, peering through the window of her bedroom while she undressed, and the thought of that moment satisfied him for weeks. Then came the underwear theft-at first from his female relatives, but later on he became bolder, creeping into the girls’ locker room at school, and even breaking into neighboring houses on weekends when they were away.

And now he was playing Carver, the role of a lifetime. He reached down for the sword on the table beside him. He held it up to the light and admired the polished steel of its blade. An appropriate weapon, and one he was skilled in using. His fencing lessons were paying off in more ways than one. He smiled as he slid the sword into the scabbard at his side.

CHAPTER EIGHT

“Well, there’s not a lot I can tell from this,” said Elena Krieger, holding the evidence bag between her manicured thumb and forefinger as though it contained excrement. “I’m a forensic linguist, not a magician.” With her German accent, “linguist” came out “lingvist.”

Detective Butts snatched it from her and tossed it on his desk. “Well, pardon me for asking.”

It was ten o’clock the next morning-the two of them had been in each other’s company less than fifteen minutes, and already they were quarreling. Perched on the side of Butts’s desk, Lee was already regretting their decision to call in Krieger for a consult. If there were two people more unsuited to be in the same room with each other than Detectives Butts and Krieger, he hadn’t met them. This was their fourth case together, and the air was still charged with their mutual enmity.

“It’s two words, for god’s sake!” she said, the base of her elegant neck reddening. Even at this hour in the morning, it was hard not to look at her. She wore a creamy pantsuit over a black silk blouse, her strawberry blond hair gathered back in a ponytail fastened with a gold clip. She crossed her arms over her stately bosom defiantly. “What did you expect me to say?”

“I don’t know — nothin’, okay?” Butts growled. “Sorry to waste your time.”

“I mean, there are no obvious grammatical mistakes-a lot of people misspell ‘you’re’ as ‘your,’ so we know he’s not a complete moron. Probably has a decent education.”

“That’s something,” Lee said hopefully. Butts just shook his head and turned away.

“You probably knew that already,” Krieger remarked. “Based on your profile, I mean.”

“I’ve worked up a few ideas,” Lee said.

“Can I see what you have?” asked Krieger.

“I guess,” Lee said, with a glance at Butts, who threw his arms up in surrender.

“Sure, whatever. Stay, go-do whatever you want.”

“How kind of you, Detective,” Krieger replied icily. “I choose to stay.”

“What ever, ” Butts muttered under his breath.

Lee copied the list he had made the night before onto the whiteboard, adding a couple of things he had thought of that morning.

• Stabbing-phallic symbol-meaning of sword in particular?

• Fear important to his emotional satisfaction

• Threatening note-bold, taunting; challenging law enforcement

• Knows Mindy amp; Sara, at least by sight

• Careful planning, low-risk victim

• Highly organized offender, profiles his victims

• Blends in with social milieu of victims

• Upper middle class, educated?

• Probably white, young (25–35)

• Possibly in theatre in some capacity, or a fan

• Mask-part of ritualistic staging of the body

“I gotta say,” Butts said, “just about every guy in that theatre company fits this profile.”

“Except Carl Hawkins,” said Lee.

“ ’Cause he’s black?” said Butts.

“More because he’s the wrong age.”

“But the others-”

Lee nodded. “They all fit. And given all the factors, it has to be one of them.”

“Do you think he has a record?” Krieger asked, studying the list.

“He might have,” Lee said. “If he does, it could be Peeping Tom offenses, or even breaking and entering. On the other hand, he might have been smart enough to avoid getting caught.”

“None of the actors showed up on VICAP,” said Butts.

“He’s just getting started,” Lee said.

“Jesus,” Butts said. The phone on his desk rang and he grabbed it. “Butts here. Yeah? Okay, thanks-yeah, let me know if anything turns up.” He turned to the others. “That was the crime lab. No prints on anything so far.”

“What about trace?” asked Krieger.

Butts shook his head. “Nothin’. The mask was wiped clean of any prints, so he musta worn gloves.”

“What about the autopsy?” asked Lee. “Is there a chance that might turn up something?”

“It’s possible-the weapon might have left something behind that we can use to trace it,” said Butts. “So what makes you think this guy is gonna kill again?”

