“Forget that now. Lewis—Emma. Look at me.” Bell’s eyes are intent. “Remember the rules. Don’t answer personal questions. Don’t make physical contact. And don’t forget what this guy is. You know what he is, don’t you?”

She nods, exhaling.

“Fuck.” Bell’s hair and the tails of his jacket whip in the breeze as he looks away. “I wish I could make myself go in there with you.”

She bumps his arm gently. “Don’t. I wouldn’t wish that on you.”

“Okay. Then I’ll be waiting for you when you’re done.” He turns and walks over toward the grass.

Emma watches him go. She wants a moment to calm herself and she knows she’s not going to get it. Cooper is gesturing to her from the doorway, so she walks across the gravel and steps over the threshold.

Reception is a large wooden desk plonked in the middle of a capacious entryway with a dark parquet floor and a wide, dramatic staircase. Emma smells dust and Lysol. A woman is coming down the stairs, extending a hand to Cooper.

“Special Agent Cooper, it’s nice to see you again.”

“Thank you for admitting us, Dr. Scott.” Cooper angles to make the introductions. “Emma Lewis, this is Dr. Evelyn Scott. She’s been running St. Elizabeths for nearly ten years.”

Dr. Evelyn Scott is a black woman of about fifty, with glasses and stylish short hair. Her clothes are in dark, severe colors but with textures that Emma finds interesting.

“Miss Lewis, nice to meet you. Please come this way, we can chat as we walk.” Scott leads them to the left and under the stairs, toward a tall wooden door. “Simon doesn’t have contact with his family and he’s been requesting other visitors for a while, so your arrival is well timed. Are you aware of the nature of Simon’s condition, Miss Lewis?”

Emma is confused by the question. Is the compulsion to commit serial murder a condition? “Uh, I’ve read Mr. Gutmunsson’s case file. I’m familiar with the circumstances.”

“She knows how to proceed, Dr. Scott,” Cooper says. “Miss Lewis is here to conduct a formal interview and request that Simon complete a questionnaire.”

“That’s fine. I’m sure he’ll be pleased to cooperate.” Scott uses a long, ornate iron key to open the door.

“Anything to report?” Cooper asks. “After his last escape attempt, we—”

“Oh no, we haven’t had further problems on that front. But we’ve taken some new safety measures, with alternative arrangements for Simon’s accommodation within the unit. We’ve moved him out of Secure General into the big room. This whole center section is now specially reinforced.”

Scott escorts them through the foyer door into a wide hallway with huge turn-of-the-century columns, and this is where the nature of the facility changes. They have left the realm of parquet floors and entered a new kingdom, one of electronic locks and clanging gates. Emma’s breaths start to come in short and shallow. She can hear someone crying, far away.

The grand old hall is cut into two sections by a floor-to-ceiling wall of welded steel bars. Cooper grunts approvingly. Scott raises a hand to an unobtrusive CCTV camera before the bars, and the gate unlocks and slides open, then slides closed behind them automatically. They walk the long remaining expanse of dark hall, their footsteps echoing. Finally they come to a stout oak door, reinforced with steel, with a slot cut into it. Dr. Scott taps on the slot. When it opens, she says, “One visitor for Simon Gutmunsson, please,” and the slot snaps shut again. Locks are being opened on the other side.