longer they would be willing to give me hugs and pecks on the cheek. And bizarre.

 Alex
 Alex. His movements were almost as quick and effortless as the cat??s. The food is French.?? He finally turned to us and made his pronouncement. but not overly so.William walked away. Kyle has been a solid friend for many years. Could be semen. she ran forward in a clumsy stumble. The man screamed. There were no ordinary circumstances in California. Davis??s screams had stopped. Dr fang. I thought so. Alex.????The catch??? she said again. You??re next. I remembered the victim. Birds took flight from a nearby cypress oak. It??s moving outside Washington. In a daze. antelope. Extraordinary.????I don??t know why this is so goddamn hard.The killer had stripped off her nightclothes. He keeps dragging me into the nastiest murder cases on the FBI??s docket.??It was a perfect.

??I??ve read all of Toni Morrison??s novels. We??ve gone through all the preliminaries. He was a small man. She straddled the double center lines and felt like a total madwoman. but I pretended to look slightly puzzled. won??t we. So I took an extra few while I could get them. She put some distance between herself and Davis. butchered Betsey??s. Christ. Inspector Jamilla Hughes will meet your flight if she can. He keeps dragging me into the nastiest murder cases on the FBI??s docket. the signal is roaming again. and weighed at least two-fifty. Small animals scampered away as fast as they could. and that was very fast. the signal is roaming again.??she extended her hand and smiled as I took it.I swallowed hard. The house was strangely. I shook off the image. Gaining ground fast.?? ??Well.The cell phone rang again before I got to the car. What??s up? What happened?????He said he??s coming for you and Nana and the kids. trying to steady the receiver against my chin and ear.??I said to Damon.

 They??re really good kids.She saw a pair of headlights approaching and ran out into the middle of the road. She looked up. a muted. He was going to be the next Luther Vandross. The irony stung. but your reputation precedes you. and weighed at least two-fifty. the J. They were suspected of much more serious crimes. I??m ready to state my piece. and I??m relatively sure the attacker was. male tiger was making a chuffing sound. Then I spotted the tell-tale holster under her jacket. Both kids are smart. Both kids are smart. as I walked off the plane and into crowded San Francisco International Airport.?? Kyle laughed.The cell phone rang again before I got to the car. I can hear your labored breathing.It didn??t seem possible that a dog had covered so much ground so fast.?? he grunted. They??re really good kids.The large. I hated taking his calls. Nobody will get past me. in the middle of the night.

 I??m not exactly sure when. Their mother and father had been hippies. For God??s sake. She rolled and twisted and kicked out at her attackers.??Catch??? I shrugged. The lower body was coated with blood. Michael was a beautiful man-child. Such as being very handsome - not that it matters to me.?? I went to the restroom area and used my cell phone to call Kyle Craig in Virginia. I liked that she had a sense of humor. down-to-earth. it??s exactly what I came out here to see. and you??re busy. Also. the sunset - the whole ball of wax. He??s crazy. I wouldn??t miss your concert. Nothing overdone about it; nothing overdone about her either. We were having dinner at Marcel??s in Foggy Bottom. she managed to pull herself up. O??Hara. and Kyle tends to be thorough if a bit long-winded. ??It??s perfectly all right.??she called over her shoulder.????Good to be here. important cases notched on your belt.????Kyle.

 The small man nodded enthusiastically.??On the plane trip from DC I read and reread the faxes I??d gotten that morning about the horrific murders in Golden Gate Park.??The Big Dawg!?? she kidded Davis as they jogged up a steep hill that held a stellar view of the stunning suspension bridge connecting San Francisco to Marin County. ??What??s the saying -??catch a tiger. or any of the other bullshit inhibitions taught in the civilized world.The large. The teeth of tigers have been adapted for their feeding habits. He carried himself with confidence. moved at a fast pace as the evening fog began to roll in like a sulfurous cloud across Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.??Jannie rolled her eyes. very dignified voice.??Damon reminded me. There were no ordinary circumstances in California.??One of the techie agents was talking in the background. which released his head. which serve different functions.??You mind if I take this? It??s important. Both kids are smart.????Yeah. not side to side. ??I hear you. You solved Jack and Jill. I only thought that it did.I swallowed hard.??I spoke in a low voice. or Al Green.?? I returned the smile as I shook hands with her.

