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This puzzle had quite another. There was something sharp-edged about it, wanting the person trying to solve it to walk one path and one only. There was a trap in it, leading the solver down a blind alley from which there was no way out. Yet the parameters were quite loosely defined, which meant that it was possible to take an alternate route through the problem, one that hadn't been envisioned by whoever crafted it.
Amber was almost certain now that it wasn't the professor. He was more honest in his problems and much fairer about them, even when they were impossible. He signposted their impossibility, didn't rely on traps to make people merely think that they were.
"I think there's someone else involved in this," Amber said.
Simon looked over at her. "What makes you say that?"
"This puzzle, the one Victoria Crossing solved, it doesn'tfeellike the professor's work."
"You're sure?"
"This isme, Simon. I know one puzzler from another. There's something different about this one. It's almost as if it was designed to lure someone, to trap them in a way that the professor's problems never were."
Simon leaned against the desk. "Okay, let's say you're right. What does that mean?"
Amber's mind was already racing with possibilities. "It means that we need to figure out who this other person is. Maybe they're the one who killed Victoria; maybe they're the mastermind behind all of this. Either way, we need to find them."
"How do we do that?" Simon asked.
That was the problem. Amber didn't know.
"The professor might know," she said. "But by the time he sobers up, another woman might already be dead."
"The local PD are still keeping an eye on the bridges," Simon said. "If they spot anyone trying to attack a woman there, they'll intervene."
Which would be fine if the killer couldn't also get to women in their homes. Besides, there was too great a chance that the killer might be able to get away. The moment he saw the cops, there was a chance that he might run, disappear from Verdice, and start again somewhere else. No, they needed something that would let them get close to the killer and identify him before he could get away."
Amber could think of a way of doing that, but she suspected that Simon wasn't going to like it.
"I have an idea," she said.
"Tell me," Simon replied.
Amber explained her plan. She could see Simon's expression getting more worried at the moment.
"No, absolutely not. It's too dangerous, Amber."
Amber was determined, though. "It's our only chance. We have to do this."
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
"You want me to dowhat?"
It seemed that Chief Williams didn't like Amber's plan any more than Simon had. Less, if that were possible. His voice echoed out over the bullpen of the Verdice PD. Still, she held fast to her position. It was the only way that they were going to be able to catch this guy.
"I want your men to pull back from the bridges," Amber said.
"No way." The police chief sounded adamant. “They’re the only thing keeping that psycho from killing more women.”
"I don’t want you to pull them back fully," Amber said, trying to explain, trying to make Chief Williams see the importance of her plan if they were going to catch the killer. "They can still watch the bridges, but I want them to stay out of sight, and I only want one officer per bridge. Out of uniform, undercover."
"That won't do anything to deter the killer," Chief Williams pointed out.
Amber sighed. "That's thepoint.We don't want to deter him; we want to lure him in and make it seem like it's safe to strike. We want to be there when he does."
The police chief still didn't seem convinced or happy.
"That's a risky move. One wrong move, and we could be putting a police officer's life in danger. One officer might not be enough to take this guy down."
