"d.a.m.n it, she's fixing to try to go under again," Jazzy shouted.

Dallas grabbed Genny and shook her gently. He called her name repeatedly. She didn't reply. Then he tried to talk to her telepathically, but she wouldn't respond. She shut him out.

Genny knew it would be more difficult to locate Esther staying here in one spot. Not being mobile, she would be unable to feel her way closer and closer to where the killer was keeping his next victim. It would be more difficult, but she could locate Esther without leaving the hospital. It was the only way to save the woman's life.

Genny focused her thoughts on Esther. Every fiber of her being concentrated on locating the woman. Darkness swirled and parted, leaving cool gray shadows. Where are you Esther? Where are you?

No response.

Genny kept trying to make the connection. The power within her struggled to renew itself, but she soon comprehended the fact that her power was depleted. Being physically wounded, undergoing surgery, and then using her sight to connect to the killer tonight had rendered her psychic powers temporarily inert.

Emotion lodged in her throat. Tears trickled from her eyes. She reached up and wiped the moisture from her cheeks.

"She's crying," Jazzy said.

"Genny?" Dallas brushed his hand across her damp cheek.

She opened her eyes and looked at him with her blurred vision. "Tell Jacob about Esther. And tell him that I can't help him. I'm much too weak to..." Her voice trailed off. Weariness overpowered her.

"Thank G.o.d." Jazzy looked at Dallas. "Call Jacob, then go meet up with him and see what y'all can do to find Esther Stowe. I'll stay here with Genny."

"She'll be all right, won't she?"

Jazzy nodded. "After a good night's sleep, she should be fine."

When Genny realized Dallas was leaving, she tried to call out to him, but she couldn't even open her mouth. Her eyelids grew heavy and suddenly closed of their own volition.

Sleep claimed her for the night.

Chapter 26.

Dallas appreciated the fact that Jacob had no qualms about letting him take part in his questioning of the three suspects that topped their list: Carson, Pierpont, and Upton. If just one of the three came up missing tonight, they would be able to narrow that list down to one suspect. And if all three were accounted for, then that meant one of two things-either the killer had Esther hidden away and he would return to her before morning or someone other than one of those three was the killer. If the latter was the case, then G.o.d help them, they'd be starting from scratch.

Dallas stood at Jacob's side when he rang the doorbell at the Upton mansion. The housekeeper came to the door in her robe and slippers.

When she recognized Jacob, she gasped. "Lord have mercy, what's wrong, Sheriff Butler?"

"Nothing's wrong, Dori," Jacob replied. "At least we hope not. But we need to see Mr. Jamie. Would you please tell him the sheriff needs a word with him."

"Land's sakes, do you know what time it is?" She gave Jacob a stern glare.

"It's not much after ten," Jacob told her.

"I'm not even sure Mr. Jamie is here. He's out and about so much since he came home. But I'll go see, so y'all might as well come on in. You can wait right in here, in the foyer."

Jacob removed his Stetson when he entered the house. "Thanks."

Before Dori reached the stairs, Big Jim Upton emerged from his study. "What the h.e.l.l's going on?" He glanced from Jacob to Dallas. "Hold up, Dori."

The housekeeper stopped immediately.

"You go on back to bed," Jim said. "I'll speak to Sheriff Butler."

"We need to see Jamie," Jacob said.

"The boy's under the weather," Jim replied. "Think he might have a touch of food poisoning."

"Sorry to hear that, but all I need to do is see him for a couple of minutes."

"About what?"

Jacob huffed.

Dallas wondered what the odds were of their finding out if Jamie Upton was actually upstairs resting after a bout of vomiting and diarrhea, or if he was, as Dori had put it, out and about.

"We've got another woman missing," Jacob explained. "If Jamie's here, then we'll know he probably wasn't the one who abducted her."

Jim Upton narrowed his gaze and glowered at Jacob. "Come on. You can look in on him, but that's all. Not one d.a.m.n word. Do you hear me? You hara.s.s that boy while he's sick and I'll press charges against you for police brutality."

Five minutes later, Jacob and Dallas got back in Jacob's truck and headed toward Dillon Carson's apartment.

"Well, if Jamie Upton wasn't sick, he deserves an Academy Award for his performance," Dallas said.

