yet,' he'd explained to Sydney. 'Besides, you're the one who should tell the story, not me.'
Both she and Joe would be on the news tonight.
Sydney had done her best to stay focused on the Chloe Finch story. She'd managed to finish editing and scoring the segment by 3:25--with only minutes to spare before its deadline. The segment would run on tonight's national news. She wasn't too crazy about the piece and thought her
Within a few hours, Chloe Finch would be another one of her
She was hoping after tonight, Chloe wouldn't have to be looking over her shoulder. They were a lot closer to tracking down this maniac. Joe had managed to make some calls and traced the flower delivery orders. Both had originated from a florist in Seattle called Beautiful Blooms. Sydney knew the place. It wasn't far from Kyle's house.
'I hate sending you back to Seattle alone,' Joe said, following the airport signs for Departures. 'If I can get out from under this El-shooting business, I'll catch an early morning flight there tomorrow.' He took his eyes off the road for a moment and glanced at her. 'Would that be okay with you?'
Sydney smiled at him and nodded. 'That would be more than okay. It would be terrific.'
He once again focused on the traffic ahead, but reached over and took hold of her hand. 'Listen, I hope you're not too angry about this, but I asked a buddy to watch over you and Eli.'
'For tonight?' she asked.
'For the last couple of months,' he admitted. 'Luis has been checking in on you from time to time ever since you moved to Seattle.'
'What?' Sydney murmured.
'I just wanted to be positive that Crowley, Mankoff, and Rifkin hadn't sent some hood to Seattle to tie up loose ends.'
'Luis,' she said. 'Is he a Latino guy with an eye infection of some kind?'
Joe nodded. 'Yeah, he was complaining to me the other night that he wasn't getting any sleep. He said he must have broken a blood vessel or something.'
'How come I don't know this guy?'
'Well, if you knew him, he wouldn't have been able to follow you around. Luis is a good guy. He used to be a street kid, and I plucked him out of this gang when he was about sixteen. Now he wants to be a cop.'
Sydney rubbed her forehead. 'Good Lord, I thought he was a stalker--or possibly this hero-killer. Was it really necessary for him to follow us around everywhere?'
'Actually, he started out checking on you just occasionally. But about three weeks ago, he noticed someone sneaking around outside your apartment. So Luis increased his surveillance. He isn't sure if this guy's an obsessed fan or what, but he's been very elusive. Luis still hasn't gotten a good look at him yet.' Joe sighed. 'When you told me last night about this guy fixated on you and killing heroes, I figured that's the creep Luis has seen.'
Sydney just nodded.
Now it made sense why Luis--Number 59--had sneered at her when she'd first glimpsed him. If the guy was a friend of Joe's, he probably thought she was a mega-bitch for leaving her wonderful hero-husband. It was a bit unsettling, but at the same time, she took solace in knowing this Luis person was keeping his one good eye on Eli right now.
Joe pulled the car over to the curb in front of the terminal entrance. Shifting into Park, he turned to her and smiled sheepishly. 'So are you mad at me for getting you a bodyguard without asking you?'
Sydney shook her head. 'No, it's very reassuring. I'll sleep better tonight.'
He climbed out of the car and helped her with her luggage. They embraced, and Sydney kissed him on the lips.
'I'll see you tomorrow--in Seattle,' he whispered.
'I hope so,' she said, grabbing her bags.
'Kiss Eli for me,' he said.
Nodding, Sydney gave him one last smile, and then headed inside the terminal.
Eli's head throbbed so badly, he thought he might throw up.
But he couldn't. There was a gag in his mouth. It took Eli a few moments after regaining consciousness to realize why he couldn't move or feel his arms. Hog-tied behind him, they'd fallen asleep. He lay facedown on the Oriental rug in Demick's study, feeling sick and utterly helpless. Blurry-eyed, he tried to focus on Demick, who stood over him. But Eli was in so much pain, he couldn't lift his head to see Demick's face.
A weird, high-pitched ringing filled his ears. He didn't quite hear everything Demick was saying. He'd mentioned something about his wife not being back for another two hours, and by then, they'll have taken a little drive to Snohomish National Forest.
'It might be months before anyone finds your body there,' Demick said.
That part Eli heard--very clearly.
Demick explained how--thirty-five years ago--he'd started having sex with Loretta Sayers while she was still married to Mr. Landau. Their affair had become even more intense after she'd left Landau and moved to Number 9 at Tudor Court. Earl had never caught on to what was happening between his sixteen-year-old buddy and his mother. 'I'd come over there and hang out with him. She'd cook us dinner,' Demick explained. 'Then I'd leave--and a few hours later, usually around one in the morning, she'd meet me at a motel--or sometimes the beach--and we'd fuck our brains out. It was the best, hottest sex I've ever had. We had a damn good thing going. Nobody knew. The closest we came to getting caught was when she occasionally slipped and called me Chris in front of her kid. That was Loretta's pet name for me. She used to call me that in bed.'
His face pressed against the carpet, Eli only had a view of Demick's feet and his tan, hairless legs as he paced in front of him. Beyond that, Eli saw raindrops slashing at the big window. The awful ringing sound kept coming in and out while Demick went on about how Loretta had unceremoniously dumped him.
From what Eli could understand, Demick had gone over there to see Earl on a Saturday night. It had been after he'd sent Loretta that card. Every moment he'd caught Loretta alone, he'd begged her to meet him later, but she'd refused. So on Sunday night, he'd broken into the Sayers' town house apartment. He'd known where they'd hidden their extra key outside. And he'd known where Loretta had kept her gun. But he didn't use it on Earl.
'I slit his throat while he was sleeping,' Demick said. He stopped pacing. With his foot, he nudged Eli and turned him onto his back. 'You wanted to find out what happened, so I'm telling you. Eli.' Demick stared down at him. Eli saw that he had a big sofa pillow in one hand and his gun in the other. 'There was a lot of blood, and it got awfully messy. Fortunately, I was wearing her dishwashing gloves. If I had to do it over again, I would have smothered Earl with his pillow. It's much neater. He didn't die right away. He struggled for a few moments. But I kept a hand over his mouth. He wasn't able to make a sound. We didn't wake up Loretta down the hall. She was still sleeping when I crept into her room.'
A tiny smile flickered on his face. 'I woke her with a kiss on the cheek. Then I put my hand over her mouth and led her into the bathroom. She saw I had the gun. She didn't struggle or try anything. I made her strip and get in the tub. Then I shot her in the head.'
Horror-struck, Eli listened to him. He kept wondering what Demick planned to do with that pillow.
'You know, Eli, I'm not proud of what I did. I was sixteen years old, and just went crazy that night.' He shook his head. 'I can't believe Loretta held on to that letter. For the first few weeks afterward, I kept thinking the cops would find it. Finally, I was able to convince myself it was okay. I haven't had to think about Loretta and Earl for a long time--not until you and your uncle walked into my office yesterday.' He sighed, and put the gun down on the edge of the desk. Demick's back was to the window as he stared down at him. 'It's funny, but you remind me a bit of Earl. And like I say, if I had to do it over again, I would do it the neat way...'
Demick crouched down close to him. 'It'll be easier if you don't struggle.'
Just over Demick's shoulder, Eli glimpsed something past the rain-beaded window.
The dark-haired man in the red shirt crept toward the house. Eli watched him grab a wrought-iron patio chair.
Then all at once, Eli couldn't see anything. Demick pushed the pillow down on his face. Eli tried to turn his head away, but he couldn't. It felt as if the man was smashing his nose in. Eli couldn't breathe. He thought he might
