Cat and Mouse (James Patterson novel)

"Cat and Mouse" is the fourth novel in the homicide detective, Psychologist Alex Cross series by James Patterson. It revolves around Cross dealing with Gary Soneji, the psychopathic serial killer from "Along Came a Spider", and another serial killer known only as Mr. Smith.

Plot summary

The book begins with Gary Soneji breaking into Alex Cross' home in Washington DC and contemplating the murders of Alex and his family.

In London the killer dubbed Mr. Smith by the press is conducting a live autopsy. Mr. Smith explains to his victim what he will be feeling and Mr. Smith envies his victim.Unknown to everyone Gary Soneji is from afar. Soneji leaves to go to Union Station (Washington, D.C.).He is about to begin his masterpiece.

At union station, Soneji gets on to the balcony. He has a rifle with him inside a gym bag. He takes it out and looks through the crowd at the lobby & begins shooting. Cross and Sampson receive a call from Soneji letting him know where he is. Alex was expecting Kyle Craig, who had faxed Cross a letter asking for help with the Mr. Smith case. When Sampson and Cross get there, 4 people have already been killed. Cross, Sampson only to find the rifle was set up on a timer and randomly shooting down. Soneji was actually on a train headed to New York City.

Soneji is at Penn Station in New York City. He is following a man and once he catches up to him he stabs him in the back with a big hunting knife he used to kill Roger Graham in Along Came a Spider. Soneji then escaped in a subway.Cross is driving by the school and stops when he sees Christine’s car. He waits for her and when she comes out they go for a walk. Christine confesses that she has a hard time with Alex’s line of work and how he has a dangerous profession. Soon the 2 share a passionate kiss afterwards. As they kiss Alex’s beeper rings.

Alex is now in is called by an NYPD detective, Manning Goldman, that was investigating the Penn Station murder. Goldman is sure that Soneji committed the murder.Once in New York City, Cross meets with Detective Goldman at Penn Station. A total of 3 people were stabbed and the knife was laced with poison. Later that day Sampson and Cross return to DC. Soneji is planning his next move.

The next day Alex takes Rosie the cat to Quantico. The cat is going to be examined by the FBI. Cross is afraid that Soneji did something to the cat before giving her to Alex. While Rosie gets checked out, Cross is meeting with Kyle Craig. Kyle wants Cross involved in the Mr. Smith case but Alex refuses. Cross agrees to see Agent Thomas Pierce, whose own girlfriend was killed by Mr. Smith a few years back. Afterwards, Alex checks on Rosie, who had nothing wrong with her.

In London, Mr. Smith calls the police a few blocks down telling them where to find the body of Inspector Drew Cabot.

Thomas Pierce is in London. He works on the Mr. Smith case almost exclusively. He’s trying to figure out the message Mr. Smith is trying to send.

Sampson and Cross are in Wilmington, Delaware. They are going to visit Soneji’s wife and daughter. Alex smells decay and sees flies. They find the decapitated body of a Labrador Retriever. They find the head of a Soneji’s wife’s sewn where the head should be. Alex and Sampson find the daughter, Roni scared and shaking badly but otherwise unhurt.

Later, Soneji goes to Lorton prison, where Soneji had been kept during Along Came a Spider. Cross was there to meet with a prisoner named Jamal Autry that told Cross Soneji was raped in prison and Soneji got Aids. Cross understood now why Soneji was so out of control and on a rampage.

In New York City, Gary quietly breaks into Manning Goldman’s house at night, and while Detective Goldman sleeps, Gary hit’s him with a lead pipe.

Kyle Craig lends Alex use of the FBI Helicopter to make his way to NYC. Alex meets with Goldman’s partner. They make their way to Goldman’s home in Riverdale, The Bronx, New York. In the bedroom there is blood everywhere. The blood was splattered on the bed, the walls, and the floor. This was a brutal attack.

Elsewhere in a bar, Soneji pick up a woman and goes with her to her apartment.

