Sylvie reclined in her seat. A thoughtful hand tapped the album that Erin had shown her earlier. She’d read the profiles they’d added, the composites. “I believe you, Gabriel. I didn’t at first, but I do now.”

“Then do something!”

“Can’t.” Sylvie focused on the silent Erin. “No judge in the world will give me a warrant based on this. I can run the notes, but the paper isn’t high-quality. You can find it in every office supply store in the city. The handwriting wouldn’t tell us much, either. Every crime scene was wiped clean, except for the weapons left there. We’ve got no fingerprints. No fibers. Not even a stray hair for DNA.” At Erin’s raised brow, she confessed, “After you left the station the other night, I did some checking. I owed you.”

“What would it take to get enough for a warrant?”

“He’s gotta make a mistake.” Sylvie drummed her fingers on the table. “And fast. If we could lure him out, make him act carelessly.”

Thoughtful, Erin rotated the album to read her updated profile. “He would need to feel humiliated, beyond bearing. And provoked. Jealousy and revenge are his triggers. Kenneth must feel that he’s been exposed and found wanting. Worse, he needs to feel that his goal is slipping out of reach.”

“Goal?” Gabriel repeated. “His goal is to kill you. Which means you should leave New Orleans.”

“He’ll follow.” Sylvie rubbed at eyes that had seen too much. “If she leaves, he’ll find her. He’s already followed you once, hasn’t he?”

Erin weighed her words carefully. When she agreed to let Gabriel show Sylvie the notes, she knew she’d have to explain their references. She could give them enough, she thought, to convince Sylvie. Enough to stop Kenneth without throwing her life away. The connection to Nathan still eluded her, but the rest of the profile fit. It had to be him. “From California. I was in a bad relationship there, and I got out.”

“Like Lindy. Did you know him there?”

“No. I’d never seen Kenneth before in my life.”

Sylvie read the note aloud. “What does he mean when he talks about the mountains and the cellar?”

Erin met Gabriel’s eyes, nausea rising. Still, she kept her voice level. “I saw a man commit murder. In a cellar. I ran away, to the mountains. Kenneth obviously holds me responsible.”

“Who died?”

Dropping her eyes, Erin confessed, “I don’t know. I saw her body and I ran. I didn’t even report it.” Red, hot lights. Gleaming flesh. Piercing screams. Nathan standing over the still form, triumphant. Bitter shame coursed through her and she struggled not to tremble. “I left her there. With him.”

“Do you know who killed her?” asked Sylvie.

“It wasn’t Kenneth.” Erin lifted her head. “And I know the murderer is dead.”