I bristled a little. “Nana, you're not some charity case. We have money for you to see a doctor of your choice.”

Nana squeezed her eyes shut. “Please. Listen to me. And pay attention to what I'm saying. I'm eighty-two and I won't be around forever. Much as I'd like to be. But I'm taking care of myself so far, and I plan to keep doing it. I like and trust Kayla Coles. She is my choice.”

Nana got up slowly from the table, kissed me on the cheek and then she shuffled off to bed. At least we were fighting again.

Alex Cross 8 - Four Blind Mice

Chapter Fifty-Eight

Later that night, I went up to my attic office. Everyone was asleep and the house was quiet.

I liked working when it was peaceful like this. I was back on the Army case; I couldn't get it out of my mind. The bodies painted in bright colors. The eerie straw dolls. The even spookier all-seeing eyes. Innocent soldiers punished by wrongful executions.

And who knew how many more soldiers might be scheduled for execution?

There was plenty of material to go through. If even some of these executions were linked, it would be a huge bombshell for the Army. I continued my research, did some spade work on the straw doll and the evil eye. I did a search on Lexus-Nexus, which held information from most local and national newspapers and the major international ones. A lot of detectives underestimate the usefulness of press research, but I don't. I have solved crimes using information passed to the press by police officers.

I read reports about a former PFC in Hawaii. He'd been accused of murdering five men during a sex-slavery-and-torture spree that occurred from 1998 to 2000. He was currently on death row.

I moved on. I felt I had no choice but to keep going on the case.

An Army captain had killed two junior officers in San Diego less than three months ago. He'd been convicted and was awaiting sentencing. His wife was lodging an appeal. He'd been convicted on the basis of DNA evidence.

I made a note to myself: Maybe talk to this one.

My reading was interrupted by the sound of footsteps peppering the stairs up to the attic.

Someone was coming up.

In a hurry.

Adrenalin fired through my system. I reached into a desk drawer and put my hand on a gun.

Suddenly Damon burst into the room. He was soaked with sweat and looked like hell. Nana had told me he was asleep in his room. Obviously that hadn't been the case. He hadn't even been in the house, had he?

“Damon?” I said as I rose. “Where have you been?”

“Come with me, Dad. Please. It's my friend. Ramon's sick! Dad, I think he's dying.”

Alex Cross 8 - Four Blind Mice

Chapter Fifty-Nine

We both ran down to my car and Damon told me what had happened to his friend Ramon on the way. His hands were shaking badly as he spoke.