He led Rosa away. They didn’t run; the rain didn’t seem to bother them as they were already as wet as they could get. Nitro dumped the canoe on the ground, then he and Pepper entered the hut. Their shoes squeaked, trailing mud. Nitro removed the elastic band from around his ponytail and shook his hair out like a dog. Pepper found a spot against the wall and sat down with a tired sigh. His complexion appeared ashen in the dying light. A grimness etched his usual merry features.

“Well?” Jesus demanded. “What happened, man?”

Pepper looked at Nitro, who was running his fingers through his hair in an effeminate manner. Nitro said, “It’s not good, buddy.”

“What do you mean?” Pita asked. “What happened? Are they dead?”

“Miguel’s dead. Stabbed eleven times.”

“Eleven times!” Pita said.

Jesus swallowed. “What about Lucinda?”

Nitro shook his head. “No sign of her—except for her clothes.”

“Her clothes?” Elizaveta said.

“Her clothes were on the ground, discarded. Same with Miguel’s.”

“She ran away naked?”

“They took her,” Jesus mumbled.

Nitro frowned. “Who took her?”

“Thugs. They killed Miguel, raped Lucinda, and took her with them.”

“I don’t think thugs killed Miguel,” Nitro said, tying his hair into a ponytail once more. He hesitated. “His eyes were missing. Cut out, or even plucked out, it was tough to tell.”

4

Elizaveta folded her arms across her chest to ward off the chill that suddenly reached all the way to her bones, and stared big-eyed at the others, waiting for someone to explain what this might mean. Jesus seemed equally bewildered. Pita was pacing back and forth, her head down, brooding anxiously. Pepper wouldn’t look at anybody. Only Nitro seemed calm.

“Why would someone take his eyes?” Elizaveta asked.

“He’s sick, obviously,” Nitro said.

“You think it’s just one person?” Jesus said.

“Doing something like this, cutting out the eyes, it fits the profile of someone who kills for the thrill of it.”

“You mean a serial killer?” Elizaveta said.

“Yeah,” Nitro said. “And serial killers act alone.”

“Bloody hell!” Jesus said. “There’s a serial killer loose on the island?”

Nitro held up his hands. “We don’t know that. Miguel was killed yesterday. The killer might have already left the island. We only saw the one canoe—Miguel’s and Lucinda’s.”

“Lucinda,” Elizaveta said. “What about her?”

Nitro shrugged. “This guy could have chased her down and killed her somewhere else on the island. Or he could have taken her with him. Without a body, there’s no way to know.”

“Should we go looking for her?”

Nitro shook his head. “I said this guy might have left the island. But he might not have either. Best thing to do is bunker down here for the night and leave as soon as the storm dies down.”