Amicia got out of the taxi and looked up to the building that held the Pocatello police department. There were some pillars with a green diagonal top in front of the actual entrance. In addition, the whole place was connected to city hall just next door. She walked in and made her way to the officer manning the front desk. He was an older man with a big white mustache and reading glasses. She steeled herself and projected confidence in her voice.

“Good evening, officer. My name is Special Agent Amanda Hoschner. I’d like to see the captain about an active case.”

Amicia flashed her I.D at the man. He looked at her with a slightly perplexed expression on his face. He scratched his head and said “FBI? Here? Why?” he asked. He pulled his head forward to examine her badge closer. At first, she thought the older man must’ve had bad eyesight. Then she read his expression. He was giving a silent nod to himself as if he confirmed something. To her, it seemed like he didn’t have a clue about whether or not this was a real badge. However, who would be brazen enough to walk into a police station pretending to be the FBI?

“That’s something I’ll need to speak to your captain about. If you could get someone to show me a meeting room?” Amicia said, putting her badge back in her pocket.

“A meeting room of course right. I think we have those. Hey, deputy! Come on out here. I need your help with something.” the officer said. A door opened up from behind him. A woman in her early twenties walked out with a coffee mug in her hand. She wore a scowl on her face.

“Goddamnit Dave, I’m not helping you with your tinder profile again. I have real work to do, oh!”

She stopped at the sight of Amicia. The deputy seemed embarrassed to be seen yelling at her colleague. Meanwhile the officer at the desk had a goofy grin on his face. She glared at the officer and tilted her head towards Amicia.

“Deputy Fellows, this is Special Agent Amanda Hoschner from the FBI. She’s here to speak to the captain about a case. Could you please escort her to conference room B? Would you like any coffee Agent Hoschner? I’m sure the deputy would be happy to oblige.” Dave said, taunting the young deputy.

“Actually that would be great. I’m still feeling jet lagged from the flight and the meeting with your captain could take a while.”

“Please follow me, agent Hoschner.” Deputy Fellows said. She ushered Amicia into a room up 2 flights of stairs. She left Amicia in the room, promising to be back soon with a fresh cup of coffee. The room was sparse with just a long oval table coupled with a few chairs. Amicia sat down, rubbing her eyebrows. She waited perhaps half an hour when the door clicked open.

A gentleman in his fifties came in. He wore the insignia of a captain on his collar. He stood at around 5”7, shorter than Amicia’s 5”10. He was slightly overweight, but still somewhat muscular. He had the look of a pitbull. Following him in was Deputy Fellows, she set a cup of steaming coffee on the table in front of Amicia.

The man sat down at the head of the table. The deputy took a standing position next to Amicia. They had surrounded her. Maybe they thought it would take her off her game. Maybe they were just used to doing this to everyone. They made it look natural, but Amicia was sure this was a practiced movement. The man spoke then.

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“Special Agent Walker. I was awfully surprised to hear the FBI was knocking on my door. The name’s Captain Scott Fellows.” he said. The same last name as the deputy here. A Coincidence? She doubted it.

“What can we at the Pocatello Police Department do for you?” the captain said with an intensity in his cadence. The question didn’t seem welcoming. It was almost like he was daring her to ask for something.

“Captain Fellows. I’m here from the Behavioral Analysis Unit.” Amicia started. As she finished her statement, Captain Fellows shot up from his chair. His eyes moved towards his deputy. He hid it well but there was a hint of anxiety on his face.

“Behavioral Analysis Unit? Isn’t that like for serial killers? We don’t have any serial killers here. This is Pocatello, not New York.” Deputy Fellows said from Amicia’s right side.

Amicia turned to address the young woman. “What you have, deputy, is the body of at least 4 people. All dead in the same manner. All of whom have markings on their bodies. 3 makes a pattern. 3 marked bodies sparks our interest, but 4 has our attention. I also know for a fact that there are more bodies that are still being processed.” Amicia stated. The deputy seemed genuinely surprised at her words. It seemed the young woman didn’t know about the other bodies. The captain, however, turned stoney at Amicia’s words.

“Dad? What other bodies is she talking about? Did they find more in the park?” the deputy asked. Her eyes were wide. It seemed that the captain didn’t like to keep her well informed. The captain stood up from his desk. His face was flushed. He walked next to his daughter. He placed his hands on her shoulders.

“Stevie sweetie, please give me and the agent here a moment alone.” the captain said. His daughter’s face turned into a suspicious frown. She left as he requested, glaring at her father the entire way out. The door closed behind her with a loud slam.

Amicia turned in her chair to face the captain. It seemed like he was the one off his game now. “Father and daughter huh? Must run in the blood.”

“She’s wanted to be captain ever since she was a kid. Before I was even captain. I was just a beat cop when she asked for a captain's hat for her Halloween costume.” the man said. He sat back down, pulling his hand over his face.

“How did you know about the other bodies agent?” he asked. Amicia stirred the coffee cup in front of her. She took a slight sip. It was bitter and acidic. Exactly what she expected in a police station. She let the warmth of the drink settle in her stomach before answering.

“The FBI likes to keep apprised of potential serial killers. I need you to level with me, captain. I understand why you haven’t released news of more bodies to the general public. Cases like these always stir up paranoia. What I don’t understand is why your own deputy doesn’t know.” Amicia said. The captain looked up at her with defeated eyes.

“One of the bodies was someone Stevie knew. An ex-boyfriend of hers. They had a fight before she broke it off. He texted her that he needed some space. One day he just left and didn’t come back. It’s not that strange, you know. The young kids moving onto bigger and better places, trying their luck in someplace bigger than Idaho. Sometimes they come back-”

“- and sometimes they never left at all.” Amicia finished for him. The captain nodded glumly at her words. “That still doesn’t explain why you hid it from her. Doesn’t she deserve to know?”

“I couldn’t let Stevie find out. She wouldn’t let it go. I think she really did love that boy. They had their struggles, trying to make it work. They always got back together in the end. I can’t let her go after someone like this. The amount of bodies. All those people are dead and none of us even had a hint. Just, It-just.” Captain Fellows said, his voice getting hoarse. Amicia stood up from her chair. She put a hand on his shivering arm. She gave him a soft squeeze, reassuring him.

“How many bodies, captain. How many did you find in the waters?” Amicia asked.

In a hushed shaky whisper, the captain told her “17. We found 17 more bodies.”