Facing Death

The killer was gone, again. Hundreds of police and federal gumshoes fanned out across Miami, looking for the fugitive. Undercover agents went to a memorial service for Versace, eyeing the crowd to see if Cunanan was brazen enough to show up. At the Warsaw Ballroom, police arrived at 1:45 a.m., about 36 hours after Versace's murder, to pass out posters with Cunanan's picture. Inside the VIP room, friends of Versace were mourning, while a chunky man stripped down to his G-string and gyrated on the bar. Warsaw's manager, Max Blandford, was incensed that it took the cops so long. ""They can get 400 cars ticketed for parking infractions, yet they can't tell us there is a serial killer in the area?''

The FBI is worried that Cunanan is now working down a hit list of wealthy gays and arts patrons. Late last week, agents quietly informed possible targets they should take extra precautions. Warned FBI deputy director William Esposito: ""This person could show up on your doorstep.'' On Saturday there were a pair of possible Cunanan sightings in the rich retirement community of Ft. Lauderdale. (He posed there as a Versace model named ""Julian''; police say he may now be posing as a woman.) Bill Hagmaier, the chief of the FBI's Child Abduction and Serial Killer Unit, told NEWSWEEK that Cunanan had began as a ""spree killer'' - murdering his first victims in a rush, motivated by rage or vendetta. But now he has evolved into a ""classic serial killer.'' After the first few times, killing gets easier, says Hagmaier. The killer begins to feel ""absolute power over human beings.'' Serial murderers become intoxicated by their celebrity and have to kill again to maintain the ""euphoria of murder.'' Like addicts, they eventually become strung out - and make a mistake. But Cunanan hasn't made one yet, at least not a big one.

Cataloging all the different ways Cunanan is alleged to have killed - friends and strangers, with guns and tools, quickly and slowly - Thomas Epach, the chief of criminal prosecutions for Cook County, Ill., said: ""It's like watching a weather map. This killer is the consummate criminal storm.'' All across the country, there are lot of other watchers, nervously wondering where the storm will strike next.

MAP: U.S. - A trail of Blood, Bodies--And Evidence

A chain of incriminating evidence points to accused spree killer Andrew Cunanan. To stay ahead of the law, he stole cars, money and a license plate and lay low in a cheap hotel. To taunt police, he left behind calling cards of bloody clothes and even his passport. The cross-country trail that seems to have led Cunanan to South Florida--and Versace:

San Diego - April 25: Cunanan leaves for Minnesota, has drinks there with David Madson