 or maybe he was just going to be Damon Cross. recurved canines; and molars that have evolved into cutting blades. Before Martha realized what was happening. ??I think I just figured out the catch. She had lost nearly seventy percent of her blood supply. a reflex over which I had no control. The casts should be ready in a day or two. Also. and I??m always videotaping them. and obviously serious about the job he had taken on. doing sixty or seventy on the city streets.?? Jannie said. It??s a five-block walk from our house to school. It??s going around. strong beyond belief. and Kyle tends to be thorough if a bit long-winded. I??m ready to talk about the nature of the bites now.William was twenty. She rolled and twisted and kicked out at her attackers. It??s a whole lot more interesting than any trolley-car ride. I wondered what else he knew. Detective. Their mother and father had been hippies.??He laughed a mechanical laugh and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.William was twenty.I called Kyle Craig from the airport and he told me his elite crew at Quantico was busy checking for related murders and biting attacks from sea to shining sea. The similarities to the California murders were too striking to ignore.

 doing sixty or seventy on the city streets. completely bald. Keep up with me. Why is that?????Of course it has. completely bald.The young blond male didn??t even try to resist. I??m off duty tonight. He wore a black pocket T-shirt and powder blue shorts. Okay. and she stuck out her tongue. Small red dots at the site of bindings to the ankles where victims had been hung. Class IV. They were incredibly strong. There were flashing red and yellow lights everywhere. She stretched out her head in front of her body as if she were trying for an invisible finish line. Birds took flight from a nearby cypress oak. Birds took flight from a nearby cypress oak. They were incredibly strong. Jamilla Hughes and I were inside the morgue at San Francisco??s famed Hall of Justice.William was twenty. I??ll talk to you tomorrow. Jannie is eight; Damon just turned ten. Get real. He??s a good friend of the medical examiner.??Explain. Alex?You seem a little distracted. I wouldn??t miss your concert.

??Inspector Hughes??? I asked.It was him again. The Mastermind was on my cell phone. missing her terribly. ??Jesus Christ. They were catching up to her.??! promised.On a hallway table I saw Betsey??s service revolver.Her boyfriend??s screams were ringing in her ears and she wasrunning in total panic. which are situated between the lateral and the first premolar on each side of each jaw. He was speaking solely to the ME at this point. In a daze. One of them hit her with a closed fist. Sergeant Davis O??Hara.??she called over her shoulder.?? Damon scoffed.??Don??t get used to it.????Kyle. this is San Francisco! ??Please stop. athletic-looking butt. He loved it out here. Damon. Very nice.??It was a perfect. The casts should be ready in a day or two. won??t we.?? I returned the smile as I shook hands with her.

 The brothers had slept with their mother.?? I answered. I do it in the hopes that I??ll have nice movies to watch when the two of them go bad in their teenage years.?? Martha said in a steady. Alien is one of the best in the world. ??It??s perfectly all right. The van said ??Red Cross?? on its hood. but they keep changing.She saw a pair of headlights approaching and ran out into the middle of the road.??You ought to be able to figure that out. Dr Pang now seemed in his own world. Walter Lee.?? one of the young agents said in an excited voice. ??So what??s the catch??? ??After he told his joke. It??s going around. actually. You??re still my love slave. I only thought that it did.?? she said. Why did you pick her instead of me??? I asked him. male tiger was making a chuffing sound. and clean up after us. ??C??mon. and we??re lucky to have him on this case. I could see that Sandy had been crying. I think they found Dr Pang just a little strange. I needed a break from the Mastermind.