“Well, apart from the fact that he’s threatened someone else-”

“Assuming the note came from him,” Krieger pointed out.

“Right. Assuming that, the bizarre nature of the crime points to someone who is motivated by something other than personal dislike for the victim. He didn’t even take her money, and leaving the mask is highly ritualistic behavior. So is the sword, for that matter-if that’s what he used.”

The phone rang again and Butts snatched it up.

“Detective Butts here. Yeah? No kiddin’? Yeah, fax me the results, great. Thanks.” He hung up and looked at them triumphantly. “That was the ME’s office. We got trace after all. There were some fibers in the wound that didn’t match the vic’s clothing. Blue wool, like from a coat.”

“Well, that’s something,” Krieger said.

Butts looked at his watch and frowned. “I gotta go meet Mindy’s parents. They flew in from Ohio last night and I told them I’d stop by their hotel.”

“You want me to come with you?” Lee asked.

“Naw, that’s okay-I know you hate it as much as I do.”

“I’ll come,” Lee said, putting on his coat.

“One last question,” Krieger said to Lee. “Before you leave.”

“What’s that?”

“Are you sure this killer is working alone?”

“It’s likely, but no, I’m not sure. Why?”

“No reason-I just wondered.”

Butts frowned. “So you think one guy might be doin’ the killing while the other one is writing the threats?”

“I just asked the question, Detective,” said Krieger. “I don’t think anything.”

Butts grunted and put on his coat. “You got that right,” he said under his breath as they left the office.

Krieger’s voice rang out behind them. “I heard that!”

Butts rolled his eyes as he and Lee walked through the precinct lobby. “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.”

“Why, Detective,” Lee said. “I do believe you’re in love.”

CHAPTER NINE

Facing bereaved family members was one of the most uncomfortable tasks of homicide detectives, and the meeting with Mindy’s parents was predictably draining. The worst part was that Lee and Butts couldn’t give Mindy’s parents any concrete information about her killer, other than to say they were working very hard to find him.

When Lee got home that night he was bone tired. Not for the first time, he felt the heavy relief in closing the front door behind him and slipping on the three locks, the tumblers clicking into place with a satisfying sound, locking out the demands of the world. He stood looking out of the window at the lone mimosa tree in front of his building before heading for the piano, hungry for the soothing purity of Bach.

When he was halfway across the living room, the phone rang. Without looking the caller ID, he answered it.

“Hello? Is this Lee Campbell?”

The voice was light, breathy, with a pronounced French accent. Lee knew immediately who it was. His first impulse was to hang up, but with the receiver halfway down, he stopped his hand.

“Yes,” he said. “This is Dr. Campbell.” He’d inserted his title out of panic, a feeble impulse to cloak his identity, but he heard how arrogant it sounded.

“Sorry, yes-Dr. Campbell.” She was being humble, polite, and it made him cringe. He would have preferred it if she were a slattern, a bitch, a French whore, but her voice was educated and refined.

“What can I do for you?” he said, trying to sound harsh but failing.

“My name is Chloe Soigne.”

“Yes?” He was going to make her say it, spell it out.

“I was wondering-did you get my letter?”

He wanted to make her grovel, but he wasn’t going to lie to her. “Yes, I did.”

“Then you know who I am.”

“Yes.”

“Thank you for not hanging up on me.” Her voice was tremulous, on the edge of tears. She was making it very hard to dislike her. He took a deep breath.

“Ms. Soigne, I appreciate your effort, and I don’t blame you for-for what happened. But I have no wish to see my father.”

“And your sister? How does she feel?”

“My sister is dead.”

Her heard her gasp, then cough-a harsh, hacking sound, the cough of a very sick woman.

“I am so sorry,” she said when she regained her breath. “When did she-how long ago?”

“Six years ago. She was murdered.”

“Mon Dieu,” she said softly. “That’s horrible.”

“So my father knew nothing about it? It was in the papers here.”

“Alas, your father rarely reads the American newspapers. I am so very sorry. Have they caught the person who did it?”

“No.”

There was a long, lonely pause, and then she said, “I am very sorry to bother you.”

“Does my father know you’ve contacted me?”

