“I’ll be setting up a task force when I get back to the office,” said Bayne. “Protection’s at the top of the agenda. It should be in place for everyone by morning. I want you to head it up.”
Gideon stopped pacing at the instant surge of denial. He looked at Alice again, and said to Bayne, “No can do. You’ll have to find someone else.”
Bayne said, “I assume you have a compelling reason for turning down this urgent assignment, and you are willing to share that reason with your new boss.”
“I do indeed,” said Gideon. “But it’s difficult to go into detail right now. I’ll have to get back to you.”
“Is that some kind of secret code for she can hear everything you say?”
“Yeah, something like that. In the meantime, I need to get back to questioning Alice.”
“Has she figured out she’s next on the list?”
“I don’t know,” Gideon said. “Maybe. But it’s all right, since I will be spending the night.”
Alice lifted her head and turned to look at him, her eyes wide and startled.
“I was going to tell you to hang with her until I got a guard detail sent over,” Bayne grunted. “At least that’s one thing to cross off my list tonight.”
“You can take it one step further,” Gideon told him. “I’ll stay the point person on this assignment.”
There was a long pause on the other end. “Are there implications in that?” Bayne asked. “I don’t like implications. I can’t figure them out on my own very often.”
Gideon smiled at Alice reassuringly. He said to Bayne. “Talk to you soon.”
“You’d better, son. You’ve got a lot to tell me,” said Bayne, who then hung up.
Alice’s pulse roared in her ears as she watched Gideon pocket his cell phone. She looked down and realized she was twisting the dish towel in her hands. She fought to breathe evenly as she hung the towel on the stove handle. Clothing whispered as Gideon moved into the kitchen doorway. There had to be something sane and sensible she could say, if only she could think of it. Her rabbiting mind hopped through a series of statements and discarded each one in rapid-fire succession.
That’s pretty presumptuous of you there, Detective. Did I say I’d let you spend the night?
Of course you’ve got to stay the night. It’s too dangerous out for anyone to try to drive.
How about that storm, eh?
We haven’t even kissed yet. (NOOO. Don’t say that.)
She croaked, “Do you want coffee?”
“Alice,” said Gideon.
Her head jerked up.
Watching her, Gideon felt such a powerful surge of tenderness at the disturbed confusion on her face, he couldn’t even smile, and for once the inappropriate lust stayed subjugated to his will. He wanted to take her in his arms again, just to hold her and tell her that everything would be all right.
He told her in a gentle voice, “I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to talk things over with you first, but my boss and I would like for me to crash on your couch tonight.”
Her unsteady fingers smoothed the towel. “You think that’s best?”
“We do,” he said. “There are too many indications that the killer feels the compulsion to follow certain patterns of order.”
“What do you mean?” Her fingers stilled. “Do you think he has obsessive-compulsive tendencies?”
“He might. He’s undeniably bright and capable of a great deal of organization, so he also might be able to hide his true nature under an appearance of normality. The ability of concealment that some psychopaths have is what psychiatrist Hervey Cleckley referred to when he first coined the term ‘mask of sanity’ in 1941.” Gideon took a deep breath and forced himself to continue. “A lot of details from Jacksonville have never been released because the killer hasn’t yet been caught. He held the group prisoner and executed one a day. They were killed in alphabetical order.”
He noted the moment that realization struck. She sucked in a harsh, shaking breath and looked up again. Then he couldn’t hold back any further. He strode over to take hold of her slender shoulders in a firm, reassuring grip.
“Which is not going to happen this time,” he said strongly into her whitened face. “It’s also quite apparent that the number seven has a great deal of significance for him.”
“It’s significant to all the Elder Races,” Alice murmured. “Seven demesnes in the U.S., seven Primal Powers or gods.”