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Paler’s neck andin the ceiling Leading it down, he threaded it through another ring in the floor, then pulled out the slack until Wainger rose to his knees, then his feet, and began gasping for air

“Stop it, will you?” Nadine leapt to her feet “I can’t watch this again I thought I could I can’t”

“Stop disc” Eve waited until the screen went blank, then went over to crouch in front of Nadine “I’m sorry”

“No I’h”

“You are Nobody’s this tough”

Nadine shook her head and, finishing her brandy with one deep gulp, set the snifter aside “You are You don’t let it get to you”

“It gets toto have a couple of unifor with you everywhere until Palmer’s down”

“You think he’ll come after me?”

“No, but why take chances? Go home, Nadine Put it away”

But after she’d asked Roarke to take Nadine downstairs to wait for the escort, Eve finished watching the disc And at the end her eyes met Palmer’s as he moved toward the camera

“Subject Wainger died at er, Dallas We both know that You’ll besubject I have such wonders planned for you You’ll findon it Happy holidays”

THREE

Stephanie Ring’s car was still in its pere was neatly stowed in the trunk Eve circled the vehicle, searching for any sign of struggle, any evidence thatthe snatch

“He’s got two basic MOs,” she said, asnearby “One is to gain entrance into the victims’ homes by a ruse—delivery, repair, or service con; the other is to co to know their routines and habits, the usual routes and schedules He keeps all that in a log—very organized, scientific, along with bio data on each of them”

They weren’t lab rats to him, she mused It was personal, individualized That hat excited him