Dead Hunt

he’s a serial murderer?’’ Diane was skeptical.
Clymene leaned back in her chair. ‘‘I told her I was suspicious of him, but she insisted that he was the man of her dreams.’’
‘‘Did you help her with a plan?’’ asked Diane.
‘‘Yes. It was just a basic plan that any girlfriend would come up with. Nothing in it was guaranteed to work.’’
‘‘You can guarantee your work?’’
Clymene eyed Diane for a long moment, then smiled again as if she found the conversation humorous. ‘‘Just a figure of speech. I mean there was nothing fantastic about the plan. But it worked. I was surprised.’’
‘‘Why?’’
‘‘Not to put too fine a point on it, he is a handsome man; she isn’t a beautiful woman. Like it or not, handsome men rarely choose plain women to marry... not without some ulterior motive.’’
This time Diane arched an eyebrow. She was thinking of herself. She had never considered herself beautiful, yet Frank was drop-dead gorgeous.
Clymene shook her head. ‘‘You’re not plain. Your face is interesting and intelligent. I imagine you attract a lot of good-looking and intelligent men,’’ she said.
Diane was disconcerted by the way Clymene kept reading her mind. Is my face an open book?
‘‘You were thinking that you are an exception, therefore Grace might also be an exception,’’ said Clymene, ‘‘But you’re not an exception.’’
‘‘To know that you would have to know who I date or who I’m married to,’’ said Diane.
‘‘You’re not married and I know who you date. Don’t look so suspicious; I didn’t dig it out, my lawyer did. In preparing my case he researched everyone on the witness list so as not to miss any angle. You have to know that. He was an expensive lawyer.’’
Diane did, but she still didn’t like the fact that Clymene knew so much about her. ‘‘Grace . . . and . . . Tully got together?’’ she said after a moment.
‘‘Yes. They had a fast courtship and marriage. Another bad sign,’’ said Clymene.
‘‘You warned her?’’
‘‘Of course. Many times. She blew me off. When it became imminent, I told her not to take a honeymoon that involved being over water or near a cliff. She thought that was terribly funny.’’
‘‘When was this?’’ asked Diane.
‘‘She got married three weeks ago,’’ responded Clymene.
‘‘So why did you call me now?’’ asked Diane.
Clymene leaned forward again. ‘‘Because I overheard one of the guards say she’s overdue and they haven’t heard from her.’’

Chapter 3
    ‘‘Why didn’t you just ask the guards to check on Grace?’’ said Diane.
    Clymene shook her head. ‘‘Not all guards are friendly. I was afraid they might see my warning as a threat against Grace instead of a concern for her.’’
    They probably would , thought Diane. I did . ‘‘There are a legion of people you could have asked instead of me—what about your lawyer?’’
    ‘‘I’m between lawyers right now. The few friends I still have who visit me wouldn’t have a clue about how to investigate. Of course there’s Kingsley, my profiler . . .’’ She shrugged. ‘‘But all he’s interested in is the book he’s going to write about me. I thought about asking the minister here at the prison, but I don’t believe he would take it seriously. He’s a nice guy, but like many others, he thinks I’m a guilty sociopath. You seemed the best bet.’’
    ‘‘And you believe I don’t think you’re a guilty sociopath?’’ Diane raised her eyebrows in surprise.
Clymene grinned. ‘‘I thought it possible your view would be that I can recognize my own kind and that perhaps I really do take the danger seriously.’’
As Clymene spoke she never took her eyes off Diane. Ross Kingsley was right—she had no tells—at least none that Diane could see. Clymene was right about another thing. Diane did believe that she could recognize her own kind and, for whatever reason, she was indeed concerned about Grace Noel.
‘‘All right, so I check on her. Then what? I can’t watch after her,’’ said Diane. She folded her arms as if emphasizing the point and realized how her own body language was so easy to read.
‘‘I know you can’t look after her. I am just asking that you see that she is all right now. Maybe you can get through to her where I couldn’t.’’
Diane was shaking her head even before Clymene had finished. ‘‘No. I’m not going to interfere in her life. I’ll only make sure she got