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it’s tomorrow, you know we’ll get you there on time.’
    â€˜It’s not that,’ Sam said.
    He’d swung by the party store first thing and spoken to Luis Delgado, the manager, and Delgado had said he wanted to help, but their security camera had been busted for over a week, and the boss hadn’t gotten around to having it fixed.
    â€˜What if it was Cooper Grace saw on Monday?’ Sam said now.
    â€˜You don’t think she was just being jumpy?’
    Sam shrugged. ‘You know how I am with coincidences.’
    â€˜Me too,’ Martinez said.
    â€˜But if she was right . . .’
    Sam stopped, because sweet Jesus, that thought scared him, because there were just too many connections here. As he’d pointed out to Grace last night, Cal the Hater’s trademark raking of flesh had been absent in this case, and the whole macabre heart thing was totally new. But the rest could not be so easily ruled out as coincidence, not with the first toy boat so deliberately tied up at their home.
    Which put Cooper, at the very least, high on their list of suspects.
    List of one , in fact, for the time being.
    Man, but that scared him.

NINE
    April 22
    T he morning of the wedding was sunny and gorgeous, perfect weather forecast for the rest of the day.
    Preparations in the Becket house well underway.
    And for Sam and Martinez, a missing persons report of interest.
    â€˜Andrew Victor.’ Joe Sheldon brought it to them at nine fifty. ‘Twenty-seven, African-American, five-eleven, around a hundred and fifty pounds, reported missing by his housemate – ’ he glanced down at his notes – ‘Ms Gail Tewkesbury, who says Mr Victor sometimes goes AWOL for a week or so, but he went out almost two weeks ago and she has a real bad feeling about our John Doe.’
    â€˜Tell her we’re on our way,’ Sam said.
    â€˜She’s going to stay home till you get there.’ Sheldon handed Martinez the address. ‘Condo at 50 Biscayne.’
    â€˜Fancy,’ Martinez said.
    Gail Tewkesbury was diminutive in stature and visibly upset, but with her sharp facial features, intent gray eyes and dressed for work in a well-cut suit, she looked like a force to be reckoned with.
    â€˜I was told you couldn’t show me a photograph,’ she said right after she’d let them in, and briefly her narrow mouth trembled, as if she might cry. ‘So I’ve found Andy’s comb for you because I know that might help you with the ID.’ She had her emotions under control. ‘And his toothbrush is in the bathroom. I’m afraid I’d already touched the comb before I thought of it, but I knew you wouldn’t want me to touch the toothbrush.’
    â€˜You were right,’ Sam said. ‘That’s very helpful.’
    â€˜I haven’t touched anything in his bedroom either.’ The pitch of her voice rose. ‘And I have the name of his dentist, because I know that might help too.’
    â€˜It will,’ Sam said. ‘Thank you.’
    â€˜Do you have any reason to think that something might have happened in his bedroom, ma’am?’ Martinez asked.
    â€˜No,’ she said. ‘Of course not. But if this . . .’ She shut her eyes, took a shaky breath.
    â€˜Hey,’ Sam said, gently. ‘Take it easy.’
    She opened her eyes, went on. ‘If this were to turn out to be Andy, I just assumed you’d need to see his things.’
    â€˜We would,’ Sam said. ‘But let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Let’s hope he shows up tonight, and you can yell at him.’
    â€˜And call us,’ Martinez added.
    â€˜God, yes,’ she said. ‘Right away.’
    They got her to sit down in her blue and white living room, and she assented gratefully to Martinez going to her kitchen and getting her a small bottle of Evian, from which she sipped while she told them about Andrew