Apparently he need not have worried. Sterne just shook his head. “Don’t be silly, Detective. Morons with third-rate lawyers have managed to put off their executions for twenty years or more. I can do better than that. Much better. I have money. A lot of money. I have connections both visible and invisible. Most important of all, I know how the legal system works. How it really works. And I have something of great value to offer that system. Something to trade, shall we say.” He was radiating a composure that fell somewhere between yogic peace and madness.

“What do you have?”

“Knowledge.”

“Of?”

“Certain unsolved cases.”

Outside, five seconds of a pulsing police siren preceded another bullhorn announcement. The wording had become more urgent. “THIS IS THE STATE POLICE … PUT DOWN YOUR WEAPONS NOW … OPEN THE DOOR NOW … DO IT NOW … PUT DOWN YOUR WEAPONS IMMEDIATELY AND OPEN THE DOOR … OPEN THE DOOR NOW.”

“Unsolved cases … such as?”

“You were wondering a few minutes ago how many people I might have killed—how many more than you’ve already counted.”

The thudding roar of the helicopter was growing louder above the cabin, its searchlight brighter. Sterne seemed oblivious to it. His attention was entirely on Gurney, who in turn was trying to analyze and respond to the latest twist in what was becoming one of the most unsettling cases of his career.

“I don’t follow the logic, Larry. If they can hang the Good Shepherd murders on you—”

“Big if, by the way.”

“Okay, big if. But if they can, I don’t see how you get much leverage out of confessing to a couple more.”

Sterne smiled his transcendental smile. “I see what you’re doing. You’re ridiculing my offer to get me to show my hand. Silly little ploy. But that’s all right. No secrets among friends. Let me ask you a hypothetical question: How important would it be to a state police agency to clear—again, quite hypothetically—twenty or maybe thirty unsolved cases?”

Gurney was disheartened. Larry Sterne was either flat-out delusional or an impulsive liar with the kind of megalomania that told him he could make up anything and make people believe it.

Sterne seemed to sense Gurney’s skepticism. His reaction was to double down. “I’m thinking that there should be some leverage in putting thirty cases in the ‘solved’ file. Dramatically improving department statistics. Providing closure for the families. If thirty isn’t a big enough number, we might even be able to offer forty. Whatever it takes to make the kind of deal I have in mind.”

“What kind of deal would that be, Larry?”