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 Ah, shit Jake. I don t get to enjoy myself that much these days. You Yanks are
too uptight for any real fun; not like us Aussies. Even the bloody nude dancers aren t
nude, he complained before his attention diverted to Quigley picking up the envelope
and opening it.  Your lady friend must have found something. What did she find?
Cam s expression of childlike excitement and anticipation was comically skewed with
slurred speech and unfocused eyes.
 She couldn t find any cases in the rest of the state that have our boy s earmarks
on them. Either he changed his ways or he did start in San Francisco, in this state
anyway. Quigley said with a frown on his face and a finger rubbing back and forth over
his unshaven cheek.
 Ah, bloody hell, Cam exclaimed and fell limply back against the couch cushion
in disgust.
 No, no, that s good news. That means he must have arrived in the city, set up
house and started his killing spree from there. If he drove through the state to get there,
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some kind of trail would show up. Jake shifted his eyes toward the floor and fell into
deep thought, contemplating where this piece of information could lead him.
Cam had his arms folded over his belly, body relaxed into the corner of the couch
and staring at Jake.  Well, he must have bloody well flown in then.
 It s a good assumption, I d say, Quigley replied.  So, we check incoming
flights from Atlanta for the time frame before the first killing. With a little luck, we ll get
a roster of passengers we can run checks on and, hopefully, find less than a thousand or
so who might be our killer.
 And, we check out this company. We can cross check against its personnel info
for any names that might match up with the flight records, Jake added.  It s a long shot
but it s the most promising lead we ve gotten in months so don t bitch about it too
much.
 I m not bitching. Are you bitching, Quig? Cam asked with a look of innocence
on his face.
Jake threw him a stern look before adding,  We also need to find out the
whereabouts of the good doctor. He still isn t home and that worries me. If he s the one
who bashed me and set fire to his building, then he s our best bet right now. I d hate to
think he was under our noses all this time and I didn t see it, Jake exclaimed while rising
to slip on his shoes.  Cam, you follow up on the doctor. Find out if he has any other
homes or vacation spots or anywhere else he could ve fled to. I&  Jake stopped and
stared down at Cam s limp body, sprawled on the sofa and snoring softly.  Ah, shit. He s
out for the night I think, Jake said, glancing at Quigley with an apology in his voice.
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Quigley waved the apology away with a flip of his hand.  Don t worry about it.
He can crash here tonight and I ll send him on his way in the morning.
Jake hesitated a split second then said,  Quigley, I want to apologize to you for
the way I treated you in the Stumble Inn. I& 
 Don t bother Jake. I know how it is. Truth is, I deserved it and more. I m just
grateful you let me in on this. Quigley took a deep breath and shifted his gaze back to
Cam before adding,  I have some atoning to do and this case is my way of getting it, in
spades. His brown eyes shifted back to Jake with an embarrassed look of gratitude in
them.  Thanks. He held out his hand.
Jake took it, feeling like he d just made another friend and glad the man was
working out after all. He turned toward the door, slipped on his coat and said,  We have a
lot of things to do tomorrow. Get some sleep and give me a call when you wake up. He
walked to the door, opened it and stepped out into a hallway decorated with peeling paint
and pools of garbage tucked under the staircase leading down to the street.  And, thank
Tigg for me too Quigley. I appreciate what she s doing for us. He smiled at Quigley s
grin of pleasure.  Nite. He turned and went down the stairs, glad to have something
solid to go on and worried about Brian at the same time. When Quigley s door closed
behind him, Jake made a mental note to call again the following morning and order the
young agent back on the job.
I know he's out there, killing again tonight. But, this is the last holiday spree he's
going to have before I nail him. Brian would never forgive me if I don t let him in on this
collar, he thought with a surge of euphoria running through his gut. No, Brian would
definitely want to get this guy. And we are so damned close now. The last holiday my
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friend; the very last for you.
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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
January 1st
12:15 A.M.
Every front window of the house was ablaze with light, giving the manicured
lawn and tall pine trees it faced a look of false gaiety. Doctor Nelson s two-story vacation
house was built from oversized logs, with a simple, rustic look that belied the amount of
square footage it covered, and the huge amount of money it must have cost to build. Even
under a moonless night Cam could see this  cabin was a showplace for the rich. Two
expensive cars, a black BMW and a white Porsche convertible, were parked inside a
carport attached to the right side of the house.
A gentle breeze swept the smell of lake water around Cam s warm body. He
shivered while mentally swearing at himself for believing Lake Tahoe in the summer
would be warm at night and wishing he d brought a jacket to cover his shorts and thin
shirt. The rocking of a large cabin cruiser anchored to the private dock suddenly
disturbed the peaceful quiet of the area with the sound of a fiberglass hull hitting the
mooring posts. It was a dull thump of a noise that sounded deafening in contrast to the
absolute quiet surrounding the house.
Cam slid out from behind a large boulder embedded in the sandy scrub along the
waterline and moved silently toward the darkest side of the house. He moved swiftly to
the left, where only one window showed a dim light. Crouching beneath it, Cam
cautiously raised his head to peek inside. He peered into a kitchen the size of the average
person s living room. Solid wood cabinets covered most of the walls. A large ceramic tile
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work center in the middle of the room boasted a staggering array of copper pots and pans [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]