Alex and the NYPD think Soneji is going after the man that raped him in prison and gave him Aids, Shareef Thomas. They found Shareef in Brooklyn inside a crack house. As they try to apprehend Shareef, Alex killed him.

In Paris, France, Mr. Smith attacks and kills a young Doctor that had just left his girlfriends house.

At Bellevue Hospital Gary Soneji goes to find Sharref Thomas, who he believes is in intensive care after being shot by Dr. Cross and kept there by the police, as he heard from a news report. Soneji is dressed as a male nurse and wearing another disguise. Soneji goes into the room, only to find Cross and Detective Groza, Goldman’s partner, waiting for him in the room. Soneji is impressed, but prepared as he throws a small Incendiary bomb Gary made at the 2 detectives. Cross and Groza pull the bed on them to shelter themselves from the brunt of the bomb.

Soneji makes his way out of the hospital and escapes in a city bus. Cross is afraid that Soneji plans on blowing up the bus.

Cross thinks Soneji is trying to make Grand Central Station, which proves to be correct, when Soneji makes his way out of the bus and runs toward it carrying a baby in his arm. Groza and Cross follow Soneji. They corner Soneji who swears that Cross will pay for everything. Soneji gets away by throwing the baby. The baby is caught but while everyone looks at the baby on the air Soneji makes a run for the tunnels. Groza and Cross pursue Soneji again. Soneji attacks Groza from behind. Alex and Soneji fight. Soneji swears that death won’t stop him and hell go after Cross, even if he dies. The fight is physical and hard. Cross manages to shoot Soneji in the jaw. He falls to the ground and the other bomb in his pocket explodes burning Soneji.

A few days later, Cross returns home. He spends the entire day with his family. Kyle Craig calls Cross and again asks for help on the Mr. Smith case. Cross says no.

Alex's family throws him a party for taking Soneji down.

The night of the party Alex sleeps when he is attacked by what is believed to be Soneji.

When John Sampson arrives on the scene Nana and the kids are outside. The kids were beaten but left alive. Sampson makes his way into Alex’s room. Kyle Craig is there and informs Sampson that Alex was shot twice and then beaten. At that moment, Agent Thomas Piece appears, he’s going to find out what happened.

From this part forward, it’s written from the perspective of Thomas Pierce. Pierce is there as a favor to Kyle Craig. Pierce looks at the scene and wonders why the kids were left to live. He deduces they were beaten to make a statement but killing them was not the plan. Pierce concludes that Soneji did not do this as Soneji would have killed the Mama and the children.

Pierce examines the room and notices all the blood in the room. Soon he is told Cross has gone into cardiac arrest due to loss of blood. Kyle and Thomas head to St. Anthony’s Hospital. Thomas reminisces about his dead girlfriend, Issabella. Pierce had graduated from Harvard Medical school when she was murdered by Mr. Smith. Pierce gave up medicine.

Back in Paris, France, Inspector Rene Faulk investigates the disappearance of the young surgeon.

After looking and anlyzing evidence at Cross's home, Pierce is sure Cross' attacker was not Soneji. In Cross cellar, Pierce finds Cross' shield burned and charred.

Sampson and Pierce head to Princeton, New Jersey to examine the area Soneji was raised. They went to talk with Soneji’s grandfather, Walter Murphy. They dig in the back and find human and animal bones. Gary had started killing when he was young.

At the hotel, Pierce gets an e mail from Mr. Smith that he took a young surgeon in Pierce’s honor. Mr. Smith has been contacting Pierce before he commits a murder and challenges Pierce to stop him. Pierce needs to go. Sampson is not happy with it.

Mr. Smith named himself Mr. Smith after Valentine Michael Smith from the book Stranger in a Strange Land. Mr. Smith does another live autopsy on Abel Sante.

On the way to Paris, France, Pierce reviews notes and tries to determine what kind of a person Mr. Smith really is. Pierce is afraid Mr. Smith really might be a monster. Upon reaching Paris and checking into a hotel, Pierce reads his e mail from Mr. Smith and tells him where to find the doctor’s body. Pierce is accompanied by an [Interpol agent named Sandy Greenberg. In the e mail, Mr. Smith tells Pierce not to trust her.

