She expected a denial, but Roth surprised her by nodding.

Yes, he said wearily. But I paid them well. They could leave whenever they wanted.

Is that so? Harley leaned forward, a fierce gleam in her eyes. Then what about the pictures, the videos?

Roth squirmed like a toddler in time-out. Those were just an incentive to keep them quiet, to make sure they didnt

And when that didnt work, Harley continued, raising her voice over his, you killed them, didnt you? You tied them up, took them way out into the desert, and just threw them away, too much a coward to even kill them yourself. Instead you just left them to die of thirstalone, terrified, hoping for a rescue that never came, praying for a miracle that

Roth slapped the table. I didnt kill them! he shouted. When they were driven off, I had every reason to believe they were going home, okay? He sighed, then continued in a lower voice: They decided they wanted to quit, and when I showed them the videos, I thought that was the end of it. I never saw them againuntil now.

He gestured at the photographs without looking at them, a queasy expression on his face. Would you please get rid of those?

Watching him, Harley realized that if this was all an act, Lawrence Roth was probably the best liar she had ever encountered. All her previous experience with criminals told her he had been genuinely surprised and disgusted at the sight of those pictures, which suggested as much as Harley hated to admit it he was not their killer.

There was one loose end in what he had told her, however. She decided to tug it and see what unraveled.

If they didnt drive themselves, she said, who was responsible for getting them home?

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

Felix flicked his spring-loaded knife open and closed it again, his eyes on the monitor that showed the last of the police cars departing the property.

Pendejos, he thought, spitting on the rug.

He had not been surprised to see the two agents again. Nor had he been surprised by their police posse. What had surprised him, however, was the sight of his employer being forced into a car, his hands cuffed behind his back.

What right did they have to arrest him? They had discovered the bodies (some of them, anyway), but there was no evidence to connect those bodies to Mr. Roth. Felix had made sure of that by purging the security surveillance system as the police arrived, removing all evidence that those girls had ever come to the property.

Theyre bluffing, Felix assured himself. They have no proof. Soon Mr. Roth will be free, and all will be as it was before.

So long as they didnt find the passageway (and they hadnt, even after hours of searching), Mr. Roth was untouchable. Felix, too, for that matter.