They had only been in the car for a few minutes when Steve was overcome by a wave of drowsiness. He closed his eyes, thinking it had been a good idea to let Jeff drive. It was his last lucid thought.

His mind's eye alit on Lizzy, sitting by an open window and peering out over a sepia-toned Tuscan landscape. She was dressed in black and wore an enigmatic smile. Lifting her hand, she beckoned him forward. He walked to the window and peered down at a courtyard. A fountain anchored the space. When he turned, he was standing abreast of the spouting water feature.

Pam rose from the shell shaped basin, no longer cold and still but a living Venus, sensuously calling his name. Her hair writhed in dynamic tendrils, caressing his face and arms. Turtles danced in an exuberant conga line at her feet. None of this was right. He shook his head and attempted to clear his thinking, but it only deepened his drug-induce hallucination.

The vision of Venus melted, the warm peachy tones blending with aqua and marble white. The liquefied fantasy drizzled into a pool holding Anna Kearns in the guise of a suicidal Ophelia. She was hauntingly beautiful, slowly sinking below the water; her visage serene despite the imminent peril.

Ophelia hummed until her mouth dipped below the water. Nightingales picked up the tune while dropping daisies and lilies in a diadem around her water-borne curls. Seeing the danger, Steve willed his arms to pull her from the pond, but he was unable to move. The heady smell of the lilies threatened to suffocate him.

The scene tilted wildly and he tried to control the dizzying motion, slowly counting backwards from 360. When the world ceased spinning, the source of his immobility became apparent. He was chained to a column from antiquity. Almost naked, a length of white linen barely protected his modesty. Arrows pierced the flesh of his abdomen. Oddly, he felt no pain, just a strange sense of detachment. He tried to cry out but the linen was suddenly animated, blinkering his eyes and muting his voice. The world faded to black.

00000

Lizzy looked back over the seat and was surprised to Steve sound asleep. He whimpered slightly, as if he was dreaming.

"Gee, and I thought I was tired, although I can't fault him. I think he's slept at my apartment more than at home in the past week or so."

Lizzy's words stung Jeff. The cop had spent multiple nights in her company. Doubt of her imaginary devotion crept back into his thinking. He struggled to keep his expression neutral.

She turned back to Jeff, "How long before we get back to the city?" Sleep had made her ignorant of the outbound journey.

"It'll be a while. You know, you still look a little wiped out. Why don't you try to take a nap?"

Lizzy didn't really need the encouragement. She laid her head back and closed her eyes, desperate for the escape sleep would provide.

As Jeff pulled onto Route 1 and drove south away from San Francisco and towards Pacifica, tears blurred his vision. He needed time to get his head together.

00000

Mike sped away from the curb with a new sense of urgency. Turning left on Taylor Street, he backtracked over Nob Hill toward the courthouse, slamming on the breaks when he crossed Sacramento. He swung the LTD in behind the Porsche parked in front of Grace Cathedral and checked his watch. The stop would make meeting his appointment with the Judge a close thing, but he had to be sure.

Exiting the car, Mike opened the trunk and pulled out a wire coat hanger. If he was wrong, Steve would never forgive him for damaging his car. It was a risk worth taking. As luck would have it, a black and white drove by in the middle of his attempt at breaking and entering. After several tense moments, Mike handed the hanger over to the uniformed officer, who opened the vehicle.

He reached under the steering wheel and pulled the release for the engine cover. When he pushed off the driver's seat to extricate his long frame from the car, he noticed an envelope on the floor of the passenger side, boldly addressed to Lizzy Grisko. Mike snatched it before straightening up.

One of the patrolmen had opened the engine compartment by the time Mike walked around the vehicle. Upon seeing the destruction, he winched on Steve's behalf. The damage was clearly intentional. He opened the letter, glancing at only the first few line before he instructed the uniforms to impound the car. His meeting with Judge Liverman was now critical.

Mike sat tapping his foot impatiently in the reception area of the Judge's chambers. He repeatedly looked at the clock, bolting from his seat when the receptionist called his name. The few minutes of wait time had given him ample opportunity to read the letter in full. The twisted testament of obsession made the fingerprint report in his pocket superfluous. This document was more than enough evidence to get a search warrant for Jeff Powers' apartment.

Before he left with the warrant, Mike called Norm Haseejian at Bryant Street.

