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decided to take a poke at the elephant in the
room. “Have you heard from him recently?”
    “He sent
a card on my last birthday.”
    He
nodded. “You send it to the lab?”
    “No. I
just added it to the collection.”
    “Nevada,”
he began, his tone angry.
    “You
think the Laughing Man is going to leave fingerprints on a card? Or his DNA?
Maybe he was nice enough to lick the envelope for us? Be serious.”
    Dan
sighed. He knew I was right. “What did the card say?”
    “It had
two kittens on the front, one with his arm over the other’s shoulder. Inside it
said, ‘Have a purrfect birthday.’ See, they’re mixing ‘purr’ and ‘perfect,’” I
explained.
    “I got
the humor,” he said. “Did he write anything?”
    I
thought about lying to him, but what was the point of that at this stage? “He
wrote, ‘Miss you.’ And he drew the face, of course.” The Laughing Man always
drew the face. That horrible, laughing face.
    Dan’s
lips were pressed tightly together. I didn’t need to ask what was going on in
his head. Dan was a good cop. Honest. By the book. But if he ever caught up
with the Laughing Man, there was never going to be a trial. The Laughing Man
wouldn’t live long enough to see the inside of a courthouse. Hell, he probably
wouldn’t live long enough to see the inside of a patrol car.
    “All
right,” Dan said finally.
    “I haven’t
been watching the news lately,” I said, “but I take it he’s still inactive?
Seems like you’d have sent someone over otherwise.”
    Dan
nodded. “He’s been dark for three years. I don’t know how he does it.”
    “How he
does what?”
    “How
does he resist the urge?”
    “It was
never about compulsion.” I shrugged. “It was just a game for him. That’s all.”
    “You
told me that once before,” Dan said. “I didn’t believe you then.”
    “There’s
your proof,” I said. “He stopped killing because he lost his playmate. He lost me .
Now he has nobody to…” I trailed off.
    “Nobody
to play with?”
    “Yeah.”
    “There
are other cops out there, you know.”
    “I was
the only one he ever respected.”
    Dan
snorted. “Sick freak.”
    “Him or
me?”
    Dan
stared at me for a moment. “Maybe don’t answer that,” I said.
    He took
in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “So what are you going to do?”
    “I don’t
know,” I said. “Work the case, I guess. Go toss her condo. Look for clues.”
    “ Look
for clues ? What are you now, Encyclopedia fucking Brown?”
    “Give me
a break,” I said. “I don’t know anything about working a missing persons case.”
    “Well,
I’m sure you’ll do fine. Have you eaten anything today?”
    I hadn’t
touched any of the food at Davies’s house, and to be honest, I didn’t know how
long my last blackout  had lasted, or whether I had eaten anything while I’d
been in it. Given my body’s weakness, probably not. “I don’t know,” I admitted.
    “Let me
take you out, get you some soup,” he offered.
    “No.”
    “Nevada,
you need to eat.”
    “I’ll
get something later,” I lied.
    “Promise
me.”
    I hated
making promises. Dan knew that. He also knew I hated breaking them even more.
But I didn’t have any energy left to fight with him. “I’ll eat today,” I said.
“I promise.”
    “Fine.
Good luck finding your clues. Give us a call if you need some help.”
    I nearly
laughed at that. “You really think anyone in this building actually wants to
help me?”
    “Yes,”
he said, looking me straight in the eyes. “I do.”
    I tried
to think of a wiseass remark but came up with nothing. “Fine,” I said. “I’ll
call if I need you.”
    “Promise
me.”
    “Don’t
push your luck,” I said. One promise in a day would have to be enough for now.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 5
     
     
    Todd was
still waiting for me outside police headquarters when I emerged from the
building. He drove me home, muttering quietly to himself while he did so. I let
him grumble. I