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he’s a genius when it comes to catching psychopaths.
    “I’m very good at what I do, but I couldn’t tell you how he does what he does, I just know that he can do it and do it better than I can. He gets in their heads until he finds them. Sometimes he gives us our guy and we can’t prove it, but he’s always right. If it wasn’t for the mess the Mercy Killings was making of our reputation … never mind that.
    “He’s the best I’ve ever seen, bar none, and I’ve seen everyone. The two guys that started Behavioral Sciences with him went on to write books, go on talk shows, advise for the movies and all that shit, now regular people know who they are. Not Thorne, he truly doesn’t give a fuck about that.
    “He’s got an ego, make no mistake, but he really doesn’t care about the credit on his cases, he doesn’t like any attention from the media, none of that shit. He just likes the challenge. The guy lives in his head and it must be a fucking fascinating place. I wouldn’t know because I’ve never been there and I don’t know that I’d even want to go. One thing I will tell you. If you want to know everything there is to know about catching homicidal psychos, Thorne is the guy that can show you, so pay close attention to what he has to say.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “One last thing. I may not be able to get him to come back. It’s going to be touch and go, he has to be dealt with very delicately. But if I do get him back on the job, I guarantee that he will not like working with you and he’ll be a flaming asshole about it. He will get under your skin, he’ll look into your bowels, pull something out that will fuck with you and piss you off; that’s what he does.
    “That’s why he’s a legend and why the suits we all work for hate him. Be ready for it and whatever you do, do not ever just eat his shit, you know what I’m saying? Give as good as you get, do not back down from him. Got it?”
    Kane took a moment to make sure her voice was steady before she spoke.
    “Yes, sir. I got it.”
    “You’d better. Because everything you know or think you know about this job is about to change, starting right now today.”

Chapter Six

    K elly woke suddenly . She’d heard something. Even though she’d been fast asleep she was certain she’d heard something. It was a creaking noise from somewhere in her house. She poked Bryan, who grunted but didn’t move. Kelly caught her breath and listened hard to what the house had to say for itself. It could be that she dreamt it, the noise. There, she heard it again. It sounded almost like footsteps and that frightened her. Kelly reached over to her husband and shook him.
    “Bryan,” Kelly whispered. “Bryan! I hear something.”
    “It’s the furnace,” Bryan didn’t even open his eyes. “Go back to sleep.”
    “It’s NOT the furnace, listen,” Kelly shook him again. “Wake up and listen!”
    “Woman, would you just …” Bryan stopped suddenly. He’d heard something himself. Bryan grabbed his glasses from the nightstand next to the bed and put them on. He held a hand up to his wife to quiet her as he sat up. They listened together again to their house, which now had nothing to say for itself. Now Bryan didn’t care for the silence of his house, it was almost like his home had been whispering and somehow gotten shushed. Bryan swung out of bed, barefoot in sweatpants and a T-shirt.
    “Did you check on Wendy before bed?”
    “Yes, like always,” Kelly whispered. “She was out like a light, you know she always sleeps hard after swimming. What is it?”
    “It’s probably nothing. I’m gonna check on Wendy. You stay here.”
    Bryan padded over to their closed bedroom door. He paused before opening it, reached down and grabbed the baseball bat right next to the bedroom closet. With everything going on, he and Kelly had been taking care never to let their daughter Wendy, who was nine, out of their sight at any time outside of their house. They took