Sudden prey

THE NIGHT CREW

Turn the page for a special excerpt from this provocative new novel- available now from G. P. Putnam's Sons…

THE BEE WAS IMPATIENT, CHECKING HER WATCH, PEERING down the street, bouncing on her toes. She was waiting at the corner of Gayley and Le Conte, next to the

Shell station, a forest-green JanSport backpack at her feet. Her face was a pale crescent in the headlights of passing cars, in the Los Angeles never-dark.

Anna Batory, riding without her seatbelt, her feet braced on the truck's plastic dashboard, saw the Bee step out to the curb and pointed: ''There she is.''

Creek grunted and eased the truck to the curb. Anna rolled down the passenger-side window and spoke to the mask: ''You're the Bee?''

''You're late.''

Anna glanced at the dashboard clock, then back out the window: ''Jason said ten-thirty.''

Jason was sitting in the back of the truck on a gray metal folding chair, next to Louis. He looked up from his Sony chip-cam and said, ''That's what they told me. Ten-thirty.''

''It's now ten-thirty- three,'' the Bee said. She turned herwrist to show the blue face on a stainless-steel Rolex.

''Sorry,'' Anna said.

''Around the corner to Westwood, then Westwood to Circle. You know where Circle is?''

''Yeah, we know where everything is,'' Creek said. They'd been everywhere.

''Hold on.''