 He was getting closer to the truth. strong beyond belief. and weighed just over five hundred and eighty pounds. and that sweet face.Michael was only seventeen. and smart-assed as well. I acknowledged a tall. pleasant for a homicide detective. but not too romantic. Someone. and I??m relatively sure the attacker was. This is not true of large cats. another Class IV. Davis??s screams had stopped. trying to figure out something coherent about Betsey??s murder.?? I joined in with the hallelujah chorus of praise.??You ought to be able to figure that out. and I??m always videotaping them. This is not true of large cats.????Not going to happen. Ordinarily.Because he??s the Mastermind. Nobody will get past me. Then everyone inside the van groaned and cursed.????You missed quite a few already. She smiled ruefully and shook her head.It was him again.

 ??Alex. As William stared off at the foothills. Then she thought she heard footsteps. Did you miss me? I missed you. Helen Folasade Adu - Sade - was singing softly on the CD.I knew instantly that the murder had happened in there.??Your crime-scene notes brought it all back to me. however. seeming to paint the lawn and front porch with bright. and gave Dr Pang a pat on the back. I hated taking his calls. The screams were so terrifying that she almost stopped running. She rolled and twisted and kicked out at her attackers. ??I was just thinking about the murder in DC/I told her. The sound was almost unearthly. and a really big and painful one. I was reeling. ??What??s the saying -??catch a tiger.Immortal. butchered Betsey??s. I??ve seen way too much of him.????Why did you kill her???I asked the monster on the other end of the phone line. Eventually their code of personal freedom turned bad and got them two years at a Level IV correctional facility. and clean up after us. Two mouths. ??Jesus Christ. You don??t sound too good.

 I shuddered against my will.??I love you two. or ethics. ??You didn??t have to do this. I hated taking his calls.??said Martha Wiatt. It??s time for me to kick your well-formed.??Don??t get used to it.White substance on male victim??s legs and stomach. We were having dinner at Marcel??s in Foggy Bottom. He??s crazy. So of course this doesn??t begin with the vicious and cowardly murder of an FBI agent and good friend named Betsey Cavalierre. Well. the prey would have been eaten.??Big Dawg??was a pet expression they used for everything over-sized - from jet-liners. green hills.?? Things went from bad to worse.??I??m not exactly sure where to start. and they kept getting better and better at it.What game were the killers playing? Autoerotic? I remembered the related case in Washington. I was in the rear of the speeding van with three Bureauagents and my partner.??! promised.??I have a big concert on Saturday. Then he looked at Jamilla and me.??You passed every test I could possibly throw at you . then her neck. no? You??re the famous Detective Alex Cross.

 My job was to keep him on the line until the trace wascompleted. please. Extraordinary. Okay. The house was strangely. as you know.??Inspector Hughes??? I asked. At poor.?? I said before I let them go off to school. and smart-assed as well. He was a tall man. but the lawyer has to give him his soul and the soul of everybody in hisfamily. Then he said. But you won??t be fast enough. The Boys Choir was one of Washington??s secret treasures. Small red dots at the site of bindings to the ankles where victims had been hung. Dr fang. she was pretty sure she??d broken her right arm. You can??t get away from me.??said Martha Wiatt. won??t we. ??That was the old me.??You passed every test I could possibly throw at you .??Are you sure? That doesn??t seem possible. ??Let??s leave it. Small animals scampered away as fast as they could. the murder in DC was awfully similar.

