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so sure?’
    Because I looked into her eyes and saw myself reflected back. The thought flitted through his head but didn’t reach his lips. Instead, he said, ‘Do this as much as I have and you get a feel for what flavour of crazy you’re dealing with. This woman’s a psychopath. Omar’s murder was all about control and manipulation. She’s toying with me. Basically, she’s saying that she owns the board.’
    ‘Okay, I can buy that. So, the next question has got to be why. Why is she’s doing this? From what you’ve told me, we’re clearly dealing with an organised offender, right?’
    Winter nodded. Broadly speaking, serial killers fell into two categories, organised and disorganised. Dr Harold Shipman was one of the most prolific murderers in recorded history, and a perfect example of an organised killer. He was intelligent, ruthless and manipulative. He’d been active in the UK for more than two decades, and during that time it was estimated that he killed more than two hundred and fifty of his patients. Disorganised killers were a lot more chaotic in their approach. As a result they tended to have smaller body counts and were usually caught more quickly.
    ‘So why target you?’ Mendoza asked again.
    Winter shook his head. ‘I’ve no idea.’
    ‘Okay, assuming that she was following you, surely you would have noticed. You would have seen something, in your peripheral vision perhaps, or picked up that something wasn’t quite right. Even if she was using a disguise, you’re too switched on for that not to have happened.’
    He met her gaze. ‘Was that a compliment?’
    ‘No, I’m just stating a fact.’
    ‘The reason I didn’t notice was because I had no reason to.’
    ‘Explain.’
    He took a deep breath. ‘Okay, I found the diner by accident a couple of nights ago. Because the food was good I came back again last night. Ditto for tonight. Three nights in a row establishes a pattern. Now, counter-surveillance 101 dictates that you mix up your schedule. If you’re going somewhere on a daily basis, you never go the same way two days running. And you never eat at the same diner two days in a row, never mind three days.’
    Winter and Mendoza locked eyes for longer this time. She nodded for him to go on.
    ‘But the Ryan McCarthy case wasn’t the sort of case where I was going to be targeted, and I’m not in the habit of employing counter-surveillance techniques just in case. That road leads to paranoia and lunacy. If needs be, I’ll up my level of vigilance, but there has to be a credible threat. Ryan was a shy boy. He had his fun in the dark and the shadows. There’s no way he’d be brave enough to go after the people hunting him.’
    Mendoza studied him. ‘It’s okay to admit that you screwed up, you know.’
    Before Winter could respond, there was a knock on the door and Hitchin came in. He was flushed and breathing fast, and he was carrying a small notepad. If anything, his suit looked even more crumpled than it had done earlier. His face was just as forgettable, though.
    ‘You wanted to know as soon as I heard back from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.’
    ‘What have you got?’ Mendoza asked.
    ‘Okay, I can confirm that Lester and Melanie Reed were the victims of a double homicide that took place six years ago in Hartwood, a small town upstate, twenty miles from Rochester. I can also confirm that as far as the sheriff’s department is concerned, the case is closed. The murders were carried out by a local kid.’
    ‘So they’re not looking for anyone?’
    Hitchin shook his head.
    ‘And you’re sure about this?’
    Hitchin laughed. ‘As sure as I can be given that it’s the middle of the night and I’m talking with someone who lives out there in the middle of nowhere.’
    Mendoza turned to Winter. ‘Bang goes your theory that your mystery woman killed the Reeds.’
    Winter frowned. ‘So why draw our attention to the murders? What’s that all about?’
    ‘No idea. Maybe