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Chapter 1
Boston, MA. Tuesday May 15, 2018
DETECTIVE GARYMitchell took one look at the naked dead man lying facedown on the bed and his day officially went to shit.
Aw Christ, not another one.
The bedroom was an eerie carbon copy of the previous crime scenes. A small bottle sat on the nightstand, and Gary didn’t need to see the label to know it contained GHB. On the bed beside the body were a tangle of red rope and a pair of handcuffs. He glanced at the rug, and sure enough, there was the soiled condom. Gary returned his attention to the deceased, noting the marks on the wrists and ankles, just like the previous victims.
This one struggled too. At least until the drugs kicked in. It was all supposition until the autopsy, but Gary saw no reason why the killer would change his MO. It hadn’t gotten him caught so far, right? Why change a winning formula? The thought made Gary’s blood run cold.
But what made his heart sink was the bloodstain on the corner of the white sheet that covered the guy’s lower back.
“We’ve already taken photos of the scene.” Detective Riley Watson picked up the condom with his nitrile-covered hand and dropped it into an evidence bag, then sealed it. He scowled. “God, I wanna catch this bastard.” He scribbled on the label, noting the time.
Gary didn’t respond. There was no need. They all wanted that.
Detective Lewis Stevens stood next to Del Maddox, the medical examiner. Lewis stared at the sheet, then raised his gaze to meet Gary’s. “Wonder what it’s gonna be this time?”
“Maybe he’s obliged us by signing his handiwork,” Del muttered. He pulled back the sheet with care and sighed. “Here we go again.”
A letterXwas carved into the victim’s lower back.
“Done before death occurred, like the others?” Gary inquired. The amount of blood pointed to that conclusion.
Del nodded. “Looks like he used the same implement too.”
Lewis grimaced. “Jesus. I hoped we’d seen the last of this guy.”
“You and me both.” Riley peered at him. “I bet it’s days like this that make you sorry you ever left Vice. Chelmsford PD get a lot of these kinda cases?”
Lewis shook his head. “Never saw anything like this.”
“Give it time,” Del observed. “You’ve only been in Homicide for what, four years? Wait till you’ve been at it for as long as I have.” He gazed at the deceased, and Gary noted the compassionate glance. “He could be my age.”
“Can we save the chat for later and concentrate on doing our jobs?” Gary’s stomach roiled, and a rock had taken up residence in his chest.
Lewis was silent, but his scowl said plenty. Riley gave a respectful nod and withdrew to talk to the uniform boys.
Del glanced at the nightstand. “Thoughtful of the killer to leave the drug. Now I know what to look for in the tox screen. Except if he’s anything like the previous victims, there’ll be a whole cocktail of drugs inside him.” He addressed Gary. “How many of these guys do we have so far?”
“He’s number five.” Another one to add to the board.Any more and we’ll need another board.Gary couldn’t suppress his shiver.
Del pursed his lips. “So, five letters now. Anyone succeeded in making a word from the previous four?”
“None that make any sense.”
“The killer’s probably a Scrabble player with a list of obscure words.” Both Gary and Lewis gaped at him. Del pushed out another sigh. “Sorry, guys. I’m as gutted as you are, but humor is my default when I don’t want to think about a maniac being out there.” He gestured to the body. “Help me roll him so I can take a look at the front.”
The three men gently rolled the body with a care that was almost reverential. The man’s wide staring eyes threatened to unravel Gary’s self-control, and he had to force himself to shut off his emotions and look at the body objectively. The victim was maybe in his mid to late forties, with a salt-and-pepper beard and dark brown hair tinged with silver at the temples. A handsome man who’d clearly kept himself in good shape.
I hope you didn’t suffer.Except Gary knew it was a false hope. The knowledge that he’d been cut before death and the bruising on the guy’s wrists and ankles were grim indicators to the contrary.
Del gestured to his assistants who were standing to one side, maintaining a respectful silence. “Okay, boys.” They lifted the corpse and placed it in an open body bag. Gary watched as they zipped it closed, obliterating his view of that staring face. They hoisted the bag onto a stretcher before carrying it out of the apartment. Riley bagged up the cuffs, rope, and bottle and handed them to one of the assistants, along with the bag containing the condom, to accompany the body to the morgue.
Del stripped off his gloves. “I’ll get onto this one first thing tomorrow morning.” He peered at Gary. “I’ll see you there?”
Gary nodded. He knew Lewis wouldn’t attend. He’d barfed at his first autopsy, and that was the last time he’d visited the morgue.
