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  Kevin almost screamed. The girl was smiling. She lifted a hand and waved as if she recognized him and had just stopped by to say hi.

  He glanced at the door. Hopefully Mother hadn’t heard. He turned back to the girl in the window. She was mouthing something to him now, motioning for him to do something.

  He could only stand there and stare, frozen.

  She was motioning for him to lift the window! No way! And he couldn’t anyway; it was screwed shut.

  She didn’t look frightening, really. In fact, she was actually very nice looking. Her face was pretty and her hair was long. Why was he so scared of her? Maybe he shouldn’t be. Her face was so . . . kind.

  Kevin glanced again at the door and then slid back onto the end of his bed. She waved again, and this time he waved back. She was pointing at the window sill, motioning again. He followed her hands and suddenly understood. She was telling him to unscrew the window! He looked at the single screw that fastened the sash in place and for the first time realized that he could take it out. All he had to do was find something to turn the screw with. Something like a penny. He had some of those.

  Suddenly energized by the idea, Kevin grabbed one of the pennies from an old tin can on his floor and placed it in the screw. It came loose. He unwound it until it was out.

  The girl jumped up and down and motioned for him to lift the window. Kevin gave his bedroom door one last look and then yanked on the window. It flew up silently. He knelt on his bed, face to face with the girl.

  “Hi,” she whispered, smiling from ear to ear.

  “H . . . hi,” he said.

  “Do you want to come out and play?”

  Play? Fear replaced excitement. Behind him the house was quiet. “I can’t come out.”

  “Sure you can. Just crawl out the window. It’s easy.”

  “I don’t think I’m supposed to. I . . .”

  “Don’t worry, your mother won’t even know. You can just climb back in later and screw the window shut again. They’re all sleeping anyway, right?”

  “You know my mother?”

  “Everyone has a mother.”

  So she didn’t know Mother. She was just saying that she knew mothers didn’t like their kids sneaking out. As if all mothers were like his mother.

  “Right?” she asked.

  “Right.”

  What if he did go out? What harm would it do? Mother had never actually told him not to climb out of the window at night, at least not in those words.

  “I don’t know. No, I really can’t.”

  “Sure you can. I’m a girl and you’re a boy. Girls and boys play together. Don’t you know that?”

  He didn’t know what to say. He’d never played with a girl before, that was for sure.

  “Just hop down.”

  “Are . . . are you sure it’s safe?”

  She reached out a hand. “Here, I’ll help you.”

  He wasn’t sure what made him do it; his hand just seemed to reach out for hers on its own. His fingers touched hers and they were warm. He had never touched a girl’s hand before. The strange sensation filled him with a good feeling he’d never felt before. Butterflies.

  Ten seconds later, Kevin was out of the window trembling under a bright moon next to a girl about his own height.

  “Follow me,” the girl said. She walked for the fence, lifted a loose board, stepped out, and motioned him on. With one last anxious look back at his window, he followed.

  Kevin stood beyond the fence shivering in the night, but not from fear so much as from excitement again.

  “My name’s Samantha, but you can call me Sam. What’s yours?”

  “Kevin.”

  Sam stuck out her hand. “Glad to meet you, Kevin.” He took her hand and shook it. But she didn’t let go. Instead she led him away from his house.

  “We moved here from San Francisco about a month ago. I didn’t know any children lived in this house, but a week ago I heard my parents talking. Your parents are pretty private people, huh?”

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  “My parents let me walk down to the park at the end of the street where a lot of kids hang out. It’s lighted, you know. You want to go down there?”

  “Now?”

  “Sure, why not? It’s safe. My dad’s a policeman—if it wasn’t safe, believe me, he would know.”

  “No. I . . . I can’t. I really don’t want to.”

  She shrugged. “Suit yourself. I was on my way down the other night when I looked over your fence and saw you. I guess I was spying. Do you mind?”

  “No.”

  “Good, because I think you’re cute.”

  Kevin didn’t know what to say.

