Slices of Night - a novella in 3 parts @page { margin-bottom: 5.000000pt; margin-top: 5.000000pt; } Copyright © 2011 by J.T. Ellison, Alex Kava and Erica SpindlerAll rights reserved. Prairie Wind Publishingwww.PWindPub.comISBN: 978-0-98836761-1-9Cover art byBecky HicksHoffman Miller AdvertisingCompiled and Formatted byDeb CarlinPrairie Wind PublishingPhoto Credits:J.T. Ellison by Chris Blanz of CabedgeAlex Kava by Deb Carlin of Prairie Wind PublishingErica Spindler by Hoffman Miller AdvertisingExcerpts reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.Table of ContentsINTRODUCTIONTHE MISSING AND THE GONE by Erica SpindlerBLOOD SUGAR BABY by J.T. EllisonCOLD METAL NIGHT by Alex KavaGET TO KNOW THE AUTHORS~J.T. Ellison~Erica Spindler~Alex KavaCHAPTER EXCERPTSWHERE ALL THE DEAD LIE-J.T. EllisonWATCH ME DIE-Erica SpindlerHOTWIRE-Alex KavaINTRODUCTION BY ALEX KAVAJuly 2010 Erica Spindler, JT and Randy Ellison, Deb Carlin and I went out to dinner at Remy’s in New York City. It wasn’t the first time we had all gotten together. By now we were more than colleagues. We were friends. Sometime during dinner Deb asked Erica, JT and I if we’d ever consider writing something together. Of course, we said we’d love to. But as writers we spend a good deal of our time alone. We need to climb inside our minds and inside our characters. Rarely do we collaborate and when we do, it’s usually to contribute a short story that we’ve written alone but are including in an anthology.Thankfully Deb continued to pester us. She volunteered to be the architect, to put together and format the book, to keep us on deadline, and to cheer us along. I mentioned to Erica and JT that it would be fun if our protagonists had to deal with the same serial killer, each in her own city. From there we started developing our killer including his MO, the weapon he used, even the victims he chose. Then we decided who had to deal with him first, second and third. And that’s the order the stories were written, so that we could respond to each other.SLICES OF NIGHT is the result. We have had an incredible experience working on this together for all of you, our readers. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we have enjoyed writing it.DEDICATIONTo DEB CARLIN, You pulled this together, an insane, thankless task. But you did it with grace, aplomb and good humor. Lady, you're amazing!Erica to J.T. and Alex: Without you this business would be a lot more difficult ~and a lot less fun.THE MISSING AND THE GONEbyErica SpindlerUntil today, N.O.P.D. Detective Stacy Killian figured she was made of relatively tough stuff. She'd weathered some horrendous shit, including being shot, kidnapped, and betrayed on the most elemental level. She'd figured she had seen it all when it came to pain and suffering, both hers and that of her fellow human beings.She would never be cocky again. Never think she was so big and bad.She'd lost the baby.The one neither she nor Spencer had planned for. The pregnancy. Her first reaction to it had been Hell, no. Not now, not yet.But then it had begun to change her. Everything from the way she viewed her body to the way she made love to her husband. She was going to be a mother. She and Spencer had made this little boy or girl with their love.Nine weeks later, all that was gone. And she was left empty, feeling lost and broken.She wanted to weep. To wail and rage. If she allowed herself that luxury, she feared she wouldn't be able to stop. The pain, the sense of loss, went so deep, it had burrowed into her bones."I'm so sorry sweetheart."She shifted her gaze to Spencer, perched at the side of her bed. She took in his strong, handsome face. Her husband. Her best friend.Brokenhearted. Family was everything to him. The Malone clan was as big and close knit as they came. Seven siblings, five in law enforcement, fiercely loyal to one another.He had been so excited. So proud.She had to be strong for him."I'm okay," she said. "We'll be fine."He frowned slightly at that. "Of course we will." He took her hand, laced their fingers. "We'll have other babies."A knot of tears formed in her throat. But she had wanted this one. It had become real for her."It's good we didn't tell anyone," she said. "We won't have to deal with everyone's pity."Again the frown. "The family needs to know. So they can help --""No.""At least your sister? Jane will --""No," she said again, softly. "This is good. I'll get back to work, and no one will know."French Quarter5:15 a.m.Stacy worked the New Orleans Eighth District. The Eighth stretched from Howard Avenue to Elysian Fields, which included party-central --The French Quarter. The Quarter saw lots of drunk and disorderly, pandering and prostitution, drug offenses and thefts. Murders too. Though they typically killed each other after they left the party.Dawn broke over the spire of St. Louis Cathedral. She lifted her gaze to the spire, then moved it slowly across the landscape. The Cabildo. Jackson Square. The Pontabla. Picture postcard perfect. Tourist central.Marred this evening by emergency vehicles and crime scene tape stretched across the Cabildo's impressive colonnade.One of the most historically significant buildings in the United States. The location of the signing of The Lousiana Purchase. Rebuilt twice. Now a museum.Hell of a place for a murder. So not P.C..Apparently the perp hadn't gotten the memo.She tugged on the brim of her ball cap and glanced at her partner. "Ready Patterson?"He yawned. "As I'll ever be."They crossed to the scene officer, signed the log, then ducked under the scene tape.Shadowed. Ten degrees cooler. Oddly removed from the twenty-first century French Quarter, coming to life behind her.Stacy could almost believe she'd stepped back in time.Except for the vic.She and Patterson stopped just behind the pool of blood. This woman had not been in the Quarter to party. Homeless, the cardboard placard around her neck announced. Please help.She wondered how many folks had walked by this spot without seeing her? Or noticed her but thought she was sleeping there, like so many of the homeless across U.S. cities did, in doorways, alleys, and parks.She shifted her attention back to the victim. Ragged blue jeans. Battered denim jacket. Long sleeve shirt under that. Wearing a Saints ball cap, ponytail poking out the back--same as Stacy. Frayed backpack on the walkway beside her. Zipped. Robbery hadn't been a motive.Stacy glanced at her partner. "Wonder how she avoided our sweep?""Must have been hunkered down somewhere. Came out after dark."She nodded. The NOPD routinely herded the homeless out of the Quarter, dumping them at various shelters around the city. They were particularly thorough when big conventions were in town, like the medical convention currently visiting the Big Easy.A conventioneer had stumbled upon her. A surgeon. He had tried to help but she'd already been dead. He stood at the edge of the scene now, looking anxious.She waved the scene officer over. "Get the doc's statement and contact information, then let him go." The officer started off; she stopped him. "And thank him for his help.""You okay, Stacy?"She looked sharply at Patterson. Good guy. Decent cop. They'd only worked together a handful of times. Stacy blew through partners pretty quickly. The lucky ones were promoted. The unluckiest of the menagerie had ended up dead. "Why do you ask?""You seem off, that's all."She worked to hide a sudden uncertainty, the urge to wrap her arms protectively over her middle.Did something about her broadcast the news? Like a tawdry neon sign at the side of the highway?"Just tired." She fitted on her Latex gloves. "It's too frickin' early for this shit.""You got that right."She squatted beside the victim, being careful to avoid the blood around the body. The body lay crumpled, lower body supine, upper body twisted to the right, face in profile.Stacy shined her flashlight beam on the victim's face. "Damn, she was young."Her partner took a spot across the body from her. "No shit. I'd be surprised if she was even twenty-one."Stacy moved the light. "Look at her hands. How clean they are." The longer on the street, the dirtier and more rag-tag they got. "She hasn't been out here long.""Maybe not at all?""Maybe," Stacy agreed. "Could've been a hustle.""Med convention brings 'em out.""Oh man," Stacy said. With her gloved hand, she eased the denim jacket aside. "She was knifed. Looks like one blow. Clean."Blood had drained from the wound, soaking her lower torso. Oddly, her upper torso was wet as well, her blue shirt marred by circular stains. But not blood.Stacy frowned. "What the hell is that?"5:42 a.m."Breast Milk," Coroner's investigator Ray Hollister said, a short time later. "She was lactating."Stacy stared at him, feeling his words like a punch to her gut."Not pregnant," he went on. "A new mother. Breastfeeding, judging by the amount of fluid.""How new a mother?" she asked."I'll know after the post. There's a schedule of healing that occurs by the sixth week after delivery. The perineum, the uterus. After that, it gets tougher to calculate."Seconds passed. The silence was punctuated by the click and whir of the crime scene camera and the murmured conversation of the techs. Stacy shook her head. "Breastfeeding, you said?" He nodded and she moved her gaze between the two men. "So where's the baby?"8:55 a.m.The Quarter never slept and neither did the cops of the Eighth. While the techs finished processing the scene, Stacy and Patterson canvassed the area. Most businesses were just opening for the day, their employees not the same ones who had been in the night before.They'd collected names and numbers and acknowledged they'd have to revisit most of them again later.As the minutes had passed, Stacy's thoughts kept returning to one: Where was the baby?"Fill me in."Major Henry was a fireplug of a man. No neck, huge chest, all torso. He bench-pressed four-fifty. Which was no shit--Stacy had seen him do it."Vic's one Jillian Ricks. Eighteen. Barely, according to her 2010 Sacred Heart Academy I.D. Stab wound to the chest," Stacy continued. "Pierced the lung and heart. Surgical precision. Conventioneer found her around 3:00 a.m..""He checks out," Patterson offered. "He had just broken away from a group to go to his hotel.""No other identification on her?"Patterson shook his head. "Ran her name through the system. No driver's license, nothing.""Motive?""Not a robbery," Patterson said. "Her backpack was with her, untouched. Evening's collection in a zip-bag inside. Thrill-kill, maybe. Random act." He glanced at her. "Child abduction."Stacy leaned forward acutely aware of minutes ticking past. "There may be a child involved. An infant." Henry's expression darkened and she quickly explained."What other proof do you have?" Henry asked."None yet. Hollister promised to move her to the front of the line."Her superior moved his gaze between them. "What are you thinking? That she was killed for her baby?"Stacy pursed her lips a moment. "Maybe. But I don't think she had the infant with her. Last night was cold and damp. My theory is she left it someplace safe.""With a relative? A friend?""Again, maybe, though people in her position usually don't have anyone to turn to. If they did, they wouldn't be on the streets.""Theory based on what? Having a kid brings in the sympathy cash.""No diapers or wipes in the backpack. No change of clothes, nothing. A new mother doesn't leave home without her supplies.""How do you know so much about this, Detective? You and Malone have a kid you haven't told us about?"She flushed. "My sister Jane. She has two.""Have you considered she'd given the baby up for adoption? Or abandoned it? Breast milk doesn't dry up overnight."He was right about that, but Stacy's gut was telling her Jillian Ricks hadn't abandoned her baby. She told him so."Why so certain?""Hunch. Instinct." Her hands trembled, so she pressed them against her thighs. "An infant can go around forty-eight hours without nourishment," she said. "The younger the child, the more tenuous the situation. I don't know how long we have. Thirty hours? Thirty-five?" She leaned forward. "We've got to find that baby."Henry frowned. "We're looking for a murderer, Detective. Not a baby. A theoretical one at that.""I understand that, Major, but--""No buts. You find the perp, got that? That's your focus.""Yes, sir.""Good." He glowered at them. "So, go do it."9:45 a.m.Sacred Heart Academy was one of New Orleans' storied institutions. An all girls, grades K-12, with a list of society luminary graduates that would make even the most prestigious east coast school proud.Located on St. Charles Avenue, surrounded by an iron fence, its grounds dotted by magnificent moss-draped Live Oaks, Stacy had always driven by and wondered what would it have been like to attend school here. Would it be as story-book perfect as it looked?Apparently not--Jillian Ricks had attended the academy.More like an American horror story.The headmistress met them at the front entrance, led them to her office."Have a seat." She motioned them toward the two chairs in front of her massive wooden desk. Nothing institutional about it. With its scrolls and carvings, it shouted valuable antique."Sister," Patterson said, "thank you for seeing us.""You said you were here about Jillian Ricks?"Stacy stepped in. "That's right. We understand she was a student here in 2010.""For longer than that, Detectives. She attended Sacred Heart from the first grade.""She graduated?""No. Her parents withdrew her in her junior year. Right before the Christmas break."Because she was pregnant, Stacy guessed. Though if the headmistress knew that, she doubted she would tell her. She asked anyway. "Do you know why?""I'm sorry, you'd have to speak with her parents about that. We were sorry to lose Rachel.""Rachel?""Jillian was her middle name. She preferred it.""We'll need her parents' contact information.""May I ask what this is about?""Homicide investigation," Stacy answered. "You'll have to speak to her parents about it."10:30 a.m.Uptown, holier-than-thou hypocrites. When their daughter had refused to give her baby up for adoption, they'd kicked her out of the house.Stacy didn't bother to hide her dislike. "You're telling us you put your daughter and her infant out on the street?""We figured she'd be back in a matter of days.""Days? Really?""She had nowhere to go. We let family know they were absolutely not allowed to help her. Same for her friends' families."Stacy had trouble controlling the anger that rose up in her. She felt the same emanating from Patterson.They hadn't even asked why they were here.Almost as if they'd expected it."And how long has she been gone?"For the first time, Stacy saw indecision cross their features. "Six weeks," he answered."Not days, then." Sarcasm dripped from the words. "Have you tried to find her?""No. We didn't raise our daughter to be a whore. She knows what she has to do to come home.""She'll be home any day," the mother said, looking at her husband as if for confirmation.Stacy bit back what she wanted to say. "When did she deliver?""The baby was a week old when she left.""You mean, when you kicked her and her newborn out of the house and into the street.""Our home, our rules." He swept his gaze over her. "You're not a parent, are you Detective? You'll see, a firm hand's needed. Tough love."As if Patterson knew she was about to lose it, he stepped in. "What about the baby's father?""Trash.""In your opinion," Stacy said."In everyone's.""Was he still a part of your daughter's life?""No. We saw to that.""How so, Mr. Ricks," Stacy asked."With all due respect, it's none of your business. This is a family matter.""It's a police matter now."The mother spoke for the first time. "What kind of trouble has she gotten herself into now?""She's dead, Mrs. Ricks," Stacy said, unable to hold back her contempt. "She got herself murdered."11:15 a.m.Ten minutes later, they were buckled into Stacy's SUV. She started it, but didn't shift out of park. "I hope they did it," Stacy muttered. "It'd make my day to see them cuffed and hauled off.""No frickin' joke. They hardly flinched at the news." He held up the photo they'd supplied of their daughter. They hadn't even had one of the baby. "You need a license to drive but any psychopath can be a parent. No questions asked." He looked at her. "They were weird about the boyfriend. Think they killed him, too?"Before she could respond, her cell phone sounded. "Killian," she answered."Detective, Ray Hollister. Autopsy's complete. You want the highlights?""Always. Patterson's with me. I'm putting you on speaker." Stacy clicked over and set the phone on the console. "Okay, go.""Except for the knife wound, which killed her, she was a healthy young woman. The blade entered under the breastbone and hit both lung and heart, very neat, no torn edges, in and out.""Type of blade?" Patterson asked."Stiletto-type, double-edge. Five or six inches long. Frontal attack."Stacy stepped in. "We I.D.'ed her, spoke with her parents. They claim she gave birth seven weeks ago.""Jibes with my findings. It's in the report.""Any sign of drug or alcohol abuse?" Patterson asked."None. But Tox will give us the full story."Stacy made a sound of impatience. "What about T.O.D.?""Eleven p.m. Friday. Give or take."It was 11:00 a.m. now.Twelve hours since the murder."When was the last time she breastfed?"Hollister let out a bark of laughter. "I'm good, Detective, but not that good.""Bullshit. An estimate.""I'm not going to pull a number out of a hat, Detective Killian, no matter how bad you want one. I can say, however, her breasts were engorged, so it'd been a number of hours, but how many--""Thank you. That's what I was looking for."Approximately sixteen hours since the baby had been fed.Thirty-two hours remaining."Want the report sent over?""Absolutely."Patterson looked at her, frowning. "What was that about?""What?""That sound you made at my question about drugs.""That information's inconsequential to this case. Ricks wasn't an addict.""How the hell do you know?""No need to get testy. C'mon, really, what does that have to do with this case?""The one we're working. A murder investigation. IF she was involved with drugs, it could've gotten her killed. It happens every frickin' day."He was right. It did happen everyday. It could have gotten her killed.But it was wrong. Here, it didn't work.She told him so.He paused. The silence stretched uncomfortably between them. "What case are you working, Stacy? I'm getting the feeling, it's not the same one I am."NOONThe boyfriend, one Blake Cantor, was a chef's assistant at a local chain restaurant, Zea's. Good food. Rotisserie meats and corn grits to die for. Stacy's stomach rumbled loud enough to make Patterson chuckle.On paper, the young man Ricks' parents had called "trash" seemed like a pretty decent guy. Full time job, no record, clean cut.Paper didn't always tell the tale; she'd met some pretty amoral bastards who looked like saints on paper. People like the Rickses."What's up?" Cantor asked warily. "My boss said you needed to talk to me.""Detective Killian," Stacy said, holding up her shield. "My partner, Detective Patterson.""We need to ask you a few questions about Jillian Ricks."Fear raced through his eyes. "I haven't seen her for months.""You seem a little nervous, Blake. What's wrong?""Nothing. I'm done with her, that's all.""Done with her? Wow, that sounds cold."He flushed and backtracked. "Look, I liked Jillian. A lot. But I don't want any trouble.""Sit down, Blake.""Why?"He looked panicked now. "Sit", she repeated. "Now."He did, though he looked for all the world like he wanted to bolt. Or puke."When's the last time you saw her?""January 5th.""You seem pretty certain about that date.""I am. It's the day I broke up with her.""You broke up with her? Why?"He stared at them. "For real?""Why wouldn't we be 'for real', Blake?""Her parents didn't send you?""Why would they have sent us?"The kid looked from her to Patterson and back, as if trying to decide if they were being honest. After a moment, he sighed. "They hated me. They told me if I saw her again, they'd make my life hell."Stacy made a sound of disbelief. "And that's all it took? You bolted like a scared rabbit?"He flushed. "They sent a couple of guys. Beat me up pretty bad. Told me the next time I might be dead. Or worse.""You didn't report it to the police?""Seriously?"The powerful and the powerless. The dynamic that spawned many of society's ills. "She was pregnant. Did you know that?"The blood drained from his face. "What?""Pregnant," Stacy repeated. "She delivered in August."He stared at them a moment, expression anguished, then dropped his head into his hands and wept.A knot of emotion formed in Stacy's throat. She'd been on the receiving end of some pretty slick lies; she would bet her badge Cantor's reaction was legit.After several moments, he straightened, wiped his eyes. "I'm a dad?""It seems true.""Is it a boy or a girl?"Stacy realized they hadn't even asked. "I'm sorry, Blake, I don't know."He suddenly looked confused. "Why are you here?""Where were you last night?" she asked instead. "Between nine and midnight?""Here. Working.""You can prove that?""Yeah. I was on the line all night. Didn't get out of here until midnight. Had a drink with the crew after."No help here.Another hour gone."Thank you, Mr. Cantor." She stood, Patterson with her. "We'll be in touch.""Wait!" He scrambled to his feet. The panic was back. "Why'd you want to know that? Where's Jillian?""Jillian was murdered last night. I'm sorry."1:05 p.m."Son of a bitch, that was messed up." Patterson jammed his hands into his pockets. "Poor guy..Stacy didn't comment. She couldn't shake the image of the young man crumbling at the news. Literally falling apart before their eyes. They hadn't been able to help him. He'd begged to know where his baby was. Again, all they'd been able to offer him was nothing.The need to cry rose up in her throat, strangling her.Jillian Ricks' baby was out there. Somewhere. She had to find it.Time was running out."Where now?" Patterson asked.She shifted the SUV into Drive, and pulled out of her parking spot, tires squealing.He was looking at her strangely. She blinked furiously, cursing the weakness."It's okay to cry," he said softly."Fuck off, Patterson. I'm not crying.""Okay then." He lifted his hands as if to ward off an attack. "My bad.""We need a plan.""Absolutely.""Don't patronize me.""Never."9:00 p.m.The plan had included a re-canvassing of the neighborhood around the scene. The good news: a few folks thought they recognized Ricks. The bad news: no one had seen or heard anything the night before.It'd also included reviewing the debris collected at the scene. There'd been plenty of it--it was the Quarter, after all. Cigarette butts, wrappers, gum, several