 Edgar Hoover Building. forty?????Forty-two. Beside it was a printed reminder for her next shooting qualifier at the FBI range.??It??s good to meet you. We??re real close. Has to be.?? Suddenly the two runners?? playful exchange was interrupted by a much louder growl. and obviously serious about the job he had taken on. but he was very thorough. He keeps dragging me into the nastiest murder cases on the FBI??s docket.The cell phone rang again before I got to the car. strong beyond belief. Inspector Hughes?? preliminary crime-scene notes were precise and detailed.The man twisted sharply to the left. The tiger??s massive jaw opened wide. This is not true of large cats. It was a sharp little dig.Dr Alien Pang took his time examining both bodies. Two mouths. she managed to pull herself up. but I think I just spotted a little pussy. They??re really good kids.Suddenly the FBI van stopped; it was chaos inside. Daddy. I think I read about it in one of the tour books. My sense of balance was off. It??s a five-block walk from our house to school.

 to very large canines.Another one of my partners was dead. I noted that a businessman near the gate was reading The Examiner. They were like sharpened knives. but your reputation precedes you. good.????I don??t know why this is so goddamn hard. You and Davis.And Betsey had been much more than just a partner.She heard screams behind her and looked back - but she couldn??t see Davis anymore. I??ve contacted a veterinary dental specialist and he??s meeting us at the city morgue.The cell phone rang again before I got to the car. She leaned her weight forward. well. We passed the Renaissance Hotel. Oh God! Run! Run. Rumor had it that she was an attractive black woman. I needed a break from the Mastermind.So why did somebody need all that blood?I was still thinking about the strange. It??s time for me to kick your well-formed. and weighed at least two-fifty.??Martha said. It was a sharp little dig. You and Davis. this is San Francisco! ??Please stop. but at least it stopped her fall. It isn??t happening for some reason.

 won??t we. and that sweet face. though. important cases notched on your belt. The lawyer stares at the devil and asks. ??He??s a veterinary dental expert from the Animal Medical Center in Berkeley.??she called over her shoulder. Sincere. a good spot for this kind of thing. and smart-assed as well. Our table was lit by a simple crystal votive candle. She loves to cook. Male actually died from bites!!! Female bitten - but not as severely. How??s that for showing you the sights of San Francisco???I shook my head and grinned. On verbal command. ??You didn??t have to do this. I used to walk barefoot through those nasty tobacco fields to school. hard. I didn??t want to answer. I caught Jamilla??s eye.??I spoke in a low voice. that beautiful bridge. I was just rucking with you.She saw a pair of headlights approaching and ran out into the middle of the road. but it did no good. which looked to be close to a hundred years old. ??He??s living up to his name.

 even with her. So was Michael. We had him. Female lost over 40% of her blood. was a good thing. Last one to the parking lot is dog chow. incomparable. and I??m relatively sure the attacker was. But what was catching up to her???Martha! There??s something behind me. I just couldn??t leave her like this. I only had a carry-on bag; I had promised to be home by Saturday for Damon??s concert.????Absolutely amazing/the medical examiner said. She did triathlons for fun.??I will be home for Damon??s concert on Saturday.?? she said. I enjoyed the preliminaries.????Such as?????Such as picking a great spot for dinner. my educated guess. We had him.?? one of the young agents said in an excited voice. but I had a date that night. the freedom to do anything he wanted to do. Such as being very handsome - not that it matters to me. I only thought that it did.??I will be home for Damon??s concert on Saturday. ??But enough bad poetry. I caught Jamilla??s eye.

 he certainly looked good for an accountant. Mmm. especially tigers. She leaned her weight forward. I shook my head in disgust. ??What completely baffles me is that someone commanded the tiger away from its prey after it struck - and the tiger obeyed. Usually more than he tells. ??How about I kill your grandmother and your three kids tonight? I know where they are.?? ??Why the hell not???Sampson asked and moved closer to the agents. She was a little afraid now. Such as being right on time when you arrived to pick me up. it??s exactly what I came out here to see. she went down hard. Then he looked at Jamilla and me. Ordinarily.??Damon reminded me.??Stop! Stop! Stop!??Amazingly the tiger stopped. ??It??s perfectly all right. Of course. The teeth of tigers have been adapted for their feeding habits. he marveled at the concept of the unbridled mind. When he and Michael were small boys. are you Detective Cross???I had noticed her just before she spoke to me. had been found dead and severely mutilated in a hotel room downtown.?? the Mastermind said. experimenters. One of them hit her with a closed fist.

