“If Hawkins is that kind of man, we may never prove he killed anyone. But—” Hobart swallowed hard, glanced at Wyatt, then spoke more gently, as if she hated putting this knowledge in Molly’s head but felt she had to. “There is another kind of killer. A man who, rather than abusing his wife, is . . . is . . . well, he—” She swallowed again. “He enjoys killing and makes a habit of it. There’s a form of madness that makes a man kill people for no reason except that’s his madness.”

“But I’ve met Hawkins.” Molly rubbed her hands up and down, from elbow to shoulder, back and forth as if she were cold. “There is nothing that suggests he’s furiously mad.”

“There is, Molly, if you know what to look for, and I do. He has a way of treating women. Amelia and I discussed it, and I think you’ll see it, too, when you go to work there.”

At the word when, Wyatt’s jaw clenched in fury and fear for Molly.

“At the start, Hawkins is very charming, engaging, full of compliments and lavish with attention. He’ll want to watch you work, be in the same room as you. At first, it’s a little strange, but if a woman wasn’t suspicious, she wouldn’t be afraid. She might even be flattered. Then he’ll begin to make demands. Small things at first, reasonable things considering he’s your boss. But they struck me as odd, and they will you, too, especially since I’ve told you to watch for them. He’ll ask you to do things he could so obviously do for himself that it’s strange he doesn’t. Things like asking you to pour his coffee when you’ve got your hands in dishwater or coated in flour while you’re kneading bread. And the coffee-pot is sitting right in front of him. And he’ll expect you to do it quickly. He comments on it if you’re not grateful and demure. Mostly, he wants you to do as you’re told, and if you don’t, he expresses displeasure, first mildly, then with increasing severity. He is frightening.”

Molly gasped, then clenched her jaw as if to keep her fear tightly under wraps.

“When Amelia began to fear him, she accepted Percy Ralston’s offer of a runaway marriage. She really saw Ralston as a savior. And he told her she had to live secretly so Hawkins wouldn’t find her. Amelia was frightened enough of Hawkins to believe it. But Ralston’s real purpose was to hide that he was a cattle rustler.