"He could still be the one. He could have kidnapped Esther Stowe earlier, stashed her somewhere, then gotten sick."

"Anything is possible."

Heading straight for town, Jacob pressed his foot on the accelerator and the truck sped along the practically deserted road. When they arrived in Cherokee Pointe, they drove directly to Dillon Carson's place. Jacob whipped into the parking area of the apartment building where Carson lived, then killed the motor and got out. Dallas followed him upstairs and down a dimly lit corridor, right to their next suspect's front door.

Jacob rang the bell. No response. He rang it again. They waited. Nothing. Dallas looked at Jacob, who shook his head.

"He could be at Jazzy's Joint," Jacob said. "I think he's there nearly every night."

"Want me to call over there and find out?" Dallas asked.

Jacob punched the doorbell again. "Yeah, might as well. Apparently he's not here."

Just as they started to leave, the door swung open and a half-naked woman, wearing nothing but a sheer teddy that left nothing to the imagination, said, "What y'all want?" Her words were slightly slurred, and a rather dazed expression flattened her broad, full face.

Both Jacob and Dallas tried not to look at her large b.r.e.a.s.t.s or the black triangle of curly hair between her thighs. Practically simultaneously, they both swallowed, then cleared their throats. Obviously drunk, the big-b.o.o.bed brunette swayed back and forth in the doorway.

"We're here to see Dillon Carson," Jacob told her.

"He's busy." Giggling, she put a finger to her lips. "Busy sleeping. I wore the poor guy out."

"Then he's here, in his bedroom?"

"He's not in the bedroom." She flung the door open all the way and pointed toward the sofa. "He's right over there."

Dillon Carson lay with his head and upper torso on the floor and his hips braced against the front of the sofa. His legs gaped apart and one foot rested atop a cushion and the other under it. He was buck naked.

"How long have you been with him?" Jacob asked.

"Not sure. A couple of hours...maybe," she said. "We met up over at Jazzy's Joint, had a few drinks and then came back here."

While Jacob spoke to the woman, Dallas walked across the living room and inspected Carson. He reached down and lifted the guy's arm. When he let go, the arm dropped to Carson's side like a lead weight.

"He's out cold," Dallas said.

"Sorry to have bothered you, ma'am." Jacob tipped his Stetson.

Dallas nodded to her as he followed Jacob. Neither man said a word until they reached the truck. Dallas paused and glanced across the hood at Jacob.

"We're batting zero," Dallas said.

"One more strike and we'll be out." Jacob frowned. "Pierpont's place isn't far from here. He's got an apartment over his antique shop."

"Let's head out." As soon as Jacob unlocked the truck, Dallas got in. "You drive, I'll contact Chief Watson and get an update from the task force. With a dozen men out scouring the town for Esther, maybe somebody's come up with a lead."

Within a few minutes Jacob parked in front of the antique shop. He kept the motor running to provide heat while Dallas finished his conversation with Chief Watson. d.a.m.n, Jacob had been right about that guy-he was an idiot. Instead of being at the police station heading up the investigation for his department, Watson was home watching a basketball game on TV.

"Haven't heard a word," Watson said. "So I guess n.o.body's come up with anything on that Stowe woman's whereabouts. You and Jacob having any luck?"

"Not so far. Sorry to have interrupted your ball game." Dallas. .h.i.t the OFF b.u.t.ton on his cell phone.

"Ball game?" Jacob lifted his eyebrows. "Let me guess-he's home watching TV."

"A trained orangutan would make a better police chief."

"Ever thought about changing jobs, moving to a small town, and settling down with a good woman?" Jacob asked as he killed the truck's motor.

"Since meeting Genny, I've had lots of odd notions," Dallas admitted. "I don't think she'd want to leave Cherokee County."

"Nope. You could never take her away from these hills."

"So, do you think the chief's job might come open anytime soon?" Dallas opened the truck door.

Jacob and Dallas got out, then Jacob locked the doors and stepped up on the sidewalk. "After the way he's mishandled his part of the murder investigations, I don't think even Big Jim Upton will be able to help him keep his job. I'd say there will be an opening for police chief before too long."

