The explanation unnerved her, but she pressed on. She knew she could not spend more than half an hour or so here. She fully intended to be back in Baltimore in the three hours shed promised.

How many did you kill before you stopped having any hang-ups on the right-and-wrong of it? she asked.

The second one. During that one…even if I had cared, it would not have been enough to make me stop.

Rachel cringed when she thought of the second and third victims. The ex and her husband. She saw the ex, the screwdriver sticking out of her pelvis. Hed then cut a vertical line down her mans navel and partially disemboweled him. It had been one of the grislier scenes, but not the worst. That had been the seventh victim, the elderly man whom Alex had killed by stabbing him in the heart with a pair of scissors and then removing several patches of skin and tissue with the same scissors. The scissors had been found shoved down the poor mans throat. It was the only time in Rachels career that she feared she might throw up at a murder scene. There were still times when she saw a simple pair of scissors and felt her stomach clench up.

You need help, Alex said, picking up on her hesitation. Is that what it is? You are after a killer that is hard to pin down so you are here to ask me my opinions. You want to know why we kill. Something like that?

Not quite as simple as that, but sure she agreed. We have a man killing women that are signed up for fertility treatments. Its a solid link but we still cant locate the man. Were hoping that if we can figure out why hes doing it, it might lead us to him a bit faster. The way in which he is killing sort of lines up with some of what you did…to the trucker in particular.

Twenty times, he said with a smirk. And no…I was not trying to spell out anything.

Rachel glared at him, letting him know that she was not here just to hear him gloat about his murders.

How many has he killed so far? Alex asked. He leaned forward with great interest, peering at her through those thick glasses.

Three. And they are happening quickly. Hes not taking much time between his victims. She was aware that she really should not be giving him these sorts of details. But when it was all boiled down, she should not be here at all. She figured if she had crossed the line into this bizarre territory, she may as well go for broke.

How is he killing them?

With a knife, Rachel said. The attacks are vicious…not just one stab wound, but several. And they seem to be made in a hectic and angry fashion. Theres nothing slow and methodical about it.