“He has no idea. He doesn’t even know how sick I am.”

“I’m sorry to hear you’re not well.”

“I’m dying, Dr. Campbell-I have stage-four lung cancer. And I am very worried what will happen to your father when I am gone. That is why I was hoping you might… take pity on him.”

“Look, Ms. Soigne, I-”

“Call me Chloe, please.”

“I’ve lived this long without my father. I don’t need to forgive him, and I don’t want to see him.”

“I see.” Again she gave a little gasp and a cough, but mastered herself. “Perhaps in time your heart will soften and you will forgive him, or at least be willing to speak with him.”

“What makes you think he wants to talk to me?’

“I know he does. He is a proud man, and a foolish one in many ways, but I know he has thought about you and your sister constantly over the years.”

“Actions speak louder than words, Ms.-Chloe.”

“Will you at least think about it, Dr. Campbell? It’s the wish of a dying woman.”

“All right,” he said, irritated at being manipulated so boldly. He thought he heard someone talking in the background, and she lowered her voice.

“I must go now-may God bless you.”

The line went dead. He stood with the phone in his hand, a link to broken promises and shattered dreams. He stared numbly out the window at the mimosa tree, its branches bare and cold in the bitter February wind.

CHAPTER TEN

Sara Wittier pulled back the green brocade curtain covering the front window of her apartment and looked down into the street at the patrol car parked at the corner of Fiftieth Street and Ninth Avenue. They had just changed shifts about half an hour ago. The officer on duty had arrived with enough supplies to last a week: a huge bag from Dunkin’ Donuts, another from McDonald’s, and a large cup of coffee. It was too dark to see what he was doing down there, and she couldn’t help wonder how these cops managed to stave off boredom. Was he allowed to listen to the radio or do crossword puzzles? Probably not-the killer could slip right by him unless he was watching every minute.

She shivered and let the curtain drop. Wrapping her arms around her body, she turned from the window and went into the kitchen. She wasn’t hungry, but she longed for the comfort food could bring. Being an actress, and very young, Sara was given to self-dramatizing. Right now she was feeling sorry for herself. Since she couldn’t have the comfort she craved-to feel safe-a bowl of Haagen Dazs would have to do in the meanwhile. Maybe it was an excuse, but she didn’t care. After all, she was being stalked. She opened the freezer and pawed through her roommate’s cartons of organic vegetables until she found the lone pint of chocolate ice cream in the back.

She pulled the biggest bowl she could find from the cupboard and scooped in generous spoonfuls of ice cream. She took the bowl into the living room and curled up on the couch, covering herself with the afghan her grandmother had knitted her. Pink and green, the school colors of Sweet Briar, her alma mater. She sighed as a single tear slid down her smooth young cheek. Her life of sororities and classes and weekends with the boys at William and Mary seemed light years away.

She ate slowly and rhythmically, spooning small amounts into her mouth with each bite to make it last longer. She knew there was half a day’s worth of calories in this bowl of ice cream, but she didn’t care. She might be dead in a few days, so she might as well enjoy herself.

She heard the sound of the dead bolt in the front door and practically leapt from the couch, the afghan still wrapped around her shoulders, her heart beating hot and fast in her throat. The door opened and her roommate Caroline sauntered in, her yoga mat strapped to her back as usual.

“Hi!” Caroline sang out, closing the door behind her. “What are you eating?”

“Ice cream,” Sara replied, sitting down again as thin, cold relief flooded her veins. She didn’t want her roommate to see how frightened she was.

“That stuff will kill you,” Caroline said, tossing her yoga mat in the hall closet. Caroline was tall and thin and sallow, and full of opinions about everything, especially food and nutrition. The more her advice was unwanted, the more relentlessly she gave it, and it usually involved admonitions to avoid everything Sara enjoyed eating. Caroline seemed to take pride in everything she didn’t eat-the list was endless and always changing. Just last week she had come home proudly declaring she had given up gluten-not because she was allergic to it, but because her friend Alice had stopped eating it. Caroline was obsessed with abstemiousness, as though self-denial was a competitive sport.

