Chapter Two

Special Agent Albert Torino eased his car down a meandering lane that lead up to the house provided for him by police chief Lewis McCarthy. Glasgow Creek wasn't a town he'd expected to be swamped with unsolved murders and serial killers. It was a small town with zero crime rates and a population of fifteen hundred people. Such a small number, yet a killer lurked among them.

The Glasgow creek murder cases had caused such a huge media pandemonium that the State District Attorney had to personally request he looked into it under the supervision of the police chief. And thankfully, the offer came at the right time. He was just coming out of a messy divorce with his estranged wife of two years, so the case was a welcome distraction.

He drove past a few smiling pedestrians, but eyed them wearily. Anyone could be the killer, and he'll be damned if a single smile could prove otherwise. The building finally came into view, and he drove into the driveway, but remained seated in the car. Air conditioning blew gently on his face as he checked out the place from outside. It was a bungalow that had just been freshly painted dark blue, with a covered porch made for sitting. He knew he would feel better in his space as opposed to a hotel. It was just the way he worked. The way he cracked cases. To hunt down criminals, one had to think like a criminal. Put yourself in their shoes and predict their actions. He needed quality time alone to do this.

He pushed open the car door, pulled his suitcase and a big gadget box out from the back seat, and took out the house keys. Each one was tagged: front door, back door, master's bedroom, guest bedroom, kitchen, basement. He selected the front-door key and inserted it.

The door came open, and he made his way in, dragging the suitcase behind. He was just about to lock it when a police car pulled up to his driveway. He stepped out again. The engine was turned off and a young officer jogged down to meet him.

"Good day. Special Agent Albert?"

"That's right." Following the procedure, he pulled out his I. D card and flashed it.

"Detective Briggs Larsson. I'm afraid another body just turned up in the woods. I've been sent to get you."

***********

Albert was crouched beside the corpse, inspecting the face bite marks on the victim, assessing the gunshot wounds, and checking for other forms of injury. The young lady was a twenty-six-year-old dancer from a club nearby, identified by her stage name, Lily. Gently, he picked up her limp hands and studied the marks on her wrist too.

Once he was done, he picked up his Polaroid camera and took a couple of pictures before stepping aside, so the coroner could remove the body.

"So, what do you think?" Detective Briggs asked.

"It's a very unusual crime," Albert said, going through the pictures he'd taken. "I'll need to sit down and analyze everything we've got on this case."

"Sure. Let's head back to the station, so I can officially hand over the case file to you."

"Not quite yet." He sighed and looked around the thick woods. "I'm not ready to leave. I need to scour the area for clues or anything that might help with the case."

"Oh," Briggs' face fell. "I don't mean to discourage you, but you won't find anything. It's been like that for the last five murders. Whoever is killing off these girls, leaves his tracks squeaky clean."

"Hmm." Albert mused as they moved around the area. "Have the teeth marks been analyzed?"

"Yes, they have. We believe it belongs to a four-legged beast. Although, the only ones here in Glasgow creek are cats and dogs."

"Highly doubtful that it's either of the two, but I don't completely rule out the possibility. I can tell you for sure, though, that she had a blow to the back of her head."

Briggs rose a dark brow. "You're certain? This never came up in the previous coroner reports."

Albert shrugs. "Well then, I'll have to go through the other bodies to be certain that this is part of his technique, and she wasn't just an exception."

"I'll be glad to assist with everything you'll need."

"Thanks." Albert sent him a warm smile as the two men moved deeper into the wooded area. Much to Briggs' dismay, Albert mapped out the area for more than an hour. His gut kept telling him that something bad had happened here--much worse than the dead girl's ordeal--and he was too late.

Suddenly, he heard hurried footsteps and froze. "Did you hear that?" He asked.

"Hear what?" Briggs stopped in his tracks, casting a cautious glance around their environment.

Albert listened again but heard nothing. He straightened up himself and sighed. "I'm going to hang out here for another thirty minutes or so. You should get back. I'll be fine."

"Are you convinced?" Briggs was skeptical.

He nodded. "I work better alone."

"Okay. I should report back to the station anyway. Just keep to the path, and you won't miss your way." He glanced at his timepiece. "It's quarter past two. This place gets dark too quickly. You shouldn't be here till then."

"Thanks." Albert bid him goodbye and continued the scan of the area. He'd never been wrong. His instincts had been firing up since he stepped foot in here. He wasn't wrong about this. There was something or someone in the area, watching him. He just had to figure out what or who.

He moved forward a bit, and hears water rushing nearby. The river rocks are indigenous to this area, like everything else woodsy and serene in Glasgow creek. He moved to the river and dipped a hand in it. It was clear and warm.

The humming sounds of the forest and the flapping of the leaves on the trees, the river, strangely calmed him. He shut his eyes and that's when he heard footsteps and turned. He reached automatically to the pistol at his side, but his hand froze when he saw her. She wandered slowly toward him, her hair fluttering on the afternoon breeze.

She was naked, undeniably beautiful with wide-set icy blue eyes and a full lower lip. Her breasts were covered with a thick mass of red hair that fell around her and stretched down to her tiny waist and wide hips. She stared into his eyes, having a shocked expression as she continued towards him. It felt like he was locked in a trance-like state with her. He couldn't break eye contact nor could he move till her eyes fluttered shut, her knees buckled, and her body began to collapse.

He moved fast, catching her as she fell.