Chapter One

For five years he had played the dying game with his cousin and their rivalry had been part of the excitement, part of the thrill. But Pinkie was dead, their wonderful game over.

His new game was only a few months old, yet he already realized that without an opponent, without the psychological stimulation of competition, it just wasn't the same. The hunt was exhilarating, the kill a sublime climax, but the titillating pleasure of the preparation and planning as well as the triumph afterward were missing from his murder game. He now had no one with whom to share either.

He trusted no one the way he had trusted Pinkie, both of them knowing from their teens that they were different from others. Special. Superior. He could hardly run an ad in the paper for another partner, could he? Wanted: Cunning sadist to compete in a highly skilled game of hunt and kill. Winner takes all. Loser dies.

As Pudge crossed over the Arkansas border into Louisiana, heading toward Bastrop, he chuckled at the thought of advertising for an adversary.

It wouldn't take long to reach Monroe, then he'd go on to Alexandria, where he'd hit Interstate 49, which would take him home. He might even stop for dinner somewhere along the way.

He had put a bullet into Kendall Moore's head only three days ago and had returned her body to a secluded area just outside her hometown of Ballinger. As he had done with the others, he had taken a trophy. A little souvenir. Something to add to his growing collection.