Show of Evil

house. She got a couple of shots off and sent him packing in Stenner's car. That's all she told us before she passed out. Some neighbours heard the shots and called it in. We have an APB out on him now, but our pictures are all ten years old.'

'Get your artist to put twenty pounds and ten years on him and get it to the media. Also I suggest a five-state alarm. If he breaks out of Chicago, God knows how long it may take to track him down.'

'Done. I heard about what happened with the woman. We found the rest of Shoat out at his place. She must've been doing Shoat while Stampler was doing his dirty work at Venable's house.'

'Stampler faked my people out,' said Vail. 'Sneaked out of the halfway house.'

'Christ, what the hell's goin' on, Marty?'

'Stampler is what's going on. He's on the loose and who knows what he's got in mind.'

'What do we tell the press?'

'You tell them the truth, Shock. How's Eckling reacting to all this?'

'He's at a convention in Atlanta. I haven't talked to him yet.'

'Well, we've got three dead people, including a cop and a judge, two people in the hospital, and a mass murderer on the loose. You better break the news before he sees it on TV.'

'See you at the hospital.'

'Yeah.' Vail hung up.

Meyer, not a cowboy behind the wheel by any means, took off like an antic teenager, threading through traffic with his hand on the horn.

'Doesn't this car have a siren?' Vail yelled.

'No, sir.'

'Harvey, get a damn siren put on this thing tomorrow!'

'Yes, sir. What'd he say about Abel?'

'They're both hanging on, whatever the hell that means.'

Ten minutes later Meyer screeched into the emergency parking lot and pulled up against a brick wall near the entrance. Vail was out of the car before Meyer set the brakes, taking the steps to the loading dock two at a time and pushing open the swinging doors, startling the short, chubby nurse with round eyes and heart-shaped lips who was sitting at the receiving desk.

'I'm Martin Vail. Any report on Jane Venable or Abel Stenner?'

'They're both in the OR,' the nurse said. 'That's all I can tell you at this time.'

'I'm the DA. These people are on my staff. Can't you do a little better than that? How bad are they?'

'You'll have to wait until the doctors came out,' she answered apologetically. 'I really don't know anything. I'm sorry.'

Meyer and St Claire joined him a moment later. Vail paced the hall, staring at the operating-room doors. The nurse, obviously accustomed to relatives and friends of emergency victims in the halls, leaned across the desk and in a half-whisper said to St Claire, 'There's a visitors' room down the hall. Coffee machine, soft chairs, a TV. I'll call you soon as I - '

'Thank ya, ma'am. I don't think he's gonna leave this hall till he knows something.'

'That could be a while.'

'I know th' man real good. He ain't movin' till he knows the score. What's happening?'

'They took them into prep about fifteen minutes ago. I expect they're both in surgery by now.'

'Thanks.'

Vail leaned against the wall and stared up at a clock over the operating-room doors. It was eleven-twenty. Stampler had been free less than twelve hours.

Aaron Stampler lurked in the darkness, watching the gate. He was on the first-floor landing of a six-storey deck that provided private parking for tenants in the attached apartment building. The gate was activated by a card similar to a credit card. Stampler had lucked on to the building after dumping Stenner's car. It was nearly midnight. He reasoned that anyone coming in now was probably in for the evening and would not miss his or her car until morning. It was a perfect setup for him.

He had passed up a car with two couples in it. It seemed risky to