Once again Jacob led and Dallas followed. The apartment upstairs was reached by a long narrow hallway hidden behind an exterior door between the antique shop and the lawyer's offices next door. Dallas waited several steps down from the apartment entrance since there was barely enough room for Jacob on the narrow landing.

"I don't see any sign of a doorbell, but it's so d.a.m.n dark up here, I can barely see my hand in front of my face." Jacob lifted his hand and knocked loudly.

Silence.

Jacob knocked again. Louder and longer.

No answer.

Maybe Pierpont was their man. Maybe he had Esther Stowe bound and gagged in his bedroom right now. Or perhaps he'd already moved her to the altar site.

Jacob tried a third time. Nothing. Then just as they turned around and were headed downstairs, they heard the sound of footsteps. The door creaked open and a ceiling light came on.

A bleary-eyed Royce Pierpont asked, "Who's there?"

"Royce, it's Sheriff Butler."

"Jacob, what's wrong? Has anything happened to Genny?"

Dallas stayed put while Jacob climbed back up to where Pierpont waited in the doorway.

"Genny's fine. But Esther Stowe is missing, and Genny's sure Esther is the next victim."

"Then why are you here to see me?" Pierpont gasped and clutched the lapels of his silk robe. "My G.o.d, you still suspect me of being the killer, don't you?"

"We're just checking around town," Jacob replied. "We have to do everything we can to find Esther."

"Yes, yes, of course you do." Pierpont nodded. "I understand. If it will ease your mind, feel free to come inside and search my apartment. I a.s.sure you that Esther Stowe isn't here."

Jacob hesitated a moment. Dallas cleared his throat, then said, "Go ahead and take a look. I'll wait right here for you."

"Yes, yes, come in." Pierpont waved his hand in a welcoming gesture. "I apologize for taking so long to come to the door. I haven't been sleeping well lately. Not since Genny was shot. I finally gave in to my desperate need for rest and took a sleeping pill about an hour ago."

"Yeah. Okay." Jacob entered the apartment.

Dallas waited. He could hear Pierpont's incessant chatter as he followed Jacob from room to room during his inspection. In three minutes flat, Jacob returned, said good night, and motioned for Dallas to head downstairs. Pierpont politely left the light on for them.

"So where do we go from here?" Jacob asked.

"We join up with the task force and pray we can find Esther before daybreak." Dallas paused on the sidewalk in front of the antique store. "Put a tail on Pierpont, Carson, and Upton until morning. If any one of them decides to take a midnight ride, we want to know about it."

Butler and Sloan suspected him, but he wasn't the only one they suspected. There were others on their list. Both men were smart, but he was smarter. In the end, he'd outsmart them all. Now that the two lawmen had paid him a visit and he'd allowed a few hours to pa.s.s, he knew what he had to do. He'd never sacrificed a victim anywhere near where he lived, but in this case he'd have little choice. Esther was in the bas.e.m.e.nt, bound, gagged, drugged, and waiting for his return. He didn't dare try to move her. If Butler was as smart as he thought, then he'd have sent out watchdogs to keep an eye on his three main suspects. That probably being the case, he had no choice but to sacrifice Esther in the bas.e.m.e.nt. The dawn sunlight could be seen through the two small, high windows in the area where he had erected the altar.

It might take weeks, even months for someone to discover Esther's body in the bas.e.m.e.nt. By then it wouldn't matter. By then he would be invincible, powerful beyond his wildest dreams. Once he had taken Genevieve Madoc's heart and consumed it, her powers would belong to him. He would have no equal here on earth. Only divine spirits would be his equals.

You would be so proud of me. Mother. Your bad, bad little boy is going to be the most powerful creature in the world. If only you were still alive to see the glorious day.

Genny screamed. Jazzy shot up out of the chair where she'd been sleeping and rushed to Genny's side. Genny lay there, her eyes closed, her body stiff as a poker. And she kept screaming and screaming. A plump, blond nurse rushed into the room almost immediately and tried to waken Genny, but without any luck. The screams woke everyone on the floor. Over Jazzy's protests, the nurse gave Genny an injection.

"Just a sedative to calm her," the nurse explained.

"She doesn't need a sedative, d.a.m.n it," Jazzy said. "She needs to wake up."