“Creature, anyway,” she said. We both smiled. The ice was breaking up a little between us. She admitted that she had checked me out thoroughly. She’d decided that Chief Pittman was the bad guy in all of this, not me.

The Jaguar pulled out of the drive, and we followed Shafer to a night spot in Georgetown. He didn’t seem to be aware of us. The problem was that we had to catch him doing something; we had no concrete evidence that he was our killer.

Shafer sat by himself at the bar, and we watched him from the street. Did he perch by the window on purpose? I wondered. Did he know we were watching? Was he playing with us?

I had a bad feeling that he was. This was all some kind of bizarre game to him. He left the bar around a quarter to twelve and returned home just past midnight.

“Bastard.” Patsy grimaced and shook her head. Her blond hair was soft and had a nice bounce to it. She definitely reminded me of Jezzie Flanagan, a Secret Service agent I’d worked with on the kidnapping of two children in Georgetown.

“He’s in for the night?” I asked. “What was that all about? He leaves the house to watch the Orioles baseball game at a bar in Georgetown?”

“That’s how it’s been the last few nights. I think he knows we’re out here.”

“He’s an intelligence officer. He knows surveillance. We also know he likes to play fantasy games. At any rate, he’s home for the night, so I’m going home, too, Patsy. I don’t like leaving my family alone too long.”

“Good night, Alex. Thanks for the help. We’ll get him. And maybe we’ll find your friend soon.”

“I hope so.”

On the drive home, I thought a little about Detective Patsy Hampton. She struck me as a lonely person, and I wondered why. She was thoughtful and interesting once you got past her tough facade. I wondered if anyone could ever really get through that facade, though.

There was a light on in our kitchen when I rolled into the driveway. I strolled around to the back door and saw Damon and Nana in their bathrobes at the stove. Everything seemed all right.

“Am I breaking up a pajama party?” I asked as I eased in through the back door.

“Damon has an upset stomach. I heard him in the kitchen, so I came out to get in his way.”

“I’m all right. I just couldn’t sleep. I saw you were still out,” he said. “It’s after midnight.”