go-cups, a Cafe du Monde cup. Lots of other goodies.Stacy had added in a trip to the morgue. To study the remains. The wound.In the hopes the dead would speak to her.Instead, she had ended up talking to the vic. Begging for answers. For assurance. And promising she wouldn't let her down."Hey, Beautiful."She looked up to see her husband, standing in the doorway to her cubicle. Dark hair and eyes, quick smile, crooked nose. Her heart did a funny, little flip. Still, after all this time together."Spencer." The tiniest wobble in her voice. Concern raced into his eyes, and she knew he had heard it, too."Stop it," she said."What?""Worrying.""Sorry, babe. Goes with the vows." He lifted a white take-out bag. "I brought food." He shook the bag. "Your favorite, half-n-half po'boy, dressed."Half fried shrimp, half fried oyster, lettuce, tomato and mayo on French bread.The last thing on her mind was food. Something else that would cause him to worry. She forced a smile. "Abita root beer?""You know it."She stood and they headed to the break room. They had the place to themselves and sat facing each other over the battered table.He immediately dug into his sandwich. "Talk to me," he said, around a huge bite.She forced nonchalance into her tone. "Not much to talk about. Working a new case."She hadn't fooled him; his gaze sharpened. "Heard about it. Any leads?""Nothing." She unwrapped the po'boy. The seafood spilled out the sides. She popped a shrimp into her mouth, then followed it with an oyster."You need sleep.""Not yet. I can't." She lowered her gaze to her food, then looked back up at him without taking a bite. "I'm heading down to the Cafe du Monde tonight. There was an empty cup near the body. Hot chocolate.""What's this about the vic having a baby with her?"He had said it casually. Too casually. "Not with her. But somewhere.""Yeah?" He chewed, expression thoughtful. "Why so certain?""Who've you talked to?" she asked, angry. "Patterson? Major Henry? They tell you to come talk to me?"He frowned. "A murder happens in the Eighth, I know about it. And nobody tells me to 'talk' to you, Stacy. You're my wife." He paused. "What's going on?""I'm sorry." She reached across the table and caught his hand, curling her fingers around his, thankful for his strength. "I'm on edge about this case.""Tell me about it. Maybe I can help."She began, laying it out the way she saw it. A young vic. New mother. Breastfeeding. The reasons why she believed that, the night she had been killed, Ricks had left her baby behind. She shared how the hours since the murder seemed to be clicking off in her head."What about who murdered her? Who've you talked to?""Ex-boyfriend, the baby's father. Her parents. Both have alibis. We're looking for others."Stacy took a swallow of the root beer. "It's someone we haven't interviewed yet. Friend or aquaintance. A stranger. Could've been a thrill kill. A gang initiation. Someone who has issues with the homeless." She paused. "Or, someone who wanted her baby."Stacy glanced down at her sandwich, realizing she'd only picked at it. She carefully folded the paper wrapper back around it. She lifted her gaze to her husband's. "Here's the thing, this wasn't some hack 'n slash. This perp attacked her with surgical precision."She took another swallow of the soft drink, using the moment to collect her thoughts. "He knifed her front on. Left side. The angle of the wound tells us he's right-handed. He came in low, slipped the blade in. No struggle. Took her completely by surprise.""She was walking toward him," he said."Yes. Keeping to the shadows. The fringes." She lifted the root beer bottle, then set it down without drinking. "Nobody begs on that corner. St. Peter and Chartres? No way. Too close to the Square. Too much NOPD presence.""She was heading where? What direction?""The River." Home. To her baby. "That's all we have.""Cafe du Monde, what are your objectives?""See if anybody recognizes her. Find out if she was there last night. And if she was, did she have a baby with her.""Then what?""If she didn't, I'll know I'm right. She left the baby someplace for safekeeping.""With someone," he said."No. She had no one.""Of course she did," he said reassuringly. "What kind of mom leaves an infant alone?""She didn't have anyone, Spencer. She was afraid.""You have me, Stacy.""What does--" She searched his gaze, suddenly realizing what he meant. "This isn't about me.""Come on, sweetheart. Don't you think it's possible your instincts are scrambled right now?""They're not.""That they could be driven by the miscarriage?"Angry, she jerked her hand away. "They're not.""You know nothing about this girl," he said softly. "Not what kind of mother she was. Not--""I know this."He made a sound of frustration. "Sweetheart, this isn't about our baby."Angry heat flooded her cheeks. "I can't believe you would say that to me.""It makes sense. Stacy, honey, we lost our baby, there was nothing you, or I, could do." He paused. "And now you're trying to save hers.""No." She shook her head. "This young woman was a mother. She left her baby behind, somewhere safe. It was a cold, damp night. Then she was murdered. Her baby is alone and--" Angry tears choked her. "Wow, I married a detective and psychoanalyst.""I know you, Stacy. Better than anyone.""I used to think that."She started to stand, he stopped her. "You didn't cry.""What?""When we lost it.""You keeping score, Malone?""We wanted that baby. Losing it broke my heart. Didn't it break yours?"She couldn't breathe. "Stop this.""Didn't it?""Yes," she whispered. "It did. Are you happy now?"He stood and came around the table, drew her into his arms. She resisted a second, wanting to hold onto her anger, the strength it gave her, then melted into him.After a moment, she lifted her face to his. "I know I'm right about this, Spencer. I need you to trust me."He rested his forehead against hers. Searched her gaze. "I believe in you, Stacy. And I'm with you, one hundred percent."10:10 p.m.Cafe du Monde. Perhaps the most famous eatery in New Orleans, a city known for food, and they only served three things: cafe au lait, milk and beignets--New Orleans' powdered sugar dusted version of a donut.As such, Cafe du Monde stayed busy. No such thing as a lull here even though they were open twenty-four, seven.Stacy figured Ricks wouldn’t have attempted to grab a table. No, she would’ve waited in the take-out line. Stacy did the same, though she could’ve used her badge to go directly to the window. Besides not wanting to start an all-out riot, she wanted to recreate Ricks’ experience, see what she’d seen.Lots of people, tourists and locals alike. Street performers: a human statue over by the closed information center; a group of b-boys at the amphitheater.She reached the front of the line and held up her shield. �śDetective Killian. I need to ask you a few questions.”The girl at the window looked unimpressed.�śYou work last night?”�śI work every night. 6:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m.”�śDo you recognize this woman?” She slid the photo across the counter.The girl studied it a moment, then nodded. �śYeah, she comes around sometimes.”�śWas she here last night?�śYeah, I think so. Always gets a hot chocolate.”The folks in line behind her were getting restless. Stacy heard a few of them grumble. She ignored them, slipped the photo back into her jacket pocket.�śShe have a baby with her?”�śNot last night.”Stacy’s heart quickened. �śBut she does sometimes.”�śYeah.” Her gaze shifted over Stacy’s shoulder. �śYou gonna order something? If not, my manager--”Stacy cut her off. �śWhen’s the last time you saw her with her baby?”�śI don’t know. A couple days ago. Before it got cold.”�śHey, lady!” the guy directly behind her said. �śYou mind? We’re waitin’ here!”White hot anger exploded inside her. Stacy swung around, all but shoving her badge in his face. �śBack the fuck off! Police business.”The guy’s eyes widened and he took an instinctive step backward. She knew if he reported the exchange she’d be dragged in front of the PID and get her hands slapped. Abuse of power. Not the profile the city wanted for its department.Right now, she didn’t give a shit.Twenty-four hours since the murder.Baby unaccounted for longer than that.She swung back around. �śYou ever see her with anyone?”�śNo. Just the baby.”Stacy narrowed her eyes. �śThink hard. You ever see her talking with anyone? It’s important.”The girl started to say no. Stacy saw the word form on her lips. Suddenly her gaze slid over Stacy’s shoulder. In the direction of the street performer, posing on the edge of the plaza.�śThe human statue?” Stacy asked.�śYeah. That guy. Tin Man. I seen her with him sometimes.”10:20 p.m.The Quarter was known for its street performers. Musicians, acrobats, mimes. Human statues. Like the Tin Man here. Blazing heat. Cold, rain, wind. There they stood. Frozen.Stacy approached him. Painted entirely silver--skin, hair, gym shorts, winged shoes and hat. Eye whites looked disturbingly yellow in contrast.He stood on a silver platform. She looked up at him. �śI need to ask you a few questions.”He didn’t move a muscle. Stacy gave him props for staying in character. �śAbout a friend of yours. Jillian Ricks.” Still nothing. She held up her shield. �śN.O.P.D.”He eyes shifted, took in the badge. �śI’m working.”How did he manage to speak without moving any other muscle? Bizarre. �śSo am I, dude. You coming down? Or am I coming up?”�śClimbing down.”Instead, he leaped sideways off the platform and sprinted in the opposite direction.�śSon of a bitch!” She started after him, berating herself for not seeing that coming. �śPolice!” she shouted, darting through a crowd watching the b-boys compete with one another.For a guy who spent his days not moving much, The Tin Man was fast--and nimble. But not fast enough. She got close enough to bring him down as he rounded the corner onto Esplanade Ave.She tackled him and sent them both sprawling onto the pavement. She heard a sickening crack and saw a spray of blood. Somebody was going to need a trip to the E.R.Too fuckin’ bad.Stacy wrenched his right arm around his back, snapped on one cuff, then did the same with the second.�śYou never run, asshole,” she said through gritted teeth. �śBut you do have the right to remain silent . . .”11:35 p.m.Stacy had called for a cruiser and let the officers escort the Tin Man to the Eighth. Now, she sat across the scarred up interview room table from him. Patterson stood by the door.She swept her gaze over him. Legal name Charlie Tinnin. Had a record, though nothing hardcore. Silver smeared by sweat and blood, cleaned away from the nasty gash on his chin and sidewalk burn on his right cheek. The doc who’d taken a look at both had pronounced him fit for questioning.�śCharlie,” she flipping through his file, �śyou have a record. Surprise, surprise.”�śI didn’t do anything.”�śExcept run. Why’d you run, Charlie?”�śCuz I don’t like cops. No offense.”She’d heard that one before. �śYou sure that’s the reason, Charlie?” She waited. He frowned. �śYou sure it doesn’t have something to do with Jillian Ricks?”�śWhat about Jillian?”�śYou know her?”�śWe’ve talked a couple times.”�śTalked? That’s it?”�śYeah.” He shifted uncomfortably. �śWhy?”�śBecause she’s dead.”The color drained from his face. He couldn’t have faked that, but the reason for it was up for grabs.�śDead,” he repeated. �śWhen--” He cleared his throat. �ś--what happened?”�śWhere’s her baby, Charlie?”�śWhat?”�śHer baby. It’s unaccounted for.”�śI don’t know what you’re talking about.”�śYou are aware she had a baby.”He nodded. He reminded her of one of those bobble head toys. �śSo what?”�śShe’s missing, that’s what.”Patterson cleared his throat in an attempt to redirect her. Stacy ignored him. �śWhy’d you run, Charlie?” she asked again.�śI told you. I swear.”�śWhen’s the last time you saw Jillian?”�śI don’t know . . . a couple days ago. We didn’t hang out.”�śShe have any other friends?”�śI don’t . . . not that I know of. When did she-- When did it happen?”�śI ask the questions here, not you. Where were you last night? Between eight and midnight.”�śWorking my spot.”�śBy Cafe du Monde?”�śYeah.”�śBut you didn’t see Jillian?”His eyes darted nervously between her and Patterson. �śI told you, I was working. She may have walked by, I don’t know.”�śCome on, she walked by? Friends say hello.”�śIt was busy. Med convention in town.” When she simply stared at him, he added, �śYou stand up there without moving a muscle, see what you see.”He had a point. �śWhere did she stay?”�śI don’t know.”�śI think you do.” And she did. She saw the uncertainty that raced into his eyes. �śWhere’d she stay?”�śLast I--”�śExcuse me, Detectives?” The desk officer stuck his head in. �śA moment.”Stacy stood and joined Patterson and the officer outside the interview room.�śWe’ve got another victim.”Stacy sucked in a sharp breath. �śWhere?”�śNorth Rampart. Near Armstrong Park. Same M.O.”Stacy’s heart stopped, then started again with a vengeance. �śAnother young woman with a child?”�śNo. An old guy. Also homeless. Just happened.”The son of a bitch wasn’t killing to acquire the infants. Thank God.Stacy turned and started back into the interview room.�śKillian?”Patterson. Confusion in his tone. She didn’t stop or look back, simply returned to her seat across from Tinnin. �śWhere’d she stay?”�śWhat the hell, Killian? Release him. He’s not our guy. We’ve got to go.”�śWhere’d she stay,” she asked again, holding Tinnin’s gaze. "I need that information. Now.”�śVic’s still twitching,” Patterson said. �śCome on, perp could be close by.”She looked at her partner. �śGo, then! I’ve got this.”�śYou’re losing it, Killian. I’m going to have to report this to Henry.”�śDo it then. Take my frickin’ badge.” She unclipped it and slammed it onto the table. �śNot now.”�śA warehouse!” the kid blurted out. �śUpriver from the Quarter.”Stacy was aware of her partner’s shocked silence. She turned back to the kid. �śYou’re going to take me to where Jillian stayed. Now.”12:10 a.m.The Mississippi River snaked its way around New Orleans, hugging the French Quarter, feeding the city. All along it, both up and down-river, warehouses dotted the levee, supporting New Orleans’ port, the busiest in the country.�śWhere?” she demanded, buckling in.�śAre you crazy?”She realized she must seem that way to him. Wild-eyed from lack of sleep, an emotional wreck. Her off the rails behavior at the Eighth.She glanced his way. �śNot dangerous crazy.”�śSo you’re not going to hurt me?”�śI’m not going to hurt you.” He looked unconvinced, but buckled up anyway.�śThe baby,” she said, easing away from the curb. �śWhat’s it's name?”�śJillian called her Peanut.”Peanut. Stacy tightened her fingers on the steering wheel. Be alive, Peanut. Be safe.12:25 a.m.He led her to an abandoned warehouse just up-river from the French Market, at N. St. Peters and Elysian Fields. She pulled up and parked. Looked at him. �śThis is it? You’re sure?”�śI just dropped her off here. I didn’t go in.”�śThat’ll do.” She popped open the glove box, retrieved her spare flashlight and handed it to him.He looked at it, then back up at her. �śDo I have to?”�śYeah. Man up, dude.”He grimaced. �śI bet it smells in there.”It did. Of mold, unwashed bodies and God knew what else. Stacy moved her flashlight beam over the interior. Basic, metal walls and supports, concrete floor.Jillian hadn’t been the only one to call this warehouse home. Cardboard boxes, ratty old blankets. Figures curled into balls under those blankets. A few huddled together, staring blankly at her.Eight squatters died in a warehouse like this last winter. It had caught fire and burned to the ground. She shuddered. �śPolice,” she called. �śI’m looking for a baby. Jillian Ricks’ baby.” She swept the beam over the huddled figures. �śShe called her Peanut.”Silence.�śI don’t want any trouble. Just the baby. She’s probably been crying.”The transient didn’t trust anyone, particularly police. They lived on the fringe for a reason, none of them good. Mental illness. Abuse. PTSD. Bad, frickin’ luck.She dug a bill out of her pocket. Held it up. �śI’ve got ten bucks for the one who takes me to her.”�śTwenty.”Stacy swung in the direction the crackly voice had come. A woman. Face obscured by dirt and wild gray hair.Stacy dug another ten out of her pocket. �śShow me, and it’s yours.”The woman pointed, then held out her hand.Stacy closed her fist on the cash. �śNope. You have to take me to her.”The woman hesitated a moment, then got to her feet. She shuffled forward, waving for them to follow her.She led them to a far corner of the building. To a grouping of cardboard boxes. She handed the woman the money and focused on the boxes.A home. Jillian Ricks had built a home for her and her baby.Emotion choked her. She moved closer. �śPeanut,” she called. �śMake a sound for us, Sweetheart.”A low, deep growl answered her. Jillian hadn’t left her child alone after all.Stacy got to her knees. Directed her light into the makeshift home. A small, dirty white dog bared its teeth. She’d been bitten a couple times before, once by a Pit. A drug dealer had set him on her and she’d been forced to take it down. She loved animals and had hated doing it. She prayed it didn’t come to that tonight.She shifted her gaze and the flashlight beam. It fell across a small bundle, partly obscured by the dog. The bundle mewed weakly, like a kitten.Stacy’s heart jumped; she looked back at Tinnin. �śShe’s alive! Call 9-1-1. Tell them there’s an officer down.”�śBut, you’re not--”�śIt’s the quickest way to get an emergency vehicle here. Do it!”It occurred to her she might be down, once that little dog was finished with her. �śIt’s okay,” she said softly, hoping to reassure the animal. �śI’m going to help Peanut.”She inched into the box, earning another growl. �śPeanut needs food and water. And so do you. It’s going to be okay,” she said again. �śI promise.”She crawled in, stopping every few inches to let the animal grow accustomed to her, the whole time continuing to talk softly. The dog watched her warily, muzzle quivering. But not baring its teeth. A good sign.Stacy took a deep breath. �śGood dog. That’s right, good, good dog . . . I’m going to take Peanut now . . . that’s right--”She scooped her up. Cradled her to her chest. She was alive. Alive and the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.�śPeanut,” Stacy whispered, the wail of sirens in the background. �śIt’s going to be okay now. Everything’s going to be all right.”And then she began to cry.One week later.As Stacy walked into the squad room, it went silent. But only for a moment.�śWelcome back, Killian,” Patterson said, standing. �śWay to go.”Others followed his lead, calling out congratulations, clapping her on the back as she passed.Yeah, she’d broken ranks--and been reprimanded for it. But she’d also trusted her gut and followed her instincts. Nobody understood--and applauded--that better than another cop.That it’d paid off was definitely something to cheer about.Several minutes later, she sank into the chair across the desk from Patterson. �śLooks like you managed to keep crime at bay without me.”He laughed, then shook his head. �śA week’s suspension without pay, Killian. That was stiff.”�śBut so worth it.” Stacy sobered. �śSorry about that night. I was out of line.”�śYou were right. You saved that baby’s life.”�śBut the bad guy got away.”A week had passed with no new leads. Nothing. The med convention had packed up and left town and Stacy couldn’t help wondering if their perp had left with them.If she had been focused on catching him, if she had joined Patterson at the scene, while it was still white-hot, would the outcome have been different?As if reading her thoughts, Patterson snorted. �śStop it, Killian. You did what you thought was right and followed your gut. Isn’t that what a cop’s supposed to do?”�śHe’s going to kill again.”�śYeah, he is. But maybe that little girl’s going to grow up and cure cancer.”She stared at him a moment, then laughed. �śWe’re going to be okay, aren’t we?”�śMaybe.”She laughed again. �śFair enough, considering. You plugged everything into ViCAP?”�śDone. How’s the newest member of your family?”�śPeanut, the wonder dog,” she said, shaking her head. Child Protective Services had taken Jillian’s baby until she could be joined with her father, but no way would Stacy allow that brave little pooch to be taken to the S.P.C.A. �śI swear, Spencer already loves that mutt more than me.”Major Henry stuck his head out his door. �śPatterson, Killian, 10-21, Waldhorn and Adler Antiques on Royal. Now, not tomorrow.”BLOOD SUGAR BABYbyJ.T. EllisonNashville, TennesseeHe was lost. His GPS didn’t take into account road work, nor roads closed to accommodate protests, and he’d been shunted off onto several side streets and was now driving in circles. He finally made a right turn and pulled to the curb to get out a real map, and as he reached into the glove box �" shit, he needed to get that knife out of there �" he saw her. She was on the concrete sidewalk, sprawled back against the wall, a spread of multicolored blankets at her feet, staring blankly into space. Her dirty blond hair was past limp and full into dreadlocks, matted against her skull on the left side. He drove past slowly, watching, seeing the curve of her skull beneath the clumps of hair, the slope of her jaw, her neat little ear, surprisingly white and clean, nestled against her grimy skin. Her eyes were light. He was too far away to see if they were blue or green. Light irises, and unfocused pupils. High, perhaps, or starved, or simply beyond caring.Perfect.No one would miss her. And he could rid himself of this nagging fury that made him so damn antsy.He closed the glove box and circled the block. There she sat, just waiting for him.A sign.A gift.It had been a bad day. Jock gone-to-seed, flakily jovial, over-the-top trying to compensate for something Heath Stover, the fat ass he’d started med school with, had called, wanting to get together. JR had run into him last month in New Orleans, been forced into Hurricanes at Pat O’Briens, and had stupidly told Stover where he worked.He shook his head, the scene replaying itself over and over and over. Stover bragging and braying at the top of his lungs about his hugely successful practice, his new BMW, his long-legged, big-busted bride, his offer of tenure at Tulane. The only thing that was off, Stover confided, was his piece on the side, who’d been pushing him to leave his wife.In the moment, bolstered by alcohol, the camaraderie, the overwhelming need to fit in, to be accepted, to look as palatable to the real world as this fuck-up, sanity was cast aside. Arrogance overtook him, and he revealed his own career path, up the ladder at Bosco Blades, a salesman extraordinaire. No Willy Loman, though he perhaps looked and sounded a bit like the sad sack, but that was all a part of his act. He was better than that. Better than good. He was the best the company had: stock options, access to the corporate jet, the house in Aspen, all of it.