“What do we do now?”

“We wait for his next move.”

“Scott, there's Shaw’s family on this list.”

“You think this guy put cancer in Shaw’s lungs? This isn’t a to-do list.”

“Then what is it?”

I take a deep breath and regain my composure. I’ve got to keep it together for the kid.

“I don’t know. A warning. Just wants me to know that he knows the people in my life.”

He’s going to break me down huh? Here I thought I might have started to get the upper hand but it looks like this was all part of the plan. He must have known I wouldn’t just off myself. But I still don’t get it. Why is he so focused on me? Can’t say I like the fact that someone is watching my every step. Demon or not, this guy is starting to really piss me off. Is he some old case just out to get revenge? Or maybe it really is something else. I’m losing my fucking mind.I’ve got to be sure not to bring Haley with me.

The drive down to the station was a quiet one. Us both deep in thought didn’t make for very good chit chat.

“Hey Kid.” I say while we make our way into the escalator. “I know it’s a lot right now… but don’t let it consume you. Just take it day by day like any other case. Got it?”

She doesn’t reply. Just bows her head and wanders even deeper in.

“Let’s talk about it after our shift.”

“Ok.” She says in a hollowed breath.

I don’t even bother talking to Barb and make my way straight to the captain's office. I swear sometimes he scares me more than a gun to my face.

“Come in.” I hear through the translucent door.

For once I remember to open that fucking door slowly. Not a bad start.

“Detective Ashe. Please wait outside. I will speak to you shortly.” Captain says reaching in his chest pocket for his pack of smokes. He places one between his lips and waits for the door to close before he speaks.

“Want to tell me about your night?”

“What’s there to say?”

“How about the fact that you spent the night in the same room as a homicide?”

Fuck. This one might be a little tricky to get out of.

“Your guess is as good as mine, Captain. I just woke up there.”

“Cut the shit Scott. What the fuck is going on?”

“Captain, I really don’t know. All I remember was going over a case with Ashe last night. After that it’s pretty foggy.”

He leans back in his chair and finally lights the smoke.

“Are you in trouble?” He asks very seriously.

“You're going to have to trust me on this one.”

“I’ve heard that before.”

“And I’ve delivered every time. Well almost.”

He gets up and starts pacing the floor behind his desk.

“You know Hanes. You’re good at this. You catch the bad guys and you're pretty good at keeping the casualties low. But I need you to work with me here.”

“I promise you. I’ve got this one.”

“The cards are stacking against you again Scott. And I don’t think I can protect you again.”

“This is different.”

“I sure as shit hope so. I took your word in the past due to your service record. Four years and what have you come up with? Jack shit.”

“Captain. I don’t know how yet. But it’s connected to this.”

“Hanes there’s a seventeen year old body that was found in the exact same room as we found you this morning.”

“You forgot the part where I was strapped to a chair.”

“With barely a scratch on you! Now I have two theories. One, you annoy the hell out of someone until they rather leave then slit your throat and maybe the other body is pure coincidence. Or two, you are connected to this kid, and there’s something you aren’t telling me. So how off the mark am I here?”

“I guess somewhere in the middle.”

“Care to enlighten me?”

“Well… I did seem to annoy him. But he wasn’t planning to kill me.”

“That’s seeming really hard to believe.”

“Captain, whatever this guy is after. He’s targeted me. It’s too dangerous to bring anyone else on.”

“Let’s say that, for now, I’m going to believe everything you say. Get talking.”

“There’s a lot I don’t know yet. But this guy… he’s after me. I don’t know if it’s some vendetta or something but he knows who I am. All the way down to Amanda. He wants something to do with me. I think he’s connected with the attempt to frame me.”

Captain sits back down and blows out a large puff of smoke.

“What’s this kid got to do with it?”

“I’m not sure. Some kid from the neighborhood. Pretty sure it’s where he lived.”

“This isn’t looking good Hanes. I’m going to need some results and fast. But if anymore bodies show up with even the slightest hint of you comes up. I will lock you up myself.”

What else can I say at this point. He was one of the few people who trusted me to find the truth about Amanda’s death. I can’t let him down again. I’ve got to settle this. Before anyone else gets hurt.

“Forensics should be just about done with their preliminary findings. Head over and see what you can dig up.”

“Sure thing Captain.”

“Oh and Hanes. Don’t tell the wife I’m smoking again. Cause I’ll kill ya.”

“Wouldn’t dare. More scared of her than I am of you.”

A silhouette of Ashe bleeds through the door. You can see the ball of anxiety of getting ready to talk to Luke. She’ll be fine.

“Your turn, kid.”

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.

“Ok. after we go to forensics?”