Sara leaned back on the couch. “I’m going to die soon anyway.” She noted with satisfaction the alarm on Caroline’s face. She had recently suspected that her roommate was borrowing her clothes without asking, but she couldn’t prove anything.

“Don’t be silly-they’ll catch that guy before he gets to you,” Caroline said, bending to touch her toes, effortlessly putting both palms on the floor.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Sara responded. “In the meantime, I’m going to have some Haagen Dazs.”

Caroline sat down on the carpet and stretched her legs out in a split. Sara knew she had just come from yoga class, so she didn’t see why Caroline needed to stretch, but her roommate was always showing off how limber she was.

“That’s not a real name, you know,” Caroline said, touching her nose to her left knee. “They made it up to sound Scandinavian.”

“Well, it’s real now,” Sara said, “because I’m eating it.” She swallowed a big mouthful just to show she was right, and gave herself an ice cream headache.

Caroline shrugged and touched her nose to the other knee. The bones in the back of her neck stood out, poking through her yellowish skin. Sara thought her roommate would look a lot healthier if she would eat some red meat or cheese once in a while. She had given up meat years ago, and dairy ended up on her hit list after she took a nutrition workshop with Gary Null, the NPR health food guru. Sara called him the health food Nazi, which made Caroline livid.

“So are there any leads?” Caroline asked, twisting herself into some bizarre yoga-inspired pretzel shape.

“Not really,” said Sara. “He’s stalking me now.” She looked at her roommate to see if her words had the intended dramatic effect, but Caroline was concentrating too hard on bending her body in unnatural ways. Sara decided to raise the stakes. “He cornered Mindy in the hallway of her apartment. That’s where he ran the sword through her heart.”

In reality, the sword had pierced Mindy’s stomach, but Sara thought “through her heart” sounded so much more romantic. Through her heart. It was as though she’d been slain by an overly fond lover.

The truth was that Sara Wittier, from Middleburg, Virginia, was too naive and too trusting to believe that life could be untimely ripped from her tender young body. In spite of her initial shock at Mindy’s death, and the threatening note she had received, down deep Sara believed that death came to other people-the old, sick, and unlucky-but not to her. She was none of those things. She was young and healthy, and it never occurred to her that even healthy young girls could one day be very, very unlucky.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The next morning Lee took the subway back up to the theatre to observe rehearsal. The Noble Fools had decided not to cancel the production, and Mindy’s understudy was apparently more than willing to step in. Davillia had dramatically quoted the famous dictum that “the show must go on,” though Lee suspected she was more driven by monetary considerations. The landlord had been paid in advance, and a cancelled production would leave a huge gap in the company’s finances. Lee had agreed to keep an eye on things at the theatre while Butts and Sergeant McKinney interviewed Mindy’s friends and family.

As the Seventh Avenue line rattled uptown, Lee thought about the phone conversation of the night before. He had not told Chloe that Laura was missing, but that she was dead. Of course he didn’t know that for certain, but he had long believed it. His training and experience told him the chances of her being alive were remote, but it was more than that. Hope was too alluring and easily dashed-he couldn’t afford that particular emotion. It was easier to expect the worst. Hope involved wanting, which meant opening up to the possibility of more pain.

Rehearsal was already in progress when he arrived, so he slid into a seat at the back of the auditorium. They were running the scene with Antipholus of Syracuse and his twin brother’s wife, portrayed by Sara Wittier. She was actually quite good, not playing it for laughs, taking her character’s dilemma seriously. Antipholus was played by Keith Wilson, the leaner of the two dark-haired twins, and they made a good-looking couple onstage. Lee noticed that Keith wore a long navy blue cloak-part of his costume, perhaps? He remembered the blue fiber found on Caroline’s body and made a mental note to tell Butts.

Davillia watched from her director’s chair, sipping from a metal thermos and picking at a bran muffin. She stopped the actors from time to time, suggesting stage movement or alternate line readings. She was surprisingly sensitive and thoughtful, given her larger-than-life persona. They were in the middle of a scene in which Sara’s character, Adriana, confronts Antipholus of Syracuse, who she thinks is her husband. He is actually her husband’s twin brother, and of course has never seen her before. Also onstage was Ryan Atkins, playing Antipholus’s servant, Dromio of Syracuse.