"Norm, how goes the vehicle search?"

Norm was a little put off by the impossible task and his answer revealed it. "Maybe if I start now, I might have them all checked out by Christmas. There's a couple of hundred cars that meet the criteria you gave me. You have no idea how many Powers there are in Northern California and blue must be their favorite color."

"I know, but we need to find it. Split up the list. Get everybody who's there on it. Steve and the Grisko girl were last seen in that vehicle..." Mike looked at the time, it was almost 5pm, "over 4 hours ago. From what I just read, this is bad. I'm headed to the kid's apartment now. Is Tanner around?"

"Yeah, he just walked in."

"Send him over, we need to get this done fast. The address is on my desk."

"You want an APB on Steve and the girl?"

"Yeah, do it. Jeff Powers, too. White male, 20-25, 5' 10", around 150, black and brown. Wears his hair in a ponytail. Have somebody get his picture from DMV and put in on the wire. Last seen in Colma driving a blue sedan. Add an approach with caution. I don't know if he pulled the trigger on the first three vics, but he's up to his eyeballs in this."

After calling in the APB, Norm looked at the thick printout on his desk with dismay. He stood and loudly cleared his throat, quieting the general din in the bull pen. "Gentlemen, we have a problem."

00000

Lizzy woke up when the car rumbled off of the highway onto a gravel covered lot.

"Where are we?" She asked sleepily as she rubbed her eyes. The amber reflection of late afternoon sun on scrub brush-covered hills could never be mistaken for downtown San Francisco.

"McNee Ranch State Park. Beautiful isn't it?" Jeff drove through the parking area and continued onto the fire road, climbing in elevation. I used to come up here when I was a scout. Wait until we get to the top, the view is spectacular, you can see all the way to the Golden Gate when it's clear like today.

"I thought we were going back to town?" Lizzy shivered. She looked in the back seat, surprised that the rough terrain hadn't woken the sleeping detective. He seemed unnaturally still. She reached back to rouse him but Jeff put a restraining hand on her arm.

"You don't need him." His tone was calm, but it scared her. She yanked back her arm as Jeff continued his thought. "He took advantage of you, I can't forgive him that. He's just like the others, like Gary, like Ted, like Anna."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"They all stood in the way of you and me, of us."

"There is no us, we're friends."

"I got rid of them all for you."

The meaning of his words were suddenly clear and she panicked. She tried to reach back to Steve again. Jeff slammed on the breaks and threw the car into park. Lizzy, unprepared for the sudden stop, flew forward; her head impacting the dash board. He grabbed her shoulders and turned her face towards him, demanding her attention. "Leave him be, he's on a little trip right now."

She was dazed but weakly pulled back from his grasp. He held firm. "Let go of me. What's the matter with you?" Her words came out oddly slurred.

Jeff didn't seem to hear Lizzy's as he let her crumple back into the seat. "It'll all be fine. We just need to drive a little further. I know a place. You can even help me. It will be my greatest work, our greatest work. But this time, it will be just for us. Part of a private collection. I have everything we need."

00000

The LTD was still rocking from its abrupt stop when Mike threw open the door. Bill Tanner was waiting for him. Surprisingly, he hand Lenny in tow.

"What are you doing here doc?"

"I heard you got the warrant, thought I'd tag along and take a look."

Mike pulled two documents from his pocket, shoving the letter into Lenny's hand before entering the building. He pounded on the door of apartment 1A.

"So, I see you're back. That was quick. Do you have a warrant Lieutenant Stone?

"We sure do Mrs. Mahoney." He handed the document to the older woman. "If you don't mind, we're in a bit of a hurry." Although he was being polite, Mike's agitation was evident in his voice.

"Keep your shirt on, I need to go get my glasses."

"Ma'am, two people's lives may depend on what we can find in the apartment. One of them is a police officer and a very good friend of mine, so can we please have the key?"

Lenny would have been surprised by Mike's almost pleading tone had Bill not filled him in on the way.

"What are we looking for?" Bill asked as they jogged up the stairs. Mike unlocked the door.

"First and foremost, we need the name of the brother who owns the car. I don't know, an address book, mail, anything. Once we get it to Norm, he'll be able to add the tag number to the APB. Beyond that," Mikes voice faltered bit, "well, hopefully there's something here that'll help us figure out where he's taken Steve and the girl."