�śAs a matter of fact,” he’d told Stover, �śI’m headlining a conference in Nashville next month. Talking about the new laser-guided scalpel we’ve developed. Hell of a thing.”�śHell of a thing,” Stover had replied. He was counting on the fact that Stover was far too drunk to recall the name of the company, and he gave him a fake number to write down, and a bogus email.But the stupid son of a bitch had remembered the company name, had called and wormed JR’s personal cell number out of his secretary, had himself put on the calendar, and in a couple of hours would be waiting at a restaurant several streets away for an instant replay of their night in the Big Easy.If only Stover knew what had really happened that night. About the knife, and the silent scream, and the ease with which the flesh accepted his blade.He needed someplace quiet, and calm to prepare himself for his night with a �śfriend.” He needed a drink, truth be told. Many drinks.But the woman would do just as well. She would turn his frown upside down.He parked a few blocks away, pulled a baseball cap low on his head and walked back to the spot. A marble and concrete sign said he was at Legislative Plaza. The War Memorial. The Capitol rose to his right, high against the blue sky, and the small crowd of protesters with their signs held high gathered on the stairs. He needed to be careful when he passed them, not to draw their attention.He found the perfect spot halfway down the block, shielded from the friendly mob on the stairs, and from the street, with the trident maples as cover.And then he watched. And waited. At some point, she would have to move, and then he would follow, and strike.To hell with Heath Stover. He had a rendezvous ahead with someone much more enticing.The homicide offices in Nashville’s Criminal Justice Center had been quiet all day. It was the first Monday off Daylight Savings time, and even though it was barely 5:00 p.m., the skies outside Lieutenant Taylor Jackson’s window were inky with darkness. The lights over the Jefferson Street bridge glowed, warm and homey, and she could just see the slice of river flowing north to Kentucky. It was a moonless night; the vapor lamps’ illuminations reflected against the black waters.Her detectives were gone for the day. Paperwork had been completed; cases were being worked to her satisfaction. She’d stuck around just in case �" the B shift detectives would be here shortly and she could hand off the department to her new sergeant, Bob Parks. He was a good match for the position, had the respect of her team, who’d worked with him for years. Parks had no illusions about moving up the ladder; he was content to be her sergeant until his twenty was up in two years and he retired. His son, Brent, was on the force now too. Taylor suspected Parks had opted to get off the streets to give his son some room. Classy guy.Her desk phone rang, cutting through the quiet, and she shifted in the window, suddenly filled with premonition.�śLieutenant Jackson.”It was Marcus Wade, one of her detectives.�śHey Loot. We’ve got a problem.”�śWhat kind of problem?”�śThe kind that comes with the chief of police attached.”�śI thought you went home.”�śI was heading that way, but saw a cordon by Legislative Plaza where the protesters have been camped. Looked like something we might be called in on. I was right.”Taylor took a seat, opened her notebook. �śWhat’s going on?”�śThey found one of the Occupy Nashville folks dead, right at the steps to the War Memorial Auditorium. Stab wound to the chest. Nice and neat, too.”Taylor groaned.�śIt gets better.”�śWhat?”�śThe victim? It’s Go-Go Dunham.”�śOh, son of a bitch.”�śYep. You wanna head on down here?”�śI’ll be there in ten. Who all’s there?”�śA shit load of protesters right now. Someone got in touch with her Dad, so he’s on his way. I called you first. I know you’re gonna want to tell the chief.”�śOh, Marcus, you’re just too kind.”�śYou know it,” he said, and clicked off.Normally Taylor’s captain, Joan Huston, would be handling the chief, but she was out on paid leave – her first grandchild had just been born, and she’d taken some time to go be with her daughter.Taylor hung up the phone and grabbed her leather jacket from the peg behind her door. She shrugged into the well-worn coat, retied her hair in a ponytail, grabbed her radio and set off. She took the stairs to the chief’s office two at a time.Virginia �śGo-Go” Dunham was the twenty-two year old daughter of Joe Dunham, the founder of one of the biggest healthcare companies in Nashville. His latest headline-grabbing venture was building environmentally friendly dialysis centers, ones designed to be both pleasing to the patients and capture major tax breaks from the government. The trend had caught on �" his designs had been patented and utilized to build similar centers across the country. Dunham was a pillar of the community, a regular at all the major charitable events, a contributor to the mayor’s election fund, and an all-around connected guy. His one and only daughter, Virginia, known as Go-Go, had felt living up to her dad’s squeaky-clean image too much trouble, and as a difficult youngster quickly mired herself in the social drug scene. She’d earned her moniker at fourteen, when she’d been busted dancing at Déj� Vu. This was before the new ordinance forbade touching the dancers, and nubile, blond, busty Go-Go had taken full advantage of the situation. She was pulling down three grand a night, and putting the vast majority of that right back up her nose.Several stints in rehab and a few busts later, she was supposed to have cleaned up her act. No longer a regular fixture on the nightclub scene, she’d gone back to school, earned a degree and taken a job working for her dad.If she was still straight, how in the world had she managed to get herself dead?Lights were on in the chief’s office. This wasn’t going to go over well. He was a close, personal friend of the victim’s father. As close and personal as anyone could be when they’re involved in political endeavors together. Dunham and the mayor were fishing buddies; she knew the chief tagged along on occasion.The offices were empty and quiet, the admin gone home for the day. Taylor was about to knock on the chief’s closed door when he called out, �śI hear you lurking out there, Lieutenant. Come in.”She followed his instruction.Chief DeMike was a veteran of the force, promoted to the head spot from within, and a welcome change from the previous incarnation, a man as corrupt as the day was long. DeMike’s hair was white, his face ruddy, with cheeks and jowls that would swing in a stiff breeze. He looked a bit like an overweight Bassett hound masquerading as Santa Claus in dress blues. But he was good police, and had always been fair with her.�śYou’re here about the Dunham girl?”�śYou already know?”DeMike pulled a cigar out of his humidor and started playing with it. �śSugar, I know everything in this town.”Taylor raised an eyebrow.�śSorry.” He snipped off the end of the cigar, then rammed it into the corner of his mouth. He couldn’t smoke it in here, not that he hadn’t before, but Taylor knew it was a comfort gesture.�śJoe’s been notified. We need to head down to the scene. He’s going to meet us there. He’s expecting a full show, so you should be prepared.”�śI am. Not a problem. But tell me, who made the call to Mr. Dunham? Seems a bit quick to me.”�śAlready investigating, Lieutenant? Good. I like that. He told me one of her friends called him. Apparently, she’s been camping out down there with the protesters.”He stood, the bulk of his weight tossing his chair backward against the windowsill with a crash.�śI thought she’d been walking the straight and narrow of late.”�śI don’t know, Lieutenant. Head on down there and find out. I’ll arrive with due pomp and circumstance in a few.”Taylor nodded gravely, trying not to smile. �śYes, sir.”When the first siren lit up the night, he was four blocks away, at Rippy’s on Broadway, sipping a Yuengling, a pulled pork sandwich smothered in sweet and tangy BBQ sauce and corn cakes with butter on order, waiting for Stover to show. The wail made pride blossom in his chest. It had gone gloriously. She’d never seen him coming. As he predicted, she’d shuffled off after about an hour toward the port-a-potties, and when she’d drawn near, he’d straightened his spine, let the knife slide into his hand, and stepped from the bushes. He’d become so adept at his trade that the contact he’d had with her was, on the surface, just an incidental bump. As he’d said, �śExcuse me,” he’d slid the knife right up under her breastbone directly into her heart. A clean cut, in and out, no twisting or sawing. Precision. Perfection.He was half a block down the street before she hit the sidewalk.He was so good at this. Granted, practice does make perfect, and he’d had quite a bit of practice.He allowed himself a smile. He’d managed to salvage a very annoying day, and give himself something wonderful to think about tonight. Something to chase away the annoyance of having to play charades with Stover tonight.Stupid bastard. Who was more successful in their chosen fields?Now JR, stop worrying about that. Think about what you just did, how you’re sitting right under their noses, having a nice little Southern dinner. Think about the edge of the blade, colored rust with the girl’s blood, sitting in your pocket. Think about the way the tip fed into her flesh, and her eyes caught yours, and she knew it was you who was ending her life. These are appropriate thoughts. You can’t look back to the bad things. Just stay focused on the here and now.Stover arrived with a bellow.JR played his part, accepting the rough handshake, making small talk, eating, drinking, pretending, all the while sustaining himself with thoughts of his light-eyed beauty, lying on the sidewalk, her heart giving one last gush of blood to her body.After what seemed like hours, Stover called for the bill, belched loudly without covering his mouth and announced, �śWe need women.”The idea was repugnant to him. Women were not for defiling oneself, they were for the glory of the knife. Glory be. Glorious. Glory glory glorious.Perhaps he’d had one beer too many.But this presented his best chance of escape. So he acquiesced, and followed Stover into the night. The street outside the restaurant was hopping, busy with tourists and revelers even on a Monday. Downtown Nashville was a twenty-four/seven world, and they slipped into the throngs without causing a second glance. Because he fit right in. He always fit in now.Taylor arrived at the crime scene ten minutes after Marcus’s call. The site was just down the street from the CJC; she could have walked it if she wasn’t in too much of a hurry. But tonight she was. Containment would be key. The Occupy Nashville protestors had been causing an uproar downtown for two weeks now. Bills were being passed to stop their ability to gather freely, face-offs between the protestors and other groups had turned the mood on the steps sour, and even the people of Nashville who agreed with their agenda were beginning to turn against them.The real beneficiaries of their protest were the homeless who spent their time hanging out in the little park on Capitol Boulevard, burrowed in between the downtown Library and Legislative Plaza. Strangely enough, the hippies and the homeless looked remarkably alike, so do-gooders answering the call of the protesters by traveling downtown to bring food and blankets didn’t necessarily know the difference. The homeless weren’t stupid, they took full advantage of the situation. They were being fed, clothed, and warmed daily, sharing smokes and tents with the protestors. Taylor didn’t think that was such a bad thing, but she did wish the folks who’d rallied to the call would think to provide this kind of succor to those less fortunate on a more regular basis. If Twitter could take down a despot, surely it could help keep Nashville’s homeless clothed and fed.But that wasn’t her problem right now. She needed to contain a huge local story before it got blown into a political mess.She was an experienced detective, fourteen years on the job with Metro, so she knew better than to jump to conclusions, but if Go-Go was with the protesters, and had been stabbed, chances were she’d been murdered by one of her fellow demonstrators. And that news was going to go national.As she parked, she took in the scene, one she’d been privy to too many times. Sixth Avenue was blockaded between Church and Charlotte, blue and white lights flashing crazily upon the concrete buildings, reflecting off the black glass of the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. Thankfully TPAC didn’t have anything tonight, the building’s lobby was dark and gloomy. She could see the focus of attention midway up the street, just below the steps to the Plaza.�śLieutenant!”Tim Davis, the head of Metro’s Crime Scene unit, waved to Taylor. She waved back and headed his way, watching the crowd as she walked down Sixth. The area had been cordoned off, that’s what Marcus had seen driving home, but a large crowd of people had gathered on either side of the crime scene. Yellow tape headed them off, but frightened eyes peered down from the Plaza, and across from TPAC a small horde of people had formed, staring curiously up the street in hopes of seeing something tawdry.Tim was overseeing the evidence gathering. She was glad to see him on duty. Tim was meticulous, and if there was evidence to find, he’d make sure it was bagged and tagged.�śHey, man. What’s up?”�śMarcus told you it was Go-Go?”�śYeah. Damn shame. What’s the evidence tell us?”�śSingle stab wound to the chest. I’ve been collecting everything around, but the ground’s littered with crap from the protesters. Messy bunch of people.” His nose wrinkled in disapproval. Tim liked things straight and clean. It’s what made him so good at spotting objects that were out of place.�śWe’ve got cameras here, don’t we?”�śYeah. I’ve got a call into TPAC, their security footage will give us the best chance of seeing what happened.”�śGood. Let me know if you find anything else. Is that Keri working the body?”�śYeah. Sure do miss Sam.”�śYou and me both, my friend.” Sam was Dr. Samantha Owens, Taylor’s best friend and the former head of Forensic Medical, the lead medical examiner for the Mid-State of Tennessee. She’d recently moved to Washington, D.C., and Taylor missed her dreadfully. She understood. God knew she understood. If she’d been faced with the kind of loss Sam experienced, she’d have run away too. But she couldn’t help missing her like hell.�śHave you heard from her?”�śI did, a couple of days ago. She’s doing well. Found a place she likes.”�śGood. Next time you talk to her, give her my best. I’m going to start running some of the evidence we collected. I’ll shout if we get anything that looks relevant.”Taylor glanced at her watch – 5:15 p.m. The chief would be down here soon, she needed to hurry up and get him some info he could use for a presser. The chief did so love to be on air, and if they timed it right, he could make the 6:00 news.Keri McGee was on her knees next to the body. Taylor joined her.�śYo,” Keri said.�śYo back. What do you have for me?”�śA whole lot of nothing. No trauma to the body, outside of the stab wound, of course. I’m about finished here, actually. She’s only been dead for a little while, no more than an hour. She was found quickly. Was she living on the streets?”�śWhy do you ask?”�śNewspaper in her shoes and socks. They do that for warmth. And she hasn’t bathed in a while. Not that that’s any real indication, a bunch of these folks have been camping down here for days.”Taylor took her own inventory of Go-Go. That the girl hadn’t bathed recently was quite evident. She looked like she’d been living rough: her skin was brown with dirt, she had no jewelry on, no watch, just a small red thread tied around her right wrist. From her matted hair to her grubby clothes, Go-Go was downright filthy. She didn’t look much like the other protesters, who despite their attempts to blend in still glowed with health.�śI want to talk to whoever found her.”�śOver there,” Keri said, pointing at a young man who was hovering nearby. �śI’m about ready to take her back to the morgue. Fox will autopsy her in the morning, along with everyone else we loaded up on today.”�śSounds good. Thanks.”Taylor took her turn with the kid who’d found the body next. He couldn’t be a day over twenty, with a snippet of a beard, dark hair and dark eyes, shoulders hunched into a hooded The North Face fleece. Taylor appreciated the irony. The kid was protesting capitalism wearing a two hundred fifty dollar jacket. His face was streaked with tears.�śHey there. I’m Lieutenant Jackson, homicide. What’s your name?”�śDerek Rucka.”�śHow do you know Go-Go?”�śShe’s my girlfriend.”�śReally? You’re dating? She doesn’t seem to be in very good shape for a girl with a man.”He looked down. �śShe was my girlfriend. We broke up a few weeks ago. She took off, and I hadn’t seen her until today. I was down here with the gang and I saw her smoking on the steps. We chatted.”�śAbout what?”�śHer coming home. She, well, if you know her name, you know her history. Go-Go is bipolar. She’s been doing really well, too, working for her dad. That’s where we met. My mom is on dialysis. But she stopped taking her meds about a month ago, and things went downhill pretty quickly.”�śSo you were out here trying to save her?”He shook his head miserably. �śNo. Not at all. I didn’t know she was out here. I certainly didn’t know she was on the streets. I’d have come looking sooner.”�śSo today of all days, you just happen to run into her, and then boom, she’s dead? Is there something you want to tell me, Derek?”The boy’s face flushed with horror, and his mouth dropped open. �śWhat? No. I didn’t do anything to her. We just talked. Shared a bowl. That’s it.”�śSo you admit to doing drugs with the decedent?”The kid nodded, his head moving vigorously on its slender stalk. �śYeah. But I promise, that’s all we did.”�śI think you should probably come down and talk to me a little more, Derek. Okay?”The bowed shoulders straightened and the tears stopped. His voice grew cold. �śAm I under arrest?”�śNot right now. We’re just going to have a little chat.”�śI know my rights. You can’t detain me unless you have cause.”Taylor narrowed her eyes at the boy.�śDon’t give me a reason, kid. I’m not in the mood. We can do this hard or we can do this easy. You just admitted to using an illegal substance on state property. You want to go down on a drug charge, I’m happy to make that happen for you. Or you can come in and have a nice friendly chat. Your call.”She stepped back a foot and fingered her cuffs. Rucka swallowed and shoved his hands in his pockets, head cast downward in defeat.�śOkay then. Come with me.” Taylor led the kid to her car, put him in the back seat. �śI’ll be back in a minute. You just hang out.”Of course, one of the reporters saw this, and shouted across the tape at Taylor frantically. �śLieutenant, do you have a suspect in custody?”Taylor ignored her. She wasn’t about to get in a conversation with a reporter, not when the chief was on his way. She returned to the body, watched as Keri McGee took samples and bagged the girl’s hands.�śAnything?” Taylor asked.�śNot really. Nothing that’s leaping out. I have hairs that don’t match the body, debris, but that’s not a surprise, considering she’s out in the crowd like this. She’s wrapped up like she’s wearing a sari. I’ll get her back to the morgue, and we can get her peeled down to her skin, run everything and see what’s out of place.”One of these things is not like the other ...Oh, great. Now she was going to be singing that stupid song for the rest of the night.Taylor didn’t blame Keri for wanting to get the girl out of the limelight as quickly as possible, especially with the chief making an appearance. It was practically record speed for a homicide investigation, but Keri was a stellar death investigator. Taylor trusted her to know when it was time to move on to the next step.Go-Go would be posted in the morning along with any other unfortunates who found their way to the tables of Forensic Medical. In the meantime, Taylor had a job to do. She started toward the perimeter when Keri shouted to her.Taylor turned and saw Keri waving her back.�śWhat’s up?”Keri handed Taylor a small leather wallet. �śFound it under her layers of blanket. Don’t know why I didn’t see it when I rolled her.”�śHers?”�śNot unless her name is James Gustafson.”Taylor flipped the wallet open. It was all the standard stuff: a driver’s license and a few credit cards, plus some cash. The photo showed a pale man, forty-one, blue on brown, five foot ten inches. His address showed him to be from Virginia.�śKeri, tell me if I’m crazy. Maybe we just caught a break and this is our killer’s wallet. Go-Go tried snatching it, he got pissed and stabbed her, then was spooked and ran before he retrieved it?”�śWould you leave your wallet if you had just stabbed someone?”�śNo one said these guys were geniuses.”Keri laughed, then a frown crossed her face. She had her hands in the grubby folds of Go-Go’s blankets. �śNow that’s weird.”�śWhat?” Taylor asked.Keri produced three more wallets, all very similar to the first, and four cell phones.�śWell, well, well,” Taylor said. �śOur Go-Go is quite the little pickpocket.”�śBet there’s some folks up on the plaza who will be happy to get their stuff back.”�śNo kidding. Good job, Keri. I’ll have Parks Jr. do some canvassing, see which phone and wallet belongs to which person. They can all come in and have a chat. At least we have some suspects. Maybe we can crack this one tonight. Later, �Śgator.”Taylor headed back to the perimeter tape, planning out the evening, and trying to formulate exactly what she was going to say to Go-Go’s father about his wayward, now dead daughter.What a damn shame.