Teresa noted that the mayor’s fears had been unfounded. What had happened instead was what she had feared: the horrors the village had recently experienced had attracted rather than repelled people. There was something more to the spectacle in Travenì that night, beyond demonic masks and ritual bell-ringing, something even more alluring: the thrill of knowing there was a real demon out there among all of those costumes. Teresa had seen it happen before, but the workings of the human mind still surprised her every time.

She quickly ran through the security measures they’d put in place to close off any possible escape routes for the killer. They worked in theory, but would they hold up in practice? There were officers spread through the crowd, many of them in plainclothes. Teresa herself had decided to coordinate everything from the field. She wanted to be in the thick of things, to breathe in the same air the killer was breathing, and to see his possible victims the way he saw them. She knew he was bound to come; the opportunity was simply too good for his ego to pass up—the chance to witness the impact he was making, the crowds he’d drawn to that place.

Teresa hoped that it would be enough to satisfy his fantasies of omnipotence for one night, before the monster inside him demanded another sacrifice.

“May I have a word, Superintendent?”

Teresa turned around, startled. It was Chief Knauss, looking forlorn. She could guess what must be ruining his mood: the presence of the reinforcements Teresa had summoned from the city, casting even greater doubt on Knauss’s role and authority.

“Why aren’t you at your station?” she said, wanting to brush him off, and turning back around to watch the celebrations come to life.

“When you first arrived here, you said we could come to you with any problems, so I . . .”

“Well, what is it?” said Teresa, cutting him short.

The chief lowered his gaze to the tips of his shoes and stood with his hands on his hips, chewing a piece of gum without closing his mouth—a habit she detested.

“I was born on these mountains, as were most of my men,” he began. “We know this place and its people better than anybody else. We’re used to dealing with things by ourselves around here, we always have been. We’re . . .”

“I’m sure you’re all exemplary officers, Chief,” said Teresa. “But this case is beyond your abilities.”

Her words hit him with the force of a slap. He looked astonished, as if he couldn’t believe anyone could be so brutally honest.

“Please do me a favor and return to your station, and stay there this time, at least for an hour or two,” she went on. “And make sure your men do the same.”

Knauss stopped chewing.

“I don’t take orders from you,” he said.

Teresa glared at him.