Davillia put down her thermos and approached the stage, her bracelets jingling. She wore an emerald-green kimono with a long string of multicolored beads. Lee imagined her bedroom closet full of dozens of various colored kimonos.

“Sara, darling, start that speech again, will you?” she cooed in her affected accent. “But this time really let your emotional reaction to his strange behavior fuel your entrance more-all right, lovey?”

Sara nodded and they went back to the beginning of the scene. Davillia returned to her chair and her coffee, delicately plucking off pieces of muffin, using her fingers with their long, brightly painted nails. Sara entered from the wings and stopped abruptly when she saw Antipholus and his servant. Glaring at them, she flung her arms out angrily. Her face reddened as she sputtered her lines furiously.

Ay, ay, Antipholus, look strange and frown: Some other mistress hath thy sweet aspects; I am not Adriana nor thy wife.

When Sara had finished the entire speech, Davillia leapt to her feet, clapping her hands like a child.

“Yes, yes-that’s it! Brava-see what I mean?”

“Yes,” Sara said, blushing and looking pleased with herself.

Lee studied the other actors onstage. Mindy’s understudy, the young woman playing Luciana, looked on with shy appreciation, and Keith Wilson was smiling broadly. Ryan Atkins stared at Sara with an expression of entranced adoration on his freckled face. His pale blue eyes brimmed with emotion.

Lee spotted Ryan’s brother, Danny, watching from the wings. The look on his face was very different-his features were frozen in a mask of intense disapproval. Without changing his expression, he wheeled about and disappeared backstage.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Caroline Porchowsky stepped into the hallway from the overheated apartment and locked the door behind her. She slipped on the lime-colored wool coat and wrapped her scarf around her neck. It was one of those bone-chilling February days, the kind that eats right through to your core, though the apartment was so hot she had carried the coat into the hall before putting it on. She felt a little guilty for taking her roommate’s coat without asking, but it was such a lovely color, and Sara wouldn’t be home for some time. Caroline was only going to slip across the street to the bodega and pick up a few things, and she would be back before her roommate returned from her restaurant job.

Normally Sara didn’t work on Tuesdays, but she had been called to fill in for another waitress who had taken ill. Sara had worn her other winter coat, the gray down jacket with the red lining, so Caroline decided it wouldn’t do any harm to use the green coat. Besides, it was a rare opportunity-Sara rarely wore anything else this time of year, and could usually be seen a block away in her bright green coat. So Caroline snatched the chance to wear the coveted garment, just this once.

She often wore her roommate’s clothes without asking. There was something delightfully wicked about getting away with it. Lately Sara had been asking questions that made Caroline think she had begun to suspect, but Caroline always denied her accusations. The clandestine nature of it was half the fun-if she asked permission, the whole thing would lose its appeal. She was very good at acting innocent-or thought she was-though she worried that Sara, being an actress, could see through her wide-eyed protestations.

Still, she enjoyed the game, and as she pulled the collar tightly around her thin neck, she sighed with pleasure. This particular shade of green went so well with her eyes, she thought-the coat really looked better on her than on Sara. She was pulling on her leather gloves when she thought she heard the soft click of the front door latch. She peered down the narrow flight of stairs but didn’t see anyone in the tiny foyer of the tenement building.

Caroline piled her hair up inside a gray wool beret, slid on a pair of sunglasses, and proceeded down the steep staircase, clutching the banister as she went. There was a loose step right before the landing, and she looked down to make sure of her footfall.

She never saw the attack coming. Her first awareness of it was the sensation of the cold metal as it slid into her gut, perforating her small intestine. She made no sound except for a single guttural grunt as she sank to her knees. She stared down in disbelief and astonishment as thick dark blood pulsed from her body. Only then did she look up into the face of her attacker. Curiously, her face held an expression of wonderment rather than fear, as though she was bewildered that anyone could want to do such a thing to her. By then it was too late-life was draining from her body with every beat of her heart.

She was still alive when her attacker fled the building, walking quickly in the direction of the subway. But by the time he reached the platform, she was dead.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“No mask this time,” Elena Krieger said. “But otherwise the same MO?”

