The Coffin Dancer (Lincoln Rhyme 2)

She was standing behind a big curly-haired man in a wrinkled white shirt. He held a cigarette. A young blond man in a suit, a badge on his belt, ushered them back out of sight.

Patience . . . she'll present again. They don't have a clue that you're here. You can wait all day. As long as the worms--

Flashing lights again.

Into the parking lot sped a county ambulance. The red-haired cop saw it. Her eyes grew excited. She ran toward the vehicle.

Stephen breathed deeply.

One chance . . .

Zero your weapon, Soldier.

Normal come-up elevation at 316 yards is three minutes, sir. He clicked the sight so that the barrel would be pointed upward slightly to take gravity into account.

One shot . . .

Calculate the crosswind, Soldier.

Sir, the formula is range in hundreds of yards times velocity divided by fifteen. Stephen's mind thought instantly: Slightly less than one minute of windage. He adjusted the telescope accordingly.

Sir, I am ready, sir.

One kill . . .

A shaft of light streamed from behind a cloud and lit the front of the office. Stephen began to breathe slowly and evenly.

He was lucky; the worms stayed away. And there were no faces watching him from the windows.

. . . Chapter Eleven

Hour 4 of 45

The medic rolled out of the ambulance.

She nodded to him. "I'm Officer Sachs."

He aimed his rotund belly her way and, straight-faced, said, "So. You ordered the pizza?" Then giggled.

She sighed. "What happened?" Sachs said.

"What happened? T'him? He got himself dead's what happened." He looked her over, shook his head. "What kinda cop are you? I never seen you up here."

"I'm from the city."

"Oh, the city. She's from the city. Well, better ask," he added gravely. "You ever see a body before?"

Sometimes you bend just a little. Learning how and how far takes some doing but it's a valuable lesson. Sometimes more than valuable, sometimes necessary. She smiled. "You know, we've got a real critical situation here. I'd sure appreciate your help. Could you tell me where you found him?"

He studied her chest for a moment. "Reason I ask about seeing bodies is this one's gonna bother you. I could do what needs to be done, searching it or whatever."

"Thanks. We'll get to that. Now, again, where'd you find him?"

"Dumpster in a parking lot 'bout two clicks--"

"That's miles," another voice added.

"Hey, Jim," the medic said.