New York to Dallas

head to get me where he wants me. Why not just stay put and finish it?”
    She shrugged. “But I think we both work better from here, so why go in until and unless we have something solid to add?”
    “Working from here suits me. That search you wanted on potential locations is in.”
    “Okay. Look, why don’t you take care of the half a million things you’ve been letting dangle in Roarke’s Empire of Everything?”
    “Catchy title. I may use it one day.”
    “I’m going to go back to the beginning. I want to go over all the data, the interviews, time lines, the works. Basically do a solid review, and that’ll take a while. You can send me the search results, and I’ll add them in.”
    “All right. But I have Summerset and Caro, and a number of other people dealing with the dangling half a million in REE. So if you come up with anything, or want something looked into, let me know.”
    “Yeah.”
    She went to her desk, called up the incident report and Bree’s statement on the night Melinda was abducted.
    The data remained fresh in her head, she admitted. She knew all the details here, just couldn’t see anything she or the Dallas cops, the feds, had missed. But she rechecked the time lines, read over the interview with the bar owner on Sarajo, the statement from the neighbor.
    She filtered in, sifted through all the information Peabody, Feeney, and the New York team had accumulated. She went step by step, stage by stage, retracing her time in Texas, reviewing every fact, speculation, and probability on McQueen and his movements.
    She answered her ’link with her mind still steeped in it.
    “Dallas.”
    “McQueen’s made contact,” Ricchio told her. “He wants to talk to you. Should we link him up?”
    “Give me a second.” She rushed over to Roarke’s office. “McQueen through Ricchio. Can you try a trace from here?”
    “Yes.”
    “I’ll have him linked.” She went back to her desk, sat. “I’m set.”
    “Do you want to block your video?”
    “No, let him see me.”
    “We’re linking.”
    She angled in. She wanted him to get a good look at her. She was rested, alert. She was ready.
    “Eve.”
    “Isaac. Really sorry I missed you yesterday.”
    “I feel the same. That’s why I’m making arrangements for us to get together very soon.”
    “How about now? I happen to be free.”
    “Patience. I have a few more preparations to make so we can have a perfect reunion. As you know I had to dispose of the help, so I’m a little shorthanded.”
    “Yeah, you were a little rushed, not so careful this time around, Isaac. When you go back to New York, it’ll only be a jumping-off point. This time it’ll be off-planet accommodations for you.”
    “Oh, I have something else entirely in mind.”
    “Such as.”
    “Tell you what, I’ll tell you all about it when you’re gracing my guest room. Meanwhile, I thought you might enjoy a preview of an exciting home vid I produced recently.”
    The screen flashed from blank to the obscenity in McQueen’s bedroom. Darlie’s screams and pleading sobs shattered the air.
    Eve forced herself to watch, willed herself to give him no reaction while the child inside her wept as piteously as the child on screen.
    It shut off abruptly.
    “We’ll watch the whole thing when you’re here,” McQueen told her. “I’ll make popcorn. TTFN.”
    She held on when Ricchio came on, his face like stone. “Jammed and filtered. We’re cutting through it.”
    “Lovers Lane in Highland Park.” Roarke came on, split screen. “He’s moving.”
    “Copy that!” Ricchio called out. “I’ll dispatch now. Dallas?”
    She shook her head. “I’ll wait to hear from you.”
    She ended the call, sat very still.
    “I’m all right,” she said when Roarke came in, brought her a glass of water.
    “You’re not, and pretending to be isn’t helpful.”
    “I already had that in my head, already knew what he—they—did to her. I’m not going to let it mess me up.” But she drained the glass of water. “I’m not heading out because he won’t be there. They have to go, have to try, but he won’t be anywhere near there.”
    “No,” Roarke agreed.
    “His new location won’t be near there either, so we can eliminate that. Highland Park, right? Lovers fucking Lane. That was deliberate.”
    “Yes. Do you want Mira?”
    “Yes, soon—but not for me, for this. To help me refine the profile. All those years he kept what he did, what he could do locked in. He