  “Do you think I’m pretty?” She spun away from him and twirled around like a ballerina. She wore a pink dress and pink ribbons in her hair.

  “Yes, I think you’re pretty,” he said.

  She stopped her twirling, looked at him for a moment, and then giggled. “I can already tell that we’re going to be wonderful friends. Would you like that?”

  “Yes.”

  She skipped back, grabbed his hand, and dragged him into a run. Kevin laughed. He did like her. He liked her very much. More, in fact, than anyone he could ever remember liking.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Don’t worry, no one will know. No one will even see us. I promise.”

  For the next hour Sam talked to him about her family and their house, which was three down from his. She went to something she called a private school and didn’t get home until six every night, she said. Her dad couldn’t afford it on his income, but her grandmother had left a trust fund for her and the only way they could use any of the money was if she went to a private school. The kids there weren’t really her type. Neither were most of the neighborhood kids. When she grew up, she was going to be a cop like her dad. That’s probably why she liked to sneak around, because cops do that to catch the bad guys. She asked Kevin some questions but then backed off when she saw that he was shy.

  Sam liked him—he could tell. It was the first time Kevin had felt that kind of friendship from anyone.

  At about eight o’clock Samantha told him that she had to get home or her parents would worry. They squeezed back through the fence and she helped him climb back through his window.

  “This will be our secret, okay? No one will know. If you hear me tapping on your window at about seven o’clock, you’ll know that I can play if you want to. Deal?”

  “You mean we can do this again?”

  “Why not? As long as you don’t get caught, right?”

  “Get caught?” Kevin looked at his window, suddenly fighting an urge to throw up. He wasn’t sure why he felt sick; he only knew that if Mother found out she wouldn’t be happy. Things went funny when Mother wasn’t happy. How could he have done this? He never did things without asking. Never.

  Sam put her hand on his shoulder. “Don’t be afraid, Kevin. No one will know. I like you and I want to be your friend. Would you like that?”

  “Yes.”

  Sam giggled and flashed her bright blue eyes. “I want to give you something.” She pulled one of the pink ribbons from her hair and handed it to him. “Don’t let your mom find it.”

  “This is for me?”

  “So you don’t forget me.”

  There was no chance of that. No way.

  Sam held out her hand. “Until next time, partner. Slip me some skin.”

  He looked at her, confused.

  “My dad says that. It’s a street thing. Here, like this.” She took his hand and slid her palm on his. “See ya. Don’t forget to screw your window down.”

  Then Sam was gone.

  Two nights later she was back. With more butterflies in his stomach and shrill warning bells ringing in his mind, Kevin slipped out his window.

  Mother would find out. Sam took his hand and that made him feel warm, but Mother would find out. The ringing in his head wouldn’t stop.

  Kevin
snapped out of the memories. A shrill bell screamed. He jerked to the sound. It took him a moment to make the transition from the past.

  The black phone on the counter rang. It was a modern contraption with an old-style bell that sounded like an old desk phone. Kevin stared at it, suddenly unsure whether he wanted to pick it up. He rarely received phone calls; few people had reason to call him. Mostly telemarketers.

  He’d set the answering machine for six rings. What if it was Samantha? Or Detective Milton?

  The phone rang again. Answer it, Kevin. Of course. Answer it.

  He stepped over to the counter and snatched the receiver from its cradle. “Hello?”

  “Hello, Kevin. Did you find my little gift?”

  Kevin went numb. Slater.

  “I’ll take that as a yes. We’ve had an eventful day, haven’t we? First a little phone call and then a little boom and now a little gift. And all within four hours. Makes all the waiting worth it, don’t you think?”

  “Who are you?” Kevin demanded. “How do you know me?”

  “Who am I? I am your worst nightmare. I promise you, you’ll agree soon enough. How do I know you? Tsk, tsk, tsk. The fact that you even have to ask justifies everything I have in mind.”

