Three Days Later...

7:32 a.m.

Lieutenant Kane's hand came down heavy on the alarm clock like a wrecking ball falling from forty feet. He groaned as he threw the sheet back and rolled out of bed. G.o.dd.a.m.n it, Ravenwood. Where the h.e.l.l are you? It was the last thing on his mind when he fell asleep last night and the first thing on his mind this morning. How could she just up and disappear like that? And why hadn't she called? It didn't make sense. Here it was, eight days after the eighth ritual murder. The doomsday clock was running down quickly. Tomorrow all h.e.l.l could break loose. She knows that. So, where the h.e.l.l is she?

A thin ray of morning sunlight filtered into the hut where Ravenwood had lain unconscious upon a woven mat for the past 72 hours. The strip of warm light moved slowly across the floor and rolled gently over the contours of her face. She moaned and raised a hand to shield her eyes. "Where?" Her voice was hoa.r.s.e, her throat dry. "Tocho?"

At the same moment, in Seattle, the sun was filtering in through the window blinds into the hospital room and onto the bed where Rye Cowl had lain unconscious for the past nine days. The light moved slowly across the bedding and rolled up onto his face. He moaned and raised a hand to shield his eyes. "What the? His voice was hoa.r.s.e, his throat dry. "Where am I?"

Tocho was asleep on the mat next to Ravenwood when he was awakened by the sound of her voice. He sat straight up and leaned over her, grinning like a kid on Christmas morning. "Ro! I'm here. Are you okay?"

She shook her head and tried to sit up.

"Stay down. I'll get you some water."

She sat up anyway and gave her head another shake. "What the h.e.l.l happened? How long have I been out?"

Tocho handed her some water in a small drinking gourd. "Three days."

It took a moment for those words to register. When they finally did, her brow scrunched into a look of complete disbelief. She must have heard wrong. "What?"

Tocho nodded.

Her eyes grew wide. "Three days? That means..." She struggled to her feet and looked around, her eyes darting back and forth as she tried to a.s.sess the information. "Jesus." She fired a look at Tocho. "That means tomorrow... s.h.i.t. We gotta get back. Now!" Her rubbery legs quivered and she nearly lost her balance.

"Ro, you're not ready to go anywhere. Sit down. You just"

"Do you not grasp the situation here? There's no time. Get our stuff together."

"Ro"

"With me or without me, Tocho."

"What did you see down there? They were there, weren't they?"

"You know the old joke about the guy on the street wearing a sign that says the end is near? Well, it's not a joke anymore. Get our stuff and let's get the h.e.l.l out of here. Where's that bucket? I'm gonna be sick."

Cowl's body began to quake in a series of spasmodic seizures. A stunned nurse quickly notified Dr. Halverson. Halverson arrived within minutes and struggled to hold Cowl down but it was no contest as Cowl seemed to have the strength of two men. Halverson had never seen this kind of reaction from a patient coming out of a coma. He ordered the nurse to prepare a sedative and he administered it immediately. The sedative took effect and Cowl's eyes fluttered to a close and he fell into a shallow sleep.

Halverson stepped back, his mind racing, trying to a.s.sess the situation. Then he noticed the bandage that had covered the wound on Cowl's head had shaken loose. He attempted to adjust it but stopped when he saw something for which he was completely unprepared. In the small shaved area around the wound there were three raised marks on the scalp. He moved in for a closer examination. What the? He traced the marks with his finger and then straightened up.

The nurse saw the look of concern on the doctor's face. "What is it?" she asked, approaching the patient.

Halverson quickly lifted the bandage back into place. "Nothing. Nothing at all. It's fine." He tried to sound calm. "Go get nurse Tyler and bring him here. I want the two of you to stay here with the patient. I have to go to my office. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Right away, doctor."

"And do not touch the patient. If he shows any sign of regaining consciousness I want you to buzz me immediately. Do you understand?"

