Stuart Woods_Stone Barrington 12

ass. A bedpan. She peed, long and gratefully.
    When she had finished, he removed the bedpan, pulled her panties and sweatpants up. Then she heard the sound of paper or cellophane being crinkled. Suddenly, the tape was ripped off her mouth.
    â€œWhat the hell…” she was saying, but something was crammed into her mouth, filling it. Candy bar. She chewed madly, trying to swallow so she could talk, but the second she got it down, he was pouring water into her mouth. She swallowed, washing down the candy bar, but before she could speak, she heard a ripping noise, and her mouth was taped again. Duct tape, she reckoned. He seemed to inspect her bonds, one at a time, to be sure they hadn’t loosened.
    She heard him walk across the room and open a door, then the sound of the bedpan being emptied and a toilet being flushed, then running water. He walked down the stairs, and she heard a door open and close. He hadn’t said a word.
    Â 
    STONE LAY ON HIS BED trying to sleep, telling himself he would be no good to Holly if he was exhausted. Finally, very late, he dozed off. He woke to the sound of the ringing telephone. He rolled over in bed and grabbed it. “Hello?”
    â€œIt’s Sergeant Young. Has Holly returned?”
    â€œNo, Sergeant, she hasn’t, and I’m beyond being just worried.”
    â€œI’m sorry I didn’t get your message earlier, but I’ve been to the mainland and back.”
    â€œCan you keep an eye out for her in your search?”
    â€œWe’ve completed most of the search,” Young said. “I had forty people tramping every foot of the island, and we’ve done two-thirds of it. Then the second woman’s body was found, and I called it off because nobody was missing anymore.”
    Stone looked at his watch: eight-fifteen. “Well, you’ve got to get the search going again,” he said, “because whoever is doing this has taken Holly, and he’s getting more dangerous.”
    â€œWhy more dangerous?”
    â€œIt’s a pattern with some serial killers: Their pace accelerates, they enjoy it more and more. Sometimes they become more reckless, as if they want to get caught.”
    â€œBut some of these people go on for years, almost on a regular schedule.”
    â€œNot this guy. He wants more and more, and he’s getting it. He may stop for a few days, but he won’t be able to resist starting again. Three women in less than forty-eight hours: Doesn’t that tell you something?”
    â€œI’ll get on the phone and get some people together. What time did you last see Holly yesterday?”
    â€œAbout noon, when I went to lunch with Caleb Stone.”
    â€œSo we can ignore the parts of the island we searched after noon and concentrate on the rest.”
    â€œGood idea. Have you searched Hal Rhinehart’s place?”
    â€œNot yet.”
    â€œPlease go there first.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œRhinehart has a criminal background. Dino and I got him for a series of high-end burglaries in New York years ago. He’s done time.”
    â€œDid any of the burglaries have sexual overtones? Did he rape any of his victims?”
    â€œNot that we knew of, but still…”
    â€œAll right, we’ll start there.”
    â€œI want to come with you.”
    â€œI’ll pick you up in half an hour.” Young hung up.
    Stone got dressed and had some cereal in the kitchen while Mabel protested that he should eat some bacon and eggs. He was waiting at the roadside when Young drove up in his patrol car. There were two men in the backseat who looked more like locals than summer people. Young introduced them, then drove on north.
    â€œYou don’t look so good,” he said as he drove.
    â€œI didn’t get any real sleep,” Stone said. “I’m tired.”
    â€œI understand.”
    They reached the Rhinehart sign and turned onto the drive. Hal Rhinehart came out of the house as they drove up, apparently on the way to work.
    â€œMorning,” he said, looking doubtfully at the four men. “What’s going on?”
    â€œMr. Rhinehart,” the sergeant said, “we need to search your place.”
    â€œHave you got a warrant?”
    Stone spoke up. “Come on, Hal,” he said, “we’re looking for a woman who disappeared yesterday. You know we can get a warrant, but if you don’t let us search, then you’ll automatically be a