Along Came a Spider Page #2

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- That'll do for now.

How'd you get this number?

Unlisted numbers? Come on, Alex,

there's no such thing.

It's all out there in the air. You

just have to know how to grab it.

Hey, how do you feel about

my kidnapping being bigger news...

than your little tragedy

with Jim Gelway?

You ought to give an interview

about what happened that night.

You know what they say about sharing

your pain. It's very cathartic.

- Thanks, but I'm doing okay.

- That's good to hear. Very good.

I thought for a while there

you wouldn't be able to get...

your act back together,

and that would be a great shame.

I've been planning for a long,

long time to involve you...

in the fate of our

little Miss Muffet.

Megan. Do you have trouble

saying her name?

[Laughing]

First-name rapport?

Hostage negotiations 101?

Now come on, Alex, you can do

better than that, can't you?

You think you're gonna dissect me

in three blinks of an eye?

I'm not that easy.

But with a little patience

and a little help,

you just might

profile me to a "T."

What makes you think

I'm interested?

They say that when I die,

the case will die.

They say it'll be

like a book I close.

But the book,

it will never close.

Very poetic.

What the hell is it?

I've left something for your visit

with the Roses tonight.

You'll find it in your cold,

corrugated mailbox.

Time to get back to work,

Dr. Cross.

[Sonejis] Taped Voice,

Indistinct]

[Alex On Tape] Megan. Do you

have trouble saying the name?

[Turns Off Recorder]

[Chattering]

Sorry, Detective,

this is a federal case.

I've been invited.

We have a detective who may have

evidence pertinent to the case.

- What should we do about it?

- Alex?

Special Agent Craig.

Well, I'll be.

Dare I ask?

- In my mailbox.

- Anything else?

That'll get you inside.

Terry,

get this to MacArthur.

Who's in charge?

Ollie MacArthur.

Pedigree "Feebie."

Made his bones busting

wackos in the Seattle office.

Soneji, clean?

Clean? Squeaky. Fibers look

generic, fingerprints, nada.

The whole school's

a goddamn forensic vacuum.

All he left us was one

very neatly strangled teacher.

Heads are gonna roll

with the Secret Service.

Oh, Jezzie Flannigan,

Alex Cross.

Agent Flannigan was in charge of the

Secret Service detail at Cathedral.

- Dr. Cross.

- Agent Flannigan.

I've read your books

on profiling.

Obviously,

not close enough, but...

Obviously,

not close enough, but...

Kyle, this shoe was I.D. 'd

by the Roses. It's Megan's.

Dr. Alex Cross,

special agent in charge...

- Oliver MacArthur.

- How do you do, sir.

Alex, I'll catch you later.

- Forensics.

- Yes, sir.

Senator and Mrs. Rose

are through here.

Before we talk to them, you any

idea why Soneji is involving you?

- Not at all.

- This way.

Uh, excuse me, shouldn't Agent

Flannigan be in the room with us?

Not a good idea.

Miss Flannigan is not welcome.

But she's

a material witness.

She failed the Roses,

and she failed the Service.

I think Agent MacArthur

has a point.

No, he's missing

the point.

You saw Soneji every day,

five days a week, for how long?

Two years.

You have no idea how much

you know about this case.

Agent Flannigan.

They say that when I die,

the case will die.

They say it'll be

like a book I close.

But the book,

it will never close.

[Alex On Tape]

Very poetic. What the hell is it?

[Soneji] I've left you

something for your visit...

with the Roses tonight.

You'll find it in your cold,

corrugated mailbox.

[Recorder Clicks Off]

Well, for what it's worth,

that's Soneji.

His speech pattern's

the same.

Is he, um...

Are we dealing with

a sex maniac?

Someone who might,

you know...

No, sir.

This man has no such interest

in your daughter.

She's merely a means

to an end.

What do you mean?

I see no standard procedure

in anything he's done.

I disagree.

This is a professional kidnapping.

It's going to be about money,

which is good.

But you're saying

it isn't about money.

I think he wants to

draw this out.

From what he said,

whatever his motives...

it's very unusual.

What did he mean

about the book?

That it will never close?

I honestly don't know.

Well, I think I do.

Let me tell you

what this Gary Soneji is up to.

The last thing he wants

is good crisis management.

What he wants is to confuse.

Rancor,

mixed signals, disorientation,

those are his tools.

So, he calls a local cop.

A damaged cop, shouldering

some heavy baggage.

He's using Dr. Cross

as his messenger...

Excuse me. The man that kidnapped

our daughter didn't call you.

So your agenda is what?

- To insult the man he did call?

- Mrs. Rose, I never intended...

No, you wait a second.

A madman has our daughter,

and for some reason

he contacted this man.

Do you know why?

No, ma'am. Not yet.

Hello.

You okay?

You, uh...

got any tips

for helpless situations?

Well, you could

smoke a carton a day.

Or you could bounce back.

Yeah, well, I don't see

anywhere to bounce to.

Like to get out of here?

Can I ask you something?

Sure.

What did MacArthur mean

when he referred to you as damaged?

Last summer, I let a sting operation

get out of control.

My partner was killed.

[Whistling]

Hello, Megan.

How are you?

Coming to see you.

Do you recognize my voice?

It's me.

Mr. Soneji. Hmm?

I brought you that.

A lovely cup of tea with honey.

I know your throat is sore.

It'll make you feel better.

There you go.

It's all right.

You have nothing

to be scared of, Megan.

I'm not scared.

Good. But you're wondering

what's going on.

I know what's going on. You're a

kidnapper, and you're a sick weirdo.

[Laughing]

Megan, you're the most

opinionated girl in my class.

- Think you got that from your mom?

- I wanna go home.

You will. Just promise me

you're going to behave yourself.

Okay?

So, now listen,

if you need to use the bathroom

or anything, just press that, okay?

I wanna go home! Now!

- I brought you some fresh clothes.

- Please!

Mr. Soneji, please!

[Gun Clicks]

This is a fine gun.

It's Turkish.

Handmade, 1924.

That is nice.

My daddy won it in a game

of poker. Aces and eights.

Dead man's hand.

That's about as much

as I know about my father.

Have a seat.

Do you know of any relationship

between Amy Masterson and Soneji?

Amy? No way.

Why do you ask?

He strangled her.

It's an act of passion.

It's a demonstration

of will.

A message.

Take me seriously.

What do you see?

- Dr. Cross...

- Alex.

Alex. Woman's intuition,

third eye, sixth sense...

whatever it is,

I don't have it.

Sure you do, you just

don't look at it right.

Every face has two aspects.

Now try looking at it down

the middle, one side at a time.

Would you say this man

was confident?

- Yeah.

- Narcissistic?

- L-I wouldn't know.

- Ever see any flashes of hatred?

- No. No. No!

- Anger? Hostility?

Look, everything about him

was right.

He was always patient, he was

pleasant. He had a sense of humor.

I mean, he was

the perfect teacher.

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