“Yep,” said Butts. “She was ambushed in the foyer of her building, run through with a single stab wound, and left to die.”

“It wouldn’t have taken her long to bleed out from a wound like that,” said Lee.

They were staring at crime scene photos taped to the bulletin board in Butts’s cramped office. The call had come in about Caroline’s death a little after noon, and now it was nearly four. Her body was already at the ME’s office, and the three of them were back at the precinct awaiting the autopsy results. Not that they expected to learn much from it, though there was still a thin hope of some trace evidence turning up on the body.

“Why no mask this time?” asked Krieger, studying the photos. Poor Caroline lay on her back, her unseeing eyes staring at the ceiling of the drafty lobby where she had taken her last breaths. Her bright green coat was stained with crimson blotches of dried blood. A pair of sunglasses lay to one side of the body.

“Could have been he was in a hurry because he was about to be discovered,” Butts replied. “Or-”

“He realized he had killed the wrong person,” Lee finished for him. “Caroline Porchowsky was Sara Wittier’s roommate.”

“So when he saw that he had the wrong person, he abandoned his plan and fled?” said Krieger. “Without leaving his ‘signature’ behind?”

“Right,” said Lee. “The signature only had meaning for his intended victim. Caroline was a mistake-the wrong place and the wrong time.”

Krieger shook her head. “Poor girl.”

“Either that or he heard someone comin’ and cleared out fast,” said Butts. “Either way-” The phone rang, and he snatched it up. “Yeah? No kiddin’? Okay I’ll be right down.” He hung up and turned to the others. “They think they got DNA this time. I’m goin’ down to the lab.”

Lee looked at his watch. “It’s almost time for rehearsal. I’m going over there.”

“Okay, see you there,” said Butts. “I won’t be long. I’ll send Sergeant McKinney in the meantime.”

“Did you manage to reach Sara?” asked Krieger.

“They said at the restaurant she was going to rehearsal straight from work.”

Krieger’s eyes widened. “So she doesn’t know yet?”

“No, and that’s the way we’re going to leave it,” said Butts. “Don’t worry-we’ve still got a patrol unit watchin’ her.”

“If the killer is in the cast, when she turns up alive, his reaction should give him away,” Lee explained. “ If he didn’t realize he had made a mistake at the crime scene.”

“But these are actors,” said Krieger. “They should be good at hiding their real feelings and pretending, no?”

“Even the best actor won’t be able to suppress a micro-expression of astonishment,” Lee replied. “That’s what we’re counting on.”

Rush hour had already started by the time Lee hailed a cab. It crawled up Third Avenue as far as the forties, where the driver made a few slick moves crossing Forty-second Street. Lee tipped generously when they pulled up in front of the building on West Fifty-fourth Street.

There was no sign of Sergeant McKinney when Lee pushed open the door to the theatre. A few actors were there already-the Wilson twins and Carl Hawkins were sitting on the edge of the stage running their lines. Davillia brushed in a few minutes later, and while she seemed surprised to see Lee, she gave him a friendly smile as she bustled down the aisle with her coffee thermos and white bakery bag.

“I brought muffins for everyone today,” she sang out cheerfully. “I thought you all could use a boost.”

“Why, thank you, Madame Director,” Fred Wilson replied, taking a blueberry muffin from the bag. Lee couldn’t help noticing that he was dressed in a dark blue wool coat, whereas his brother Keith wore a down jacket. He was pondering this when the door swung open and the Atkins twins entered. They looked as though they had been arguing-Danny’s face was dark and moody, and Ryan looked preoccupied and upset. Ryan declined Davillia’s offer of muffins and went straight backstage. Danny sat in the audience, pulled out his iPhone, and began typing.

“As soon as Sara gets here we’ll start,” Davillia said chewing on a bran muffin. Danny interrupted his typing to give her a quick look, then, seeing Lee sitting behind him, went back to his iPhone.

“She’s late,” Carl said. “That’s not like her.”

“Should we be worried?” Davillia asked.

“She’s got a cop tailing her around the clock,” said Fred Wilson, finishing his blueberry muffin. “If she’s not safe with a police escort, who is?”

Danny looked up from his phone. “What?”