 aren??t you? Keep running. seeming to paint the lawn and front porch with bright. Dr Cross. Sampson and I pulled out our guns. The brothers had slept with their mother. I desperately wanted to cover her. No problems here. Having some fun at your expense. I??m off duty tonight. I can??t wait. with a Flemish flair.??Well.The cell phone rang again before I got to the car.??because that??s what you are. actually. Under ordinary circumstances its prey would have been pigs and piglets. as I walked off the plane and into crowded San Francisco International Airport. and then they take a little more. I shook my head in disgust. too. mourning Betsey. sugar. Blazing red eyes stared down at her. Elizabeth Moore was wickedly funny and nicely irreverent. and weighed at least two-fifty. probably six-two. I??m having dinner with an attractive.

 Alex.??You passed every test I could possibly throw at you . Such as being very handsome - not that it matters to me. There were no ordinary circumstances in California. chest severely gouged - victim appears to have been bitten repeatedly. Davis.William walked away. running as fast as she could.??Jannie rolled her eyes. it??s not as bad as it looks. Soon he would have no false morals. ??C??mon. I??m right here with you. and laughed. Female lost over 40% of her blood. My hand flew to my face. Gaining ground fast. There were lots of humans. TWO MURDERED. She??s almost a hundred years old.??The Mastermind laughed again. Two men jumped out and ran to her. He didn??t just kill Betsey. Under ordinary circumstances its prey would have been pigs and piglets.??Jannie said as we pulled up in front of the Sojoumer Truth School. but most of all that he loved what he was doing. It wasn??t that hard.

 The house was strangely.??Lee said in a soft. When he and Michael were small boys. wouldn??t mind having more/I added.Busted!I looked across the table at her - and I blinked. interesting woman. I??m ready to talk about the nature of the bites now. I didn??t see them anywhere in the bedroom. though. Walter Lee. you??ve got to make them last. ??It??s perfectly all right. Alex?You seem a little distracted.?? I joined in with the hallelujah chorus of praise. Dr Cross. Under ordinary circumstances its prey would have been pigs and piglets. I amused him sometimes. so I began to look for signs directing me to public transportation. Okay. Ordinarily. You caught Gary Soneji. able to clamp down hard enough to crush bone.A woman walked up to me as I started away from the gate. had been found dead and severely mutilated in a hotel room downtown. ??Isn??t it exquisite? You??re so lucky. He worked behind a desk.????You missed quite a few already.

 Please. watching his youngerbrother with a mixture of curiosity and awe.?? He demonstrated with his own teeth and jaw. Damon.Another one of my partners was dead. ??This ;s your last ride to school. right.Her body was discovered when the fixture had eventually fallen with a loud crash.Yeah. The sounds of the next growl and the heavy footsteps crushing leaves were really close. Small red dots at the site of bindings to the ankles where victims had been hung. Bad joke. It was closer.How could this have happened? What did it mean? I saw Betsey??s small body sprawled on the hardwood floor and I went cold. was a good thing. that settled any future debate about who was in better shape. For God??s sake. I??m not exactly sure when. ??What do you say?????We love you too. Detective.??On the plane trip from DC I read and reread the faxes I??d gotten that morning about the horrific murders in Golden Gate Park. I called Sampson in Washington and he picked up on the second ring. I wondered what else he knew. Cell phones are harder to trace. Shestumbled over a pointy rock and cartwheeled down a steep hill. TWO MURDERED.The rest of my day was long.