�śWhoo-eeeee!”Stover had decided to ride the mechanical bull at the Cadillac Ranch. He was spinning in circles, whooping and hollering and generally making an ass of himself. Two bleached blonde bimbos had attached themselves to him about an hour earlier, and they gazed adoringly at their man for the evening, salivating over his generosity and the size of his wallet.JR couldn’t stand this much longer. He glanced at his watch, it was past midnight. When had that happened? Granted, he’d been drinking, keeping up with Stover was a challenge for a man who generally didn’t allow himself to indulge more than the occasional adult beverage as a reward. Funny, he’d broken his own rules twice in a month. What did that say? Was he getting lax? Tired? Old?No. Never old. Not in that way. He was certainly aging, like any normal person would, but he was far from staid and predictable.Stover, now he was predictable. Out of town, away from his wife, and his mistress, looking to grab the first piece of tail that would bite, throw back as much drink as his protruding gut would allow, then fuck and pass out in a strange room without a second thought.JR was better than that. Cleaner. Seemlier. And certainly more temperate. Stover drew attention to himself like a five year old throwing a tantrum �" everyone around was aware of him. JR never could handle that level of attention from strangers. Not that he wanted to, my God, if he were this indiscreet, he’d have landed in a jail cell years ago. No, prudence and moderation were the keys to his longevity.Almost as if Stover could read his mind, the man started yelling in a drunken slur. �śJR.” The name came out Jar. �śCa’mere. Get yer bony ass up here.”The blonds twittered and simpered.JR waved him off, then realized how incredibly intoxicated Stover was. After his invitation, he’d closed his eyes and started to slide off the back of the bull.It was time to go.He turned and walked to the bar to settle the bill. Stover had given the bartender his credit card to hold to keep the tab open. JR asked for the tab, and told the bartender to keep it on the card. He figured Stover might as well pay for the drinks, considering how inconsiderate he was being.But the bartender came back and told JR the card had been declined. Cursing silently, he reached for his own wallet. He’d just give the man some cash, and be done with it.His back right pocket was empty.Son of a bitch.He glanced over to the women who’d latched on to the pair but couldn’t see either of them in the crowd.Fury began to build in his chest, so hard and fast that the bartender reared back when he saw the look on JR’s face. He’d been ripped off. The worthless bitches had stolen his wallet and run.He went to Stover, who’d just tripped off the bull, and grabbed him by the shirtfront.JR hissed the words. �śThey stole my wallet, you fat fuck.”�śSucks for you.” Stover began to laugh, the hysterical giggles of a drunken hyena, which just pissed JR off more. He dragged the man to the bar, pushed him roughly against the wooden rail.�śYour card was declined. Pay the tab.”Something in JR’s voice registered with Stover. He obeyed immediately, pulled his wallet out �" he still had his, the shit �" and paid for their drinks with two crisp $100 bills.Satisfied, JR stalked away. He needed to find those women. The last thing he wanted was his name getting out. Granted, it wasn’t his real name on the license and credit cards, but a variation, a pseudonym, if you will, something he used to assure his anonymity as he cruised the country. He’d adopted the name when he failed out of med school. Employers wouldn’t be inclined to hire a man who they perceived wasn’t even competent enough to finish school. That wasn’t it, wasn’t it at all. He could have done the work if he wanted to, but he’d found another hobby, one that satisfied him in ways being a doctor never would. He made a show of struggling with the work so his classmates would think he was just incapable, and he could fade away from their lives.But Stover was his Achilles heel. He knew JR’s real name. The idiot had spied him in the hotel in New Orleans and remembered.JR pulled up short at the door to the street. The women became secondary. That was a problem, but it wasn’t fatal. He knew what he needed to do. There was only one way to really fix this mess.Stover had to die.He felt a tingle of excitement go through his body.Two in one day? In one city? Again? Dare he?His mind answered in the affirmative, with a caveat.Don’t use the knife.JR waited for Stover to catch up to him, his mind racing. So many ways to die. Fall in front of a car, trip and hit your head on a light pole�ŚHe thought about his drive around the city earlier and it hit him. The river was only a block away. There were three bridges, too, one of which was solely for pedestrians.JR assessed the man beside him. He was drunk enough. He’d never be able to swim.It wouldn’t have the satisfaction of the knife �" nothing could top that �" but this would solve one very large, loud, nagging problem.He turned to his old friend.�śCome on, Heath. Let’s go for a walk.”Stover fell into step beside him, yammering away. God, did the man ever shut his trap?Well, JR, give him this. It is his last will and testament, after all.It only took five minutes to mount the bridge and cross halfway to the highest point. He stopped to admire the view. They were standing over the murky river water, the lights of Nashville shining majestically in the darkness.Time to say goodbye.He didn’t mean to do it. He really didn’t. JR gave Stover a push, and the drunken fool began to struggle, and there was nothing to be done for it. The blade was in his hand before he even gave it a second thought. JR shoved the knife in quickly, then drew it out. The pain was enough to stop Stover’s cries. He didn’t move for a moment, looking vaguely surprised, then toppled over the edge of the bridge himself, with no effort whatsoever.JR did something he’d only done once before, in another moment of extreme distress. He tossed the knife off the bridge after Stover’s body. It killed him to do it �" my God, what a prize for his collection, a blade that took not one, but two lives, in a single day �" but he’d been forced into impulsivity here in Nashville, and like any animal who knew it had just survived a close call, he needed to retreat to his bolt hole and lick his wounds.He would call the conference organizers first thing in the morning and plead a bad case of food poisoning. In the meantime, he needed to cut his losses and get the hell out of Dodge.Nashville had been a little too good to him.Taylor spent Monday evening keeping the wheels in motion on Go-Go’s murder. She had a long sad chat with Joe Dunham, promised him she’d do everything in her power to bring Go-Go’s killer to justice as quickly as possible. It wasn’t an empty promise, she had several solid leads already. She was confident she’d have her man soon.The interrogation of Derek Rucka gave her absolutely squat, outside of the fact that Go-Go had been known to suffer from a wee bit of kleptomania, and going off her meds exacerbated the syndrome. She was a pack rat, lifting anything she could get her hands on �" wallets and phones mostly, but brushes, lipsticks, pens �" anything that could be separated from its owner. According to Rucka, it was purely for fun; she took a perverse pleasure in getting away with it.The kid’s story checked out, and a canvass of the protestors confirmed that he was on the other side of the memorial when Go-Go went down. Taylor cut him loose just after midnight. They’d also found all the wallet and cell phone owners save one. Gustafson. Everyone else checked out. Taylor had that niggling feeling in the back of her head that there was something to this guy. There was a certain arrogance in his eyes she'd seen before. Alone at her desk, she stared at his license photo for a few minutes, then ran him through the system. Clean. She found a phone number and called, but the phone just rang and rang and rang.Instinct is vital for every homicide detective, and hers was on fire. She called the local precinct that serviced the area Gustafson lived in Virginia, but it was late, and they were busy working their own cases. Someone would get back to her tomorrow, supposedly. She knew well enough that she’d have to call back in the morning, made a note of it on her list.She’d lock him down tomorrow. Frustrated, she headed home.John Baldwin, her fiancé, an FBI profiler, was in Minnesota working a case, so Taylor had the house to herself. Sleep never came easy for her with or without Baldwin’s presence, but she’d grown accustomed to having him in her bed while she gazed at the ceiling, at the very least to warm her chilly feet. With both he and Sam gone, she was a bit lonely. But instead of wallowing in it, she grabbed a beer from the fridge, racked up a game of nine-ball and expertly shot the balls down one by one, until she finally began to weary around three. She slept a couple of fitful hours, then got up, showered and headed to Forensic Medical for Go-Go’s autopsy.Taylor attended herself so the chief could have instant updates to share with his high-profile friends. It was an unremarkable event and only served to make her miss Sam more. Dr. Fox was a good M.E., quick and to the point, but he lacked that little bit extra, the sixth sense Sam seemed to have for making a murder come to life. The girl had been stabbed once, the knife most likely a seven to eight inch double bladed stiletto, sliding right past her ribs under her breastbone into her heart. THC showed on the tox screen; a more complete report would take weeks. Exsanguination was the official cause of death, and it was ruled a homicide.Taylor felt sorry for Go-Go. She was obviously a very troubled girl, but one who didn’t deserve to die on the street at the wrong end of a blade.It was still early when Fox finished the post. Taylor debated stopping at Waffle House and getting breakfast, but decided to go back to the office first, which ended up being a good call. The videos from TPAC were waiting on her, with a note from Tim – �śCheck out 3:47 p.m. Think we may have a shot of our guy. I’m in court, will be over as soon as I’m done.”Taylor popped the disc into her laptop and hit play.The footage was surprisingly clear, though in muted black and white. She dragged the bar to the spot Tim suggested and hit play. It took three replays to see it. Damn, Tim had a good eye. There was a flash of white in the bottom right edge of the screen, which Taylor figured must be the bill of a hat. Her theory was confirmed a moment later when a man walked through the full frame, wearing a white baseball cap. He stepped right into a bundle of rags that Taylor assumed must have been Go-Go, then disappeared out of the frames. Go-Go dropped to the ground, and that was it. A fraction of a second. And the bastard’s back to the camera the whole time.Well, the tapes had at least narrowed her search down to the male species. That cut out fifty percent of the suspect pool.She did some quick mental measuring, putting the guy against the stone wall that led to the auditorium and figured he wasn’t over six foot. That Gustafson fellow was about that height as well.She played the tape several more times, but couldn’t find anything more. The idea that Go-Go had managed to pick the man’s pocket as he stabbed her looked incredibly remote. It was a blitz attack, fast, clean. Professional even. And if it was his wallet, he certainly didn’t attempt to retrieve it. He hit the girl, knocked her down and was gone in the blink of an eye. Maybe she was barking up the wrong tree here.Her phone rang, interrupting her thoughts, and she glanced down to see the cell number of her new sergeant. She answered, �śJackson.”�śHey, Loot. It’s Parks. I’m down here on River Road boat ramp. We have a floater. ID on him says his name is Heath Stover, late of the great Crescent City.”�śBully for you. Call Wade, he’s on. I’m working Go-Go.”Parks said, �śI know you are. I’ve already got Wade here. But this is something you might want to see. Our New Orleans dude? He’s been stabbed. Right in the same place as Go-Go.”Heath Stover’s overweight torso bore a familiar mark, just under his sternum, a slash in the flesh that allowed the yellow subcutaneous fat to squish out around the edges of the wound. The water had washed the blood away. Fox got on the autopsy immediately once the body arrived at Forensic Medical, and Taylor stood to the side, watching, arms crossed, tapping the toe of her boot on the floor while Fox measured and murmured and inserted a caliper into the slit to determine its depth. He finally stood and nodded.�śSame kind of blade. Double edged, sharp as hell. See how there’s no hesitation, nor wiggle room? Went straight in, under the sternum and into the heart.” Fox stood up and looked at Taylor, his brown eyes troubled. �śI have to tell you, Lieutenant, whoever did this knew what he was doing.”�śIs it the same person who killed Go-Go?”�śI can’t tell you that. But he �" or she �" knew exactly where to place the blade for maximum effectiveness. This isn’t your every day stabbing. It’s clean, precise, and done with amazing skill. And Go-Go’s had an identical presentation.”�śI think we’re safe saying he, I believe we have Go-Go’s murder on tape. If she hadn’t gone down I’d have thought he just bumped into her. It was quick. Here, help me run this through.”They played out the scenario she’d seen on the tape a few times, and Fox confirmed that based on Go-Go’s wound, the stabbing could definitely work that way.�śBut Stover here, he got stabbed, then went in the river somewhere. Wasn’t in too long and there is water in his lungs, just a bit, so he was on his last legs when he went in. Could be your blitz attacker hit him and he went in the water, or he killed him by the bank and pushed him. Radiographs show he does have a few broken bones, so he either got in a fight, or fell�"”�śOff one of the bridges. We can do a current analysis from last night and see where he might have gone in.”�śThat makes sense to me. Huh. Two in one day. Dude’s got a serious problem.”�śNo kidding. Thanks, Fox. Now I have to go put Stover and Go-Go together, find out what they have in common. Then I can figure out who did this to them both.”The words floated to her head again, this time slightly altered.One of these things is too much like the other.Taylor spent the drive back to the office in deep thought. Two kills, exactly alike, with two people who on the surface had absolutely nothing in common. A quick investigation on Stover found that he was in town on business, had checked into the Hermitage Hotel in the late afternoon, asked directions to Rippy’s BBQ on Broadway, and set off at a walk around six the previous evening. Marcus Wade was down there now nosing around. Hopefully there’d be a lead.In the meantime, Taylor set to work getting back with the Fairfax County Police in Virginia. A few annoying false starts later, she was finally connected to a detective named Drake Hagerman. Taylor laid out the story and asked for his help tracking down Gustafson. He promised to get back to her within the day. Satisfied, Taylor hung up and called Marcus to see what was shaking on his end.What was shaking, apparently, was pay dirt. Marcus answered in a huff.�śI was just about to call you. Can you send me a picture of the guy whose wallet Go-Go had, the one we didn’t find last night?”�śI’ll bring it down myself. Why? You got something?”�śStover was in here last night, dining with another guy. Description sounds an awful lot like that photo on the license. If it’s him�Ś”Taylor felt that flash of excitement she got when a case was about to break wide open. Less than twenty-four hours. Impressive. Her people were damn good at their jobs.�śI’ll be there in five.”She called Chief DeMike and let him know what was happening, then set off down to Rippy’s.The bar was packed full, the lunch crowd rolling in food and drink and overly loud country music. Taylor would love to know how much they pulled down in a year; Rippy’s was always packed to the gills.She found Marcus at the back bar, chatting with a ponytailed, jean-clad waitress. He looked quite pleased with himself. Marcus was adorable, and his good looks sometimes helped loosen tongues. Taylor gave him a look, and he cleared his throat and became completely professional.�śLieutenant, Brandy served Mr. Stover last night. She said he was with another gentleman.”Taylor had hastliy cobbled together a six pack of photos. She pulled the card from her jacket pocket and handed it to the waitress. �śDo any of these men look familiar to you?”Gustafson was on the top row, third photo.Brandy didn’t hesitate.�śThat’s the guy,” she said, pointing to Gustafson.�śYou’re one-hundred percent certain?”�śAbsolutely. Gave me the creeps. He smiled too much. And didn’t tip. They were going honky-tonking, the fat one asked me the best place to go. I sent them to Tootsies, of course, and suggested the Cadillac Ranch too.”Taylor met Marcus’s eye. �śThank you, ma’am. Please keep this to yourself. You may be called on again to provide information. Are you willing to do that?”�śI am. If he’s a creep, I don’t want him back in here. Hey, I gotta go. My manager’s giving me the evil eye.” She glanced coquettishly at Marcus. �śShout at me sometime.”Marcus blushed red, and Taylor gave him a smile.�śYou’re such the charmer.”�śYou know it. So this is our guy, huh?”�śLooks that way. You keep on this trail, see if you can track exactly what might have happened. I’m rather amazed, actually. Either this guy dropped his wallet while he was stabbing Go-Go, or she managed to slide it out of his pocket. Pretty incredible presence of mind for a girl who’s stoned and dying.”�śBut she was an accomplished pickpocket. Maybe she targeted him just as he targeted her. And they both got screwed.”Taylor nodded. �śThat makes sense. Well done, Go-Go. She practically handed us her killer on a platter. I’m heading back to the office and hitting the �Śnet.”�śAll right. See you later.”Taylor watched Marcus stride away, thankful to have his keen investigative mind at her disposal, then walked back to her vehicle. She had a date with a computer.The email notification on her iPhone chimed just as she turned the engine over. It was Hagerman, from Fairfax County. According to him, there was no one named James Gustafson in the Virginia DMV system, and the address on the license was a vacant lot. Her killer was a ghost.ViCAP, the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program, could be a homicide detective’s best friend, if they knew exactly how to use it. It wasn’t as easy as inputting your crime and the system spitting out a match to similar crimes. You had to know what to ask for. Taylor had unfortunately availed herself of its services many times in the past, and had the level of expertise needed to run the appropriate request chain into the queue. Hopefully the results would come back quickly, but the service wasn’t fully automated. A real person had to do some of the legwork, and the FBI was backed up three ways to Sunday on requests. So she inputted the parameters, taking great care with the specifics of both Go-Go and Heath Stover’s crime similarities, crossed her fingers, and went on to the next component of her investigation – figuring out who this man really was.The ViCAP results came back several hours later, much quicker than she expected. She read the email she’d been sent with trepidation, then sat back in her chair, let the realization wash over her. There were matches in the system from several places around the country, the most recent a homeless woman in New Orleans. Gustafson, whoever the son of a bitch really was, had been a busy, busy boy.Taylor knew it was time to start raising the red flags. Too many jurisdictions, too many victims. She filled the chief in on her plan, got an atta-girl, then went to the source. Her fiancé was a profiler, after all.Baldwin answered on the first ring. �śHey, love. How are you?”�śHi, babe. I’ve been better. Two unsolved cases on my desk from yesterday alone, and just got a report back from ViCAP. I think I’ve got a serial on my hands.” She gave him all the details, then emailed him the ViCAP report. She waited while he accessed it and read the findings. A few minutes later, he agreed.�śYou might be right,” he said. �śWhat did you say this guy’s name is again?”�śThe license said James Gustafson, but Fairfax County just confirmed that no one by that name exists in the system, and the address is a fake. The license, the cards, all of it, they’re either excellent identity theft or really sophisticated forgeries. Who is this guy? He’s obviously been killing off the radar for years. And he broke his MO with this latest victim. He’s been preying on homeless. Go-Go was a fuck up, she certainly looked the part, but hitting a well-established surgeon from New Orleans? One mistake could be an accident, sure, but the other�Ś there’s a tie to his past, I’m sure of it. The waitress got the impression they were friends, out for a night on the town. Maybe Stover knew the real identity of the killer, and Gustafson felt threatened.”�śThat’s a solid theory. He killed a different type of victim out of sequence. The back-to-back kills, I’d bet he’s in some sort of trouble, decompensating.”�śWell, he’s screwed up. Now we know about him. He’s on the radar, and I’m about to make his world hell.”�śHe sounds like someone who has spent his life being very, very careful. Listen, I’m totally wrapped up in this case, or else I’d help you myself. But I know who to call. I’ve worked with her on cases before. She’s sharp. I think you should have a chat with her.”�śWhat’s her name?”�śMaggie O’Dell. Hold on a sec, let me get her number for you.” He rattled off the numbers and she wrote them down.�śI’ll call her right now. Thanks, honey. Call me later, okay?”�śWill do. Love you.”