Free Prey by James Carol Page A

on the top shelf but they were too small for what he had in mind. He went back out on to the landing. The last door led to the main bedroom. All the bedding had been stripped away, leaving a bare mattress. No doubt this had been done during the original investigation. He found a double sheet in the closet and went back downstairs to the living room.
    Mendoza helped him put the sheet on the table, then they set it together, working efficiently around one another. Winter lit the candles and placed them in the middle of the table. Then they turned off their flashlights and sat down, Winter at the head, Mendoza at the foot. He looked around, shook his head. ‘This isn’t right.’
    He got up and moved counterclockwise to the next place. It was just Lester and Melanie who were eating, so they would have sat opposite each other on this part of the table. Sitting at the ends would have been too formal. He looked around again, shook his head. ‘Still not right.’
    ‘What’s not right? If you can be more specific, then maybe I can help.’
    Winter ignored her and took out his cell. He looked up the number for the Hartwood PD and connected the call. Peterson answered and put him straight through to Birch.
    ‘What do you want now?’
    ‘You said that the Reed’s table was set like they were expecting a visit from the president. They’d used their best plates and cutlery. They’d even used a tablecloth. Are you sure about that?’
    ‘Positive. Why do you want to know?’
    ‘Was there any blood on the tablecloth?’
    ‘I should imagine so.’
    ‘You imagine or you know?’
    ‘It was six years ago.’
    ‘Any luck with that file?’
    ‘Not yet.’
    Winter hung up and tapped his phone gently against the tablecloth.
    ‘What are you thinking?’
    ‘I’m thinking that the murders happened on a weekday night, and both Melanie and Lester worked. Eating would have been approached from a functional point of view, not a celebratory one. It was more likely they would have eaten off the bare wood. Cutlery dumped down in the middle of the table, no candles, no tablecloth. As much as it pains me to admit this, Birch was right. Nelson must have set the table.’
    ‘What? He brutally murders two people then lays the table? Sorry, I don’t see it.’
    ‘I’ve seen weirder things than this, Mendoza.’
    ‘Okay, so why would he do it?’
    ‘Because it was part of his fantasy. As for what that fantasy was, until we’ve got more information all I can offer is my best guess.’
    ‘Is that your way of saying you don’t know?’
    ‘No, it’s my way of saying that we need to be careful with making too many assumptions.’
    ‘So what do you know?’
    ‘I know that if we don’t catch this woman she will kill again.’
    They fell into a short silence. It was Mendoza who broke it. ‘Do you have any idea how defensive you can be? It’s okay to admit you don’t know something.’
    ‘I’m not defensive.’
    Mendoza stared at him.
    ‘I’m not.’
    ‘You know, I still can’t work out if you’re a good guy or a bad guy. So which one is it?’
    ‘I help you catch Ryan McCarthy and you’ve really got to ask?’
    ‘That’s a deflection.’
    ‘What are you really asking here?’
     ‘Your father was a serial killer, and you catch serial killers because you think like one. On the basis of that, it seems to me that maybe you’re more alike than you’d care to admit. Nature rather than nurture, right? So, what I’d like to know is where you draw the line.’
    She met his gaze across the table, looked him straight in the eye. Winter could see the candle flame reflected in her pupils.
    ‘I’ve never killed anyone in cold blood.’
    ‘But you have killed. Cold-blooded or hot-blooded, that’s just a detail. The bottom line is that you are a killer.’
    ‘There’s a world of difference Mendoza, and you know it. You’re a cop after all.’
    ‘Okay, here’s something else to think about. Maybe the difference between you and