"Yeah, I know. What's with all the protocol? Regan's not here. No way she would be."

"She's missing and she left me a message that said she had business with you and-"

"Missing?" he interrupted harshly. Wariness darkened his hazel eyes. "What do you mean, missing?"

"She didn't show up for work today and she's not at the house."

"Are you s.h.i.ttin' me?" he demanded, disbelieving.

"Lucky!" a female voice shrilled behind him. Mich.e.l.le, his wife, a compact, curvy woman, was barreling through the living room toward the front door.

"Watch your language! Bianca's here."

"Oh, save me," a girl said as Regan's daughter pushed her way past her father and stared at Alvarez suspiciously. "What are you talking about? Mom can't be missing. What's that supposed to mean?" She looked up at her father. "This is a joke, right?" But she was concerned. Her eyes, so much like her father's, reflected his worry.

He waved off the question. To Alvarez he said, "Start at the beginning."

"That's what I was going to suggest you do."

"Well, for G.o.d's sake, come on in," Mich.e.l.le said, glaring at her husband and giving him a little-girl pout. "It's freezing out there and our gas bill is already too high."

Reluctantly, Lucky stepped away from the door and Alvarez stomped snow off her boots before crossing the threshold and walking into a room filled with Christmas decor. Along with the pink flocked tree, there were lights strung over the mantel and candles taking precedence over the hunting and sports magazines strewn over the tables. Ceramic elves with big eyes, drooping hats, and, in Alvarez's opinion, wicked, leering smiles were tucked between table legs and on windowsills.

"So you haven't seen Regan since...?"

"Last week sometime when we picked up the kids," Lucky said.

"Friday," Mich.e.l.le chimed in as she waved Selena toward the cl.u.s.ter of chairs near an unlit fireplace where inside the firebox, dangling dangerously over the charred logs, a plastic Santa's boot was visible, as if Old St. Nick were actually climbing down the chimney. "In the afternoon."

"But you talked with her since." She caught a glimpse of the local news on the television where there was running footage of a woman being forced into a squad car. Breaking news from Spokane, Washington, the running caption read. Suspect arrested in the Star-Crossed Serial Killer homicide investigation.

She perched on the edge of a blue side chair while her partner's ex-husband took up what appeared to be his usual spot on the couch. Cisco, traitor that he was, hopped up beside Lucky and turned his beady eyes on Alvarez.

"Yeah. Yesterday. When she found out the kids were with me." His gaze wandered to the television. "Looks like you caught the guy, huh?"

"Remains to be seen."

"Maybe Regan took off for Spokane to be part of the bust."

"Then the sheriff's office would know where she was," Bianca sneered, though she chewed nervously on her lower lip.

"What did she say?" Alvarez asked, bringing Lucky back to the conversation.

"On the phone?"

Selena nodded.

He shrugged. "That she was on her way. I'd told her I...well, that Mich.e.l.le and I wanted full custody of Jeremy and Bianca, and Regan went ballistic. Told me she was coming over, and to get the kids and the dog ready."

"Did she show up?"

"No." He looked away from Alvarez's steady gaze. "I figured she'd cooled off. Changed her mind."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. She does that, y'know." He was irritated now, paying a little more attention. "It's not like she hasn't said one thing and done another before. It's kind of her M.O."

"Yeah," Mich.e.l.le agreed.

"You're her partner. You must know what a hot-head she can be," Lucky said.

"Seems to me she's been pretty rock-steady where the kids are concerned." For the first time Selena noticed that Pescoli's son hadn't joined the party. "Is Jeremy here?"

"Nah, he went into town."

"In this?" she asked, hitching her chin toward the window and the storm raging outside.

"He's nearly eighteen, been driving in snow ever since he got his license. It's nothing. I loaned him my truck 'cuz we left his at her house." As if a sudden thought occurred to him, he said, "You said you checked there at her place?"

"She's not there and her Jeep is missing."

"And she's not answering her phone?" Leaning across the couch for the handheld, he dialed a number, as if he could reach his ex-wife when the entire sheriff's department couldn't. When that didn't work, he pounded out a new set of numbers, then as he listened, said, "You probably tried her cell?"

"Yes," Selena answered carefully.

Frowning, he waited, then, obviously hearing Pescoli's voicemail recording, hung up and stared at the phone.

"Dad?" Bianca asked, her voice quavering slightly. "Where's Mom?"

"Oh, probably with some loser guy she picked up-"

"Lucky, don't-" Mich.e.l.le warned, her perfect, pink lips puckering into a knot of disapproval.

Maybe she isn't so bad after all.

"But you can find her, right?" Bianca said, glancing from her father to Alvarez.

"Of course," Selena said, though she didn't like her odds. "Why don't you tell me what happened when she called yesterday."

He glowered out the window, watching as the snowflakes fell relentlessly from the obscured heaven. "We had a fight on the phone. That's no news flash. I thought she'd come barging in here ready for bear, but when she never showed I figured she'd decided to take some time to cool off. It's almost Christmas. She was eyeball deep in all this c.r.a.p about the serial killer, so I thought she'd just chilled. Believe it or not, that happens, too."

A timer went off in the kitchen.

Mich.e.l.le, as if she'd been sitting on coiled springs, shot out of her chair and hotfooted it past a crowded dining room table and through an archway.

Bianca looked at her dad. "Mom's okay, right?"

"'Course she is," Lucky said, flashing a smile that radiated confidence.

Alvarez's cell phone went off and she climbed to her feet and walked to the entryway, to give herself a little privacy. "Alvarez," she said, grabbing another tissue from her pocket, and heard Undersheriff Cort Brewster's voice on the other end.