�śLove you too.”Taylor hung up the phone, waited a moment, then dialed. Even if O’Dell couldn’t help, at least the FBI would be aware that something was hinky with the so-called James Robert Gustafson.The call went to voicemail. Taylor left a message, told the agent who she was, her connection to Baldwin, that she had a significant ViCAP match and wanted to touch base. She hung up the phone, leaned back in her chair and put her boots on the desk.She’d get some justice for Go-Go, and for Stover. Their deaths would not go unpunished. No matter what. And for the moment, that was the best she could do.The lights of Washington D.C. greeted JR. Luminous, beautiful, the city was home. He always felt secure once he crossed into Fairfax County, knowing he was just miles from his basecamp. It had been a long trip, exhausting in its way, but so, so worth it.Sated, he was calm again, the fury of the past month’s excess slaking the thirst in his blood. Now he would lay low. Fit back into his life. Go to work like a good little boy. Recharge his batteries. Maybe a small vacation, somewhere in the mountains, where he could watch the snow fall, listen to birds chirp and water run and feel the cool air pass over his skin.And remember. Always, always remember.COLD METAL NIGHTbyAlex KavaSunday, December 42:37 a.m.Downtown Omaha, NebraskaNick Morrelli stuffed his hands deep inside his pockets. Damn! It had gotten cold and he’d forgotten his gloves. He could see his breath. Air so cold it stung his eyes and hurt to breathe.Snow crunched beneath his shoes. Italian leather. Salvatore Ferragamo slip-ons. Five hundred and ten dollars. The stupidest purchase he’d ever let his sister, Christine talk him into. They made him look like a mob boss, or worse – a politician – instead of a security expert.He was at a private party when he got Pete’s call. Figured he could easily walk the two blocks from the Flat Iron to the Rockwood Building. But it had been snowing steadily for the last ten hours. Now he treaded carefully over the pile of ice chunks the snow plows left at the curbs. He already almost wiped out twice despite the salt and sand.City crews were working overtime, trying to clear the streets for Sunday’s Holiday of Lights Festival. It was a huge celebration. The beginning of the Christmas season. Live music, carolers, arts and craft events. Performers dressed as Dickens characters would stroll the Old Market’s cobble stone streets engaging with the visitors. The ConAgra Ice Rink would be packed with skaters. Tomorrow night the city would turn on tens of thousands of twinkling white lights that decorated all the trees on the Gene Leahy Mall and strung along the rooftops of the downtown buildings. Even the high-rises.A festive time would be had by all but a huge security nightmare for people like Nick. The company he worked for, United Allied, provided security for a dozen buildings in the area.As Nick hurried across Sixteenth Street he glanced up to see the fat, wet flakes glitter against the night sky. It was the kind of stuff he and his sister called magical Christmas dust when they were kids.Pete was waiting for him at the back door of the Rockwood Building. It was one of Nick’s favorites. A historic brick six-story with an atrium in the middle that soared up all six floors. Reminded Nick of walking into an indoor garden, huge green plants and a domed skylight above. The building housed offices, all of them quiet at this time of night, making Pete’s job more about caretaking than guarding.But tonight Pete looked spooked. His eyes were wide. His hair looked a shade whiter against his black skin. He held a nightstick tight in his trembling hands. Nick had never seen the old man like this. He didn’t even know Pete owned a nightstick.�śHe didn’t show up at midnight like usual,” Pete was telling Nick as he led him down a hallway. Nick wasn’t sure who he was talking about. All he told Nick on the phone was, �śto get over here now.”He was taking Nick to another exit, double-wide doors that opened out into an alley. It wasn’t used except by maintenance or housekeeping to haul the trash.�śHe usually stops by. You said it was okay.” He shot a look back over his shoulder at Nick but he didn’t slow down. "Does a little shoveling if I ask.” Pete was out of breath. The nightstick stayed in his right fist. �śI made us some hot cocoa tonight. So cold out. When he didn’t show up I took a look around.”He pushed opened the doors, slow and easy, peeking around them like he was expecting someone to jump out at him.�śPete, you’re starting to freak me out.” Nick patted him on the shoulder, gently holding him back so he could step around him. �śIf someone’s in trouble, we’ll help him out.”After Thanksgiving he had made an executive decision to allow homeless people to sleep in some of the back entries of the buildings he took care of. He told Pete and his other night guards to call him if there was a problem. During the holidays he didn’t have the heart to toss them into the street. He figured he could put up with drunk and belligerent.Nick took two steps out into the frigid alley and immediately he saw a heap of gray wool and dirty denim in a bloody pile of snow. The man’s face was twisted under a bright green and orange argyle scarf that Nick recognized. His stomach fell to his knees.�śOh God, not Gino. What the hell happened?”Nick tried to get closer. The damned shoes slipped on a trail of blood that was already icing over. He lost his balance. Started to fall. His hand caught the corner of the Dumpster. Ice-cold metal sliced open his palm but he held on. By now he was breathing hard. Puffs of steam like a dragon. He took a deep breath, planted his feet. Then he reached over to Gino while still gripping the corner of the Dumpster.Nick pressed two fingers to the man’s neck. Gino’s skin was almost as cold as the metal of the Dumpster.4:12 a.m.Crown PlazaKansas City, MissouriSalsa music startled Maggie O’Dell awake. She jolted up in bed and scrambled to the edge before she realized it was her phone. She’d accidentally changed the ringtone and had been too exhausted to fix it.�śI think we may have caught a lucky break,” the voice said without a greeting.It was R.J. Tully, her sometimes partner when the FBI sent two instead of one. A rare occasion these days.She pushed hair out of her eyes, blinked to focus on the red digits of the hotel’s alarm clock.�śIt better be lucky. You woke me up.”�śAw geez! Sorry.”Tully had to be the only law enforcement officer she knew who said things like, �śAw geez holy crap.” It made her smile as she fumbled in the dark to turn on a light.�śI thought you never sleep,” he followed up, giving her a chance to wake up.He knew she had been battling a stretch of insomnia for over a year now. Getting shot in the head two months ago didn’t help matters. Technically it was called a �śscraping of the skull alongside the left temporal lobe.” Unofficially it hurt like hell and the throbbing pain that still visited her head on a regular basis was a bitch. Otherwise she was okay. At least that’s what she kept telling people.�śWhat’s the lucky break?”�śGot a phone call from Omaha. Homeless man. Stabbed. Looks like our guy.”She stood up from the bed, rubbed the sleep from her eyes and started turning on lamps. She’d been in the Kansas City area trying to dig up something, anything. But the victims here, and the evidence, were already two weeks cold.�śWhat makes them think it’s our guy?”�śBlitz attack. No other injuries. Single stab wound to the chest, just under the rib cage. Preliminaries suggest a long, double-edged blade.”That sounded about right.For four weeks she’d been chasing this guy halfway around the country. It started at the end of October when John Baldwin, the SSA in charge of BAU II, asked her to take a look at a slice ’n go down in Nashville. Maggie was still recovering from her own injuries but she owed Baldwin a favor and told him she’d take a look. Lieutenant Taylor Jackson sent her every scrap they had on the case, which included witness interviews, security video and even a driver’s license. Unfortunately the video footage showed only a flash of white at the bottom of the screen, the bill of a white ballcap. The driver’s license ended up being an excellent fake and the witness interviews didn’t turn up anything too interesting except that the man in question �śsmiled too much.”Just when Maggie believed there wasn’t enough to go on, something odd happened. Her boss, Assistant Director Raymond Kunze, head of the Behavioral Science Unit at Quantico brought her the case – the exact same case. He insisted she and Tully make it their top priority. Kunze had been sending Tully and her around on wild goose chases for almost a year. Maggie was immediately suspicious. Why this case? What was the political connection? Who did Kunze owe a favor to this time?She hated that she was right. Turns out the senior senator from Tennessee was a personal friend of the Nashville victim’s father. It didn’t take much digging for Maggie to discover this wasn’t a one-time �śslice ’n go.” She and Tully had found another two victims in New Orleans. According to NOPD Detective Stacy Killian, both were homeless, one a new mother, the other a business man.Searching ViCAP she discovered what could be as many as ten to twelve victims. Different cities across the country. Similar victims. Same MO. All of them quite possibly the work of one killer she and Tully nicknamed the Night Slicer.Now Maggie paced the hotel room listening to Tully give her more details. She could hear him rattling paper and knew the notes he had taken were probably on a take-out menu or a dry cleaning receipt – his usual notepads, whatever was handy.�śHere’s the thing,” Tully said. �śOmaha’s M.E. believes this one happened earlier this morning. Internal body temp says within last six hours. Night security guard claims it had to be around two o’clock.”�śTwo o’clock in the morning? That’s only a few hours ago. How can he be so sure?”�śHe knows the victim. Says the guy�Ś” more paper shuffling. �śSays Gino usually picked up a dozen extras of the Sunday Omaha World Herald right off the dock. He’d sell them on the street to make a few bucks. But first, he’d bring the security guard a copy and they’d drink hot chocolate.”�śThat all sounds very nice but since when do we determine time of death from a security guard’s Sunday morning ritual?”�śThing is, they found him between two-thirty and three this morning. He already had his dozen newspapers. The Sunday edition didn’t hit the loading dock until two-o-five.”Tully went silent. He was waiting for it to settle in and Maggie finally understood the lucky break.�śSo we’ve got a fresh kill,” she said. And then the realization hit her. �śAnd less than twenty-four hours before he slices number two and leaves town.”�śOmaha’s about 180 miles from Kansas City. Just a hop up and a skip down. Twenty, thirty minute flight,” Tully said. �śMight be some delays. Sounds like there’s a bunch of new snow.”�śI have a rental. I’ll drive.” She hated flying. Tully’s �śhop up and skip down” already had her stomach flipping. �śIt’ll probably be quicker than trying to get a flight, getting to the airport, going through security.”�śLooks like a three hour drive, but in the snow�"”�śNo problem.”�śYou sure?”�śYou worry too much. I’ll exchange my rental car for an SUV. Let Omaha know I’m on my way.”5:41 a.m.Old Market Embassy SuitesOmaha, NebraskaHe looked out his hotel suite’s window and down on the empty cobble-stoned streets. Earlier there had been horses and carriages, street performers on a couple of the corners. The brick buildings used to be warehouses on the Missouri River but now housed restaurants and specialty shops.Last night despite the snow, the sidewalks had been filled with people, the streets busy with traffic. There had even been a patrol officer on horseback. And yet just five, six blocks he been able to slide a blade up into a man’s heart and walk away. In fact, he walked back through the hustle and bustle to his hotel without a single person noticing.All was good. He was back in his groove. That nagging fury would no longer drive him to make reckless mistakes.New Orleans had set him off track. Then Nashville really screwed him up. He had always been careful about choosing targets no one would miss. But Heath Stover, a blast from the past, had knocked him way off his game. And so did that girl, that rich bitch pretending to be some lost soul. The news media continued to cover her murder but at least they were calling it just another unfortunate incident, just another of a long list of crimes besieging the Occupy camps across the country.That’s the word a reporter used, �śbesieging,” like the protesters were soldiers in dugouts coming under attack. He shook his head at that. He was sick of seeing the protesters in every city he traveled to. Thankfully he hadn’t had to deal with any of them in Kansas City or here in Omaha. Another good sign that he was finally back on track.Sales were up. Bosco’s new laser-guided scalpel was a huge hit. Omaha’s medical mecca was like putty in his hands on Thursday and Friday at the Qwest Center conference. He had exploded past his sales quota. Still, it had taken this morning’s kill to renew his confidence.He looked around the suite and rubbed his hands together. Checked his watch. Maybe he would shower, dress and go down for the breakfast buffet. He had the whole day off. He didn’t have to leave until tomorrow morning. Tonight he was looking forward to the Holiday of Lights festivities. The Old Market would be filled with people again and sounds of the seasons. Now with his newfound confidence he wouldn’t need to go far at all to find target number two.7:26 a.m.Omaha Police HeadquartersNick Morrelli crushed the paper cup and tossed it into the corner wastebasket. He’d had enough coffee. He was tired. He wanted to go home. He rubbed his eyes and paced the room, a poor excuse for an employee lounge with a metal table and folding chairs, a row of vending machines, coffee maker and a sagging sofa along the back wall.The door opened and his captor came in, shirt sleeves rolled up, shaved head shiny with perspiration. Detective Tommy Pakula handed Nick a black and white print-out, a copy of a driver’s license.�śDo you recognize this guy? Maybe seen him around any of your properties?”The license had been enlarged which only made the photo blurred. The guy looked pretty ordinary, could be anybody.�śNo, I don’t think so.”Pakula sat down in one of the folding chairs. Pointed to one across the table for Nick to sit down. They’d already done this. What more could he ask? But Nick sat down. Tommy Pakula was one of the good guys. Four daughters. Still married to his high school sweetheart. Nick had been questioned by him before a couple years ago. Another case. Another killer.�śYou were a sheriff not so long ago,” Pakula said, getting Nick’s attention. That was true. Nick had been a county sheriff. Got his fill after a killer almost claimed his nephew as his next victim. Just when Nick thought Pakula might finally cut him some slack, the man came in with another verbal punch. �śYou should know better. So tell me again why you thought you should be touching this dead guy before you called us?”�śIf he wasn’t dead I wanted to help him.”Pakula raised an eyebrow.�śIt’s Gino,” Nick said, almost a whisper.He watched Pakula sit back, pull in a long deep breath. Rubbed his jaw.Everybody loved Gino. Nobody knew his last name but he was a familiar face downtown, part of the landscape. Years ago he used to sell Italian sausage and peppers out of a rickety stand he’d set up on the corner of Sixteenth and Douglas, right in front of the Brandeis Building. Suddenly he was living on the streets. Tall, thin – a little bent over as he grew old – with friendly brown eyes that sparkled despite his situation. Security guards, police officers, even the guys on the newspaper’s loading dock, they all loved Gino. Took care of him. But they hadn’t taken care of him last night.�śIs this the guy you think stabbed Gino?” Nick asked and held up the print-out.Pakula nodded. �śFBI thinks so, too. He’s done it in other cities. We’ve been keeping an eye out ever since he hit Kansas City about two weeks ago.”�śMind if I keep this?”�śGo ahead. Maybe check with your security people. You said your company has how many buildings downtown?”�śNine. Plus three in the Old Market.”Nick folded the print-out. Tucked it in the back pocket of his trousers. He’d get this bastard himself if he had to. Then he tried to decide if he should tell Pakula that the Rockwood Building had security cameras on every corner. Before he decided, the door to the lounge opened again and a young cop stuck his head inside.�śSorry to interrupt. A woman’s here to see you, Detective Pakula. Insisted I tell you that she brought you doughnuts all the way from Kansas City?” The cop’s face flushed a bit, like he wasn’t sure if he should be delivering what sounded like a personal message.Pakula smiled and stood up. �śSend her in here.”The cop disappeared. Pakula shot Nick a look. Another smile.�śFBI,” he said. �śFirst time I met her I was eating a doughnut. Had a cup of coffee in my other hand.” He shook his head, but the grin hadn’t left yet. �śShe’ll never stop busting my chops about that.”Nick should have figured it out, but he was totally surprised when the lounge door opened again and Maggie O’Dell walked in, carrying a white bakery box that she meant as a joke for Pakula. From the look on her face when she saw Nick, he figured the joke was probably on her. But only for a second or two.�śNick Morrelli,” she said. �śI haven’t seen you since you drove off with that blonde bomb expert in Minneapolis.”Nick winced. Damn, she was good.10:57 a.m.The last time Maggie had worked with Nick Morrelli they spent hours watching security footage. Mall of America. The day after Thanksgiving. Black Friday became bloody Friday. Three college kids set off backpacks filled with explosives.Here they were again, sitting in a small room in front of a wall of computer monitors.�śHow’s Timmy and Christine?” she asked. She and Nick had a history that went back further than Minneapolis. They’d worked on a serial killer case when Nick was a sheriff. And again, years later when the killer returned.�śTimmy played football this year. Christine’s good.”They sat side by side in captain’s chairs like pilots in a cockpit. Pakula would join them in a half hour or so.�śHow’s your doctor?” Nick asked, keeping his eyes on the computer monitors but unsuccessful in keeping the sarcasm out of his voice.Instead of telling him that Benjamin Platt was not hers, she simply said, �śBen’s good.” She didn’t ask whatever happened to the blonde bomb expert. That was over a year ago. She knew Nick probably didn’t even remember the woman’s name anymore. And therein lay the reason that she had never seriously considered a relationship with Nick Morrelli.Simply put – he wasn’t relationship material. Maggie had too much drama in her professional life to put up with it in her personal life.But charming, yes. Handsome – God, he was still gorgeous. Dark eyes and dark hair. He had managed to keep his college quarterback physique. She didn’t deny that there had been chemistry between the two of them. Just sitting next to him she could still feel it. Annoying as hell.She tried to turn her attention to the monitors. She was exhausted from lack of sleep. Her back was tight and tense from a slippery three-hour drive in a small rental car because everyone else had the good sense of renting the SUVs before the snow hit. Somehow she needed to focus.She pulled up the chair. Planted her elbows on the table in front of her.�śWho are you this week?” she said aloud, like the Night Slicer might answer.�śPakula gave me a copy of the driver’s license.”�śThat’s all we have.”�śYou think he changes his appearance?”�śHe must, but I’m guessing it’s subtle. He definitely changes his name. He has a normal life somewhere. I think he travels the country on business. Different cities. A new group of people each time who don’t know him. We have that picture from the driver’s license out to every metropolitan police department. We haven’t gotten a hit yet.”�śBut you’ve been tracking him?”�śOnly by his M.O. He’s right-handed. Uses a double-blade stiletto. At least seven inches long. He does a blitz attack. It’s probably no more than an incidental bump. Slips the blade in just under the breastbone where he knows he won’t have any bone chattering. And the angle of the knife is interesting.”She paused while Nick tapped buttons on a keyboard and started the film footage from a camera labeled: Northwest corner of Rockwood.�śHis image was captured on a security camera at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. Actually it was only his back but it was enough to give us some idea of how tall he was compared to his victim. He has to angle the blade�"”She pushed out her chair and stood. �śIt’s probably easier if I show you.” Fact was, she was too exhausted to talk about it. He glanced up at her, paused the monitors and stood up in front of her.She grabbed a ballpoint pen from the table and held it in her right hand the same way she believed the Night Slicer did.�śHe holds it low. Probably has the stiletto up his sleeve until he needs it.” She stepped closer. �śHe always slips it in just below the rib cage.” She put her left hand flat against Nick’s abdomen to show him where and immediately she realized this was a mistake when she felt him shiver under her touch. Her eyes met his and she felt the heat rush to her face.Thankfully exhaustion pushed her into professional mode. She took a step back as she moved her hand with the pen and her arm in the same motion the killer must use.�śHe shoves the knife in at an upward angle. Usually pierces the heart. Sometimes the lungs. Sometimes both.”Finished with the show and tell, she avoided his eyes and took her seat again. Waited for him to do the same. He was slow about joining her and she wanted to kick herself. There was obvious still too much between them. She glanced over at him. Wanted to tell him she couldn’t afford any of the emotion she was seeing in his face right now.�śGino was a good guy,” he said, surprising her. �śHe didn’t deserve to die this way.”She was wrong. The emotion wasn’t about her. Maybe she was a little disappointed that it wasn’t about her.�śHe’s been killing two victims in each city. Usually within a period of twenty-four hours.” Maggie sat back. Ran her fingers through her hair. �śThen he disappears. Gone. Like he never existed.” She looked at her wristwatch. �śIn less than fifteen hours he’s going to kill someone else.”1:39 p.m.He had been watching the old woman for over an hour. Following her around but keeping in the shadows and back far enough away that she’d never even noticed him. Though he wondered if she noticed much about anything around her.He’d gotten close enough to hear her muttering. Not just talking to herself but arguing as if with some invisible friend. She had to abandon her shopping cart behind a Dumpster, tucking it away to hide it as best as she could. The snow made it too difficult for her to shove it over the crusted piles left by the snowplows. He almost helped her once. Wanting to touch the fringe of her gray knit hat to feel whether the fringe was actually part of the hat or actually her hair.Her territory seemed to be within the Old Market area. Interesting, since he didn’t see any other homeless people without venturing several blocks of the cobble-stoned district. She wandered the streets quite fascinated by things no one else saw. Once he watched her stop abruptly in the middle of the sidewalk and wave pedestrians around her to avoid stepping on something smashed in the snow. No one else stopped to give it a look. Most people ignored her or scowled and went wide.That’s when he realized she had to be the next one. She was perfect. Someone no one would miss. She was virtually invisible to these bastards even as they had to walk around her as she protected whatever the precious item was that she found so fascinating. And suddenly he couldn’t wait. He wanted to cut her right now. Right here in the freezing cold sunny daylight in the middle of the crowd that couldn’t see her.Except he hadn’t brought his knife. And so, he’d wait until tonight. His fingers fidgeted. He was feeling antsy.He walked toward her. She was bent over, touching the object. He’d walk past and see what it was. He’d go back to his hotel suite. He’d enjoy the anticipation. He already knew where he could find her. And as he got closer he saw her wrapping her ragged knit gloves around the object that had captured her attention and sent her into protective mode. The object was a long icicle that had fallen from the awning above the sidewalk. A frickin’ icicle.He smiled to himself as he passed by and glanced at her. Her eyes flitted up to meet his and he wanted to tell her that he’d see her later. That it would be his pleasure to watch the surprise in those same eyes as her life spilled out of her.4:57 p.m.It was already getting dark by the time Maggie and Detective Pakula started walking the streets. There were crowds gathered at the ice rink and around the outside mall that stretched several city blocks long. Tonight was the lighting ceremony when hundreds of thousands of lights in trees and bushes and along rooftops would be turned on, marking the beginning of the holiday season.