Hermione had never seen Snape lose control like this before. She had to admit she was a little frightened. "Stop it Severus! This isn't going to get us anywhere. We might have been a little preoccupied, but we never let our guard down. There was nothing there to tell us he was nearby. It's a large place and he could have been anywhere. Now calm down and think. We can trail his signature now that we know it and find out where he was hiding. If he's the bastard we know he is, he's probably left a clue."

Snape was breathing heavily but managed to grunt in acknowledgement. They approached the door and Hermione looked carefully at the knob. "Fingerprints." She pulled a card from her bag and with a quick flick the prints appeared on it. "I'll send this to the lab." The card disappeared and they entered the unlocked the door. "What can you sense Severus?"

He took a calming breath and closed his eyes. "His signature's here, and the victim too, a woman." Snape crossed the room to the desk and pulled out the large black registration book. His wand quickly duplicated it and then shrunk the copy to put in his pocket for later. Closing his eyes again he turned and picked up the trail, much easier to follow with everyone gone. It led through the beach area and over to the gardens. Past them, to the tall hedges. It was very strong there and was possibly the place he had been hiding. They entered and searched the mazelike rooms to the last one, where they found a muggle man lying on his back with his eyes open.

Hermione reached down gently to touch his pulse. "He's alive, but petrified. If he was here with someone, then he saw what happened. Why didn't the bastard kill him?"

Snape's face was like stone. "Because he wanted to leave us a clue. He wants us to go after him. Whatever this is about is almost ready. He wants witnesses or maybe even needs our help. There's no other reason to leave this poor fool alive. So, what is it you know muggle?" Snape knelt next to the body of the man and looked into his conveniently open eyes. "Legilimens."

It was dusk and there was a very willing woman (witch) on his arm. She was quite lovely, and he felt the muggles rush, knowing he was about to get laid. They looked into the rooms and found an empty cell. The woman laid upon the soft moss with her arms held out to the man. "Kathy. You're so beautiful." He fell down next to her and began to kiss her neck while his hands roamed over her body. He groaned as her hand pumped his cock. The witch rolled him over to straddle him. "Thank you Karl. You're so sweet. I'm going to make you feel so good" The witch suddenly collapsed on top of him. "Kathy? What's wrong girl?"

The next vision startled Severus so badly, he pulled out of the man's mind much faster than intended. The man cried out in pain and the wizard quickly put him to sleep. Severus was shaking and breathing heavily, as if he'd seen the devil himself.

Hermione watched him back up to the hedge line. "What is it Severus? What did you see?"

Snape looked her in the eye and paused. "He had a witch with him. They were about to have sex when she was killed. Karl here saw our killer and was immediately petrified." He waved his wand in the air and an address appeared. Below it were the words "Catch me if you can". The letters faded and Severus turned back to the man. "Obliviate." The man sighed and slept. "He'll wake up tomorrow thinking he had a good time and then fell asleep."

Severus all but ran from the room leaving Hermione behind. She caught up and grabbed his elbow. "WAIT! What are you doing? Who's the killer?"

"I thought he felt familiar, but I dismissed it. Many of the magical folk here were past students and marginal acquaintances. But it was HIM all along. I'm going to kill that bastard." He jerked free of her grasp. "You're not coming. It's too dangerous. This is between him and me!"

Hermione hardened quickly. "WRONG MR. SNAPE! I'm the auror here. We're supposed to bring him back for trial if possible. If you kill him, it's murder. If I kill him, it's self-defense. Now who are we going after?"

He looked down into the determined eyes of a war hardened woman. She had seen the address and there was no way he could stop her from coming. "Dr. Luis Mamani. That sadist who tried to kill me in the hospital."

Hermione gasped and covered her mouth. "I knew he was evil. I just knew it! So how do you want to handle this. He's given us his address. Does he expect us to come for tea? Sellers is gonna kill me. We should go back and get an entire squad of aurors. There won't be enough left of him to arrest!" She waved her wand as if to conjure a patronis.

"Stop! I see subtlety is still not a Gryffindor trait. You do that and we'll lose him. This invitation is just for the two of us, or as it happens, just me. You are not going." He had shaken her gently by the arms, as if that would make her obey him.

Severus saw the set of her jaw and despaired. "Don't be daft Snape! You can't leave me behind. I represent the law. You're a civilian. If anything, I should be telling you to stay behind! Besides I saw the address. I'll just follow you there and it would be better if we worked together."

"I told Sellers I wasn't going to carry a chit like you, and I meant it!

"You mean the chit that saved your life or the one that stood guard over you for three months? You owe me Snape. I'm going!"

He sighed knowing he couldn't deny her request. "Fine. Stay on your toes. Don't touch or ingest anything. Expect it to be a trap and look for triggers. Be acutely aware of your surroundings, remember he or his minions could be at your back. Most importantly, if I tell you to run, YOU RUN. No discussion, no waiting for me. just do it."

"Funny, I was about to tell you all of that."

Severus growled and grabbed her arm to apparate. "Hold on tight stubborn witch." In moments they were at the address. A lovely home with a finely trimmed lawn and gardens. Just what you'd expect the head of a department at St. Mungos would have. They stood on the porch between stone columns looking at the ornate front door.

"Do we knock or what?"

Just then the door opened to show a lovely entryway with marble floors and a large chandelier. Spanish style furniture lined the walls as well as several large parlor palms. The wallpaper had a jungle theme with a colorful McCaw on it.

"Do come in Severus, Hermione. I've been expecting you."