Kay Hooper - Sense of evil

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This time out, Bishop and his Special Crimes Unit owe even greater thanks than usual to the fantastic Team Bantam, whose members worked above and beyond the call of duty to put this story into your hands.

A grateful author wishes to thank Irwyn Applebaum and Nita Taublib, Bill Massey and Andie Nicolay, Kathy Lord, and all the other hardworking professionals in production who made this book possible.

Words arent enough, but theyll have to do.

Thanks again.

BANTAM BOOKS BY KAY HOOPER

The Bishop Trilogies

STEALING SHADOWS

HIDING IN THE SHADOWS

OUT OF THE SHADOWS

TOUCHING EVIL

WHISPER OF EVIL

SENSE OF EVIL

The Quinn Novels

ONCE A THIEF

ALWAYS A THIEF

Romantic Suspense

AMANDA

AFTER CAROLINE

FINDING LAURA

HAUNTING RACHEL

Classic Fantasy and Romance

ON WINGS OF MAGIC

THE WIZARD OF SEATTLE

MY GUARDIAN ANGEL

(anthology)

YOURS TO KEEP

(anthology)

EPILOGUE

Friday, June 20

Y OURE A HARD WOMAN to kill, Isabel said. Hollis raised both eyebrows at her. Im not saying it like its a bad thing.

Looking at Rafe, Hollis said, You realize what youre letting yourself in for? She cant not be flippant.

I know. Its a character flaw.

I resent that, Isabel said.

You shouldnt. It happens to be a flaw I enjoy.

Oh, well, in that case.

Hollis shifted slightly in the hospital bed to get more comfortable. Or try to. Im just lucky you two managed to stop Mallorys evil twin before he could finish me off.

They all found it less painful to refer to the creature they had destroyed there at the end as Mallorys evil twina phrase naturally coined by Isabel. Not that it could be anything but painful, especially for Rafe.

Or Alan, who was still bewildered and in shock.

What I cant figure out, Isabel said, is what he planned to do once he left Hastings. He really was trapped in a womans bodyand had been since the male personality split off from Mallory when she was twelve.

A sex-change operation? Hollis suggested.

Rafe said, I dont think so. I think he saw a male when he saw himself.

A very confused male, Isabel pointed out. He wanted Mallory to be involved with men, not women. But Im willing to bet he would have been angry and insulted to be called homosexual.

Didnt Bishop offer a theory? Hollis asked. I seem to recall a discussion going on over my mostly unconscious self a couple of days ago.

We had to talk about something, Isabel told her. The doctors said you were pretty out of it.

I was. Mostly. But I remember Bishop and Miranda being here. And talking, like I said. What was the theory?

That Mallorys evil twin was delusional. We havent really gotten past that part.

Its complicated, Hollis agreed.

Shehewas right about me, anyway, Rafe said. I had seen something unconsciously when we were at the first murder scene. From the corner of my eye, I suppose. Id seen Mallory touch Jamies hair. Something about it, about the way she did it, was like a red flag.

And a subconscious shock, Isabel said. The hardest thing to accept about evil is that it can wear a familiar face. He was very good at hiding.

Until Mallory did something he couldnt accept, Rafe said. He sighed. Just... thinking of her dying inside all those years, bit by bit. I keep thinking I should have known. Should have been able to help her.

Nobody could help her, Isabel told him quietly. Nobody was there when that boat overturned and six little girls drowned. Nobody but him. Mallory was doomed from that moment.

And too many other women along with her, Hollis said. Plus Ginnys father, and that poor older lady, and Dean Emery. And God knows how many others would have died if you two hadnt stopped it.

It doesnt feel very heroic, what we did, Rafe said.

Isabel smiled at him. It seldom does. Evil leaves so much destruction behind it that its like a train wreck. You dont think about what was saved ahead on the tracks, just the devastation of the crash.

And yet youre inviting me to jump on the train with you.

Well, Im sort of committed. To the journey, I mean. Its not something where you can just get off at the next station.

Excuse me, Hollis said, but are you two still speaking in metaphors?

You noticed that? Isabel said earnestly.

It amuses her, Rafe said.

Hollis shook her head. One for the books, you two. I bet Bishop can hardly wait to get you up to Quantico.

There was an invitation, Rafe admitted. He didnt mention trains, though.

So, did you accept? Hollis asked.

What do you think?

I think... that the SCU just took on a whole new dimension.

How about that? Isabel said. And shes not even precognitive.

Hastings, South Carolina
Monday, June 9

R AFE SULLIVAN ROSE from his crouched position, absently stretching muscles that had begun to cramp, and muttered, Well, shit, under his breath.

It was already hot and humid even just before noon, the sun burning almost directly overhead in a clear blue sky, and he absently wished hed had his people put up a tarp to provide some shade. The effort wouldnt be worthwhile now; another half hour, and the coroners wagon would be here.

The body sprawled at his feet was a bloody mess. She lay on her back, arms wide, legs apart, spread-eagled in a pathetically exposed, vulnerable position that made him want to cover her upeven though she was more or less dressed. Her once-white blouse was dull red, soaked with blood and still mostly wet despite the heat, so that the coppery smell was strong. The thin, springlike floral skirt was eerily undamaged but blood-soaked, spread out around her hips, the hem almost daintily raised to just above her knees.

She had been pretty once. Now, even though her face was virtually untouched, she wasnt pretty anymore. Her delicate features were contorted, eyes wide and staring, mouth open in a scream she probably never had the chance or the breath to utter. From the corners of her parted lips, trails of blood ran down her cheeks, some of it mixing with the golden strands of her long blond hair and a lot of it soaking into the ground around her.

She had been pretty once.

Looks like he was really pissed this time, Chief. Bit like the first victim, Id say. Detective Mallory Beck made the observation dryly, seemingly unmoved by the gory scene before them.

Rafe looked at her, reading the truth in her tightened lips and grim eyes. But all he said was, Am I wrong, or did this one fight him?

Mallory consulted her notebook. Doc just did the preliminary, of course, but he says she tried. Defensive injuries on the victims hands, and one stab wound in her backwhich the doc says was probably the first injury.

Shifting his gaze to the body, Rafe said, In the back? So she was trying to turnor runaway from him when he stabbed her the first time. And either he turned her around so he could finish her face-to-face or she turned herself trying to fight him.

Looks like it. And only a few hours ago; we got the call on this one earlier than the others. The doc estimates the time of death as around five-thirty this morning.

Awfully early to be up and out, Rafe commented. Caleb opens his office between nine-thirty and ten as a rule. She was still his paralegal, right?

Right. Normally went to the office around nine. So she was out very early. What I dont get is how he was able to lure her this far away from the road. You can see there are no drag marks, and two sets of footprintswe have good casts, by the wayso she walked out here with him. Im no Daniel Boone, but Id say from her tracks that she was walking calm and easy, not struggling or hesitating at all.