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Michael reached into his knapsack and pulled out a flashlight “I’ve been in here before Want to take a look?”

To know the killer you had to know the victi caves

“I’ll follow you,” she said

They hadn’t gone far before the tean to drop The us and feet et, so she chilled quickly Otherwise, this cave was ht, except that there seemed to be many more side tunnels that led in different directions Hulan and Michael went another fifteen meters past several turns and bends until they reached a room about four by four meters

“Here’s where you have some choices,” he said “This shaft used to let out down by the river” He pointed the flashlight into a narrow opening that looked more like a well than a tunnel “But now that the river’s risen, it’s running through the lower caverns Hear it?”

She could That passage could very well have led to the cave where she and David had talked with Ma on that first day Now that she heard the water, she focused more clearly on the smell, which was not sodeeper and h the cave were alive

“Caves are alive,” Michael explained, “and filled with organis the flashlight’s beaoes down, but it narrows into a crawl space very quickly We’d need soo that way—headlamps, jeans, and maybe kneepads for you” He arced the beam to the back of the room “Or we can continue on There are other caverns to explore, none of which are that difficult There’s a hollow ahead with some spectacular formations”

By now Hulan was very cold, and she was feeling the weight of the h the cave, and she wondered why histo sooth him

“Did you come here with Brian?” she asked Her voice reverberated off the walls, and she felt increasingly claustrophobic

“Once But Brian preferred to cave alone”

“I would have thought you’d follow the buddy syste”

“I do when it’s really challenging, but Brian and I didn’t consider this cave to be all that rigorous” He scrutinized her, read her discoo”

He took a step toward her, and she watched in horrified fascination as he purposely stuht fall froht clattered to the floor of the cave and went dead, thrusting them into pitch black

Hulan stood co for her eyes to adjust They didn’t There was nothing to adjust to Cold fear held her in place Was Michael Quon the killer? If he was, then she had foolishly walked into his trap She heard nothing After all the crying, the baby finally went quiet Hulan held her breath, listening She could hear Michael breathing nearby

“Don’tin his tone