‹ Prequel: Beyond
Status: Last story in the Avidity trilogy.

Sinister

Trail

"He was angry this time."

I glanced at Scott, who was staring at the body. We'd gotten a report about a woman and man arguing, then the woman screamed. By the time we got here, we found her slumped against a store window, blouse ripped and neck cut deeply.

"He was pissed."

"I see that, Malloy."

Scott looked at me. "He's so close, Charlotte. Can't you feel him? Touch the body, maybe you'll get something."

"You know I can't do that," I answered. "She's dead, she can't provide me with anything. She can't show me the last thing she saw."

"So find something of hers. A purse, wallet, anything."

I lifted an eyebrow. "The gloves wouldn't allow me to get a good read," I told him. I tied my hair back and took my turn examining the body. "God, her neck was severed, look at it." I swallowed and moved my hand along her hair, brushing it back. "He was pissed. He probably would have cut her head off if he went further."

Behind us, one of the officers called to the scene dry heaved.

"You must be new," I called to him.

The young man shook his head. "I've been on the force a few months, I just have a weak stomach."

"Perfect profession for you then," Scott muttered under his breath as he dropped into a crouch next to me. "He really did a number on her."

"Look at her nails," I replied, lifting her hand. "There's skin underneath, and I'm willing to bet that it's not hers."

Scott sighed. "You know what gets me? We know exactly who we're looking for, but we can't fucking find him. Maybe the Denver cops never could either."

"He's like a ghost."

"He's smart. He goes after women he's not connected to, and no one ever sees him with them so it's easy to just kill and dump them."

"What I don't understand," I said, "is that all these women he's killed — plus Daniel and Devon — he stabbed all of them. Except Eden."

Scott's lips twitched. "Almost, Char. His victim Sara Wilkes was strangled, and so was Devon Russell's receptionist. So I guess the cutting of the throats isn't as symbolic as you thought."

"That doesn't make sense, serial killers are supposed to stick to one MO."

"Maybe those times he didn't have a knife."

"Or he wanted to make those kills stand out." I pulled out a wallet from our new victims pocket. "Her name was Hannah Phillips." I looked back at the pale officer. "Write that down, will you? I need to know everything we found. You can make yourself useful and stand somewhere else. I don't need you throwing up near the body."

Scott snorted quietly, then he said quietly, "Hey, Char?" His voice sounded shaky.

"Hm?"

"Do you think John knows about you? About what you can do?"

"That's impossible."

The light overhead caught his eyes. "It's not the first time you've been on the trail of a psychic serial killer."
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I really like this chapter.