“Fred’s right,” said Carl. “NYPD gave her ’round-the-clock protection. She’s probably just running late from work. ”

There was the sound of quick, light footsteps on the stairs, and everyone turned to see Sara enter the theatre.

“Sorry I’m late,” she panted. “Got stuck at work.”

Lee studied Danny Atkins’s face, though it was hard to read his expression behind the black glasses. But just then his brother stepped out onto the stage, and the astonishment on his face told the entire story. When he saw Sara, he took a step backward, and his jaw dropped open.

Fred Wilson noticed him and laughed. “What’s up, Ryan? You look like you saw a ghost, man.”

Atkins didn’t answer, but his eyes and Lee’s met. Lee stood up, but before he could move, Danny Atkins shot out of his seat, his iPhone clattering to the floor.

“My god, Ryan,” he said. “My god. You-?”

The others looked confused-Davillia stopped chewing mid-bite, and Carl put down his coffee.

“What’s going on?” asked Sara, still at the back of the theatre.

Danny took a couple of steps toward the stage, but before he could get there, his brother reached into the prop bin and pulled out a rapier, the largest and most dangerous of the swords. With one violent motion, he whipped it across one of the brick columns on either side of the stage. The blunted cap fell to the floor, leaving a lethal, jagged piece of steel on the end of the sword.

Davillia gave a yelp and dropped her coffee, which splashed onto the ground, creating a thin brown river at the foot of the stage. Carl and Fred backed away from the proscenium, keeping their eyes on Ryan. Sara screamed and put her hands to her face.

“Why, Ryan?” Danny said, his voice more full of sorrow than anger. “Why did you do it?”

“You’ve never had a clue, have you?” said Ryan. “Little Lord Fauntleroy, always in everyone’s good graces. You have no idea what it was like being me! You stupid little prick.”

Danny took a step toward him.

“Don’t come any closer!” Ryan said, waving the weapon in front of him. “Drop that!” he yelled when Danny reached for his iPhone. “Blood isn’t thicker than water, brother-at least, not your blood.”

While this was going on, Lee managed to duck behind the black curtain that ran along the side of the south wall. Flattening his body against the bricks, he shimmied to the steps leading up to the stage. He darted out of the protection of the felt scrim and dove toward the basket of swords. Seeing him, Ryan lunged at him, but Lee grabbed an epee and rolled to the other side of the stage. Regaining his feet, he held the sword in front of him.

With a roar, Ryan charged him, but Lee parried his thrust, throwing Ryan off guard. Ryan stumbled and fell to his knees, but leapt to his feet quickly and came at Lee again, slashing wildly. Lee realized that all his high school fencing, with its decorum and good form, was of little use in this situation-but once again, he was able to parry Ryan’s wild thrust. When he reached the back of the stage, Atkins spun around and came at him a third time.

Lee stepped aside and tried a counterthrust, but the edge of Atkins’s blade caught him in the face. He felt a burning sensation on his cheek, and lost his footing, stumbling on the edge of the side curtain. Hearing the gasps from the others, he looked up to see Atkins’s sword flashing over his head. He rolled onto his back and evaded the descending blade by scrambling to the other side of the stage.

Ryan Atkins’s blue eyes burned with fury. “You call yourself a profiler? You idiot-and your sword is no mightier than your pen.”

“We’ll see about that,” Lee muttered as he got to his feet.

As Lee prepared himself for another charge, the theatre door banged open and three voices shouted in unison, “NYPD-drop your weapon!”

He looked up to see Detective Butts and Sergeant McKinney along with a uniformed officer, all three with their guns drawn.

“Drop it- now!” Butts repeated, clicking off the safety on his revolver.

Ryan Atkins looked at the three policemen confronting him and let his sword fall to the floor.

Sergeant McKinney produced a pair of handcuffs, which he gave to Butts.

The detective approached the stage. “Ryan Atkins, you’re under arrest for the murders of Mindy Lewis and Caroline Porchowsky.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“So his expression gave him away, huh?” Butts said, popping a powdered cinnamon Munchkin in his mouth.

They were sitting in the Dunkin’ Donuts near the precinct. Ryan Atkins had been booked and was on his way to Rikers, so the detective was indulging in his favorite vice, fried dough coated in sugar.

