TULLY checked his watch. It wasn’t like Cunningham to be late for a meeting. Maybe his watch was running fast again. According to Emma, it was ancient and uncool.

He sat back and stared at the huge map spread on the wall behind his boss’s desk. It was Cunningham’s personal log for his twenty years as head of the Investigative Support Unit. Each pushpin indicated a spot where a serial killer had struck. Each pushpin color designated a particular killer. Tully wondered how soon he would run out of colors. Already there were repeats: purple, light purple and translucent purple.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Cunningham said as he breezed in. “What have you found out?”

In the beginning, that brisk, straight-to-the-point attitude had flustered Tully. Now he appreciated getting down to business with no obligatory exchanges of chitchat.

“I just received the files faxed over from the Kansas City police. Early autopsy reports indicate a slashed throat as cause of death. No other defense wounds or injuries. There was one incision in the victim’s right side through which the right kidney was extracted.”

“Any sign of the organ?”

“No, not yet. It’s quite possible someone found it, had no clue what it was and tossed it.”

“What’s your perspective on this, Agent Tully?”

“The timing is off. It’s much too soon after the delivery girl. And it’s much too far away, entirely out of his territory. There was another latent fingerprint, a thumb. Again, it looks like it was deliberately left behind on an umbrella that belonged to the victim. Didn’t even have the victim’s fingerprints on it. It was definitely wiped down with the print left later. And again, it doesn’t match Albert Stucky.”

Cunningham frowned at the report, tapping his index finger to his lip.

“So is it Stucky, or isn’t it?”

“The M.O. definitely matches Stucky’s,” Tully said. “And there hasn’t been enough in the news or even enough time for a copycat. The print may belong to someone who came across the scene. A waiter found her. KC’s faxing a copy of the print to the guys at CJIS in Clarksburg. We’ll see if it matches the unidentified one left in Newburgh Heights. There’s a good chance these belong to civilians coming across the scene after everything’s been wiped clean.”

“Okay, let’s say that’s the case. So what if it is Stucky?”

Tully knew exactly what Cunningham was thinking, but he evidently wanted to hear it, to confirm what seemed to be the obvious.

“If it is Stucky, it’s more than likely he followed O’Dell to Kansas City. He may be looking for a way to drag her into this again.”

Cunningham glanced at his wristwatch. “She should be headed back right now.”

“Actually, I checked, sir. She changed to a flight later tonight.”

Cunningham let out a sigh of frustration as he grabbed his phone and punched several buttons.

“Anita, do you have Special Agent Margaret O’Dell’s hotel phone number in Kansas City?” He sat back while he waited.

Tully imagined the methodical Anita quickly accessing her records. If such a thing was possible, Cunningham’s secretary was even more meticulous than her boss.

“Good,” Cunningham said. “Would you please get in touch with her? Track her down if she’s already checked out. I want to see her in my office tomorrow morning at eight.”

He hesitated and listened as he rubbed the bridge of his nose under his glasses. “Oh, yes, I forgot about that. Tell O’Dell nine o’clock, then. Thanks, Anita.”

He replaced the receiver and looked up at Tully, waiting.

“How long do you intend to keep her off this case?” Tully finally asked what he thought was the obvious question.

“For as long as is necessary.” Cunningham held Tully’s eyes, warning him to step carefully. “What else is happening in Newburgh Heights?”

“We found the pizza delivery girl’s car. It was left in long-term parking at the airport, right next to a telephone company van that was reported stolen a couple of weeks ago.”

“I knew it,” Cunningham began drumming his fingers on the desk. “Stucky’s done it before. He’ll steal a vehicle, or sometimes only the license plates, from long-term parking. Chances are he has the plates or even the vehicle returned before the owner is back home. Has forensics impounded the van?”

Tully nodded. “Not likely they’ll find anything. It’s pretty clean. However, we did find two delivery slips in the girl’s car.”

He dug in the folder, pulling out one torn piece of paper and another creased with fold lines. Both had been recovered from the floor of the girl’s car. A red stain on one corner had tested as pizza sauce, not blood. Tully handed both over the desk. “The torn one is from her first route. Number four on the list is Agent O’Dell’s new address.”

For the first time in Tully’s three months of working at Quantico, he saw anger on his boss’s face. The assistant director’s dark eyes narrowed and his hands clenched the paper. “So the damn bastard not only knows where she lives, but he’s watching her.”

“It looks that way. When I talked to Agent Delaney, he said the waitress in Kansas City had joked and talked with the three of them Sunday evening while she served them. He may be choosing women O’Dell comes in contact with in hopes of making her feel responsible.”

“It’s another of his goddamn games. He’s still obsessed with O’Dell. I knew it. I knew he wouldn’t let it go.”

“It appears that way. May I say one more thing, sir?”

“Of course.”

“You’ve offered me another agent to help on this case. You’ve also offered a forensic psychologist, which O’Dell is. You even suggested we have someone on hand to answer medical-related questions. If I’m not mistaken, Agent O’Dell has a premed background. I’m officially requesting Agent O’Dell. If Stucky is targeting her, she may be the only one who can help us catch him.”

Tully expected a flicker of anger or at least impatience. But Cunningham’s face remained unchanged.

“I’ll give your request careful consideration,” he said. “Let me know what else you find out from Kansas City.”

“Yes, sir,” Tully said as he stood, recognizing the signs of dismissal. Before he reached the door, Cunningham was on the phone again, and Tully couldn’t help wondering if his request had also been dismissed.