The Pawn Read Free Page A

the top of the mountain surrounded by a pack of bored-looking state troopers and four park rangers. It reminded me of a construction site at break time where everyone just stands around expecting someone else to be the first one to go back to work. They were all staring at me. Some were exchanging comments with each other. Others were snickering.
    Apparently, it was pretty rare around here to bring in someone like me—on the other hand, it might have been my age. Even though I’ve worked fifteen solid years in law enforcement, I won’t be turning thirty-six until January. And people often tell me I look younger than I am. That’s why I go for the scruffy look. When I shave I look twenty.
    Two people stepped forward—a woman wearing a black FBI windbreaker and a rotund man wearing a tie that looked like a bib. He offered his hand. “Dr. Bowers?”
    “That’s me.” I shook his hand.
    “Sheriff Dante Wallace, Buncombe County Sheriff’s Department.” Sheriff Wallace looked like he enjoyed his football games best from the center of a couch. The bristles of hair sticking up from his mostly bald head looked like tufts of gray grass.
    “Good to meet you,” I said.
    “And I’m Special Agent Lien-hua Jiang,” said the dark-haired woman beside him. “I’m Ralph’s partner.” Elegant. Close to my age, maybe a few years younger. Asian descent. Great posture. Like a model. Or an athlete. I wondered if she’d maybe studied dance. She had a tiny chin that made her smile even broader. She reached out her hand and nodded politely. Nice grip. Nice body.
    “Great,” I said, trying not to look like I was staring. Besides, I was anxious to get to work before the rains came. “It’s good to meet you both.”
    Agent Hawkins rescued me. “All right. Now that we’re all on a first-name basis, let’s go take a look at our girl. Or at least what’s left of her.”
    The Illusionist watched carefully as Patrick Bowers wandered around the top of the mountain with all those other federal agents and idiot cops. Morons! They would never understand. None of them would. Not really.
    He knew about Bowers. Oh yeah, he knew all about Patrick Bowers, PhD. He’d read both of his books. For research. Very helpful. A worthy opponent.
    The Illusionist grinned as he watched them. He was happy. So happy! He almost started giggling right there. But he didn’t. He didn’t make a sound. He was in control of everything.
    He had a pair of Steiner binoculars in his jacket pocket, but he didn’t even need them. He was that close. He was that close to everything! Most of the cops just stood around like the complete and total imbeciles and half-wits that they were. Oh, he was loving this. He was loving every minute of it. They were heading over to the girl. He closed his eyes for a moment and remembered what it was like to be with her. Alone with her. Yes. Oh yes. She’d been the best one so far.
    Then he opened his eyes and smiled. He could relive it all right now, as he watched them look over her body. He could relive it all, and they would never even know.

3
    I followed Ralph through the maze of onlookers.
    I hated to see this many people around a crime scene. The more people, the more likely evidence will be contaminated. “Brought out the cavalry, huh?” I said, nodding toward the crowd.
    He shook his head. “Not my choice. Ever since we arrived it’s been a jurisdictional nightmare. Bodies in four states so far.”
    We were near Asheville, North Carolina, a city of about 73,000 located at the nexus of two major highways that crisscross the southeast. Three states, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee, are all an hour’s drive away, with Virginia, Kentucky, and West Virginia just another hour or so further north. So far, bodies had been found in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee. It’d taken a while for law enforcement to connect the dots and determine that the killer was probably working out of this