�śWe’ve pulled in everybody on this, looking and talking to people since five this morning,” he told her as they strolled the cobblestone streets, looking more like an old married couple than a couple of cops.Pakula wore an old camouflage parka but nothing on his shaved head. Maggie kept on her leather jacket and added a red Huskers ballcap that Pakula had given her.�śIt’ll help you fit in,” he told her about the cap.She didn’t argue. She was getting restless. Exhaustion had given way to the adrenaline that had taken over. Too much time had passed. Why did she ever believe they’d find this guy? It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.She and Nick had wasted two whole hours pouring over the security tapes only to come up empty handed. At one point they saw Gino enter the frame. According to Nick it looked like he was headed around the corner to the front door where he always came to meet Pete, the Rockwood Building’s night security guard.But then Gino stopped and turned as if someone had called to him. The camera didn’t record sound. They watched Gino cock his head. He grinned and said something before walking back in the direction of whoever had stopped him. He disappeared from the frame. Maggie didn’t say it but she knew Gino had most likely headed right over to his killer.Nick was taking this man’s death personally and she didn’t quite understand. Maybe it was because it happened outside one of his buildings. He had wanted to come with her and Pakula but they stopped him. He told them he had a license to carry. Pakula told him to go get his hand looked at.�śYou should have had stitches,” the detective told him, pointing to the wrapped hand that Maggie had noticed immediately but stopped herself from asking about. �śYou already bloodied up one of my crime scenes.”Pakula bought a hot chocolate for Maggie and a coffee for himself. The steam felt good on her frozen cheeks. She wrapped her hands around the cardboard cup and let it warm her fingers. She only had thin knit gloves. Why did she always come to this part of the country unprepared for the weather?�śYou two married?” An old woman came up from behind them. She was trying to push a shopping cart filled with an odd assortment of junk.�śNo, we’re not married to each other,” Pakula answered. �śHow are you doing tonight? Do you have someplace warm?”The woman didn’t look like she heard him. Instead she muttered something to herself. She struggled to hike the cart over the curb that was still snow covered. Pakula grabbed the front end and lifted it easily onto the sidewalk for her.�śThey’ve got some extra beds over at Saint Gabriel’s,” he tried again.This time she blew out a raspberry at him. �śI don’t need no Saint Gabriel. Lydia and I have been taking care of each other for years.”Both Pakula and Maggie looked around at the same time, looking for someone named Lydia. There was obviously no one with this woman. People went around them, even stepping into the street to do so.�śCan I help you find Lydia?” Pakula asked.This time the woman stared directly into his eyes, her brow creasing under her dirty gray cap. She looked from him to Maggie then back at Pakula.�śYou a cop?” she whispered.Pakula was good but Maggie heard him clear his throat to cover his surprise.�śIt’s okay,” the old woman reassured him, her face softening. She reached up and touched his arm, almost a grandmotherly gesture. �śWe’ve all heard about Gino.” She shook her head. �śA damned shame.” Then she straightened and waved her hand like she was swatting at a fly. �śOh stop it, Lydia. You know who Gino was.”Pakula looked over at Maggie and raised his eyebrows.The woman probably shouldn’t be left on the streets. She obviously needed help but Maggie liked her feistiness and her spirit. As long as she had the shopping cart she was probably safe from their killer. He’d never be able to bump and slice her without having the click-clanking of that shopping cart in the way. It would draw too much attention.Pakula was pulling out what looked like a business card. He handed it to the old woman.�śYou know Danny at the coffee shop on the corner?”Another raspberry but she took the card. �śMy God, who doesn’t know Danny. That son of a bitch will talk your damned ear off. I take the coffee he gives me just to shut him up.”�śYou need anything,” Pakula insisted, �śYou hand Danny that card and have him call me.”�śWhat would I need? Me and Lydia we got everything we need right here.” She tapped the shopping cart and the contents clanked and shifted.They watched her rat-tat-tat down the street.Maggie shook her head when Pakula glanced over at her.�śYou can’t lock them up,” she told him. Though it would be easier to protect them if they were behind bars.They started walking again. Past Vivace’s and the aroma of garlic and warm bread made Maggie’s stomach groan. She tried to remember the last time she had eaten. A doughnut that morning in the rental car. No wonder she was running low on energy. She sipped the rest of her hot chocolate.�śAnd there’s another sorry ass,” Pakula pointed to the homeless man in the ragged long black coat at the corner. �śWhat am I going to do with these people?”But as the man turned, both she and Pakula recognized the man at the same time.�śWhat the hell are you doing here?” It was Maggie who posed the question.Nick Morrelli spun around to face them. With a five o’clock shadow and a torn felt hat with the brim pulled down, he looked like a street performer instead of the homeless man he thought he was portraying.He simply shrugged at her and said, �śYou’re not the boss of me.” Then he jumped out into the street causing cars to brake and honk. He ran down the other sidewalk without looking back.6:15 p.m.He had the knife with him, the cold metal tucked up into his sleeve.The old woman had the cart with her again. Damn! But she was so cute. Pulling crap like that on him. In weeks past it would have made him angry, but his confidence was soaring again. And it didn’t really matter. He had ruled her out in just the last hour. He had a new target.The guy reminded him of himself. A pathetic shadow of himself. That long dirty black coat that once upon a time was probably his power coat. Good looking guy, young. In good physical shape. Or at least he had been. Maybe he had been on the fast-track to success. Not anymore. Somewhere along the line he had stumbled big-time.He followed the guy for a while and knew the man was plastered or flying high. He’d listened to him talk to several people. He made less sense than the old woman with her imaginary friend. No, this guy would probably be thanking him for doing him the service of putting him out of his misery.Even earlier when the couple stopped him. They recognized him. Or thought they did. The man danced around. Slung out some curses. Then he ran off, almost getting run over in the street. He was hilarious. A total loser. Nobody would miss this fool.He watched him. Studied him. The streets were filling up with people. On one corner there was a four-piece band, or rather four teenagers with instruments, clanging out their version of Christmas songs. Horse-drawn carriages were keeping busy, too. Police horse patrol was back. Same as last night. The lighting ceremony had taken place about fifteen minutes ago and everywhere he looked he was bedazzled by tiny, twinkling white lights.It was frickin’ beautiful. What a lovely night to die.He stepped out of a doorwell and found his target leaning against a rail, his back to an alley.He’d have to do him from behind. Not a problem. He knew where to insert the blade. Not in the middle. It’d ram against the spinal cord. It would need to be off to the side. Down below. He’d keep the same angle up. The back tissue would require more pressure but the blade was long enough. He’d still puncture the heart. The only thing he’d miss was meeting the guy’s eyes. Seeing the realization there.Oh well. Sometimes he had to change up a little.He headed in the other direction where he knew he could go around and come up that alley. Soon, buddy. I’ll take you out of your misery.6:18 p.m.Pakula had to leave Maggie after a phone call from one of his officers. He thought he may have found the Night Slicer. A desk clerk at the Embassy Suites claimed she recognized the driver’s license photo when the officer showed it to her. She said it looked a lot like the guy she checked in on Thursday.She remembered him because she had complained about her bursitis and he gave her instructions of how long to keep a heat pad on it, followed by ice. His remedy really worked and she was pretty sure he must be some kind of doctor. According to the clerk, he was booked through tomorrow morning. The officer was waiting for Pakula before they paid him a visit.Pakula promised to call her. She wanted to be there if this was their guy. But it seemed too easy. Was it possible he’d be sitting in a hotel suite within ten blocks of where he’d killed Gino?Maggie decided to backtrack and see if she could find Nick and talk some sense into him. She saw the old woman with her shopping cart set aside. The woman was staring at something in the snow along the side of a building. She seemed fixated on it even to the point of shooing people to take a wide circle around.Then Maggie saw Nick. He sat on a rail that in warmer weather probably allowed bike riders to chain up their bikes. His feet dangled. His head wobbled to the music from the street corner behind him. Sometimes the foot traffic got too close and brushed against him, sending his whole body teetering. No one seemed to notice him. Even when they jostled him or bumped him. He was playing his role very well.She knew if she waved at him he’d ignore her even if he saw her. So instead, she started to walk toward him, going against the flow. She weaved her way through, taking her time and putting up with the occasion bump.This is how he does it, she thought. And suddenly she knew he was here. She could feel him. Gut instinct. It had never failed her.She looked at the faces coming toward her. Her arms came up across her chest and she walked like she was chilled and not paranoid that a knife would find its way into her chest. The flow of the crowd continued. She found herself pushed along the wall. And suddenly she felt a stab in her back. She spun around. Then she realized it was an elbow, not a knife.Paranoid. She needed to stop.Through a hole in the crowd she could see Nick, smiling, singing with the music. He was still sitting on the rail. Only now she saw a man coming out of the alley behind him. Well dressed. Alone. White ballcap. Focused on Nick. Walking directly toward Nick. His right arm down at his side.Oh, God, she could see the flash of metal.She started pushing her way through the crowd.�śNick, behind you.”But her voice got drowned out in the noises of the street, the music, the crowd, the traffic. She shoved at bodies. Got shoved back a couple of times.�śFBI,” she yelled but nobody moved out of the way for the crazy woman in the red Huskers ballcap.She tore at her jacket’s zipper and yanked at her revolver. Ripped at the clasp to her shoulder holster. Damn it!The man was within three feet of Nick.She waved her arms at him and finally he saw her. He waved back. Smiled. Then he tumbled forward, face down in the snow with the man falling on top of him. Even before she got there she could see the snow turning red.�śOh God, no.”Then she saw the old woman. She pointed to the stiletto knife clutched in the man’s hand.�śThat’s the bastard that killed Gino,” was all she said.That’s when Maggie saw the wide end of an icicle sticking out of the man’s back.>10:00 a.m.Monday, December 5Embassy SuitesMaggie had gotten five hours of sleep. For once she felt more than rested. She pulled on a pair of jeans and a favorite warm, bulky sweater and headed down to the lobby. Pakula already had a table. She saw him through the glass elevator. The same elevator John Robert Gunderson had used for the last four days.�śI ordered our coffee,” Pakula said, standing when she came to the table and pointing to the can of Diet Pepsi in Maggie’s spot. She was impressed that he remembered her wake-up drink.He had file folders piled up but pushed to the side of the table. She added one to his stack, information Tully had faxed to her late last night.�śSo is Gunderson his real name?” Pakula wanted to know.�śYes.”They had found a small case inside his hotel suite that contained about a dozen driver’s licenses and credit cards with various aliases. All the same initials.�śHe’s a traveling salesman,” she said, taking a sip of the Diet Pepsi. �śOne of Bosco Blades' top salesmen.”�śBlades.” Pakula shook his head. �śUnbelievable.”�śHe flunked out of med school. I suspected he might have a medical background. He knew too much about where to stab. I just talked to Lieutenant Taylor Jackson this morning. Turns out one of his victims was a classmate of his. Heath Stover. He killed him in Nashville. We think he probably didn’t want anyone to know he’d flunked out.�śAlso, we now know he was in Nashville for a medical conference. Was supposed to do a presentation but canceled. Detective Killian told me there was a medical convention going on in New Orleans when he killed his two victims there. Kansas City was a conference for surgeons. And in Omaha�"”�śThe sales conference at the Qwest Center,” Pakula said, making the connection. �śFor medical devices or something, right?”She nodded.�śHow could he get away with it? Wouldn’t his co-workers suspect something?”�śHe worked out of a home office. Had a secretary at Bosco that he communicated with by phone, text and email. He met with his boss once a month. And he made all his travel arrangements on his own, so he could be whoever he wanted to be when he was on the road.”�śHe looked like an ordinary guy,” Pakula said. �śBest disguise there is.”�śWhat about the old woman? You’re not going to press charges are you?”�śHell no. She did us a favor. I did get her off the streets.”�śHow did you manage that?”�śI know a guy who handles security for about a dozen buildings in the downtown area. Seems he was able to find a nice little apartment for her in one of them.”Maggie smiled. Of course Nick Morrelli would want to take good care of the woman who saved his life.�śAnd what about Lydia?” she asked.�śYeah, it appears this building even takes cats.”No one realized until last night that the old woman had an old calico cat that she kept bundled up and warm in the shopping cart.�śI’ve got to head out,” Pakula gathered up his file folders and Maggie stood to walk him out before she went back up to the room. �śSure you can’t stay for a day or two? My wife makes some of the best kolaches you’ll ever eat.”�śMaybe next time.”He shook her hand then muttered, �śAw the hell with it,” and gave her a hug.Just as he got to the door, Nick Morrelli came in. The two men exchanged greetings and then Nick’s eyes found her.He was clean-shaven this morning and dressed in crisp trousers and a bright red ski jacket. She stood in the archway to the restaurant area where only a few tables were occupied at this time on a Monday morning. She waited for him, watched him stride across the lobby. Last night when she thought he had been stabbed she had such a mix of emotions. Nick had a way of doing that to her.He wasn’t relationship material, she reminded herself as he got closer and she couldn’t pull her eyes away from his. He had called early this morning, asking if they could spend some time together. Maybe go ice skating. Take a carriage ride. She had agreed. Now as she got a whiff of his aftershave she wondered if perhaps that wasn’t such a wise decision.He pointed to something over her head.�śYou’re always giving me mixed signals, Maggie O’Dell,” he said.She looked up to see the mistletoe hanging in the archway and before she could say a word he was kissing her. And suddenly she found herself thinking it might just be too cold to leave the hotel.GET TO KNOW THE AUTHORSFriends for several years, the authors have long wanted to work together on a project. When Alex approached Erica and JT with the idea of a series of short stories with each author’s protagonist chasing the same serial killer, they jumped at the chance. The result is SLICES OF NIGHT: a novella in 3 parts.ERICA SPINDLER – The Missing And The Gone (Detective Stacy Killian, NOPD)In the heart of the New Orleans French Quarter, a homeless young woman is found stabbed to death. The simple ambush killing proves to be anything but, and NOPD Detective Stacy Killian finds herself in a life-and-death race against the clock. She's willing to risk everything to win. And she's willing to risk it all to do so.A New York Times and International bestselling author, Erica Spindler's skill for crafting engrossing plots and compelling characters has earned both critical praise and legions of fans. Published in 25 countries, her stories have been lauded as �śthrill-packed page turners, white- knuckle rides and edge-of-your-seat whodunits.”Raised in Rockford, Illinois, Erica had planned on being an artist, earning a BFA from Delta State University and an MFA from the University of New Orleans in the visual arts. In June of 1982, in bed with a cold, she picked up a romance novel for relief from daytime television. She was immediately hooked, and soon decided to try to write one herself. She leaped from romance to suspense in 1996 with her novel Forbidden Fruit, and found her true calling.Her novel Bone Cold won the prestigious Daphne du Maurier Award for excellence. A Romance Writers of America Honor Roll member, she received a Kiss of Death Award for her novels Forbidden Fruit and Dead Run and was a three-time RITA® Award finalist. Publishers Weekly awarded the audio version of her novel Shocking Pink a Listen Up Award, naming it one of the best audio mystery books of 1998.Erica lives just outside New Orleans, Louisiana, with her husband and two sons and is busy at work on her next thriller. Become a fan of Erica's at her website: http://www.ericaspindler.com or follow her on Facebook at Facebook/EricaSpindler.Questions for Erica SpindlerWhat is your favorite indulgence, treat or reward?I’m going to be completely honest with you, I believe in indulging myself. I have my favorite Starbucks drink everyday. I keep good, really dark chocolate in the pantry and break off a chunk daily. I also make time for Pilates because it just makes me feel so good. Oh, and did I mention red wine? I must because it’s my favorite way to reward myself after a productive day writing. Ahh . . . enjoy.Do you watch TV and if so, what do you watch?I do - and for the most part the shows I watch have nothing to do with crime and punishment. I adore Mad Men and True Blood. The Office and 30 Rock always make me laugh, and I watch them with the family. We’re also American Idol junkies and have a party every week during the season with equally addicted friends. And if I need a bit of dependable, brain-numbing, stare-at-the-tube time, HGTV is my go-to fave.Is there something you can share that readers might not already know about you?I’m sort of a klutz. Not the trip over myself while I’m walking kind, but the any kind of sports, mechanical device kind. Some illustrious examples from my past: First time I tried to ride a bicycle, I went careening into a ditch. Got on my brother’s mini bike, confused accelerating for braking. It wasn’t pretty. Tried horseback riding with grim results. The first time I drove after I got my license, I nearly caused a fifteen car pile-up. Most recently, I dropped a Kettlebell on my foot. I’d thought I’d outgrown it, but the Kettlebell incident made me realize I’ve only learned to compensate. The safest place for me, it seems, is sitting in front of my computer!When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?When I was about ten years old I wrote a story about a woman whose husband was trying to kill her. They lived in a big house at the top of a mountain. The husband’s dastardly plan for delivering death? A big rock placed under her brake pedal. When she started down that mountain and went to brake--careening over the side she would go! Even with that, I didn’t realize I wanted to be a writer until twenty years later. My killers have gotten a lot more clever since then, but their hearts are still in the same place. And so, apparently, is mine.What inspires your muse?Life. Being out among people. Sneaking off to a movie in the middle of the day. Eavesdropping on conversations. The quiet. A coming storm. Prayer. Being alone. Walking. Christmas lights. It may sound like a lot, but you should see the list of things that shuts her down! (Yes, my muse is a she.)Do you ever scare yourself?Absolutely. My pulse will race right along with my character's! I also find myself cringing, holding my breath and wincing. Since I do alot of my writing at a coffee house, I've caught people looking at me strangely. I'm sure they think I am a complete nut job.Who is Detective Stacy Killian?My readers first met Stacy Killian in SEE JANE DIE. Jane’s sister, a homicide detective with the Dallas, Texas police force, was tough and testy, loyal and smart, with a chip on her shoulder the size of a boulder.As I wrote SEE JANE DIE, Stacy kept trying to take the story away from Jane. Finally, after I promised Stacy I’d write her story, she quieted down. I kept my promise, brought her to New Orleans and paired Spencer Malone, bringing back the Malone family who I’d created in BONE COLD.Until Stacy, I’d only written stand alone