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"Jesus," Jake muttered, his face pale as he stared down at the grisly sight. "This one's even worse than the others."
"Seems like our killer is escalating," Fiona murmured, her stomach twisting into knots as she took note of the numerous inflamed stings marring the man's flesh.
Officer Jones stepped closer, his eyes scanning the scene before him with a practiced eye.
"We've got the coroner on the way," he said, his voice low and professional. "And we're doing a sweep of the area to see if we can find anything that might lead us to the killer."
Fiona nodded, her gaze still fixed on the body.
"Who is he?" she asked.
"Name's Gary Fogel. Sixty-eight years old."
"Any connections to Tozer or Puglisi?" Jake asked, his brow furrowed.
"Nothing that we've found so far," the officer replied, casting a glance at the lifeless body of Gary Fogel.
Fiona's gaze was drawn back to the victim, her eyes lingering on the swollen stings that marred his face and neck. She shuddered involuntarily, trying to push away the images of the other victims that swam in her mind. Their pain and terror felt almost palpable in the air around her.
"Jake," she murmured, her voice barely audible over the sound of the rain, "his stings... they look even more inflamed than the others."
There was something else at play here, something darker, more sinister. She couldn't shake the feeling that this latest victim was a sign that the killer was growing bolder, escalating their sadistic game.
"Maybe the killer is getting more efficient," she continued, her voice low and cautious. "What if each attack is meant to be worse than the last?"
"Possible," Jake admitted, his eyes narrowing as he considered the implications. "If that's the case, then the next victim... God, we need to find this sick bastard before they strike again."
Fiona couldn’t help but agree with him. Her mind was racked with questions and theories, but no clear path presented itself. She rose to her feet, her eyes scanning the immediate area, looking for anything that might indicate the killer’s movements.
"Let's start combing the area," she said, her voice steady and firm. "We need to find anything that might give us a lead."
Officer Jones nodded, his face grim as he set to work with his team, spreading out across the field to search for any potential clues. Jake and Fiona moved with them, their eyes scanning the ground with a practiced eye.
As they moved further into the field, the morning fog fading away, Fiona felt her anxiety grow. The killer was still out there, somewhere, lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike again.
She couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched, that the killer was taunting them with this gruesome display. No matter the case, this was the second victim in two days--with that timeline, Fiona knew that it was only a matter of time before another victim was taken.
Maybe even tonight.
“We’ll finish combing the area,” Jake said, “but I doubt we’ll find anything. Then we’ll go talk to the witness.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The early morning sun barely pierced the veil of fog that hung over the dreary field, reminding Jake of a graveyard. Dewdrops clung to blades of grass, shimmering like tiny diamonds as Jake and Fiona approached the witness--the man who had apparently found the body earlier. He was talking to another officer. He had sweat glistening on his forehead and stood shivering in his running clothes, his breaths coming out in ragged gasps.
Jake nodded at the officer. "We can take it from here."
The officer tipped his hat and left Jake with the victim, who stared at him and Fiona with wide eyes.
"Can you tell us what happened?" Jake asked, his voice gentle but firm. He knew from experience that witnesses were often more fragile than they appeared.
"I was just going for a run," the young man stammered, his eyes darting between Jake and Fiona. "I saw... I saw the body. An old man, lying there, covered in bees."
Jake clenched his jaw, imagining the horrific sight. The words "stung to death" echoed in his mind, an ominous drumbeat that quickened his pulse. He glanced at Fiona, who was carefully studying the runner's face, her own expression unreadable.
"Did you see anything else?" Jake pressed, trying to keep the urgency out of his voice. "Anything that might help us figure out what happened here?"
The runner hesitated, his gaze shifting nervously around the desolate landscape. "There was a car," he finally said, his voice barely above a whisper. "A black sedan with tinted windows. It seemed... sketchy, you know? But I didn't get a good look at the plates or anything. At first, I thought it was nothing, but then I saw the man... do you think it could be connected?"
