First the low one went away.

That was good except the low one wasn’t the real bad one.

It was the high one that wreaked the most havoc.

And so hard to listen to. So sure of herself when calm, and shrill when she wasn’t.

But even the high one was fading—a peep now and then, but she could shut her up.

Turn her off.

Things returning to normal.

She could turn her off, because she had the control.

Control.

Better than drugs.

Better than food.

Control.

She had the control.

“Where are you?” Decker asked. “You sound like you’re on a portable phone.”

“I think the technically correct word is ‘cellular,’” Marge said. “And in answer to your question, I’m outside Tandy Roberts’s condo in Marc’s Beemer. Let me give you the phone number.”

“Wait a sec.” Placing the mike in his lap, Decker reached over into the backseat of the unmarked and fished out a pen and his notebook from his briefcase. “Shoot.”

Marge dictated the number. “These gadgets are real neat. You know, you don’t even have to dial one before the area code.”

“Let’s hear it for technology,” Decker said. “Just hope you don’t get brain cancer.”

“Perish the thought.”

“What’s Tandy up to now?”

“I came up to her place about a half hour ago. Kind of acting like Columbo—‘Uh, just one more thing, ma’am.’ I was looking for the baby. Obviously, I didn’t find her.”

“Anything suspicious?”

“No telltale signs like a playpen in the living room.”

“Could you check the other rooms?”

“Superficially only. Nothing out of the ordinary.”

“What was the ‘one more thing’ you asked her about?”

“If she remembered specifically where she and Marie camped.”

“Did she remember?”

“With unusual clarity. Now I’m not an expert camper. Take me into the wilderness, and all mountains look the same. But Tandy described the flora and the fauna in detail. You’re right, Pete. She’s the camper. She knows all about the Angeles Crest region.”

“Meaning she’d know where to shove a car off the mountainside.”

“My very thought,” Marge said. “Man, I’d sure like to pop her trunk and find out if it reeks of gasoline. I’m sure she had the car cleaned, but lots of times people forget about trunks.”

“Be hard to convince a judge to give us a warrant.” Decker thought a moment. “Tell you what, though. I’ll call Mike and ask him to run a credit check to find out what kind of plastic she owns. Let’s see if she recently charged a major gasoline purchase on any of her cards. Did you have a chance to call Tujunga Memorial? See if Tandy was working there the night of the kidnapping?”