"Yes, doctor." She looked puzzled. "Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing for you to be concerned about. Just do as I said. I won't be long."

CHAPTER 61.

Kane's office...

Day 8 of the killing pattern...

8:22 a.m.

The phone rang just as Kane was about to take his much-needed first sip of morning coffee. He hadn't slept all night but he suddenly lit up with a spark of antic.i.p.ation. Ravenwood. He picked up the phone.

"Kane here. Oh... Dr. Halverson." The spark was quickly dowsed. "I thought...never mind. What's the latest on... What? Jesus. Yes, of course. I'll be right there."

8:57 a.m.

Halverson led Kane into Cowl's room, ordered the two nurses to leave and he closed the door behind them. He moved over to the patient and, with a stone cold expression etched into his face, he turned to Kane and motioned for him to approach.

"What is it?" Kane asked, moving to the side of the bed, opposite the doctor.

Halverson carefully lowered the bandage and looked at Kane. "You tell me."

Kane leaned in, studying the odd markings. He glanced at the doctor and then back to the marks. There was no mistake about it. The scar from the wound had morphed into three small protrusions, each in the shape of a number with which Kane had become all too familiar. "Weird. Looks like three nines."

The doctor nodded. "Perhaps. But come over here and have a look from this angle."

Kane moved around to the other side of the bed and looked again. This time his head jerked back in recognition of what was clearly more disturbing than his first impression. "Oh, my G.o.d." He straightened up and looked at Halverson. "Not a word about this to anyone. You understand?"

Halverson nodded. He knew if this got into the hands of the media there would be no end to the clamor. He didn't want to deal with such a circus any more than Kane did.

Kane paced back and forth like an animal trapped in a cage. Then he stopped. "How long before he wakes up?"

"Another hour, perhaps."

"Hmm... an hour. If he comes to, can you put him out again? Keep him sedated for like...I don't know...indefinitely?"

"Of course, but"

"No time for buts, doctor. This case just ratcheted up to another level. Don't even ask me to explain. I just need you to"

"No explanation required, Lieutenant."

Kane looked relieved. Apparently the doctor had at least some sense of what might be going on here. After all, it didn't take a degree in theology to recognize those three numbers. Even a non-believer would have to admit it was a rather disturbing coincidence.

"All right," Kane said. "I have to go back to my office. No one comes into this room. Got it?" As he reached the door, he turned and looked at Cowl resting peacefully on the bed. "And for d.a.m.n sure, that guy right there doesn't leave this room under any circ.u.mstances. Got that?"

There was an unmistakable apprehension in Halverson's eyes but, again, he gave an a.s.suring nod as Kane disappeared quickly out the door.

Kane strode briskly down the long hall toward the elevator, his mind racing. The elevator was filled with people as he stepped inside but he was singularly alone and adrift in a swirling cloud of erratic thoughts.

Ravenwoodfor whatever reasonhad left him to sort this out for himself. d.a.m.n her, anyway. What the h.e.l.l is she thinking? He thought about what he'd just told Halverson... keep Cowl sedated... make sure he doesn't leave the room.

Under ordinary circ.u.mstances, that would make perfect sense. Keep the suspect sedated and secure, unable to carry out his agenda. But these were not ordinary circ.u.mstances and there was just one gaping hole in the plan: Even while Cowl was in a coma, laid flat out under the crisp white sheets of a hospital bed with medical staff coming and going, he had somehow managed to carry out the sacrificial ritual that took Harlan Bodine's life. The present set of circ.u.mstances was not ordinary by any definition. The sedation solution would probably be about as effective as a condom on a d.i.l.d.o. He gave his head a shake. I'm definitely out of my comfort zone here.

The elevator door slid open. Kane stepped out and hurried to the exit on his way to the parking garage. d.a.m.n it, Ravenwood. Where the h.e.l.l are you?

