“That’s not human nature! That’s trash!”

“Let me tell you something. The human animal is just another primate. Maybe even the ugliest and stupidest one. That’s the real truth. And I’m a realist. I didn’t create the fucking zoo. I just make a living in it. You know what I do? I feed the animals.”

Kim rose from her chair. “I’m done here. I’m leaving.”

“You’ll miss a nice sushi lunch.”

“I’m not hungry. I need to leave here. Now.”

She began walking in the direction of the front door. Gurney got up without comment and followed her. Getz stayed where he was.

He called after them as they neared the door. “Before you folks leave, I’d like to run something by you. We’re trying to pick a new slogan. We’ve narrowed it down to two. The first is ‘RAM News: The Mind and Heart of Freedom.’ The second is ‘RAM News: Nothing but the Truth.’ Which one rings your bell?”

Shaking her head, Kim opened the front door and exited as quickly as she could.

Gurney looked back at the man who was still sitting at the acrylic table.

He was picking bits of invisible lint off his pale lavender jacket.

Chapter 42

Long Shot

Coming down the switchback road through the pine forest that separated Getz’s hilltop estate from the main road, Kim drove wildly enough to distract Gurney from his thoughts about the RAM executive and his slimy media enterprise.

The second time the car skidded sideways onto the narrow shoulder, he offered to take the wheel. She refused, but she did lower her speed.

“I can’t believe this,” she said, shaking her head. “I was trying to create something good. Something true. And look what it’s turned into. A horrible mess. God, how stupid I am! How stupidly naïve!”

Gurney looked over at her. Her conservative blue blazer, her unadorned white blouse, her almost severely simple hairstyle suddenly had the appearance of an adult’s costume worn by a child.

“What am I going to do?” She asked the question in such a small voice that he barely heard it. “Suppose the Shepherd keeps killing people. That warning—‘Let the devil sleep’—that was meant for me. But I ignored it. That makes every new murder my fault. How can we stop Getz from going ahead with this horrible thing?”

“I don’t think we can stop Getz.”

“Oh, God …”

“But there might be a way to stop the Shepherd.”

“How?”

“It’s kind of a long shot.”

“Anything is better than nothing.”

“I may need your help.”

She turned to him. “I’ll do anything. Tell me. Whatever it is, I’ll—”

The car was drifting rapidly toward the guardrail.

“Jesus!” cried Gurney. “Watch the road!”

“Sorry. Sorry. But please—anything you want me to do, just tell me.”