“I’ve got to make a stop first. I’ll be back in a couple hours.”

“Need a ride?”

“Nah it’s not that far.”

“Is it about the case?”

“Ya but don’t worry I’m not leaving you out of it. I’ll fill you in when I get back.”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“Ok.”

This lead I need to go check on myself. I’ve got to see what the doc has to do with all of this.

The bitter cold may bite at your cheeks but I gotta say I needed the walk and fresh air to straighten out my thoughts. The taxing on my body from the lack of sleep hits me a lot harder than when I was overseas. Once I finally make it to the shrinks office, I see her secretary waiting by the door as usual. Jenny I think. For some reason I can’t seem to remember.

“Hey, is the Doc in?” I ask her.

“Hi mister Hanes. Doctor Reid is actually out the rest of the day. Can I take a message?”

“You know where she is? It’s kind of important.”

“Well you just missed her but I can let her know you were looking for her. Did you want to schedule an appointment?”

“Listen, I don’t really have time for this. I need to talk to her now. It’s about a case.”

“Oh ok. Well I can try calling her home number. Maybe she’s there by now.”

“Please.”

The phone rings over and over for forty seconds or so before reaching her answering machine.

“Looks like she’s not home yet. I can leave her a message to call you when she’s back tomorrow.”

“Uh. ya I guess.”

I’m getting a bad feeling about this. My stomach is churning like butter. Then again that may just be the whiskey. She jots down a couple notes on a legal pad and rips out the page.

“Ok I’ll just put it on her desk. Can I help you with anything else?”

“Just let her know I need to talk to her as soon as possible.”

“Will do mister Hanes.” She says using her customer service smile.

She starts to make her way to the Docs office across the hall. So I make my way to the elevator.

“Fuck this thing is always slow.” I say to myself under my breath.

Finally it shows up. Waiting for the door to close after closing the button I hear the phone ring. Jenny is too far to reach it. Might be the doc returning the call. I’m just able to get my fingers in the door before it fully closes. With a skipped step I catch the third ring?

“Doctor Reid’s office.” I answer, trying to sound chipper.

“We are surprised Detective.”

You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. Doesn’t this guy have a day job?

“We thought you would go check in on the Shaw family first. Not Doctor Reid.”

“Well clearly you suck at geography because this one is much closer. So do you just have a yellow pages hanging out and you call me wherever I go?”

“We can’t wait for that quick wit of yours to be dulled.”

“Getting sick of me already? Don’t tell me you're calling it quits.”

“That would be no fun. We simply look forward to breaking you down piece by piece.”

“And I’m looking forward to putting a bullet in your head. Why not save the time and tell me where you are?”

“Patiences Detective. We want to savor this.”

“Savor what exactly?”

“Watching you scramble like a chicken without its head.”

“That's cute.”

“This game hasn’t been all that fair up until this point. So we bought you a little time.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You will see soon.”

The line goes dead.

This asshole never has the decency to say goodbye. So he seems to always know where I am. I wonder if there’s ever any time he doesn’t track me. If I can do that, maybe I can start getting on his trail.This guy really is good. I don’t even have the chance to make a move before he’s nipping at my heels. There’s got to be something I’m missing. I feel like I’m up against omnipotence. It’s suffocating. But human or demon, he’s got to have a weakness. I just wish I knew a damn thing about him.

Finally make my way to forensics. Ashe is waiting patiently by the door.

“Been waiting long?”I ask sarcastically.

“No longer than usual.” She answers, opening the door.

“Alright let’s get this over with.” I say shrugging my shoulders forward before making my way into the darkened hallway.

“Hey Hanes… Can I take the lead on this one?” She asks in a coy tone right at the end of the hallway.

“I guess so. Why?” I answered.

“Well… not to complain but you’ve been kind of taking over the last little while and I’d still like to get some practice.”

“Uh… ya, sure thing Kid.”

Looks like someone is back to her keen self again.

“Um…hello. I’m detective Ashe and I’m here to see a body.” She announces to an emptied room with chatter rustling in the back room.

“Good but you should try hitting the buzzer so you can say that to someone who is here.” I say to rile her up.

“Don’t you ever get tired of being funny?” She answered with a snarky lip.

“You know, you’re starting to sound a lot like that secret admirer of mine.”

“That’s enough out of you old man.” She spats out aggressively hitting the buzzer.

Some young guy comes out from the back a few seconds later wearing a squeaky clean lab coat and glass you could light a fire with.

“Hello sir, I’m here to see the case, Foxtrot Alpha Nine Three Zero Five.”

The guy goes through a tossed pile of folders just at the edge of the counter.

