Final Breath

too.'

The lukewarm water was now up past the backs of Chloe's legs.

'Sometimes people slip, hit their head, and drown--in only two feet of water,' he continued. 'It's a lot like that woman on the beach. She got hit on the head and nearly drowned in Lake Michigan. But you rescued her. You know, if you hadn't saved her, I wouldn't be here with you right now. Are you still glad you played hero, Chloe?'

Past the sound of the tub filling, Chloe heard the phone ring in the living room. The man obviously heard it, too.

'That--that's probably my neighbor downstairs,' she said. 'He knows I'm up here. If I don't answer, he'll figure out something's wrong. He'll be knocking on the door next.'

'Shut the fuck up,' he hissed. 'Turn off the water.'

The pipes let out a squeak as she turned off the water. She could hear the answering machine click on: 'Hello, this isn't really Chloe, but an amazingly lifelike recording of my voice. Leave a message and the real me will call you back.'

The beep sounded. 'Chloe? Chloe, it's Sydney, are you there? Please, pick up. It's urgent. I'm going to keep talking until you pick up. I just tried your cell, and there wasn't an answer there either. Listen, I think you're in danger. I'm calling the police next. Someone just sent me an e-mail on your account. It--it's thirty-five minutes old. I think he might have broken into your apartment and sent it from there...' She hesitated, and then the tone of her voice suddenly changed. 'I...I'm now talking to the man who sent me that e- mail. Are you still there? I want to talk to you. Do you have the guts to talk to me? Why--'

The beep sounded again, cutting her off. 'End of message,' announced a recorded voice.

Wide-eyed, Chloe stared at the man in the ski mask. She continued to cover herself. 'Who are you?' she asked.

'Turn the water back on,' he said.

But Chloe didn't move.

Finally, he stood up and turned on the water. All of a sudden, his hand shot out at her and he grabbed Chloe by the hair, almost snapping her head back. He brought his covered face close to hers. 'I can smell the alcohol on your breath. They'll say you were drunk...'

'No, wait!' she shrieked. 'Please, no!' Her screams echoed off the tiled walls.

Still holding onto her scalp, he slammed her head against the faucet.

Dazed, Chloe slumped into the water. It started to turn pink from the gaping wound on her forehead. He continued to hold her by the hair, and pushed her down toward the water.

The dunking revived her. Chloe struggled, clawing at his face, trying to scratch at his eyes. She pulled his mask halfway off, blinding him.

Then she heard Chuck's voice calling out: 'Chloe? Your back door's open! I heard a scream. Chloe, are you okay?'

The man in the ski mask hesitated, pulled his mask up over his eyes, and glanced toward the front hall. He let go of Chloe's wet hair, shoved her against the tiled wall, and then scrambled to his feet.

Chloe heard her neighbor running down the corridor. 'Chuck!' she screamed. 'Watch out, he's got a gun!'

Still trying to adjust his mask, the stranger barreled down the hallway.

'Hold it!' she heard Chuck yell.

There was a clamor, and then footsteps--racing toward the back door.

'This is the final boarding call for Flight 59 to Seattle,' they announced over the speaker.

'Are you sure she's okay, honey?' Sydney asked. Clutching the phone to her ear, Sydney glanced over toward the boarding gate, where a few stragglers were still checking in.

'I just got off the phone with a cop who was at the scene,' Joe told her. 'They took Chloe to the hospital in an ambulance. It looks like she'll need some stitches in her forehead. Otherwise, she'll be okay, they assured me of that. The good news is that both Chloe and her neighbor got a halfway decent look at the guy. That's a start.' Joe paused. 'Did they just announce the last call a minute ago?'

'Yes,' Sydney said.

'Then you better skedaddle,' he said. 'I'll try to find out more--and get a description of the guy. See you tomorrow in Seattle. Take care, sweetheart.'

The man in seat 17A was one of very few people still awake on the darkened plane. But he kept his overhead light off. He liked sitting there in the shadows, planning.

His flight was scheduled to arrive at SeaTac at 11:50 P.M., three hours after Sydney's flight was due. She and Eli would probably spend the night at her brother's place.

He liked anticipating her every move. He wondered how far she'd gotten tracking him down through the florists.

He'd made it more challenging for himself today by providing Sydney with his clues before going to kill the last two heroes. It was a necessary step. He was conditioning her, pulling the strings and making her dance.

This morning, while looking through the scope of his sniper's rifle, he'd watched Joe McCloud answer his cell phone on that El platform. He'd known it had been Sydney calling him. She'd also phoned Chloe, trying to warn her as well. But both warnings had come too late. Sydney hadn't really saved either of them. His lousy marksmanship had saved Joe, and his lousy luck--with that downstairs neighbor--had saved Chloe. He might have failed twice today, but so had Sydney.

He thought about Chloe's neighbor. Had that guy gotten a good look at his face? Probably not. He was too busy being a hero.

Even if the guy could ID him, it didn't really matter. Let the police hunt begin. He didn't need much more time.

Sydney had failed twice today. And now he was getting ready for her final test.

It was just hours away.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

At 3: 40 A.M., when Sydney finally crawled into her brother's guest room bed, she listened to the traffic white noise from Interstate 5, and thought about her night. She hadn't expected to spend three hours at the hospital when she returned to Seattle this evening.

Kyle had met her at the airport, and told her about what he'd dubbed Eli's Big Adventure. Having suffered a bullet wound in the shoulder and a slight concussion, Eli was in satisfactory condition at Swedish Hospital. And Sydney, upon learning this, was a basket case--until she'd gotten to see her son.

He was in great spirits. Even as a little boy, Eli had been a very good patient. He was delighted with the fact that all three family members had been on the news tonight.

Burton Christopher Demick wasn't doing quite as well as Eli was--with nineteen stitches in his head and murder charges for the 1974 deaths of Loretta and Earl Sayers. On one of the evening news channels, Francesca Sayers, whose late father and brother had once been suspects in those murders, called Eli McCloud a hero.

Sydney refused to leave Eli's side. He was one hero this monster wouldn't get. Kyle and the hospital administration finally got her out of there by posting a security guard outside Eli's room.

Down the hall from Eli, Luis Fernandez was listed in stable condition after taking a bullet in the abdomen. Sydney needed to thank him in person for saving her son's life. 'I know you probably think I'm a bitch because I left Joe,' Sydney told him. 'But I had my reasons at the time. Anyway, this bitch is very grateful for what you did earlier today and for what Joe says you've been doing for two months now. Thank you for being our guardian angel, Luis.'