As he fastened his seat belt and slid the key into the ignition, he suddenly felt choked by the weight of the biggest albatross still hanging around his neck like a living corpse: Pastor Pete, the next and final victim on the list.

He sat still, gripping the steering wheel of the patiently idling vehicle and stared blankly at the gray concrete wall two feet in front of the car. He considered his options.

On the one hand, the decrepit old b.a.s.t.a.r.d deserved what was coming to him. Put him out of his f.u.c.king misery. Great idea. Except for one thing. The ritual sacrifice of the old man would signal the beginning of h.e.l.l on earth for everyone.

The other option was to try saving the old man, protect him somehow from the madness of Cowl's magick and spare the world from a virtual holocaust of unthinkable horror.

Even though his years on the Force had convinced him that half the world's population probably deserved such a fate, he thought about Sarah. He drew in a long breath and let it go, resigned to what he knew was his only option.

He threw the car into reverse and shoved the stick into Drive. The screech of the tires echoed throughout the parking garage.

CHAPTER 62.

10:00 a.m.

Kane's cell phone vibrated in his front pocket as he sprinted up the main steps to the precinct entrance. He stopped just inside the large gla.s.s doors and took the call. "Ravenwood! Where the h.e.l.l have you been? Where the h.e.l.l are you?"

"I'm at the Zocalo in San Cristobal."

Kane could tell she was winded, breathing hard. It sounded as if she was walking quickly, maybe even running as she spoke. He shook his head. "At the what, where?"

"Southern tip of Mexico. Never mind. Just listen."

"No, you listen"

"No, you listen. I don't have time to explain. I'm on my way to Guatemala as we speak. We'll catch a flight from there and"

"We? Who's we? Ravenwood, what the?"

"Never mind. With any luck we'll be in Albuquerque by around four o'clock and I'll catch a flight to Seattle from there. I'll call you the minute I'm back. You won't believe what I've seen. What's happening with Cowl? Is he still in?"

"You won't believe what I've seen, either. He's awake. I mean he was awake. He's sedated now, but... h.e.l.lo? Ravenwood? h.e.l.lo? d.a.m.n it!"

1:00 p.m.

Guatemala Airport Tocho stood by the magazine rack and waited, watching Ravenwood talking with the man behind the ticket counter. She turned, briefly, and he could see the troubled look on her face. Then she turned back to the man behind the counter. It looked like she was arguing with him. The man didn't seem to be showing any sympathy so much as he simply looked annoyed. Tocho studied the situation and wondered if he should step in. Finally, it seemed a transaction was being made and then Ravenwood turned and walked away, clearly upset. She glanced around, apprehensively, looking for Tocho.

"Over here," he called out to her.

She snapped her head in the direction of his voice and hurried over to him with two tickets in her hand. "Unbelievable," she said, trying to restrain her emotion.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"The next flight to Albuquerque was scheduled to leave at one-fifteen. That would be cutting it close enough but now there's been some kind of delay and it won't be leaving until one-forty-five. A G.o.dd.a.m.n half an hour. s.h.i.t."

"Half hour. That means we won't get to Albuquerque until"

"Five friggin' o'clock this evening." She squeezed the tickets in her fist as if she was strangling the man behind the counter.

Tocho put a hand on her shoulder. "Okay, calm down. Let's not"

She jerked her shoulder away and Tocho's hand remained suspended in air for a moment before falling to his side. He stood there with a helpless look on his face.

She glared at him. "Calm down? Don't you get it? At this rate I won't get home until... Christ, I don't know... ten... eleven o'clock tonight? Tomorrow is the ninth day, Tocho. If you had seen what I've seen..." She paused a moment and took a breath. "Kane's not going to be able to handle this on his own."

"Yeah, but like you said, that's tomorrow. This is today. There's still time to"

"Tomorrow starts tonight, Tocho." She was raising her voice, almost yelling. "Midnight, tonight. Get it?"

"Oh, yeah. I didn't think about that."