Amarok had heard Evelyn mention Jasper’s eyes—how dead they were, how bereft of any kind of humanity. She said that was common among psychopaths. Since they didn’t feel the same emotions as other people, that lack of feeling often revealed itself in their eyes, making them sort of dull in appearance, like a shark’s.

But Amarok was surprised to see just the opposite. He could hardly believe that someone so twisted could look so normal, even in the eyes. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing about Jasper that would warn an unwary stranger that he or she was dealing with a deadly predator. No doubt that was part of the reason he’d been such an effective killer. He was handsome and muscular with blond hair and blue eyes. He looked anything but dangerous. “Information.”

Jasper’s expression grew suspicious. “Go to hell. I’m not confessing to anything, and I’m not talking about where certain women might or might not be buried.”

“This is about something else entirely.”

“What else could you want from me?”

“Someone’s taken Evelyn.”

His mouth dropped open. “Taken her? You mean she’s been abducted?”

His surprise seemed genuine. That was one of the reasons Amarok had come to see Jasper; he’d needed to be sure Jasper wasn’t involved in any way. “That’s what the evidence indicates.”

“What evidence is there?”

Jasper didn’t seem to feel any pleasure at the news of Evelyn’s abduction. He probably still had plans to kill her himself and didn’t want anyone else to remove the pleasure of that possibility. “I don’t feel like going over that with you,” Amarok said flatly. “I just want to know if you’ve heard anything in this place, anyone talking about having it in for her, threatening to get even with her, bragging that they will soon have their revenge or anything like that.”

Jasper started to laugh. “That’s all anyone talks about. Most of the men in here are sadists!”

“I’m asking if anything in particular stands out in your mind, if there’s something I should be aware of.”

“Oh my God! You don’t know who took her! You don’t have even the first clue, or you wouldn’t be standing here, talking to me.”

Amarok clenched his jaw. “Have you heard anything or not?”

“What will I get out of it if I tell you?”

“I can make your life in here a hell of a lot easier.” He hated to bargain with the devil, but right now, as desperate as he was, he’d sell his soul, if only it would help. He didn’t have the luxury of time, needed to find some direction.

Jasper began to pace across the small room. “Tell me what happened. You’ve got to give me something to go on, something that might jog a memory or inspire an idea.”

Again, Amarok was tempted to refuse. But since he’d already stooped, in a sense, to taking Jasper into his confidence, he figured he might as well swallow all his pride. He’d do anything to save Evelyn and their child, and, while the culprit could be any of the antisocial assholes she’d studied over the years—or even consulted on peripherally, whether it was by doing a Violence Threat Assessment or something else—she’d been in Hilltop for the past three years. The odds were much better that her abduction had to do with someone associated with Hanover House. “She was supposed to meet me this afternoon at the Moosehead, and she didn’t show up.”