“Let’s see. Oh the Barton case?”

“Not sure, didn’t get a name.” I blurt out.

Ashe takes a quick hack at my shin with the ax that is her shoes.

“My bad.” I whisper under my breath.

“I believe that’s the one.” She says fainting authority.

We get taken a couple rooms back. The deeping into the building you get, the more the frigid air crawls up your spine. I’ve never been a big fan of these places. The idea of someone digging around in a dead guy isn’t really something I’d like to relive. We finally arrive at a bright operating room. Just like you’d expect in those movies where the doctor does those big open heart surgeries. The only difference is there’s no question as to if the guy’s gonna make it. First thing I notice is some pale body with his chest flailed open. So much for keeping their dignity. I can see the kid is trying to hide her discomfort.

“So… What do you have for us?” She asks with a slight shake in her breath.

“Let's see…” he says looking through his charts. “The boy is named Ben Barton, 17 years old, dead approximately 48 to 72 hours ago, killed by airway asphyxiation and has a basal skull fracture, a hairline fracture to the C3 and C4 vertebrae and a missing left ring finger which was removed post-mortem.”

Fuck.

“Do we have a mechanism of injury?” Ashe asks scribbling in her notebook.

“Judging by the bruising along the neck, Mr. Barton was strangled to death by a right hand and was pushed hard into a solid object to cause the injury to the back of his head.”

“Did you find anything in his blood? His stool?”

“He found trace amounts of both alcohol and ecstasy in his blood. Had a couple hot dogs that he really should have chewed better. But that’s about it.”

I can see Ashe try to keep it together at the vivid image this guy was giving us. Makes my stomach a little queasy if I’m honest.

“Ok. and what makes you say the finger was taken off post-mortem?”

“There was no bruising around the site of the cut indicating that the person wasn’t bleeding at the time of the amputation.”

She turns to me with her brows firmly pressed against each other.

“Why would someone cut off a particular finger after killing someone? Wouldn’t you want to do it when they are alive if you were torturing someone?”

“Haven’t figured that one out myself. But I have a feeling that question will solve itself.” I answer, trying to keep out of the conversation. “Keep going kid. You’ve got some more questions to ask.”

“Oh yes!” She says darting her body back towards the corpse digger. “Do we have any leads? Like fingerprints?”

The man ruffles deeper into his folder.

“Actually…no. We have nothing.” He says with a strange pep in his step.

“Nothing?” I blurt out.

This time she doesn’t turn. I just feel her cold shoulder radiating on my face.

“What do you mean nothing?”

“I mean. There’s nothing. There isn't a single fingerprint we were able to obtain on the body. It’s almost amazing.”

“Why is that?” She turns to ask me.

“You usually find at least something. A hair, a smudged print. Something.”

“Exactly. Whoever did this. They were extremely thorough. The only DNA we found on the body was his own. Which is almost impossible.”

“Probably lead with that one next time.” I say trying to keep a reasonable tone.

The room has gone glacial at this point. I really need to shut my trap.

“Can we get a copy of the forensics please?” She asks in a pleasant tone. Far out of character for the vibe in the room.

Not a word was spoken between us until we crossed the threshold back to the land of the living. Once in the car she turns to me with a surprisingly stare.

“Thanks Scott.” She says with an eerie smile.

“Sorry kid.”

“Oh don’t worry. I will be sure to tell the captain all about the paperwork you’ve asked me to complete for you. I’m sure he’ll just love that.” She says with a sinister grin.

“I did pretty good.” I contested.

“Looks like I’ll have to be your teacher in manners.”

“I’ve been told that I could use a crash course.” I say looking down at the dash.

We both sit in the moment and look at each other trying to keep our composure before letting out a chuckle.

“ I don’t know what we should do here, Hane's.” she says exasperated.

“Nothing. Not yet. This guy has been ahead of us every step. It’s only expected that he’s got more in store.”

“So what? We play dead?”

“Kinda. You know what makes a good hunter? Patience. As soon as the predator loses their patience they start making mistakes.”

“So we have to patiently wait to be hunted?”

“Not exactly. We have a list. Let’s try and find some kind of connection to all that. But as for the day to day. We wait.”

“How do you know he won’t just kill us in the street like a stray?”

“Because he would’ve done it already. This guy isn’t just after the kill. He wants to make an example. If we don’t play, he has to come to us.”

“Ok.” She says taking a controlled breath.

“Let’s get out of here and start again tomorrow.”

“Ok.” She exhales. “You sure you don’t want to go for a drink?”

“Are you the one trying to kill me?”

She lets out a chuckle and starts to drive off. Tomorrow we start fresh.