novels. And although I still write stand alones, Stacy and the Malones pop up every few books, demanding their stories be continued.More Titles from Erica Spindler*indicates a Stacy Killian/Malone Series2013 DON’T LOOK BACK* (coming June, 2013)2011 WATCH ME DIE*2007 LAST KNOWN VICTIM*2005 KILLER TAKES ALL*2004 SEE JANE DIE* (re-released 2009)2001 BONE COLD* (re-released 2010)Stand Alones Novels:2010 BLOODVINES2009 BREAKNECK2006 COPYCAT2003 IN SILENCE (re-released 2009)2002 DEAD RUN (re-released 2011)2000 ALL FALL DOWN1999 CAUSE FOR ALARM1998 SHOCKING PINK1997 FORTUNE1996 FORBIDDEN FRUIT1995 RED (re-released 2008)What They’re Saying About Erica Spindler"Filled with more twisted, dark paths than an ancient cemetery, WATCH ME DIE is a thriller guaranteed to chill your blood and set your teeth on edge." ~Lisa Jackson, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author on WATCH ME DIE"Get ready to stay up all night...The latest Erica Spindler has arrived and it's time for another pulse-pounding, page-turning, absolutely can't-put-it-down, roller-coaster ride of a read!" ~Lisa Gardner, New York Times Bestselling Author of LIVE TO TELL, on BLOOD VINES"Filled with well-developed, multidimensional characters, Spindler's latest boasts fast-paced action and emotional tension...the intricately woven plot makes this novel a sure winner for readers who like to keep guessing all the way to the end." ~Romantic Times on BREAKNECKJ.T. ELLISON – Blood Sugar Baby (Metro Nashville Homicide Lieutenant Taylor Jackson)An "Occupy Nashville" protester is found dead on the sidewalk, but this isn't an ordinary victim, and Taylor Jackson must contain the story and identify the killer before he strikes again.J.T. Ellison is the international award-winning author of seven critically acclaimed novels, multiple short stories and has been published in over twenty countries.Ellison grew up in Colorado and moved to Northern Virginia during high school. She is a graduate of Randolph-Macon Woman's College and received her master's degree from George Washington University. She was a presidential appointee and worked in The White House and the Department of Commerce before moving into the private sector. As a financial analyst and marketing director, she worked for several defense and aerospace contractors.After moving to Nashville, Ellison began research on a passion: forensics and crime. She has worked with the Metro Nashville Police Department, the FBI, and various other law enforcement organizations to research her books.Her short stories have been widely published, including her award winning story "Prodigal Me" in the anthology Killer Year: Stories to Die For, edited by Lee Child, "Gray Lady, Lady Gray" in the anthology Surreal South '11, edited by Pinckney Benedict and Laura Benedict, "Killing Carol Ann" in First Thrills, edited by Lee Child, and "The Number of Man" in the forthcoming anthology Thriller 3, edited by Sandra Brown. Her novel The Cold Room won the Thriller award for Best Paperback Original of 2010 from the International Thriller Writers (ITW).Ellison is a member of several professional writing organizations, including International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America and Romance Writers of America. She has an active following on Twitter under the name @Thrillerchick, and a robust Facebook community.She lives in Nashville with her husband and a poorly trained cat, and is hard at work on her next novel. To learn more about her please visit http://www.jtellison.com or follow her on Facebook at Facebook/JTEllison.Questions for J.T. EllisonAs a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?The first female firefighter in Denver. Someone else beat me to it. I was crushed. Crushed. When that dream was taken away, I learned to never, ever plan for the future. I made my first five-year plan last year.Do you ever scare yourself?I totally scare myself. All the time. But I figure if it scares me, it will scare the reader. I’m very, very careful to make sure there isn’t anything gratuitous in my work. But when I look at what people are capable of, how they hurt one another, I can’t help myself. I want to find out why. I want to dig into their minds. And doing that leads me to some very frightening places. The funny thing is, I hate to be scared. Hate it. I won’t watch scary movies or read scary books. The last horror novel I read was Peter Straub’s GHOST STORY, and that was when I was 10. I knew then and there I could never read another book like that again.What is your favorite indulgence, treat or reward?People who know me know I’m not much of a girly girl. But without a doubt, the reward I enjoy the most are facials. It is a wonderful place to meditate on story. If I could, I’d do it every day. Instead, I save them to celebrate milestones - books finished, on sale, contracts signed, etc. Going to the symphony is another, I adore classical music. The great masters most of all - Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Beethoven, Liszt, Bach, Berlioz. Mahler is growing on me.Do you watch TV and if so, what do you watch?I do - I love shows that relate to my work. Criminal Minds, The Mentalist, Prime Suspect, Justified, Dexter, Castle, Mad Men and Californication all rank high on my list. I also love Weeds, Game of Thrones, the new show Once Upon a Time, and (cough) Gossip Girl. My editor got me hooked back in season one and now it’s just my dirty little indulgence. Perfect for folding laundry.Is there something you can share that readers might not already know about you?I learned to golf and to ski the same year, when I was five. I did both voraciously until we moved from Colorado to Virginia, where I was the only girl on my high school’s all male golf team. I was pretty good, actually, my father offered to let me skip my first year of college if I wanted to try out for the LPGA Q School. I sadly chose to go to college instead - what a dummy I was. I could have played golf for a living! I also threw shot put and discus, and had scholarship opportunities in both. But that kind of pressure wasn’t for me. So I played on my college golf team, and focused on school instead. I do enjoy an afternoon out on the links, though. That’s another indulgence reward.When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?I’ve always been a writer. I think it chooses you. I wrote stories and poems when I was a kid - I have a bound book that I wrote when I was ten, �śThe Samaritan, Part II” about a spaceman whose ship is destroyed during landing, and he’s stuck on this lonely planet all by himself. It’s hysterically bad, but there is a distinct voice to the piece, one I �śhear” even now. No idea why it was part two - I don’t recall ever writing part one. I was a poet and short fiction writer through college, and that’s when my professor told me I wouldn’t ever be good enough to actually publish, and I went into politics instead, and stopped all my creative writing. But story always lived at the edges of my mind, and I read everything I could get my hands on - Tami Hoag, Patricia Cornwell, Catherine Coulter, Lisa Gardner, J.D. Robb, Erica Spindler, Alex Kava, James Patterson, Diana Gabaldon. Ten years after that fateful indictment, I found John Sandford and suddenly, the world I’d been mentally lounging in opened before me, a massive fissure, and my muse crawled back out and demanded to be put to work immediately.What inspires your muse?First and foremost, reading other fabulous writers. I can be reading something completely unrelated to crime fiction and the words, the meter, the concept will strike me and one of my own plot or character issues will suddenly come clear. But music plays a large role too, as do nightmares I have. I try to avoid them, but sometimes, a horrifying act leaks into my subconscious and manifests itself in a bad dream, and I wake with a story on my mind. I do try to treat my Muse delicately, nurturing her (plying?) with a multi-fold approach of intellectual nourishment, travel, adequate sleep and dedicated playtimes, and of course, a nice bottle of red wine rarely goes amiss.Who is J.T. Ellison’s Homicide Lieutenant Taylor JacksonTaylor is an offshoot of my own hero complex. She is uncompromising in her moral code, never hesitates if there is a person in trouble, and works hard to keep the people around her, strangers and friends alike, safe. I admire her tenacity and her ability to see the world in black and white. There’s good, and there’s evil. She knows which side of the fence she’s on. She’s a female Lucas Davenport, half cop, half rock star. Personally, I see her as Athena, the warrior goddess of Nashville.More Titles from J.T. EllisonTaylor Jackson novels:2007 All the Pretty Girls2008 142009 Judas Kiss2010 The Cold Room2010 The Immortals2011 So Close the Hand of Death2011 Where All the Dead LieSam Owens novels2012 A Deeper Darkness (April)2012 Edge of Black (November)What They're Saying about J.T. Ellison"Shocking suspense, compelling characters and fascinating forensic details. When it comes to fast-paced thrillers, J.T. Ellison always has her game on." ~Lisa Gardner, #1 NYT bestselling author of CATCH ME"A DEEPER DARKNESS has everything I love in a thriller: stunning twists and shocks, fascinating forensics, and heroines I deeply cared about. JT Ellison is one of the best writers in the game."~Tess Gerritsen, NYT bestselling author of THE SILENT GIRL"Ellison is a genius and should be mandatory reading for any thriller aficionado".~Romantic TimesALEX KAVA – Cold Metal Night (FBI Profiler Maggie O’Dell)A homeless man is found dead in a bloody snowdrift outside a downtown Omaha office building. Maggie O'Dell believes he's just one victim of a killer who crisscrosses the country. She knows she has less than twenty-four hours to catch him in Omaha before he moves on to another city and another victim.Alex Kava grew up in the country outside Silver Creek, Nebraska. She earned a bachelor’s degree in art and English from College of Saint Mary in Omaha, Nebraska. She has done a variety of jobs, from working as a hospital tech, cleaning and sterilizing utensils from surgery, pathology and the morgue, to running her own graphic design firm, designing national food labels and directing television and radio commercials.In 1996 she quit her job as a public relations director to dedicate herself to writing a novel and getting published. To pay the bills, she refinanced her home, maxed out her credit cards and even took on a newspaper delivery route.Today, Alex is a New York Times bestselling author of psychological suspense novels. Her Maggie O’Dell series, comprised of A Perfect Evil, Split Second, The Soul Catcher, At the Stroke of Madness, A Necessary Evil, Exposed, Black Friday, Damaged and Hotwire along with her stand-alone novels, One False Move and Whitewash, have been widely praised by critics and fans. They have appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. Her books have been published in twenty-six countries and have hit the bestseller lists in Australia, Germany, Poland, Italy and the UK.One False Move was selected as Nebraska’s 2006 One Book One Nebraska. In 2007 Alex was awarded the Mari Sandoz Award by the Nebraska Library Association. Whitewash made January Magazine’s list of best thrillers for 2007. Exposed, Black Friday and Hotwire received starred reviews by Publishers Weekly.She also has co-authored two short stories in the anthologies: First Thrills, edited by Lee Child (After Dark, co-authored with Deb Carlin) and Florida Heat Wave, edited by Michael Lister. A Breath of Hot Air, co-authored with Patricia Bremmer is now on KINDLE and NOOK.Alex writes full-time and lives in Omaha, Nebraska and Pensacola, Florida. She is a member of International Thrillers Writers. Become a V.I.R. Member (Very Important Reader) at Alex's website: http://www.alexkava.com to win prizes or follow her on Facebook at Facebook/AlexKava.booksQuestions for Alex KavaWhat is your favorite indulgence, treat, reward?Reading thrillers. I know that might sound odd, but for a long time I didn’t allow myself to read fiction, especially other thrillers, while I was writing.I read constantly for research: on-line articles, magazines, newspapers, instruction manuals, loads of non-fiction books and even food labels. (Yes, for HOTWIRE I became obsessed with reading food packages). But I didn’t always allow myself to read fiction, only because I was more interested in finding out what happened in the book I’m reading instead of the one I was writing. Now, I allow myself a chapter or two or three before bedtime each night.Do you watch TV and if so, what do you watch?People always seem surprised that I don’t watch CSI, Law & Order, or Criminal Minds. After spending the day with killers and the evidence to catch them, I’m usually looking for something to make me laugh. I watch THE OFFICE, MODERN FAMILY, PARKS & RECREATION, and THE MIDDLE. Those are my favorites.I also watch HELL’S KITCHEN, MASTER CHEF, PROPERTY VIRGINS with Sandra Rinomato, re-runs of THE X-FILES and of course, I love watching college football. When I’m looking for something a bit more thought provoking I go to cable news. I confess I’m a bit of a news junkie.Is there something you can share that readers might not already know about you?Both my parents were children of Polish immigrants. I grew up surrounded by all sorts of Polish traditions like having borscht on Easter morning and dancing the polka at weddings.My dad played violin in the Kava Orchestra. He was a farmer and a welder by trade, but what a musical talent he was. He could pick up almost any instrument, listen to a song once--maybe twice on rare occasion and play it beautifully without being able to read a single note. I don’t have anywhere near his musical talent but back in my younger days I did win a few singing contests and actually sang at several of my friends’ weddings.When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?In six grade. Mrs. Powers read to us after lunch every day. Wonderful stories like HARRIET THE SPY and CHARLIE THE LONESOME COUGAR. Listening to how Harriet wrote all sorts of things in her notebook was probably when I first realized I wanted to be a writer.What inspires your muse?Silence. A clear mind and a clear schedule with no appointments, errands or business that needs to be attended to. However, the best inspiration still appears to be that magical thing called �śa deadline.”As a child what did you want to be when you grew up?Up until eighth grade I really wanted to be a veterinarian. Then someone told me I’d also have to put animals to sleep. Being a vet quickly dropped off my list.Do you ever scare yourself?Always. I like to tell my readers that I don’t need to know what their individual fears are, I just need to know how to trigger them . . . over and over again.Who is FBI Special Agent Maggie O'Dell?I never intended to write a series, so I feel like I’ve been getting to know Maggie O’Dell right along side my readers. I confess it’s been challenging and sometimes a bit annoying, but mostly it’s been a fun journey.Maggie O’Dell is an expert FBI profiler. Recently I realized that Maggie’s biggest flaw is probably one of the things I admire most about her. She does what she believes is the right thing, despite the consequences and despite the risks including her own physical harm. Sometimes she bends – even breaks – the rules. I suppose you could say she’s stubbornly independent, but I prefer to call her brave.I think what readers find endearing about Maggie is that even though she’s very capable of going up against killers she still has vulnerabilities and personal challenges. She hates flying and is claustrophobic. She’s divorced, has a suicidal alcoholic mother, and a half-brother she’s only now getting to know. She’s slow to trust, not good at relationships and has very few people she counts on.One of the best things about writing the series is that every time I think I really know Maggie, I find yet another side of her to explore. She continues to surprise me and I hope that’s true for my readers as well.More Titles from Alex KavaMaggie O'Dell series:2000 A Perfect Evil2001 Split Second2002 The Soul Catcher2003 At The Stroke of Madness2006 A Necessary Evil2008 Exposed2009 Black Friday2010 Damaged2011 Hotwire2012 FireProof (July)2013 Stranded (July)Stand Alone novels:2004 One False Move2007 WhitewashWhat They’re Saying About Alex Kava"Kava seems to get better with every book."~The Omaha World Herald"Maggie O'Dell could be Jack Reacher's long-lost twin" ~Lee Child, NYT Bestselling author of 61 HOURS"The question of how such widely disparite outrages might be connected is ingenius." ~Kirkus Reviews"A sizzling plot, achingly real characters, and government officials working their backsides off to save their backsides, all strike as lethally as lightning." ~Starred Publisher's Weekly on HOTWIRE"Kava spins a plot with significant political ramifications, combining nonstop action and lethal danger...plausible enough to leave readers wondering about the line between truth and fiction." ~BooklistCHAPTER EXCERPTSExcerpts reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.WHERE ALL THE DEAD LIE by J.T. EllisonWATCH ME DIE By Erica SpindlerHOTWIRE by Alex KavaAll books available where ever ebooks are sold.WHERE ALL THE DEAD LIE by J.T. EllisonCHAPTER ONEDear Sam,There is a moment in every life that defines, shapes, transcends your previous spirit, molding you as if from newborn clay. It’s come for me. I have changed, and that change is irreversible.Sam, there’s no doubt anymore. I’m losing my mind. The shooting is haunting me. The horror of your loss, of who I’ve become, all of it is too much. I’m not sure how much longer I can stand to go on like this, trapped under glass, trapped away from everyone. I’m lost.The walls here speak. Disconcerting at times, but at others, it’s a comfort. The ceilings dance in the candlelight, and the floors shimmer and ripple with my every step. I escape out of doors, and when I do, all I find is fog, and mist, and lumbering sheep. Cows with gentle, inquisitive eyes. The dogs have a sense of humor. But you can tell they’d turn on you in a second. I’ve known people like that. The deer are patient, and sad, resigned to their captive lives. The crows are aggressive. The seagulls act foolish, and there’s something so wrong about seeing a soaring gull against the mountainous backdrop. The chickens are huge and fretful, the grouse are in a hurry. The mist settles like a cold shawl across the mountain’s shoulders, and the road I walk grows close, like it’s planning to share a secret.Above all, there is no one. And everyone. I feel them all around me. All the missing and the gone. I can’t see them, except for late at night, when I’m supposed to be asleep. Then they push in on me from all sides, stealing my breath. The room grows cold and the warnings begin.It strikes me that I’m surrounded by doctors, yet no one can help. I have to find the strength from within to heal. Isn’t that what they always say, Physician, heal thyself? I shall amend it: Lieutenant, command thyself.Sam, please, forgive me. It’s all my fault. I know that now.In moments of true peace: outside by the statue of Athena, looking over the gardens, watching the animals on the grounds, I feel your sorrow. I finally understand what you’ve lost. I’ve lost it, too. I don’t think there’s any coming back. I don’t think there’s any room for me in our world anymore.There’s something wrong with this place. Memphis’s ancestors are haunting me. They don’t like me here.I did the best I could. I messed everything up, and I don’t know if I can fix it.Hug the twins. Their Fairy Godmother loves them. And I love you. I’m all done.TaylorTaylor slammed the laptop shut. Nauseous again. Pain built behind her eyes. A demon’s hammering. Her only recourse was to lie down, lids screwed shut, praying for the hurt to pass. Percocet. Another. The pills they provided had stopped working. Nightfall signaled her brain to collapse in on itself, to allow the doubt and pain to rule. Weakness. Mornings brought safety, and courage.Her mind was made of hinges, pieces that held imaginings she didn’t want to acknowledge. If she did, the demons overtook her thoughts.Defying the headache, she stumbled to the window, stared out at the mountains. Darkness enveloped their gentle curves. Bitter snow reflected the outline of the massive Douglas firs. Completely desolate. Private. Perfect for her to hide away, in the wilds of Scotland, pretending to the world that she was fine, just visiting for a time, on holiday, as the Brits around her liked to say.She’d run away from the people who knew the truth about her situation�"Dr. Sam Loughley, her best friend, and Dr. John Baldwin, her fiancé. She’d even managed to push away Memphis Highsmythe, a friend who wanted more from her than she was willing to give.She brushed her hair off her shoulders and leaned against the window. The cool glass felt good on her temple. The small, puckered scar, another battle wound, nearly healed. Even the pinkish discoloration was beginning to fade. She no longer bore the blatant stigma of the killer known as the Pretender, at least on the outside. He’d stolen something from within her though. Something precious she didn’t know how to retrieve.Now she was only half a woman, half herself. A crazy little girl shut up in a castle, too tired to play princess anymore.Movement over the mountains. The storm was changing. Gray clouds billowed down into the valley, nestled up against the loch, and opened. Stinging ice beat a merciless tattoo on the ground.Her heart beat in time with the sleet, the pounding as insistent as a knock on the door�"over and over and over�"and the grip of the pain became too much to bear. The migraine overwhelmed her. The heavy Victorian- era furniture in her room was coruscating, beginning its nightly danse macabre.Defeated, she pulled the curtains, went to the bathroom. Dumped two of the thick white Percocets in her palm and swallowed them with water from the tap. Hoped that they’d help.Back to the bedroom. She saw her laptop was open. She’d been online? She shouldn’t have had so much to drink. She was feeling sick again. The drink, the drugs, the pain, it was all jumbling together.The truth.Shadows heavy as blankets swathed her body, nipped at her bare feet. She made her way to the bed by rote, lay down on the ornate spread, and gave in to the pain, the fear, the gut-wrenching terror that filled her night after night after night. The only things she could see were the dancing lights that shimmered off her brain, and the pearly outline of the ghost who’d come to tuck her in. She closed her eyes against the intrusion. Per- haps it would leave her alone tonight.No. It was here. She felt its chilly caress slide against her cheek, its slim finger moving across her forehead, stopping at last to trace the bullet’s entry wound. The scar burned cold. She would not move, would not call out in fear. The thing loved her terror, and this, this moment of abomination, when the ghosts of the past and present mingled in the very air she breathed, this was the one moment when her voice came back full and true. She’d made the mistake of screaming the first time it touched her, and would not give it that joy again.The chilled path moved lower now, to the long-healed slash across her neck. She wouldn’t be so lucky the next time. The touch was a warning. A sign.And then it was gone. She let the throbbing wash over her and wept silent tears.WATCH ME DIE by Erica SpindlerCHAPTER THREETuesday, August 9, 20119:40 amAt any given moment, the demons could descend upon Mira Gallier. Sometimes, she marshaled the strength to fight them off, denying their dark, tormenting visions. Their taunts and merciless accusations.Other times, they overpowered her and left her scrambling for a way tosilence them. To obliterate the pain.Last night they had come. And she had found a way to escape. Mira lay on her side on the bed, gazing blankly at the small rose window shehad created in secret, a wedding gift for her husband-to-be. In the tradition of the magnificent gothic windows, she had chosen brilliant jewel colors; her design had been complex and intricate, combining painted images within the blocks of color.For her, the window had been a symbol of her and Jeff’s perfect love and new, beautiful life together.She had never imagined how quickly, how brutally, that life would be ended.It hurt to look at it now and Mira rolled onto her back. Her head felt heavy; the inside of her mouth as if stuffed with cotton.Eleven months, three weeks and four days, shot to hell by one small, blue, oval tablet.What would Jeff think of her now? Even as she wondered, she knew. He would be deeply disappointed.But he couldn’t be more disappointed in her than she was in herself.On the nightstand, her cell phone chirped. She grabbed it, answered.