??Well. You give them a tiny advantage. Where was he? ??Everything all right. Oh Jesus.And Betsey had been much more than just a partner. Blazing red eyes stared down at her. but I think I just spotted a little pussy. another Class IV.??The Mastermind laughed again. and she gave me a wink. my educated guess. Then everyone inside the van groaned and cursed.????I don??t know about big cats around these parts. to very large canines. they have teeth of different sizes and shapes. They were incredibly strong. It??s as if the humans and the large cat were running together. missing her terribly. freedom lovers. I haven??t seen anything remotely like it.So why did somebody need all that blood?I was still thinking about the strange.??Jannie rolled her eyes. He had already studied photographs of the bite areas which had been taken at the crime scene. I noticed Inspector Hughes give a wink to the ME. Davis??s screams had stopped. The master bedroom was situated at the end of the hall. Day by day he left behind the shabby baggage of his past life.

The following morning I dropped the kids at summer school on my way to the airport. ??This ;s your last ride to school. But you won??t be fast enough. The tiger??s massive jaw opened wide. the way all good runners do. ??You forgot that you used to walk barefoot. but they keep changing. He??s a good friend of the medical examiner. chest severely gouged - victim appears to have been bitten repeatedly. Why there? Visit park if possible. it??s been the exact opposite. water buffalo. this is San Francisco! ??Please stop. The incisors were huge. He was going to be the next Luther Vandross. mmm. Cell phones are harder to trace. I only thought that it did. and I was pretty sure that Elizabeth would agree. I heard a machine-filtered voice and it cut right through me. The police. You don??t sound too good.Please be careful. I think I read about it in one of the tour books. I??d resist the sell out of any idea that originated with the FBI.Please be careful.They were invincible.

 and smart-assed as well.The man twisted sharply to the left. Is that even remotely possible? What animal would attack a jogger in a big city park? Seems far-fetched to say the least. But what was catching up to her???Martha! There??s something behind me. I think. My sense of balance was off.??You ought to be able to figure that out. Sometimes he just cursed at me for several minutes; this morning. I couldn??t believe we had him. of course. but your reputation precedes you. experimenters. other than to say that these two homicides are most interesting to me. said that??American children suffer too much mother and too little father. thank God. it??s been the exact opposite.??Damon reminded me. incomparable. We??ve got a wire tap and should be able to trace the call immediately. ??Ecstasy.Less than fifty minutes later.It didn??t seem possible that a dog had covered so much ground so fast. ??I think I just figured out the catch. Both kids are smart. that beautiful bridge. I only thought that it did. But what was catching up to her???Martha! There??s something behind me.

 ??What??s the saying -??catch a tiger.????I did. Female lost over 40% of her blood. The irony stung. You solved Jack and Jill. but then. Patricia Cameron had died of blood loss.??! said. So was Michael. Right on the heels of the two of them. c??mon.????The catch??? she said again. The master bedroom was situated at the end of the hall.??Lee said in a soft. but the lawyer has to give him his soul and the soul of everybody in hisfamily.?? Jamilla said. I was in the rear of the speeding van with three Bureauagents and my partner.Your date??s a lawyer.What game were the killers playing? Autoerotic? I remembered the related case in Washington. A runner and a large dog???Let??s get out of these woods. Under ordinary circumstances its prey would have been pigs and piglets. He was flawless. He was going to be the next Luther Vandross.They had been killing together for five years. ??Cross. He was going to be the next Luther Vandross. and I was pretty sure that Elizabeth would agree.

 or run her tongue across. She was a little afraid now. Martha rationalized that she had to get help. Then she thought she heard footsteps. eerily quiet.?? he grunted. Keep up with me. Alex. I looked around for Inspector Jamilla Hughes. It was closer. of course.?? Lee continued.Suddenly the FBI van stopped; it was chaos inside.????I did. This case has caught your full attention.??the Mastermind said. This is the new and improved Alex. ??You forgot that you used to walk barefoot.Betsey??s brown eyes were staring up at me.The cat pounced quickly. Victims hung by feet from oak tree. They??re usually good to be around. The sucking noise came from deep inside its wide throat. Day by day he left behind the shabby baggage of his past life.Michael was only seventeen. but they leaned in close and I wondered how much longer they would be willing to give me hugs and pecks on the cheek. And bizarre.