“Yeah,” said Lee. “He obviously didn’t know he’d killed the wrong girl.”

“So why didn’t he leave the mask?”

“He must have heard someone coming. It’s a pretty risky thing to do in the middle of the afternoon, in broad daylight.”

“And he almost got away with it,” said Butts, taking a big gulp of coffee. “So his brother had no idea, huh?”

“I don’t think so.”

“I always thought twins were really close, and shared everything. Guess I’ve never really known any. How ’bout you, Doc? Ever know any twins?”

“Not identical ones. There was a pair of fraternal twins a year ahead of me at school, but I didn’t really know them well.”

Butts swallowed another Munchkin and wiped his mouth. “So I guess not all twins have this-‘mystical’ connection.”

“Apparently not. Ryan Atkins is obviously a disturbed young man. And it was probably his mother’s death that sent him over the edge. The timing is right-he took his first victim shortly afterwards.”

“He asked Mindy out too, then?”

“Nobody else in the company saw him do it, but my guess is that he did and she rejected him.”

“What about Danny? Pretty normal, would you say?”

“As far as I can tell. He seemed appalled by his brother’s crimes.”

“Hey, how did he know about Caroline’s death?”

“Saw it on the news feed on his iPhone. That’s why when his brother was surprised to see Sara alive, Danny knew Ryan was the killer.”

Butts crumpled up the donut bag and tossed it into the trash can. “So much for the idea of evil being genetic.”

“You mean because identical twins have the same DNA?”

“Yeah. But only Ryan was a bad guy.”

“There are so many factors we don’t fully understand that contribute to the formation of pathopsychology.”

“In English, Doc?”

“We don’t really know why some people become criminals while others don’t.”

The detective heaved himself to his feet and brushed the crumbs from his sleeves. “Well, until someone figures it out, guys like me will always have a job.”

“And even if we do manage to identify all the factors that contribute to criminal behavior, it doesn’t mean we’ll be able to change it.”

“Ain’t that the way? No cure for the common cold or the common criminal.”

They stepped out into the street and were hit by a blast of icy wind. “Jeez,” Butts said, pulling his collar up as they headed toward the precinct. A few grains of snow swirled in the darkening sky; passing pedestrians hunched over against the wintry weather. “That was as damn fool thing you did, by the way. You know that, right?”

“I guess so.”

“What the hell were you thinking?”

“I was afraid he’d hurt someone. I knew you’d be there soon, so I was just trying to stall for time. And,” he said, pointing to the butterfly bandage on his cheek, “I’ve always wanted a really cool dueling scar.”

Butts pushed open the door to the precinct. “One of these days, Doc, you’re really gonna get hurt,” he said as they walked through the lobby past uniformed officers standing around in groups chatting, coming and going with suspects in tow, or drinking coffee as they studied their paperwork. There was always something going on in a New York City police station.

“Maybe that’s what I want.”

“What are you talkin’ about? You’re starting to scare me.”

“There are some things in my life I don’t want to deal with right now,” Lee said as they entered the office Butts shared with two other detectives.

Butts closed the door to his office and plopped down in his desk chair. “Like what?”

Lee told him about the letter and phone call from Chloe. When he finished, Butts laced his hands behind his head and put his feet up on the desk.

“If I was you, I’d let the bastard stew. He made his bed, now he can lie in it.”

“It’s not that simple.”

Butts sighed. “It never is, is it? Still”-he began digging around in his desk drawer-“getting run through with a sword doesn’t seem like a good solution.”

Lee smiled. “When you put it like that, you have a point.”

Butts groaned at the pun. “You’re killin’ me, Doc.”

“Not on purpose, I swear.”

Butts pulled out an envelope from the drawer. “Ah, this is what I was lookin’ for.”

“What is it?”

“Two tickets to a show. I was going to surprise the wife with it tonight, but she’s not feeling very well. You wanna go?”

“What’s the show?”

“ The Boys from Syracuse.”

“Isn’t that-”

“The musical version of Comedy of Errors.”

Lee had to laugh.

“Sure,” he said. “What have we got to lose?”

Content

C. E. Lawrence
Silent Stalker

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN