Final Breath

lifeguard page you,' she said.

His back resting against the kitchen counter, Eli stopped chewing his food for a moment. 'Guess I didn't hear you,' he said finally. 'Sorry, Mom.'

He apologized for losing track of the time, too, and then the lies started. The water was really great--just the right temperature. And he met another kid his age there. 'Um, I told him I'd see him there tomorrow,' Eli added, eying his mom to see how she would react. He needed an excuse so he could sneak off to the library tomorrow. 'I think he's a pretty cool guy.'

'Oh, I don't think the beach is such a good idea, honey,' his mom said, wincing. She sat down at the table. 'I told you about this stalker character. Well, there may be a lot more to it than just some weirdo following me around.'

'What do you mean?' Eli asked. He stopped eating. 'Who is he?'

She gave an uneasy shrug. 'I'm still trying to figure that out.'

Eli thought once again about telling her that he'd seen the man, but he hesitated. He really wanted to go to the library tomorrow. He'd given that guy the slip twice now; he could do it again tomorrow. 'You think he's really dangerous?' he asked.

She sighed. 'I'm not sure yet. But in the meantime, I don't want to take any chances. I'm sorry, but I don't want you going off on your own while this guy is out there.'

'Oh, please, Mom,' he moaned. 'You're always telling me I should get out more! This is the first person my age I've met out here. And my buddy is coming with his dad and his older brother tomorrow. I'll stick with them the whole time. I'll be real careful...'

'Well, I'll think about it,' she said.

'Thanks, Mom,' he replied. 'I'm gonna go wash up.' He kissed his mother on the cheek, then started to head out of the kitchen.

'Honey, about this new friend of yours,' she said.

Eli turned in the kitchen doorway.

'What's your buddy's name?' his mom asked.

Eli worked up a smile. 'Earl,' he said. 'His name's Earl.'

As she stepped back into her office, Sydney could hear Eli up in his room--with a U2 CD blasting. The bass was boom-boom-booming. She would tell him to turn it down in a little while. For the moment, she was just glad he was home.

Sitting at her desk, Sydney reread the second paragraph of her note to Angela Gannon's sister on the monitor screen:

I got your kind e-mail today. I'm glad the flowers arrived. Do you by any chance know the name of the florist who delivered them? I'm sorry to bother you with this during such a difficult time, but I was out of town on business when I heard about Angela. I stopped by a florist and put in the order. But I don't think they billed me. Anyway, I don't have a receipt or the name of the florist. I'd like to pay for those roses. If you could tell me who delivered them, I can work backward and figure out where I placed the order. Thank you for your time, Elizabeth. I really appreciate it.

Once again, you and your family are in my thoughts and prayers.

Sincerely,

Sydney Jordan

Sydney typed her home and cell phone numbers at the bottom of the e-mail. Then she clicked SEND.

She hated bothering Angela's grieving sister, but if someone had indeed murdered Angela, this might be one way to help track him down.

Hunched over the keyboard, Sydney pulled up another e-mail--one she'd deleted and restored a while back:

Bitch-Sydney

You can t save them.

She'd tried to respond to it on July 5th, but the address, [email protected], had bounced back as invalid. Maybe she'd just encountered a glitch the last time. She clicked the REPLY icon, and typed the same response she'd used before: Who are you?

Biting her lip, Sydney hit Send.

A moment later, she was almost relieved to hear the click, indicating an incoming e-mail. It was another MAILER-DAEMON delivery failure notification.

Had the person used that e-mail account name just that once--for her? If so, the moniker he'd chosen meant something--the same way that dead bird on her bed must have meant something. Were the murders of Leah and Jared a duet?

If that was what he'd been telling her, then Leah and Jared weren't his first. He'd killed two people together before--if not together, than at least on the same day: second duet for you.

The telephone rang. Sydney jumped up, ran into the kitchen, and grabbed the cordless. She checked the caller ID. It was her brother's cell phone number. She clicked on the phone: 'Hi, Kyle.'

'Is Eli back yet?' he asked. It sounded like he was in the car.

'He just came in about fifteen minutes ago,' Sydney said. 'I was about to call you, but I got distracted. Sorry.'

'You really had me all wound up. I kept imagining Eli's photo on a milk carton.'

'No, he's fine, thank God. He's up in his room with Bono blasting as we speak. I think he made a new buddy at the beach today.'

'Oh? Then things are looking up.'

'He wants to go back there tomorrow, but I'm not so sure it's such a terrific idea--what with everything that's going on right now.' Sydney told her brother she was about to dive into her Movers & Shakers files, and look at the couples she'd profiled in the last year or two. She needed to see if any of them had recently died under suspicious circumstances. She was looking for that first duet--before Leah and Jared.

Her brother was silent on the other end of the line for a moment.

'Kyle?'

'Yeah, I'm here,' he said. 'I just think you've accrued a lot of ifs there: if the message was supposed to be about your Portland friends; if the sender made up the e-mail account exclusively for you; and if someone is indeed bumping off your Movers & Shakers people. I don't know, Syd. Maybe this duet guy is just some music lover who dropped his account name after sending you that crank e-mail and calling you a bitch. Maybe he meant you can't save the whales. You might be freaking out over nothing.'

'I hope you're right,' she said. 'But I still think it's worth checking into.'

'Well, knock yourself out,' he sighed. 'Listen, I have to wine and dine another client tonight. Are you going to be okay? I can cancel and come spend the night with you guys if you're scared.'

'Thanks, but I think we'll be okay,' she replied.

Yet moments later, after she'd hung up the phone, Sydney realized she'd been lying to her brother--and maybe to herself, too. She didn't really think they'd be okay.

And she was very, very scared.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

New York City--Monday, 1:22 A.M.

He'd established eye contact with Troy about ten minutes before, and now they made a game of glancing and smiling at each other across the crowded bar. Troy seemed to think he looked pretty good in those jeans and the white V-neck T-shirt that showed off his toned torso and muscular arms. A tall, handsome guy, he had short,