Fresh Air filled my lungs as soon as we stepped Outside. Gebriel, Hartwig and I walked down the dirt road. The grid of the valley floor streatched out below is. Rows of fallow grapes hugged each side. We were silent. Shell-shocked. A scary idea shot through. We were a thousand feet up, totally isolated. Something didn’t sit right, “ why here, Hartwig?” “How about, it’s remote and no one ever comes up here.” What I meant,” I said, “is why here? The particular spot. Who knows this place?” “There’s isolated property all up and down these slopes. The consortiums have eaten up the valley floor. These properties take more than capital. Labors of love. Check around here knows places like these.” The first killings were in the city. Yet he knew exactly where to come. Who owns this plot?” Hartwig shook his head, “Dunno.” I’d find out. And I would also make another pass through their room. Someone had them targeted. Knew all their plans travel brochures, business cards, see if there

It’s came out the blue- so unexpectedly, that it didn’t really dawn on Fatimah what I had just said. She answered as if she were fielding a medical question in her lab.” Blood disorder. Pretty rare, serious. The body stops producing erythrocytes.”“Red blood cells,” I said.Fatimah glanced at me. “Why it’s not Mary?” Referring to my sister.I shook my head. I sat rigid and stared straight ahead, my eyes were glassy.It was probably the long pause that caused it to slowly sink in.Fatimah whispered. “Not you?”An awful stillness took hold in the car.Oh, Moo, “Fatimah’s jaws dropped.She pulled the Bronco onto the shoulder of the road and immediately reached out and hugged me. “What has your doctor told you?”“That it’s serious. That it can be fatal.”I saw the the gravity of that washed over her face. The gift, the pain. Fatimah was a doctor, a pathologist. She had taken in what was at stake before I even met her eyes.I told her that I was already undergoing packed-red cell transfusi

As Fatimah said, we were piecing our killer together, step by step. His height, his face, his fetishes. The way he murdered.Now I had to figure out how he was tracking his victims.Gebriel and I were going full force on the travel and wedding-planner thing. We had fifteen detectives out there following up leads. Now that we had a facial characteristic, we went back to the guests, combing them for a guy in a beard who might have been trolling around.I felt confident that some aspects of this widening search would yield results. One of the guests would have noticed someone. We would discover a travel agent in common, a leak somewhere. Or one of Isaiah’s searches would come up with a match.The following morning, Hartwig called in. “Sparrow Ridge vineyards... it’s owned by a group here known as Black Hawk partners. A local guy, Ed Lester, and attorney, put together real-estate partnerships,”“You know where he was over the weekend?”“Yeah, I checked. Portland. He ran in a marathon the

The pretty smiling reservations clerk politely nodded for the next person in line.“Welcome to the Lakefront Hilton, sir.”Nelson Bush stepped up to the counter. He noticed her name, kaylin. Bright-eyed, bushy-tailed kaylin. He smiled back. Flirted subtly. He handed her a confirmation slip.“First time with us, Mr.Bush?” The desk clerk asked in high-pitches chirp.He smiled, let her know that it was.As she punched in his reservation, he followed her movements, thoughtfully striking the rough hairs of his beard.He wanted her to notice. To remember his face, maybe one day, when some diligent FBI agent came by with a drawing or photograph, he wanted this chirpy little squirrel to think back and recall this moment in a close and chilling way. He wanted her to remember everything.As he had with the saleswoman in the Bridal Boutique At Saks.Here for a visit to the museum, Mr Bush?”Kaylin asked, as she typed.“For the Maculan’s wedding,” he volunteered.“Everyone is saying that.” She sm

Nelson Bush looked at the Bride, oh Hannah he said to himself using her pet Name, you should have leave the white gown, he smiled a sickening like a mentally deranged man, I have to make the scene a very captivating one he thought to himself,” something more different and mor dramatic from the rest. He took at his gun again and pulled down the paints of the groom, his hands were beginning to shake again. This is wonderful, I love this feeling, he dragged the groom to an upright position then empty another bullet in his manhood. And a blood spatter all over his clothes, now to make the sight a memorable one he said to himself, I think I will bring the bride and give her a sweet treat she will take to heaven with her. . . . . He lifted Hannah’s cocktail gown, oooh and realized she is not wearing panties, just he had known know to be, he chuckled, you just made it easier Hannah. He was about shoving the gun inside her vagina, when he suddenly stopped. You remember how we used to do it Ha