  It had to be the boy! God in heaven, save me! Kevin slumped slowly to the floor. This couldn’t be happening. “Oh God—”

  “Not God, Kevin. Definitely not God. Now, I want you to listen carefully, because I’m going to give you a lot of information in a short time. Every single bit is critical if you want to survive this little game of ours. Do you understand?”

  Kevin’s mind raced through the years, searching for someone who might have sounded like this man, anyone who might have any reason at all to speak to him this way. Anyone but the boy.

  “Answer me, you creep!” Slater said.

  “Yes.”

  “Yes, what?”

  “Yes, I understand.”

  “Yes, you understand what?”

  “That I have to listen carefully,” Kevin said.

  “Good. From now on you answer me when I ask you a question, and you speak only when I say you speak. Do you understand?”

  “Yes.”

  “Fine. There are only three rules to our game. Remember all of them. One, you say nothing to the cops about my riddles or my phone calls until after the time has passed. Then you may tell them all you want. This is personal—having the whole city coming unglued over a little bomb that might go off wouldn’t be useful. Are we clear?”

  “Yes.”

  “Two, you do exactly what I say, or I promise you will pay. Abundantly clear?”

  “Why are you doing—”

  “Answer me!”

  “Yes!”

  “Three, the riddles keep coming until you confess. As soon as you do, I go away. It’s that simple. One, two, three. Get it through your thick skull and we’ll do fine. Understand?”

  “Please, if you’ll just tell me what to confess, I’ll confess. Why are you using riddles? Can I confess without solving riddles?”

  Slater remained silent for a moment. “The answer to the riddles and the confession are the same. That’s the first clue and that’s the last clue. The next time you try to squeeze something out of me, I’ll walk in there and cut off one of your ears, or something as interesting. What’s the matter, Kevin? You’re the brilliant seminary student. You’re the smart little philosopher. A little riddle scares you?”

  The riddles and the confession are the same. So then maybe it wasn’t the boy.

  “This isn’t fair—”

  “Did I ask you to speak?”

  “You asked me a question.”

  “Which requires an answer, not a lecture. For that you will pay an extra little price. I’ve decided to kill to help you along with your understanding.”

  Kevin was aghast. “You . . . you just decided—”

  “Maybe two killings.”

  “No, I’m sorry. I won’t speak.”

  “Better. And just so we’re clear, you of all people are in no position to talk about being fair. You may have that old fool at the seminary fooled, you may have all the old ladies at that church thinking you’re a sweet, young fellow, but I know you, boy. I know how your mind works and I know what you’re capable of. Guess what? I’m about to let the snake out of his dungeon. Before we’re done here, the world is going to know the whole ugly truth, boy. Open the drawer in front of you.”

  The drawer? Kevin stood and looked at the utility drawer beneath the counter. “The drawer?”

  “Open it and pull out the cell phone.”

  Kevin eased the drawer out. A small silver cell phone sat in the pencil tray. He picked it up.

  “From now on you keep this phone with you at all times. It’s set to vibrate—no need to wake up the neighbors every time I call. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to call you on your home phone once the cops bug it. Understand?”

  “Yes.”

  That Slater had been in Kevin’s house was no longer open to question. What else did Slater know?

  “There’s one other little matter that needs our attention before we continue. I have good news for you, Kevin.” Slater’s voice thickened and his breathing grew heavier. “You’re not alone in this. I intend to bring someone else down with you. Her name is Samantha.” Pause. “You do remember Samantha, don’t you? You should; she called you recently.”

  “Yes.”

  “You like her, don’t you, Kevin?”

  “She’s a friend.”

  “You don’t have a lot of friends.”

  “No.”

  “Consider Samantha as my insurance. If you fail me, she dies.”

  “You can’t do that!”

  “Shut up! Shut up, you foul-mouthed lying punk! Listen carefully. In life he’s your friend, but death is the end. That’s your little bonus riddle for being so dense. You have exactly thirty minutes to solve it or your best friend will indeed go boom.”

