Which is great, but thats all it doesit puts them there. Even if we prove he coerced them into prostitution, we cant prove he murdered them. Theres smoke, but thats not enough for a jury to convict. They need to see the fire.

The look on Callaways face suggested he knew she was right, even if he didnt want to admit it. So whats your grand plan?

Harley watched Roth and thought of all the girls he had groomed and then discarded like trash. Do me a favor and watch the door, she said to Callaway as she picked up a manila folder. And whatever happens, dont come in.

Harley, Callaway said.

Harley turned back, bracing for his protest. He surprised her, however.

Go get him, he said.

As Harley entered the room, she felt very much as if she had just stepped into a lions den. It was a familiar feeling, for she had been in this same situation many times before, alone in a room with someone who would have no compulsion against snapping her neck at a moments notice. She had a flashback to Kaversthe way he ran his tongue along the inside of the Coke can, grinning at her all the while. Kavers had embraced the notoriety, reveled in it. He had known he was a monster and embraced the darkness.

Roths face, however, showed none of Kaverss toxic excitement. He looked amused and aloof, as if it were all a charade he was watching from the height of his ivory tower. Seeing his smug expression, Harley vowed she wouldnt leave until she had wiped it off his face.

So nice of you to check up on me, Roth said as he inspected his fingernails. Have you finished ransacking my home?

Harley did not answer. Roths power was in his persuasion: that was how he had convinced Candy to recruit girls for his prostitution ring, and it was how he had convinced those same girls to surrender their bodies to total strangers in exchange for cash and some vague idea of personal freedom. It was also, more than likely, how he expected to escape the room unscathed.

Harley, however, was not interested in playing to his strengths.

She sat down, keeping the file in her lap.

I take it by your silence you didnt find anything? Roth said. That faint amusement again, as if watching the make-believe games of children. His expression froze, however, as Harley laid the file on the table.

Whats that? he said, his eyebrows dipping momentarily.

With deliberate slowness, Harley turned the file around until it faced Roth. She leaned back and crossed her arms, waiting.

Roth stretched out one long finger and ran it beneath the top edge of the file as if it were the strap of a womans brassiere, teasing the reveal. Am I going to like what I find, Agent Cole? he asked. His voice was playful, almost chidingand yet there was a note of uncertainty as well.