Yet she saw little. It was pitch dark inside; it took her eyes time to adjust. The hospital bed in the corner—she concentrated in that direction but detected nothing. The place was silent as a sealed tomb. Could he already be gone?

Kelly blinked and saw images that did not exist. Creatures she had only imagined who lived and worshiped with him while he plotted his black deeds. They were no more real than her dreams of being a hero. Descending deeper into the apartment, she felt as if she was on the verge of interrupting a demonic seance. Surely, she thought, he must conjure some sort of demons to be possessed by such perverse desires. No human being could have killed the way he did and still remain human.

She did not know he was present until he spoke. Two feet away.

“You may turn on the light if you wish,” he said.

Her nerves shrieked and she stumbled backward. In that instant she could have shot him without meaning to. Whether lucky or something else, she stumbled into a lamp. Another antique, a small prop with a stained-glass hat. She felt for the switch. The light came on yellow and soft.

He sat in his chair before her, a green blanket resting on his lap, his hands hidden beneath it. He started to speak but she did not give him the opportunity. With her gun in his face, she stepped forward and threw aside the blanket. Nothing underneath except pajamas. He was defenseless? If he had known she had already killed Scott, he would have been hiding in the shadows.

Or was that true? Did he know and not care? Did he have a contingency plan already in place? She wondered where the around-the-clock care was. The rest of the apartment appeared empty.

“How are you this evening, Kelly?” he asked.

She took a breath. “Fine.”

He gestured to her gun. “Is that necessary?”

“You tell me.”

He nodded to a chair. “You must be tired from your travels. Have a seat.”

She sat down. He bumped the knob beside his right hand. A motor whirled; the chair rotated so that they sat face-to-face. His skin was remarkably pale and cold looking, reminding her of a deep-sea fish that had arisen from the ocean floor to greet the next Ice Age. Yet his blue eyes shone; he could not cloak his razor-sharp mind. She lowered her gun so that it pointed at his heart.

“Where is your help?” she asked.

“I paid them to take the night off.”

“Your help is also your guard, per the terms of your release.”

“I paid them handsomely. Relax, we’re alone. How are you?”

“Fine. I just saw Julie and Michael.”

“They told me you were stopping by. Pleasant visit?”

“Yes. It was good to see Robert again. He’s growing up nicely.”