With some crimes, figuring out the motive could lead you to the perp. With other crimes, identifying the perp could lead you to the motive. In the current situation, there wasn’t enough time for either approach. The only hope was to get the perp to identify himself. Which sounded like an impossible challenge. How do you ensnare a man who has a hawk’s eye for snares?

When they were halfway to Ashokan Heights on Route 28, Gurney finally sank into his desperately needed nap. It ended twenty-five minutes later, when Kim woke him on Falcon’s Nest Lane, a mile from Getz’s house.

“Dave?”

“Yes?”

“What do you think I should do?” She was looking straight ahead as she spoke.

“That’s a big question,” he said vaguely. “If you decide to back away from RAM, is there a Plan B?”

“Why do I need a Plan B?”

Before he could come up with an answer, the car reached the imposing entrance to Getz’s driveway. Kim drove between the stone pillars into the tunnel of arching rhododendrons that led to the house.

Getting out of the car, they were greeted by the thumping reverberation of a helicopter rotor. It grew steadily louder as they stood looking up through the surrounding trees for the source. Soon it seemed so close that Gurney could feel it as much as hear it. He didn’t see the craft itself, which had been approaching from a direction blocked from his field of vision by the façade of the house, until it was about to touch down on the roof. Caught briefly in the direct downwash of the rotors, Kim’s hair was blown wildly around her face.

When the air was again still, she reached into her shoulder bag and took out a small brush. She neatened her hair, straightened her blazer, and gave Gurney a small smile. They climbed the cantilevered steps to the door, and Gurney knocked.

There was no response. He tried again. After they’d waited another half minute or so, as he was about to knock a third time, one of the doors opened.

Rudy Getz’s mouth was stretched into something like a grin. His hooded eyes were gleaming in a way that made him look high. He was wearing black jeans and a black T-shirt, as he had been on their previous visit, but the white linen sport jacket had been replaced by a pale lavender one. “Hey, good to see you! Good timing! I like that. Come in, come in.”