By the time Luke left the library, he felt sorry for Kate. The impression he had was of a young woman who existed alongside her colleagues without them realizing she was there. No one recognized the guy from the sketch. Luke was running out of ideas.

He straightened in his chair as Flo approached. She put a list in front of him.

"These are the only florists who sold bouquets on Friday and Saturday that matched the profile. The one at the top, Del Florio's, is nowhere near the victim's apartment, but one of the salesmen, Bill Henderson, said he remembered a guy asking for the bouquet to be double wrapped. I figured it was a way of handling the flowers without worrying about leaving prints."

"That's a good thought. Go on," Luke said.

"The purchase was made at five thirty on that Saturday afternoon. They have a time print on their sales records. The guy took a gift card with him. They didn't remember the design he'd chosen, but the one we have is one they stock.

Henderson said the guy was in his mid-twenties, white, a shade over six foot, dark hair, slim, good looking."

"Okay." Apart from the hair, that matched the profile from the ATM incident.

"There's more and this is why I've put Del Florio's top of the list. Someone else has been asking about the bouquet."

Luke sat up. "This could be worth dinner." She rolled her eyes. Luke wished she'd looked excited.

"I'll pick somewhere expensive. Anyway, last Tuesday, a guy came into the shop asking if anyone remembered serving a man around five thirty the previous Friday. He already knew the man bought a bouquet, the same one we're looking at, but he wanted to know the name of the recipient."

"Description?"

"Maybe better than that. Henderson said the guy told him he was a PI. Thinks his name was something like Brayson. He was older than the purchaser, but otherwise similar. He said he might recognize them both again."

Luke had Bill Henderson brought to the station house. He picked out a sketch, the one approved by Jerry Matthews, but insisted the guy who'd come into the shop had dark hair. It took him a while to choose the photo of the PI from the databank, but he was certain he was right and they let him go.

"Nathan Beranson," Luke said to Gil. "He used to be on the force. He was injured a couple of years ago and retired on disability." Luke looked up Nathan's number and dialed. There was no reply, no answering machine. "What PI doesn't have an answering machine?"

"Home phone?" Gil asked.

"This is his office number. No home phone listed." They didn't find it difficult to get Nathan's address, but he wasn't there. So they tracked down his sister.

Elisa opened the door to Luke and Gil, took one look at them and her face lost all color. Gil caught her as she slumped against the wall.

"What's happened to Bob?" she blurted.

"Who's Bob?" Luke asked, though he thought he could guess.

"My husband."

"Bob's fine," Gil said. "We're not here about Bob. Let's get you inside." They helped her to the couch.

"When are you due?" Gil smiled at her.

"Couple of weeks. Maybe sooner. Could be in the next five minutes. You're sure Bob's okay?"

"It's not Bob we're here about," Luke said.

"Nathan." She gasped. "Oh God."

Luke nodded.

"What's happened to him?" she asked.

"We just need to find him," Luke said.

"Why?"

"We have some questions for him."

Elisa breathed out deeply. "So he's okay?"

"Probably, but he's not answering his phone."

"He's out of town. He called Sunday night to tell me he was going away for a few days. I don't know where he is right now."

"When are you expecting him back?" Luke asked.

"He said it'd be just a few days. He won't want to miss this." She pointed to her stomach.

"Have you got a number where we can contact him?"

"His cell phone?"

Gil wrote the number down. "Has he mentioned anything about the cases he's been working on recently?"

"Nathan never discusses what he's involved with. He keeps work at work."

"Wife? Girlfriend?"

"No."

"Gay?" Luke asked.

Elisa laughed. "No way. What does that have to do with anything?"

"We're just trying to think of places he might be," Gil said. "Do you have the keys to his office? If we can't get in touch with him, we might have to get a warrant to look at his files."

"No, I don't. I have a spare set of keys to his house, that's all, but he never brings work there. What's all this about? Is Nathan in trouble?"

"No, but we need to speak to him as soon as possible." Luke unfolded a sheet of paper. "Recognize this man?"

Elisa studied it. "No, sorry."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

The flicker of her eyes made Luke suspect she was lying but he didn't want to badger such a heavily pregnant woman.

Jack slept with his arm draped across Kate. She lay still, listening to him breathe, wishing he'd stop. She'd been good when he'd touched her, faked she was feeling something. After she'd given him the blow job, he'd brought her upstairs and it had started all over again. She'd moaned a bit and breathed heavily in his ear. He'd spilled himself inside her, and Kate tried to squeeze out what he'd pumped into her. She could feel his semen seeping between her thighs like some slimy poison.

When she eventually eased away from his arm, he didn't reach out for her.

Kate was almost certain he was asleep, but she wanted him deeply unconscious.

She'd come to terms with the fact that she and Tommy were unlikely to reach the town before he woke, but the larger the area Jack had to search, the better their chances. If she could have been certain one of the houses on the other side of the lake had working phones, she might have chanced that route, but it was too big a risk. She slid out of bed and listened for a change in his breathing. Jack slept on.

Kate went downstairs naked, missing the two creaky steps. Before she dressed, she looked for the car keys but couldn't find them. She hadn't intended to try to start the car again, but if she had the keys then Jack would have to follow on foot.