  “What friend? I thought this was about me! How will you even know if I’ve solved the riddle?”

  “Call Samantha. Ask for her help. The two of you can put your stinking heads together and figure it out.”

  “I’m not even sure I can reach Samantha. How will you know what I tell her?”

  Slater’s deep chuckle filled the phone. “You don’t do what I’m doing without learning the tools of the trade, boy. I have ears and eyes everywhere. Did you know that with the right toys you can understand a man inside a house from over a thousand yards away? Seeing is even easier. The clock is ticking. You’re down to twenty-nine minutes and thirty-two seconds. I suggest you hustle.”

  The line clicked.

  “Slater?”

  Nothing. Kevin shoved the phone into its cradle and looked at his watch. 4:15. There was going to be another explosion in thirty minutes, this time involving his best friend, which made no sense because he had no best friends. In life he’s your friend, but death is the end. No cops.

  4

  FBI SPECIAL AGENT JENNIFER PETERS hurried down the hall, her pulse hammering with an urgency she hadn’t felt for three months. The Long Beach bomb report had come in several hours ago, but she hadn’t been told. Why? She rounded the corner and shoved the Los Angeles bureau chief’s door open.

  Frank Longmont sat at his desk, phone pressed to his ear. He didn’t bother looking up at her. He knew, didn’t he? The weasel had purposefully stalled.

  “Sir?”

  Frank held up his hand. Jennifer crossed her arms while the chief talked on. Only then did she notice two other agents, whom she didn’t recognize, seated at the small conference table to her left. Looked like East Coast stiffs. Their eyes lingered. She turned from them and steadied her breathing.

  Her blue business suit had only the smallest of slits up her left leg, but she couldn’t shake the certainty that what was decent, even conservative in her mind, still drew frequent glances from men. Her hair was dark, to her shoulders, and her eyes a soft hazel. She
had the kind of face others might spend their lives trying to imitate—symmetrical with soft skin and rich color. There was no disguising her physical beauty. Beauty is a gift, her father used to say. Just don’t flaunt it. A gift. Jennifer had found beauty just as often a handicap. Many people of both genders had difficulty accepting both beauty and excellence from the same person.

  To compensate, she tried her best to ignore her appearance and instead focus on excellence. Brains are also a gift, her father used to say. And God had not been stingy. At age thirty, Jennifer Peters was regarded as one of the best forensic psychologists on the West Coast.

  But in the end it hadn’t mattered. Her excellence hadn’t saved her brother. Which left her as what? A beautiful woman who was much more interested in being smart than beautiful, but who wasn’t so smart after all. A nothing. A nothing whose failure had killed her brother. And now a nothing who was being ignored by the bureau chief.

  Frank set down his phone and turned to the two men at the table. “Excuse us for a moment, gentlemen.”

  The two agents exchanged glances, rose, and left. Jennifer waited for the click of the door latch before speaking.

  “Why wasn’t I told?”

  Frank spread his hands. “You obviously were.”

  She glared at him. “It’s been five hours! I should already be in Long Beach.”

  “I’ve been on the phone with the Long Beach police chief. We’ll be there first thing in the morning.”

  We’ll? He was being cagey. She walked to his desk, hands on hips. “Okay, cut the innuendos. What’s going on?”

  Frank smiled. “Please, Jennifer, take a seat. Take a breath.”

  She didn’t like the tone of his voice. Easy, girl. Your life’s in this man’s hands.

  “It’s him, isn’t it?”

  “We don’t have enough yet. Sit.” They locked stares. She sat in one of the large chairs facing the desk and crossed her legs.

  Frank tapped his finger on the desk absently. “I was thinking of letting Craig take over the on-site investigation. Let you work here in a coordination role.”

  Jennifer felt her face flush. “This is my case! You can’t just remove me!”

  “Did I say remove? I don’t remember using that word. And if you haven’t noticed in your six years with the bureau, we juggle agents quite frequently for a host of reasons.”