Maybe he’d turn her into his own brood mare.…

That was an interesting thought, one he hadn’t considered before. The idea of forcing her to give him several children, a large family, made him take heart. He couldn’t have children with Beth. He’d gotten a little too experimental with her when they were both younger. Now that he’d matured, he’d be careful to keep Evelyn’s reproductive organs intact.

Everything was going to be okay.…

Blowing out a sigh, he shook his hands to bring some feeling back into them. Ever since the hemorrhage, whenever he got upset or anxious his hands went numb. Changing his plans wasn’t convenient, wasn’t easy. But he didn’t have any choice. He couldn’t risk getting caught. He’d go to prison for sure the next time, and they’d never let him out.

Finally assured that both the police and Edna’s daughter were really gone, he limped back to the staff room and found the sleeping pills he’d saved at Beacon Point. Unfortunately, he’d just fed Evelyn and Edna. No way were they hungry right now, and they would have to be famished to eat everything he put in front of them even if it tasted weird. He also wanted it to be dark when he dragged Evelyn out to the van in case someone was watching the place.

It was decided, then. He’d starve Evelyn and Edna until tomorrow night, feed them a drug-laced dinner just before dark, and, once the medication kicked in, make his move.

Minneapolis, MN—Tuesday, 9:30 p.m. CST

Startled by the chime of his phone, Amarok came awake sitting up against the headboard of the bed in his motel room. He was still so anxious he didn’t know how he’d managed to fall asleep, but, somehow, he’d nodded off. “Hello?”

“Amarok?”

He cleared his throat so he could speak clearly. It was Phil, all right—the call he’d been waiting for. Amarok hadn’t recognized the number, but Phil didn’t have a cell phone, which meant he had to use whatever phone he could. “Yeah?”

“I went to the address you gave me, but there’s no one home.”

Amarok rubbed his eyes, feeling groggy. A troubling dream of swimming underwater lingered in his mind. He’d been trying and trying to break the surface of a lake and couldn’t quite make it.

Drawing in a deep breath, he sat up straight and moved to the edge of the bed. “Have you talked to the neighbors to see if they know anything about the woman who lives there? Where she might be? When she might be back?”

“I’ve talked to a few. That’s why it took so long for me to call. But no one knows where she is. No one’s seen her for several days.”

Disappointment finally snapped Amarok out of the fog and brought reality into sharp focus. “No!” He came to his feet. “Are you kidding me?”

“’Fraid not. The neighbor next door said the family across the street knows her best, but they aren’t home, either.”