Pierce recovers the body of Dr. Sante’s body. His head had been separated from the body and the head had been cut in half.

Pierce is at the Cross house. He’s examining Alex’s room and is convinced that Soneji had a partner. Pierce takes Sampson with him to Princeton and to meet a childhood friend of Soneji’s, Simon Conklin. Pierce thinks he’s the one that tried to kill Alex, but the problem is that Conklin had an alibi. After interviewing Conklin, Pierce is not only convinced Conklin did it, but was in fact the leader of Soneji.

Pierce breaks in to Conklin’s house. Pierce can’t find evidence that Conklin tried to kill Alex but after viewing the house is now sure Conklin is the guy.

The book resumes going to Alex’s point of view. He is addressing a group of FBI agents at Quantico. He was fine. It’s now revealed that everything that happened was a hoax done by Kyle Craig. It’s now revealed that Cross was never dying. The releases were for Thomas Pierce’s benefit. Alex tells the group what is going on.

Thomas had actually killed his girlfriend when Pierce caught her in the act, cheating with another doctor. This developed a split personality. The “Mr. Smith” personality is dominating more and more. The authorities only have circumstantial evidence. The FBI is hoping that being involved in this case will let Pierce go after Conklin and let the FBI catch him in the act. Sara Greenberg tells the agent that Pierce was spotted at all the recent murders.

Agents are outside Conklin’s house. Inside Pierce is going to begin a live autopsy on Conklin, but first is trying to get a confession from Conklin for attacking Dr. Cross. Pierce is now Mr. Smith.

The agents go in, but it’s too late. Conklin is dead and Mr. Smith has escaped. Before dying, Conklin had confessed to trying to kill Alex

Kyle feels horrible that Pierce escaped. This had all been Kyle’s idea. Cross tries to comfort Kyle. Alex offers to go to Boston, Massachusetts to look at Agent Pierce’s apartment. The apartment is full of pictures of Pierce’s dead girlfriend. Alex is trying to find the pattern.

He receives a voicemail from Pierce telling Cross where to find Smith’s next victim.

The victim is found but all the organs were removed.

Mr. Smith later kills a prostitute.

Alex returns home and tries to find a connection. He writes the name of the victim in order and finds the connection. It was in the names. It spelled i-m-u-r-d-e-r-e-d-i-s-a-b-e-l-l-a-c-a-l-a-i-s. (I murdered Isabella Calais). The s in Calais had not been completed. Alex knew the last victim would be Dr. Straw, the man Isabela was having the affair with.

The FBI set up another stakeout. Pierce shows up but keeps going in his car. Cross goes after Pierce and go on a high speed chase. The cars eventually go on a side road. Pierce looses Cross for a few minutes. When Cross and Sampson find Pierce’s car, Pierce is gone. Alex knows he wants to complete the puzzle. The S for Smith. Cross returns to Boston. At the apartment Smith had done a self autopsy. Alex tries to stop Pierce from killing himself and the two end up fighting. Sampson shoots Pierce, pointblank.

The End

Trivia

* Soneji admired Charles Starkweather, Bruno Hauptmann, and Charles Whitman.
* Gary Soneji always craved attention since being a little boy, which is why Soneji’s crimes are so big.
* As a small boy Soneji was kept in a damp basement, sometimes days at a time, by his stepmother.
* Gary killed his father and stepmother and his stepbrothers as a teenager by burning the house down, but everyone thought it was an accident as no one knew what Soneji had been through, thus no one suspected him. Soneji had been at school.
* As a boy Soneji learned to use a sniper gun by killing animals and pets through out the neighborhood he lived in.
* As a boy Soneji fantasized about being the kidnapper of Charles Lindbergh’s baby.
* Soneji murdered his wife by decapitation after escaping from prison, but spared his child.