There is no great genius without some touch of madness.
—Seneca, On Tranquility of the Mind
There was no hurry.
Sunrise in Laguna, the surf was still and the yellow sun gleaming.
He sat in his favorite red chair, his face orange in the sunrise. He picked up the paper. A quick glance through and he found her name, her face, lingered over it for a time.
Excitement rose and fell in him when he saw her.
He would not allow himself to look at the photo again today.
By ten he had worked out with weights to near exhaustion. He satisfied himself with his vigor, watching his pecs jump up and down. Sitting in the red chair, his torso pumped from the workout, he watched the surf roll in and out.
There was no hurry.
His flight to Virginia did not leave till noon.
His sense of power engulfed him all the time now.
From the newspaper, the Irvine Police Department and the Burning Man Task Force said what they wanted. But the bottom line was the same: no progress.
Turning on the television, he thought by now there might be some breaking news. They had found Carrie Ann Bennett.
Stretched out in the red chair, he smiled. Catherine was in a group of microphones. Flanked by cops, perhaps a bodyguard, she said, “This man’s savage butchery will only make us work harder.”
He snorted. Go ahead.
But it wouldn’t help the next one.
She was already dead.
The newspapers were calling him the Burning Man. He liked the name. Thought it appropriate. After all, what death did men fear most? Death by fire.
Intensity and heat. The words suited him.
Passion too, just like his Catherine.
He watched Catherine’s face, studied it. He had DVD’d her. Now he could freeze-frame her at any time. Enjoy the delicate eyes, the way she squared her jaw when she was angry.
Today he would bring her closer to him.
He wanted to tell her what would happen. Wished she had one inkling of what he wanted most. He tried to send her messages. But she had no sense of his presence. When this day was over, she would. He would share himself with her. But she could not have it and live. Still, he wanted her. She was the only one who could understand him.