Show of Evil

'A moment I'm not likely to ever forget,' she interjected.

'That tape is in evidence storage. I never got it out. Maybe somebody stumbled across it, maybe the tape is the trigger. The whole story's on that one tape.'

St Claire sighed. 'Well, here I go back to the warehouse. Talk about the needle in the ol' hay stack.'

'I'm guessing, sooner or later, Mr X is going to start picking his own prey,' Vail said.

'I don't know,' said Jane. 'Stampler could still have a few more victims on his list — you, me, Shoat… Maybe that's our edge.'

'What do you mean?' Flaherty asked.

'She means he's going to go after the other principals in the trial,' Stenner answered softly. 'Jane, Martin, Shoat…'

'Include yourself,' Vail said to Stenner. 'You were a powerful witness.'

'Well, it isn't our case,' said Stenner. 'Gideon police are ignoring it. St Louis has juris over the Lincoln murder.'

'So the question is, who's he gonna hit next?' St Claire said.

'And where?' said Flaherty.

'And how in God's name did he find these people?' Jane asked. 'Gideon, Illinois? Wherever, Missouri? How did he track them down?'

'And if Stampler is involved, how the hell is he doing it?' Flaherty said.

'Hell, maybe we'll get lucky,' said St Claire hopefully. 'Maybe St Louis'll nail this nutcase 'fore he works his way back here. That's what we're all thinkin', ain't it? That he's coming' here?'

'Don't count on it,' said Vail. 'We have to assume this killer is heading here. Maybe he's here already.'

He felt Jane's hand brush against his. It was trembling and he took it gently in his and squeezed it reassuringly.

'I still remember that day in court when he came over the railing of the witness stand and grabbed me,' she said.

'It was those eyes. A moment before he grabbed me I looked into those eyes and…'

'And what?' Vail asked. 'What did you see?'

'They turned red for just an instant. It was like… like they filled with blood. I've never seen such hate, such malevolence. I still dream about those eyes.'

Suddenly Vail was no longer interested in the conversation. He stared into his coffee cup, thinking about Linda and Alex, about the Altar Boys and Bishop Rushman. All had been Stampler's friends and he had turned on them. Vail had been his friend during the trial and he was sure that this madness was being directed at him. He remembered Stampler's words again.

'Suppose there never was an Aaron.'

Stampler hadn't been joking that day, Vail was more certain of that now than ever before. And if Stampler had been cool enough and smart enough to trick all of them before, he was smart enough to figure out how to orchestrate these murders from inside Daisyland. Vail was no longer concerned about why Stampler was doing it or whether he, Vail, was responsible in some way for the madness. Stampler had to be stopped. And as long as he was safely tucked away in the mental institution, they had to focus on his accomplice.

Catch the accomplice, turn him against Stampler, and end it once and for all. And the accomplice was near, Vail was certain of that.

He had run out of victims everywhere else.

Twenty-two

Vail snatched up the car phone and punched out a number. Paul Rainey's smooth voice answered. 'Paul Rainey speaking.'

'It's Vail. Where is he, Paul?' Vail demanded.

'I, uh… I can't, uh…' Rainey stammered.

'You can't put your finger on him, right? Like you couldn't put your finger on him last night.'

'It's no big deal, Marty, he doesn't know there's paper out on him. Probably fishing or hunting. He's been through a lot.'