the show. Leine couldn't place the voice. She detected a slight accent, but it wasn't pronounced enough to reveal its origin.
He knew her name, knew she had a daughter. But how did he know April was here? Nobody on the set was aware she had a daughter, other than Gene. Leine flashed to the day before when she felt someone watching her as she walked back to the house after retrieving her phone from her car. Today she sensed it again. She'd ignored it the first time, convinced it was stress. Leine wanted to kick herself. When had those feelings ever been wrong? She was out of practice. She'd never have disregarded that kind of indicator when she was active. It was one of the things that made her so effective in her job. Intuition, gut feeling, whatever it was, Leine had it in spades.
Azazel had given her until eight o'clock that evening to finish her first task, bringing her five points closer to her goal of speaking to April. The bizarre request left Leine puzzled. Why would he waste time using her as an errand girl? It made no sense.
Then again, he wasn't exactly normal. The man dismembered women and ate them.
A chill spiraled down her back as she imagined the worst case scenario involving April. Her mind slammed the door shut on the thought and she took another deep breath. Better stick to the task.
Where the hell was she going to find a high-speed blender this time of night?
***
Leine parked near the post office box on Main in Venice and got out of her car. She glanced at her watch. Seven fifty-six. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, attempting to calm herself. In order to find the exact model of Blendo-matic high performance blender Azazel specified she'd called three box stores and visited one who mistakenly told her they had the model she was looking for. Finally, the clerk took pity on her and called a sister store in another location to see if they had the SZX5000. They did, and the clerk asked the other store to put it on hold for her.
“These little puppies are really popular with the juicing crowd. They've been flying off the shelves. You're lucky to find one in stock within fifty miles,” the clerk said.
Anxiety ratcheted to threat level, Leine drove like a madwoman to Culver City to pick the thing up, arriving back at the specified drop site with only minutes to spare. While in the store's parking lot, she'd unfastened the bottom of the blender base and placed a tiny tracking device inside, just under the motor. Then she secured the base and placed everything back in the box.
Frank had called twice, but she hadn't bothered to answer. Undecided on what to tell him, she didn't have the time or patience to deal with his questions. Yes, he cared for April, but he wasn't her father. Leine needed complete control as to how things went down. Frank would immediately call the police and that was the last thing Leine wanted.
At precisely eight o'clock, her phone rang. Caller ID showed Private Caller.
“Hello?”
“Did you find the SZX5000?”
“Yes.” Leine bit back a sarcastic comment. “How do I get it to you?” She'd fantasized about putting a bullet through him when he came to pick it up.
Azazel chuckled. “Wouldn't that be convenient? If you succeeded in killing me, how would you find your daughter? She'd die of thirst before you tracked her down, if you could even find her.”
How would he know I was thinking that? Lucky guess?
“Set the package under the post office box and leave. And Madeleine?”
“What?”
“I'll know when you leave. Don't try anything stupid. It'll get your daughter killed.”
Azazel ended the call. Her desire to find Jensen and explain everything hit her full force, but she shook it off. She had to play this one carefully. Calling in law enforcement too early was risky. Not when the killer was testing her, getting to know how well she complied with his 'requests'. No, first she'd lull him into a false sense of trust. Then she'd contact
He knew her name, knew she had a daughter. But how did he know April was here? Nobody on the set was aware she had a daughter, other than Gene. Leine flashed to the day before when she felt someone watching her as she walked back to the house after retrieving her phone from her car. Today she sensed it again. She'd ignored it the first time, convinced it was stress. Leine wanted to kick herself. When had those feelings ever been wrong? She was out of practice. She'd never have disregarded that kind of indicator when she was active. It was one of the things that made her so effective in her job. Intuition, gut feeling, whatever it was, Leine had it in spades.
Azazel had given her until eight o'clock that evening to finish her first task, bringing her five points closer to her goal of speaking to April. The bizarre request left Leine puzzled. Why would he waste time using her as an errand girl? It made no sense.
Then again, he wasn't exactly normal. The man dismembered women and ate them.
A chill spiraled down her back as she imagined the worst case scenario involving April. Her mind slammed the door shut on the thought and she took another deep breath. Better stick to the task.
Where the hell was she going to find a high-speed blender this time of night?
***
Leine parked near the post office box on Main in Venice and got out of her car. She glanced at her watch. Seven fifty-six. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, attempting to calm herself. In order to find the exact model of Blendo-matic high performance blender Azazel specified she'd called three box stores and visited one who mistakenly told her they had the model she was looking for. Finally, the clerk took pity on her and called a sister store in another location to see if they had the SZX5000. They did, and the clerk asked the other store to put it on hold for her.
“These little puppies are really popular with the juicing crowd. They've been flying off the shelves. You're lucky to find one in stock within fifty miles,” the clerk said.
Anxiety ratcheted to threat level, Leine drove like a madwoman to Culver City to pick the thing up, arriving back at the specified drop site with only minutes to spare. While in the store's parking lot, she'd unfastened the bottom of the blender base and placed a tiny tracking device inside, just under the motor. Then she secured the base and placed everything back in the box.
Frank had called twice, but she hadn't bothered to answer. Undecided on what to tell him, she didn't have the time or patience to deal with his questions. Yes, he cared for April, but he wasn't her father. Leine needed complete control as to how things went down. Frank would immediately call the police and that was the last thing Leine wanted.
At precisely eight o'clock, her phone rang. Caller ID showed Private Caller.
“Hello?”
“Did you find the SZX5000?”
“Yes.” Leine bit back a sarcastic comment. “How do I get it to you?” She'd fantasized about putting a bullet through him when he came to pick it up.
Azazel chuckled. “Wouldn't that be convenient? If you succeeded in killing me, how would you find your daughter? She'd die of thirst before you tracked her down, if you could even find her.”
How would he know I was thinking that? Lucky guess?
“Set the package under the post office box and leave. And Madeleine?”
“What?”
“I'll know when you leave. Don't try anything stupid. It'll get your daughter killed.”
Azazel ended the call. Her desire to find Jensen and explain everything hit her full force, but she shook it off. She had to play this one carefully. Calling in law enforcement too early was risky. Not when the killer was testing her, getting to know how well she complied with his 'requests'. No, first she'd lull him into a false sense of trust. Then she'd contact
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