She didn't dare spend too long looking. With luck, she and Tommy would be a long way away by the time he woke. Kate dressed in her heavy sweater and Jack's parka, pushing her gloves and woolen hat into the pockets along with cookies and cartons of juice. She crept to Tommy's room and shook him gently. He opened his eyes and then closed them again.

"Tommy," Kate whispered. "Wake up. We're going to play hide and seek. Play a trick on Daddy. You have to be really quiet, like a little mouse." He was very sleepy. Kate lifted him down from the bunk and dressed him in his warmest clothes.

"Can I take Monster?"

"Yes. But not another word. Zip that lip." She pretended to zip up his lips. Tommy nodded and pressed his lips together.

Kate took hold of his hand and they walked across to the door.

As they stepped outside she gasped at the blast of frigid air. Tommy started to speak and Kate pressed her hand against his mouth, shaking her head. She took care closing the door, twisting the knob and easing it shut. She locked it and put the key in her pocket. Lifting Tommy into her arms, she tucked her gloved hands under his bottom. He cuddled up against her chest and pushed his hands between their bodies. After wriggling around for a while, his body melded to hers and he stopped moving. Balancing him with one hand, she reached over and adjusted his hood. His eyes closed.

Kate's heart screamed run, her mind told her to stay calm. She settled on a brisk pace along the moonlit track, a pale road to freedom. The snow had gone, only a few ghostly traces remained in sheltered spots. Her cheeks tingled and her lungs burned within minutes of setting off. Despite the protection offered by her glasses, her eyes still watered from the bitter cold and tears trickled down her cheeks.

She tried not to look anywhere but straight ahead, concentrating on picking an even route along the rutted road. The woods rustled with sound; branches creaked and groaned, things shuffled in the undergrowth. She had no idea what "things" were out there in the fleeting shadows, but there was no point imagining horrors when something far more frightening lay back at the house. She flinched when she heard a sudden loud crack ahead and halted, straining to hear further movement. But everything went quiet again.

Tommy woke and wanted to walk. Kate set him on his feet and took hold of his hand.

"Where are we going?"

Kate hesitated. If she said she was taking him home and ended up failing, she'd have let him down again. "I'm taking you to get pancakes for breakfast."

"Yum."

"But we're playing hide and seek. Jack's looking for us so we have to be quiet if he comes." Kate knew he would come. He'd hunt them down.

"Where can we hide?"

"There are lots of good places in the woods." It wasn't long before she was carrying him again, his legs around her hips, her arms under his bottom. This time he didn't sleep, but chattered as she walked.

Kate had set off with hope barely sprouting, but now the shoot bore leaves. There was a chance they'd make it. It was getting lighter and once they reached the main road, she could flag down a vehicle.

They made it almost to the point where the track forked before Kate heard a car. She clutched Tommy to her chest and ran straight into the woods. Slipping behind the first large tree, she pressed her back against the bark. "Don't make a sound, Tommy."

Kate unfastened her coat, wrapped it around him, and cuddled him close. Her heart slammed around in her chest like a puck in a game of air hockey. She took a deep breath, glanced to the side and saw headlights coming. Kate turned into the shelter of the tree. Jack drove slowly. Once he passed, Kate allowed herself to breathe again. Now they had to stay away from the path because he'd drive up and down looking for them.

It was too cold to keep still. Once the noise of the car faded, Kate bent to let Tommy climb on her back and then picked her way through the trees, moving farther from the road before she turned and continued parallel to it. She didn't dare stray too far. She couldn't risk getting lost. In the distance, she heard Jack yelling.

"Don't answer if he calls your name," Kate whispered. "Remember we're playing hide and seek."

She refused to quit. Jack couldn't search all the woods. He had no idea how far they'd gotten. He didn't even know they'd come this way. Kate allowed herself a burst of real hope.

Seconds later, the noise from the car sounded closer. He'd turned around.

Kate lowered Tommy to the ground and they crouched behind a fallen tree. Jack couldn't have seen them, but the car stopped and a door slammed. Moments later Jack was crashing around on the other side of the road, shouting their names, screaming obscenities. Then he was on their side.

"Tommy," he called. "Where are you?"

His voice was different, the anger gone.

"Don't answer." Kate pulled Tommy closer. Peering over the top of the log, she saw a flashlight's beam bouncing between the trees. She pressed her face into Tommy's hair. "It's a trick to make sure he wins."

"Come out right now, or that scooter goes back to the store."

"I'll buy you another," Kate whispered.

"Father Christmas doesn't come to bad boys." Kate slipped her hand over Tommy's mouth and he began to wriggle.

"Santa'll come to you," Kate said.

"But you're a good boy, Tommy. Show me what a good boy you are and come find me."

"No." Kate watched the beam of the flashlight dance among the trees.

"I can see you," Jack called.

Kate kept her hand on Tommy's mouth. "He can't," she whispered in his ear.

"You must stay quiet."

"You're going to be in so much trouble if you don't get to the car before I do," Jack called in a sing-song voice.

Kate didn't even breathe. Jack drew nearer. If he kept looking, he might find them, but she was certain he didn't know they were there. She waited. Everything was quiet. Kate closed her eyes. Please don't find us.

"Are you playing hide and seek?"

Kate's eyes shot open again.

"Last person to reach me, has to be it'," he yelled. "Do you want to be it' in these dark woods, Tommy?"

Her heart pounded so hard, she could feel the pulse all over her body.

"There you are," Jack said suddenly.