"We got a signal off of Pescoli's vehicle coming from up on Horsebrier Ridge." Alvarez's stomach dropped. She'd driven over the ridge on her way from Regan's house to here. "Rule's already on the scene and spotted the vehicle. Wrecked, buried in the snow. We've got another unit headed that way, the towing company alerted."

Alvarez sneaked a glance over her shoulder. Bianca was staring at her wide-eyed while Lucky was tuned in to the news. Oh, G.o.d, what a mess.

"Anyone see the driver?" she asked, her voice low.

"Not yet." His voice was grim. "Rule claims at least twelve inches of snow over the vehicle. He can't tell how badly it's wrecked or if anyone's inside."

"I'm on my way," she said, digesting what the undersheriff had said as well as what he hadn't. The temperature in that wrecked car would have been far below freezing last night and if Regan hadn't gotten out...

She clicked off the phone and turned back to the living room where Bianca was still staring at her.

"I've got to go. If you think of anything else, call me."

"That was about Mom," Bianca guessed, her face ashen. "Wasn't it?"

"We don't know. We think we might have found her vehicle. Nothing's certain yet."

"Where?" Bianca demanded, getting up from her spot on the ottoman.

Now, finally, she had Lucky's attention. He clicked off the television with the remote. Mich.e.l.le, snowman hot pads covering her hands, had walked into the archway near the dining room and, too, was waiting.

"I don't know anything, but I will soon," Alvarez said. "I'll call."

"No...I want to come." Bianca was already starting for the door, but Lucky reached out a long arm and stopped her, held his daughter fast. For the first time he seemed to really comprehend how dire the situation was.

"We can't interfere with police business, pumpkin. Detective Alvarez promised to call us and she will."

Alvarez's heart sank as she walked to the door and let herself out. Whatever had happened to Regan wasn't good.

She knew it.

Lucky Pescoli knew it.

Only Bianca was holding out childish hope.

Chapter Five.

Alvarez stood on the icy road that cut across Horsebrier Ridge and watched nervously as the rescue workers ascended the face of the cliff using ropes. It was dark, the wind blowing through the canyon, but the blizzard had given it a rest, no new snow was falling from the dark heavens. At least for now.

Tired, hungry, her stomach in knots, the cold medication wearing off, she, along with several deputies and members of the rescue teams from both the fire and sheriff's departments, had responded to the scene. The road was blocked, flares lit and sizzling orange, adding to the eerie incandescence of beams from flashlights, headlights, taillights, and cigarette tips all reflecting against a deathly white panorama of wintry forest.

Far below, crumpled and half buried in snow, was the remains of what had once been Pescoli's Jeep. The rescue team, with the help of ropes and climbing gear, returned.

"No one inside," Randy, a ruddy-faced fireman, said as he approached. He was shaking his head and turned to another fireman, Gary Goodwin, a man Alvarez had only met a couple of times. "Got a smoke?"

Goodwin obliged, offering up an opened pack of Winstons and a Bic lighter.

"Purse?" Alvarez asked as Randy, thick gloves on his hands, fumbled with the b.u.mmed cigarette and a lighter.

"I didn't see one."

"Weapons? I'm sure she had her sidearm, a shotgun, and rifle with her."

"Nothing." He was shaking his head. "But it's d.a.m.ned dark, I looked real good with my flashlight, but I could have missed something." He lit up and tossed the lighter back to his buddy.

"You didn't," Goodwin said, glancing down the hill again. "There was some junk in there, sungla.s.ses, empty cigarette pack, shopping bags, but the Jeep's pretty crumpled up. Maybe we'll find something tomorrow, when we've got daylight." He didn't sound convinced as he jammed a cigarette into his mouth.

Alvarez silently agreed. And she figured the rest of the crew from the sheriff's department would be on board with Randy's a.s.sessment. If Pescoli had been abducted by the Star-Crossed Killer, her a.s.sailant would have cleaned out the Jeep, wiped away or taken any evidence with him, as he had with all the others.

Alvarez felt sick inside. She coughed, and the men stepped away from her. She flapped a hand at them and said, "Not the cigarettes. A nasty cold."

They stayed back. Alvarez didn't blame them.

She cleared her throat and gazed out at the frigid landscape. Their only hope was that the killer's M.O. of nurturing his victims back to health before brutally leaving them to die in the frozen wilderness would buy Regan some time. If that was the case, then there was a good chance Pescoli was still alive and if she wasn't too injured, she might be able to escape. She, if she hadn't sustained a head injury, would know what she was dealing with. The other victims hadn't been so lucky.

Lucky. Yeah, right. G.o.d, what a mess.

She spent another half hour on the ridge before calling it a night. There was nothing more she could do. The crime scene guys would go over the vehicle and surrounding area with fine-toothed combs and sophisticated equipment, the Jeep would be towed to the garage where it would be examined again and again. If the killer messed up...

But so far he hasn't.

Now the clock was ticking down, vital seconds in Regan Pescoli's life slipping away.

She rubbed her gloved hands together, trying to get some feeling back in her fingers. Her toes, too, were beginning to tingle and go numb despite warm socks and boots. And the cold medication she'd taken hours before had worn off. Her nose was running and her ears were plugged.

Walking to the edge of the cliff, she looked far below to the area where Pescoli's car had landed.

How had Star-Crossed known Regan Pescoli would be traveling this road at that particular moment in time?

How could he know?

Frustrated, she turned and looked up at the hill rising above the road. From the ridge he might have had an open shot. Still, the odds of pulling it off were against him.

In the morning if the weather held off, officers would scour the ridge and hill, searching for sh.e.l.l casings or a spot where an a.s.sa.s.sin could lay in wait. Maybe this time they'd find something.

She squinted up through the darkness. Had the b.a.s.t.a.r.d camped out here in the middle of a blizzard with near-whiteout conditions?

He had to know.