“I’ve told you everything I can tell you right now,” she said, as if she were choosing her words carefully.

“I’m a lawyer as well as a cop, Dr. Stein. I know a lawyerly response when I hear one.”

“I’m not trying to be difficult, Inspector. The instant anything happens to free my hands, you’ll be my first call. Until then, I can’t betray my patients. I’m sorry.”

“Does that mean you think this man is one of your patients?”

“I didn’t say that at all.”

Frost sighed in frustration and shifted the focus of his questions. He removed his phone from his pocket and put it on the desk between them.

“Do you ever use music in your therapy?” he asked her.

“Of course. Music is very powerful for activating emotions and memories. I select music carefully for each patient.”

He pushed a button on his phone, and Carole King began to sing.

“Do you know this song?” he asked.

Stein gave him a puzzled look, but she nodded. Her eyebrows rose as she heard the reference to the night bird in the first verse.

“Is this a song you’ve ever used?” he asked. “Have you played it in therapy with any of your patients?”

“No.”

“Well, it seems to mean something to the Night Bird. He used this song with each of the women who died. This seems to be what triggered their breakdowns. In every case, the song started playing, and that was when they had a psychotic reaction. Is that possible?”

Stein listened to the song. He could guess what she was thinking. It was strange to think of this pretty song as a murder weapon. The psychiatrist nodded. “Yes, music can be a trigger for behavior, based on hypnotic suggestions. Sometimes I’ll encourage patients to play a certain song as a soothing technique for their anxiety.”

“Can you interpret anything from his choice of this particular song?” Frost asked. “Does it mean anything to you?”

She shook her head. “No, it doesn’t.”

He needed to get through to her—to make her talk—but he didn’t know how.

“You said you thought this person was trying to destroy you,” Frost reminded her. “Do you still believe that?”

Stein gave him a thin smile. “The media is hounding me. I’ve basically suspended my practice. I’m sure somewhere along the line, I’m going to get sued over this. So yes, I believe the Night Bird wants to destroy me, and you know what? He may well succeed.”

Frost saw a glimmer of emotion in her face. She didn’t show much emotion at all, but right now, she wavered between anger and tears. “Someone who would go to that much trouble to hurt you isn’t likely to be a stranger,” he told her.

“You’re probably right.”

“So who hates you, Dr. Stein?”