�śSecond level of hell. The tormented speaking.”Mira? It’s Deni.”Her studio assistant and friend. Sounding puzzled.�śWho’d you expect?” she asked. �śMy husband?”�śThat’s not funny.”It wasn’t, she acknowledged. It was angry. And sad. Jeff was dead, and she had fallen off the wagon. Neither of which had a damn thing to do with Deni.�śI’m sorry, I had a really bad night.”�śYou want to talk about it?”The roar of water. A wall of it. As black and cold as death , brutal and unforgiving. Jeff ’s cry resounded in her head. Calling out for her to help him.But she hadn’t been there. She didn’t know what that last moment had been like. She didn’t even know if he’d had time to cry out, to feel fear, or if he had known it was the end.And she never would.He was dead because of her.�śNo. But thanks.” The last came out automatically, what she was supposed to say, even though gratitude was far from what she was feeling.�śYou used, didn’t you?”No condemnation in Deni’s voice. Just pity. Still, excuses flew to Mira’slips, so familiar she could utter them in her sleep. They made her sick. She was done with them.�śYes.”For a long moment Deni was silent. When she finally spoke, she said, �śI take it I should reschedule your interview?”�śInterview?”�śWith Libby Gardner. From Channel 12, the local PBS affiliate. About the Magdalene window. She’s here.”Mira remembered then. The interview appointment. Her work on the Magdalene restoration being included in a sixth anniversary of Katrina series the station was planning. �śShit. I forgot. Sorry.”�śWhat should I tell her?”�śHow about the truth? That your boss is a pill head and basket case.”�śStop it, Mira. That’s not true.”�śNo?”�śYou suffered a terrible loss. You turned to--”�śThe whole city suffered that same freaking loss. Life goes on, sweetheart.”She spoke the words harshly, their brutality self-directed. �śThe strong thrive and the weak turn to Xanax.”�śThat’s such bullshit.” Deni sounded hurt. �śI’ll see if she can reschedule--”�śNo. Get started with her. Explain how the window ended up in our care, describe the process, show her around. By the time you’ve done that, I’ll be there.”�śMira--”She cut her assistant off. �śI’ll be in shortly. We can talk then.”Mira ended the call and hurried to the kitchen. She fixed herself a cup of strong coffee then headed toward the bathroom. When she caught sight of her reflection in the vanity mirror, she froze. She looked like crap. Worse even. The circles under her hazel eyes were so dark, her pale skin looked ghostly incomparison. She was too thin--her copper red hair like the flame atop a matchstick.She wore one of her husband’s old tees as a nightshirt: Geaux Saints the front proclaimed. Mira trailed her fingers over the faded print. Jeff hadn’t lived long enough to see his beloved NFL team win the Super Bowl.It’s your fault he’s dead, Mira," the voice in her head whispered. "You convinced him to stay. Remember what you said? �śIt’ll be an adventure, Jeff. A story we can share with our children and grandchildren.”The air conditioner kicked on. Cold air from the vent above her head raised goosebumps on her arms and the back of her neck. No, she told herself. That was bullshit. Isn’t that what her shrink, Dr. Jasper, had told her? Jeff had been a fifty percent partner in the decision. If he had felt strongly they should leave, he would have said so.His family blamed her. Her and Jeff’s friends had been subtle in their accusations-- she read condemnation in their eyes.She stared helplessly at her reflection. The problem was, she blamed herself.No matter what her shrink said or what the facts were.She moved her gaze over the destruction of her bathroom--drawers emptied, make-up bags and carry-ons rifled through.As if thieves had broken in and turned her home upside down in search of valuables.But she had done this. She was the thief. And the eleven months, three weeks and four days she had robbed herself of couldn’t be replaced.Her cell phone went off. She saw it was Deni--no doubt calling to say the reporter had taken a hike. �śPissed off another one, didn’t I?” she answered.�śSomething really bad’s happened, Mira.”She pressed the device tighter to her ear. �śWhat?”�śIt’s Father Girod, he’s . . . dead. He was murdered.”An image of the kindly old priest filled her head. He had approached her after Katrina about his church’s stained glass windows, decimated by the storm. In the process of restoring the twelve panels, she and the father had become friends.Grief choked her. �śOh, my God. Who could have . . . When did--”�śThere’s more, Mira.” Deni’s voice shook. �śWhoever did it also vandalized the windows.”HOTWIRE by Alex KavaChapter 2Thursday, October 7thFive miles west of the Nebraska National ForestHalsey, Nebraska�śThere’s no blood?” Special Agent Maggie O’Dell tried not to sound out of breath.She was annoyed that she was having trouble keeping up. She was in good shape, a runner, and yet the rolling sand dunes with waves of tall grass made walking feel like treading water. It didn’t help matters that her escort was a good ten inches taller than her, his long legs accustomed to the terrain of the Nebraska Sandhills.As if reading her mind, State Patrol Investigator Donald Fergussen slowed his pace for her to catch up with him. She thought he was being polite when he stopped, but then Maggie saw the barbed wire fence that blocked their path. He’d been a gentleman the entire trip, annoying Maggie because she had spent the last ten years in the FBI quietly convincing her male counterparts to treat her no differently than they’d treat another man.�śIt’s the strangest thing I’ve ever seen,” he finally answered when Maggie had almost forgotten she’d asked a question. He’d been like that the entire drive from Scottsbluff, giving each question deliberate consideration then answering with genuine thought. �śBut yeah, no blood at the scene. None at all. It’s always that way.”End of explanation. That had also been his pattern. Not just a man of few words, but one who seemed to measure and use words like a commodity.He waved his hand at the fence.�śBe careful. It could be hot,” he told her, pointing out a thin, almost invisible wire that ran from post to post, about six inches above the top strand of four separate barbed wires.�śHot?”�śRanchers sometimes add electric fencing.”�śI thought this was federal property?”�śThe National Forest’s been leasing to ranchers since the 1950’s. It’s actually a good deal for both. Ranchers have fresh pastures and the extra income helps reforest. Plus grazing the land prevents grass fires.” He said all this without conviction, simply as a matter of fact, sounding like a public service announcement. All the while he examined the wire, his eyes following it from post to post as he walked alongside it for several steps. He kept one hand out, palm facing her, warning her to wait as he checked.�śWe lost 5,000 acres in ’94. Lightning,” he told her, his eyes following the wire. �śAmazing how quickly fire can sweep through the grass out here. Luckily it burned only 200 acres of pine. That might not mean much somewhere else, but this is the largest hand-planted forest in the world. 20,000 of the 90,000 acres are covered in pine, all in defiance to nature.”Maggie found herself glancing back over her shoulder. Almost a mile away she could see the distinct line where sandhill dunes, covered by patches of tall grass, abruptly ended and the lush green pine forest began. After driving for hours and seeing few trees it only now occurred to her how odd it was that there even existed a national forest.He found something on one of the posts and squatted down until he was eye-level.�śMost forest services say fire can be good for the land because it rejuvenates the forest,” he continued without looking at her, �śbut here, anything destroyed would need to be replanted. That’s why the forest even has its own nursery.”For a man of few words he now seemed to be expending them, but maybe he thought it was important. Maggie didn’t mind. He had a gentle, soothing manner and a rich, deep voice that could narrate War and Peace and keep you hanging on his every word.At first introductions, he had insisted she call him Donny and she almost laughed. In her mind the name implied a boy. His bulk and weathered face implied just the opposite. His smile did have a boyish quality accompanied by dimples, but the crinkles at his eyes and the gray-peppered hair telegraphed a more seasoned investigator. But then all he had to do was take off his hat – like he did now so the tip of his Stetson didn’t touch the wire – and the cowlick sticking straight up at the beginning of a perfectly combed part, brought back the boyish image.�śRanchers hate fire.” Donny paused to take a closer look at the wood post immediately in front of him. He tilted his head and craned his neck, careful not to touch the fence or the post. �śThe ranchers shake their heads at rejuvenation. The way they look at it, why destroy and waste all that valuable feedstock.”Finally he straightened back up, put his hat back on and announced, �śWe’re okay. It’s not hot.” But then he tapped the wire with his fingertips like you check a hot burner to make sure it’s been turned off.Satisfied, his huge hands grasped between the barbs, one on each strand of the middle two, separating a space for her.�śGo ahead,” she told him.She had to wait for him to shift from a gentleman to a fellow law enforcement officer. It took a few minutes for his blank stare of protest to disappear. Then he finally nodded and readjusted his grip to the top two strands instead of the bottom two so he could accommodate his longer legs.Maggie watched closely how he zigzagged his bulk between the wires without catching a single barb. Then she mimicked his moves and followed through, holding her breath and wincing when she felt a razor-sharp barb snag her hair.On the other side of the fence they continued walking through the knee-high prairie grass. The sun had started to slip below the horizon turning the sky a gorgeous purple-pink that seeped into the twilight’s deep blue. Out here in the open field, Maggie wanted to stop and watch the kaleidoscope affect. She caught herself tucking away details to share later with Benjamin Platt, only she’d relate them in cinematic terms. Think of John Wayne in Red River, she would tell him when she described the landscape. It was somewhat of a game they played with each other. Both of them were classic movie buffs. In less than a year what started as a doctor/patient relationship had turned into a friendship. Except recently Maggie found herself thinking about Ben more and more.She stumbled over the uneven ground and realized the grass was getting thicker and taller. She struggled to keep up with Donny.He was a giant of a man, wide neck and barrel-chest. Maggie thought he looked like he was wearing a Kevlar vest under his button-down shirt, only there was no vest, just solid, lean muscle. He had to be at least six feet, five inches tall, maybe more because he seemed to bend forward, slightly at the waist, shoulders slumped as if walking against a wind or perhaps, uncomfortable with his height.Maggie found herself taking two steps to his one, sweating despite the sudden chill. The sinking sun was quickly stealing all the warmth of the day and she wished she hadn’t left her jacket back in Donny’s pickup. The impending nightfall seemed to only increase Donny’s long gait.At least she had worn comfortable and flat shoes. She’d been to Nebraska before so she thought she had come prepared, but her other visits had been to the far eastern side near Omaha, the state’s only metropolitan city that sprawled over rolling river valley. Here, within a hundred miles of the Nebraska/Colorado border the terrain was nothing like she expected. On the drive from Scottsbluff there had been few trees and even fewer towns in-between the miles. Those villages they did drive through took barely a few minutes and a slight decrease of acceleration to enter and exit.Earlier Donny had told her that cattle outnumbered people and at first she thought he was joking.�śYou’ve never been out to these parts before,” he had said rather than ask. His tone was polite, not defensive when he noticed her skepticism.�śI’ve been to Omaha several times,” she had answered, knowing immediately from his smile that it was a bit like saying she had been to the Smithsonian when asked if she had seen Little Bighorn.�śNebraska takes nine hours to cross from border to border,” he told her. �śIt has 1.7 million people. About a million of them live in a 50-mile radius of Omaha.”Again, Donny’s voice reminded Maggie of a cowboy poet’s and she didn’t mind the geography lesson.�śLet me put it a perspective you can relate to, no disrespect intended,” and he had paused, glancing at her to give her a chance to protest. �śCherry County, a bit to the northwest of us, is the largest county in Nebraska. It’s about the size of Connecticut. There are six thousand people in 5700 square miles. That’s about one person per square mile.”�śAnd cattle?” she had asked with a smile, allowing him his original point.�śAlmost ten per square mile.”She had found herself mesmerized by the rolling sandhills and suddenly wondering what to expect if she needed to go to the bathroom. What was worse, Donny’s geography lesson only validated Maggie’s theory, that this assignment – like several before it – was yet another one of her boss’s punishments.About a month ago Assistant Director Raymond Kunze had sent her down to the Florida Panhandle, smack-dab in the path of a Category 5 hurricane. In less than a year since he officially took the position, Kunze had made it a habit of sending her on wild goose chases. Okay, so perhaps he was easing up on her, replacing danger with mind-numbing madness. Maggie specialized in criminal behavior and profiling. She had advanced degrees in behavorial psychology, pre-med and forensic science. Yet, it had been so long since Kunze allowed her to work a real crime scene she wondered if she would remember basic procedure? Even this scene didn’t really count as a crime, except perhaps for the cows.Now as they continued walking, Maggie tried to focus on something beside the chill and the impending dark. She thought, again, about the fact that there was no blood.�śWhat about rain?”Almost instinctively she glanced over her shoulder. Backlit by the purple horizon, the bulging gray clouds looked more ominous. They threatened to block out any remaining light. At their mention Donny picked up his pace. Anything more and Maggie would need to jog to keep up.�śIt hasn’t rained since last weekend,” he told her. �śThat’s why I thought it was important for you to take a look before those thunderheads roll in.”They had left Donny’s pickup on a dirt trail off the main highway, next to a deserted and dusty black pickup. Donny had mentioned he asked the rancher to meet them but there was no sign of him or of any other living being. Not even, she couldn’t help but notice, any cattle.The rise and fall of sand dunes blocked any sign of the road. Maggie climbed behind him, the incline steep enough she caught herself using fingertips to keep her balance. Donny came to an abrupt stop, waiting at the top. Even before she came up beside him she noticed the smell.Donny pointed down below at a sandy dugout area about the size of a backyard swimming pool. Earlier he had referred to something similar as a blowout, explaining that the areas were where wind and rain had washed away grass. They’d continue to erode, getting bigger and bigger if ranchers didn’t control them.The stench of death wafted up. Lying in the middle of the sand was the mutilated cow, four stiff legs poking up toward the sky. The creature, however, didn’t resemble anything Maggie had ever seen.This ebook compiled and formatted byPrairie Wind PublishingIf you are interested getting your ebook formatted or published, please contact:Deb Carlin at deb@pwindpub.comDon't Stop Reading!COLD METAL NIGHTbyAlex KavaSunday, December 42:37 a.m.Downtown Omaha, NebraskaNick Morrelli stuffed his hands deep inside his pockets. Damn! It had gotten cold and he’d forgotten his gloves. He could see his breath. Air so cold it stung his eyes and hurt to breathe.Snow crunched beneath his shoes. Italian leather. Salvatore Ferragamo slip-ons. Five hundred and ten dollars. The stupidest purchase he’d ever let his sister, Christine talk him into. They made him look like a mob boss, or worse – a politician – instead of a security expert.He was at a private party when he got Pete’s call. Figured he could easily walk the two blocks from the Flat Iron to the Rockwood Building. But it had been snowing steadily for the last ten hours. Now he treaded carefully over the pile of ice chunks the snow plows left at the curbs. He already almost wiped out twice despite the salt and sand.City crews were working overtime, trying to clear the streets for Sunday’s Holiday of Lights Festival. It was a huge celebration. The beginning of the Christmas season. Live music, carolers, arts and craft events. Performers dressed as Dickens characters would stroll the Old Market’s cobble stone streets engaging with the visitors. The ConAgra Ice Rink would be packed with skaters. Tomorrow night the city would turn on tens of thousands of twinkling white lights that decorated all the trees on the Gene Leahy Mall and strung along the rooftops of the downtown buildings. Even the high-rises.A festive time would be had by all but a huge security nightmare for people like Nick. The company he worked for, United Allied, provided security for a dozen buildings in the area.As Nick hurried across Sixteenth Street he glanced up to see the fat, wet flakes glitter against the night sky. It was the kind of stuff he and his sister called magical Christmas dust when they were kids.Pete was waiting for him at the back door of the Rockwood Building. It was one of Nick’s favorites. A historic brick six-story with an atrium in the middle that soared up all six floors. Reminded Nick of walking into an indoor garden, huge green plants and a domed skylight above. The building housed offices, all of them quiet at this time of night, making Pete’s job more about caretaking than guarding.But tonight Pete looked spooked. His eyes were wide. His hair looked a shade whiter against his black skin. He held a nightstick tight in his trembling hands. Nick had never seen the old man like this. He didn’t even know Pete owned a nightstick.�śHe didn’t show up at midnight like usual,” Pete was telling Nick as he led him down a hallway. Nick wasn’t sure who he was talking about. All he told Nick on the phone was, �śto get over here now.”He was taking Nick to another exit, double-wide doors that opened out into an alley. It wasn’t used except by maintenance or housekeeping to haul the trash.�śHe usually stops by. You said it was okay.” He shot a look back over his shoulder at Nick but he didn’t slow down. "Does a little shoveling if I ask.” Pete was out of breath. The nightstick stayed in his right fist. �śI made us some hot cocoa tonight. So cold out. When he didn’t show up I took a look around.”He pushed opened the doors, slow and easy, peeking around them like he was expecting someone to jump out at him.�śPete, you’re starting to freak me out.” Nick patted him on the shoulder, gently holding him back so he could step around him. �śIf someone’s in trouble, we’ll help him out.”After Thanksgiving he had made an executive decision to allow homeless people to sleep in some of the back entries of the buildings he took care of. He told Pete and his other night guards to call him if there was a problem. During the holidays he didn’t have the heart to toss them into the street. He figured he could put up with drunk and belligerent.Nick took two steps out into the frigid alley and immediately he saw a heap of gray wool and dirty denim in a bloody pile of snow. The man’s face was twisted under a bright green and orange argyle scarf that Nick recognized. His stomach fell to his knees.�śOh God, not Gino. What the hell happened?”Nick tried to get closer. The damned shoes slipped on a trail of blood that was already icing over. He lost his balance. Started to fall. His hand caught the corner of the Dumpster. Ice-cold metal sliced open his palm but he held on. By now he was breathing hard. Puffs of steam like a dragon. He took a deep breath, planted his feet. Then he reached over to Gino while still gripping the corner of the Dumpster.Nick pressed two fingers to the man’s neck. Gino’s skin was almost as cold as the metal of the Dumpster.

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