Pause. “As I said, Phyllis is an adult and she’s extremely active and mobile.”

“Is she traveling alone?”

“She usually does.”

“I’m going to ask you a direct question, sir, and you need to answer truthfully: do you know where the Corey girls are?”

“No, Lieutenant.”

“It’s important that I reach them, Mr. Tranh.”

“May I ask why?”

“Their lives have taken another unhappy turn. Their father was murdered recently.”

“Really,” said Albert Tranh. “Who by?” Even voice.

“Unknown, sir.”

“I hope it becomes known. Good day, Lieutenant.”

Milo stared at the phone. “Real choked up, huh?”

I said, “Un-dearly departed.”

“Not a popular guy. It’s like when you split with someone and everyone starts telling you what a jerk he always was.”

He wheeled away from his desk, stretched his legs. “At least the girls are safe with Daddy out of the way. If Tranh does know something, my informing him might bring them back.” He sat up. “Williams would have no interest in them, right?”

“Not unless they witnessed something.”

“Like what?”

“Seeing Williams at the condo, overhearing something. Come to think of it, if Richard suspected they knew of his deal with Williams, that could explain his threatening behavior toward the girls.”

“More than just being fed up with their attitude? But then why would Corey move on them with that gun? I want to snag someone, I put them at ease. Like our bad boy.”

I said, “You’re rational and Williams is an experienced psychopath. But Richard was a social klutz and whatever little interpersonal judgment he began with was diminished by fear and rage.”

He shook the bakery box. Crumbs rattled. “Okay, so we leave the girls in peace until Williams is out of the picture. Hopefully in this millennium.”

He cracked his knuckles. “Bastard could be anywhere … you’re right about his being motivated by the thrill. If it was the money he was after, easy enough to sneak it out and split. Any more thoughts about his psyche?”

I said, “He thinks he’s unique but it’s the same old story: a chronic washout with a grandiose sense of himself. Could he actually work at something and succeed? Sure, but he never will, believes he deserves the goodies just for being Mr. Wonderful. Like most psychopaths, anxiety’s not a big part of his life but he’s not immune to tension and once in a while—when he lets himself think about the difference between his goals and his reality—it gets out of hand.”

“So he hunts for a slave.”

“Someone he views as inferior, allowing him to feel superior. He stalks, seduces, captures, controls, and when the thrill ebbs, he destroys. But unlike some serials, he’s not locked into a tight script. He’ll kill for money or as a jokey favor.”

“Jack of All Nasty,” he said. “Meredith Santos doesn’t sound like a submissive, but who knows?”