Killer Takes All

CHAPTER 21

Wednesday, March 9, 2005

2:00 a.m.

The ringing phone dragged Stacy from sleep. She opened her eyes, disoriented. Dispatch. She blinked, fighting to shake off the fog. Somebody’s dead. Got to-

The device screamed again and she snatched up the receiver, answering as she had on the job.

“Killian here.”

“Got a question.”

Malone, she realized, fog clearing. Not dispatch. New Orleans, not Dallas. She shifted her gaze to the bedside clock.

2:05.

A.M.

“It’d better be a good one.”

“In Alice in Wonderland, does a mouse drown? In a pool of tears?”

Stacy sat up, instantly, fully awake. She recalled the pen-and-ink drawing Leo had received, of the creature in a pool of what had looked like blood.

She pushed the hair out of her face. “Why?”

“I’ve got a homicide. Killer left us a message. Poor little mouse, drowned in-”

“A pool of tears,” she finished for him.

“Is it in the story?”

“Not exactly,” she said, glancing at the clock once more, calculating how long it would take her to dress and get to Leo’s. “But yes.”

“Not exactly,” he repeated. “What does that mean?”

“That it’s close enough for there to be a connection. Read the Cliff’s Notes, you’ll understand.”

“You know something about this, Killian. What is it?”

Great, now he gets perceptive. “It’s the middle of the night, Malone. Mind if I get back to my beauty sleep?”

“I’m going to want to talk to your boss.”

“Free country. Talk to you when the sun’s up.” She hung up before he could argue, then punched in Leo’s office number. The man claimed he never slept; she would put that claim to the test.

He answered on the second ring.

“Something’s happened,” she said. “I’m on my way over.”

“You’re headed over? Now?”

“No time to explain. I want to beat Malone and his partner.”

“Detective Malone?”

“Trust me, okay?” She scrambled out of bed and started toward the bathroom. “And get some coffee on.”