He shrugged a charcoal turtleneck over his chest and tucked it into his jeans. He rubbed his chin and decided to push an electric razor quickly around his face. When he was done, he retrieved a wool sport coat from the closet and squeezed into it.

Serena came up to Stride and kissed him on the cheek. In her heels, she was as tall as he was. 'This is a mistake,' she murmured.

'What?'

'You. Working. You need more time.'

'I didn't tell her I was in. I just said I'd listen.'

'Sure,' Serena said. Her voice was cool.

He opened the door and waited for Serena to go ahead of him into the living room, where Serena and Denise shook hands. He could see Denise sizing Serena up with suspicion. Most cops in the northland knew Serena because of her relationship with Stride, but that didn't give her a free pass with the local police. To them, she was a big city detective treading on small town turf.

'Maggie tells me you used to be a Vegas cop,' Denise said.

'I spent ten years in the Metro Police,' Serena replied with a cynical smile. She could read the hostility in Denise's face. 'Homicides, mostly,' she added.

Denise shoved her hands in her pockets, and her gun bulged from the holster in her belt. 'Good for you.'

'If I'm in, Serena's in,' Stride told her. 'I want her on the case with me.'

'My boys won't like it,' Denise replied sourly.

'I don't care. Do what you have to do. Serena's worked more abductions than either of us. She's in.'

Denise scowled but didn't protest. 'Fine. Whatever. Look, let's be quick about this. The clock is ticking. There's a surgeon named Marcus Glenn who lives out on Pokegama Lake. Rich doctor, big house. He called nine one one about two hours ago to report that his eleven-month-old daughter was gone. A couple uniforms reported to the scene, did a search of the house and found no trace of the girl, and called me.'