She looked into his eyes with an urgency he’d never seen before. “I’m talking about letting somebody else handle it. If you promise me you’ll do that, I’ll tell you what happened.”

He reached out and stroked her hair. She stiffened, trying to maintain her urgent demeanor. His hand went from her hair to her cheek, and soon she was quaking in his arms. Mann held her for a few minutes more, waiting for the truth he knew she’d eventually tell. She rewarded his patience with a whisper.

“I wasn’t scared at first,” she said in a small voice. “I saw him outside my window, and I came down with my gun.”

“Did you see his face?” Mann asked in a soothing voice.

“No. He was gone by the time I made it outside. We didn’t see him run. He was standing there one minute, and the next, he was gone. Only this time he didn’t jump into any pickup. He just disappeared.”

“You said ‘we,’” Mann whispered. “Who else saw him?”

“My neighbor. He’s the one who told me the guy dropped something in the bushes. I found it after a few minutes, and…”

Her words trailed off and she disengaged from Mann’s embrace, turning away from him so he couldn’t see the fear in her eyes.

“If he left something behind, it’s evidence, Sandy.”

“I know that,” she said in a trembling voice. Slowly, hesitantly, she walked into the kitchen and took a plastic sandwich bag out of the drawer. The note was inside.

“I never touched it,” she said as she handed it to him. “I thought there might be prints.”

He looked through the bag and read it aloud. “Tell Mann to check the confessions. The priest is the tip of the iceberg.”

He looked up at Sandy as Coletti walked in through the open door.

“Sorry,” Coletti said, sounding almost sincere. “I thought the two of you were done.”

“We are,” Mann said quickly.

“No, we’re not,” Sandy said, looking at both of them. “The guy dropped another note like the ones he addressed to you, Coletti. This time, the note was to Charlie.”

Mann handed the plastic bag to Coletti, who read the note inside and looked up, confused.

“If that were the only thing, I’d be all right,” Sandy said. “But when I came back inside and went up to my room…”

She tried to finish, but the words were choked by a flood of tears. Mann and Coletti looked at one another. Then they ran upstairs to the bedroom. Mann pushed the door open and stood there, gazing in amazement.