The fine hairs on the nape of Dutton's neck stood on end. A telltale sign he conceived something strong about the Adler case. The rolling countryside reminded him the vicious killer had been reared in the vicinity. The question on his mind haunted him.

Ballister drove the dark green sedan up to an ancient-looking homestead. He asked, "Weren't the boys in blue here last week?"

"They were," Dutton confirmed, "but, I have my own questions I want answered."

Dutton wanted to see where Karl Adler grew up and his insanity had been nurtured. The main reason he'd made the sojourn was to talk to someone who had so far been overlooked from the radar, Murray Cotton. Adler's uncle.

Cotton paced on the wrap-around porch that fronted his eighty year old farmhouse. Peeled paint and rusted fences awaited them. When Ballister stopped the car, Cotton did not extend an open invitation for the detectives to enter his home.

Brambles, multiflora, and knotty pines rose in all directions. A thin herd of Black Angus grazed lazily on tall gypsum in a nearby pasture. Poison ivy overran a delapidated barn. Dutton discerned the presence of Karl Adler.

"I had no clue at any point in Karl's life he was capable of murder. No inkling at all," Cotton informed Dutton. "Days go by when I believe I've gotten used to the notion. Most of the time it's very incomprehensible to me and I realize your efforts are unjustified."

Dutton grasped the old man resented the deliberate tone of his voice and wondered how far he could shove before Cotton's temper appeared. Dutton watched every gesture Cotton made. Body language would tell the seasoned veteran what he desired to know.

"Like everybody else, Karl wanted to fit in. I accepted him for who he was and he trusted me," Cotton said brusquely.

"What did Adler need you to accept about him?" Dutton exhorted.

Cotton's glance shifted to a peaceful creek that flowed over a rocky bed on the edge of his property. Dutton detected Adler's presence stronger the more he interrogated the old timer.

"Karl would often get angry. Who can't? He had a slicing tongue he wasn't scared to use. He riled some people with his superiority complex," Cotton remarked. "None of that makes my nephew the cold-blooded murderer the papers peg him to be."

Dutton did not give Cotton room to breathe. He implored, "Adler never ruffled your feathers or made you squawk like a hen tearing up her nest?"

"Fat chance!" Cotton stated, "Karl and I were extremely close regardless what the high-priced shrinks the police use claim. What do they know? I never experienced any of Karl's explosive tantrums."

The revelation fascinated Dutton. He acknowledged Cotton lied and queried, "Were Adler's temper fits ever premeditated?"

"You well know Karl burned down his stepmother's house. Can't say she didn't deserve it though. Karl was also an honor student and always had lots of friends," Cotton said.

The speedy tempo of Dutton's questions made Cotton grow steadily more uneasy. Dutton pushed on. He wanted to see if Cotton had Adler's temper. He asked, "Ever meet any of his school chums?"

Anger flashed in Cotton's eyes. Dutton sensed the real side of him began to appear.

"Karl never brought friends here," Cotton retorted, "your question makes me believe you're insinuating Karl never had any friends. Is that your fifty cent analysis, detective?"

Dutton began to ascertain disturbing vibrations about Adler and Cotton's relationship. He asked, "Adler is known to have a nightmare that took place here. Are you aware of it? I'm sure you are."

Cotton shook his head in denial. His eyes blinked. Dutton had struck another nerve.
Uncooperative, Cotton demanded, "And, if I say no?"

Dutton knew the codger was acting. The accuracy of Cotton's responses explained he knew so much about Adler. His stares off into the distance as Dutton grilled him freed his mind and gave him ample opportunities to come up with the proper answers.

"We'll get a search warrant. Make no mistakes, Cotton, we'll do the search whether you bless off on the action or not," Dutton told him without question, "Adler was very exact about his dream as if he wanted somebody to come out here."

Bones were soon unearthed. Specifically, the scapula of a young boy. Was Adler's first kill another kid? Were these bones Adler's first manifestations? If so, they would be precious to him. The incubus that launched the nightmare Dutton was caught up in the middle of.