Wolfsbane and Mistletoe (Charlaine Harris) (Kitty Norville 2.50)

"How did you get to be so good with me?" she gasped, and he drew her to him in response.

"We're tight," he said to Carson as he punched in the numbers on the last lock and pulled the door shut. "Carson, patrol. "

The dog began loping about the building.

The watcher pulled out his cell phone and pressed a single button.

"Did you get the security code?" he asked quietly.

"Affirmative. "

"Good," said the watcher.

He broke the connection and waited impatiently. He had been spending the day in a state of forced calm, but now, with the moment so close, he was nervous, jumpy. You would think that the killing urge would die out over the years, he thought. That the rage would gradually fade given time. Time that heals all wounds. A laughable notion in his case. With each kill, the wound seemed to rip open more, the bloodlust increased, and the only thing he could think about was the next one. Maybe Lehrmann would satisfy the urge for a while. He thought he might. Lehrmann was going to be a good one. Lehrmann was his Christmas gift to himself.

Edwards lay prone in a cornfield, watching the front of the warehouse until he saw Lehrmann go back inside. Then he crawled backward through the dried stalks until he could get to a crouching position unobserved. Still staying low, he scuttled to the rear of a barn where the surveillance van was parked. He tapped twice, then three times, on the side door. It slid open, and he clambered inside.

Kenner was behind the wheel. Hidalgo was in the back, monitoring the police radio.

"Any of that coffee left?" asked Edwards.

"In the pot," said Hidalgo. "Make it quick. It's almost time. "

Edwards poured himself a cup, threw in three sugars and some creamer, and stirred it. He drank it in two gulps, then began putting on the padding.

"Did you guys ever feel like we work for a crazy person?" he asked.

"Sometimes," said Kenner. "Then I see my paycheck and the feeling goes away. "

"And he's not so crazy," said Hidalgo.

"What makes you think so?" asked Edwards, tightening the straps to make sure nothing crucial was exposed.

"Because he's making you go in first," explained Hidalgo.

"You got a point," said Edwards. "Ever feel like I've become a crazy person?"

"That we do," said Kenner, checking his watch, then his gun.

Lehrmann went back to the large cage and checked his watch. Fifteen minutes. He stripped off his clothes and hung them from a pair of hooks. Then he took off his watch and placed it on a table so that it faced the cage. He checked the timer on the lock, then stepped inside and pulled the door shut. The lock engaged.

Carson came by and sat in front of the cage.

"It's locked," said Lehrmann, shaking the bars to prove it. "Thanks for checking, buddy. I'm good. "

The dog woofed once, then resumed his patrolling.

The clanging of the cage echoed through the watcher's earpiece. He smiled.

"Next," he said softly.

At the Spinelli house, Waldo made a thorough inspection of every room. Then he heard a whistle, and galloped down the stairs to the front hallway.

Sally was waiting for him with his leash.

"Time for your walk, Waldo," she said, clipping it to his collar. "Mom? I'm taking Waldo for a walk around the block. "

"Sweetie, it's getting dark," called her mother from the kitchen. "Don't be too long. "