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With a sense of urgency, Morgan snapped on a latex glove, her fingers flexing as it hugged the contours of her hand. She leaned in closer to Annie's body, her breath catching at the sight of the white feather. The room seemed to hum with tension and anticipation as she carefully extracted the delicate plume from the dead woman's mouth. Dropping it into an evidence bag, she was all too aware of the weight of this tiny piece of proof.
"Get this to the lab," she ordered, turning to a nearby forensic tech. "I want a UV analysis done ASAP – in real time if possible." The tech nodded, understanding the gravity of her words, and hurried out of the apartment with the evidence bag clutched tightly in his grip.
Morgan turned to Derik, her gaze sharp and focused, her mind already forming connections and theories. "I think our killer is targeting people with unique features," she said, locking eyes with her partner. "Melissa's distinct red hair, Steven's heterochromia, and now Annie's albinism."
Derik furrowed his brow as he considered her words. "The feathers... they're significant somehow. With each victim, there's a different kind of feather. It's like our killer is building a 'nest' of sorts, collecting rare and unusual individuals."
"Exactly," Morgan agreed, feeling the pieces falling into place. "We need to be looking for someone who specializes in birds or even breeds them. They must have access to these different feathers."
"Right," Derik said, determination setting in. "Let's get to work on a new suspect list. We need to find the connection between these victims and their killer before it's too late."
As they left the crime scene, Morgan's thoughts raced, her heart pounding against her ribcage. The stakes were higher than ever, and she knew she couldn't afford any mistakes. She had to find this deranged collector, this twisted individual who saw humans as nothing more than unique specimens for his perverse collection.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Morgan's fingers flew over her laptop's keyboard, the low hum of the precinct around her fading into the background as she focused on the task at hand. Derik was beside her, doing the same, their shared determination a palpable energy in the air. The fluorescent lights flickered erratically overhead, casting an eerie glow on the room.
The sudden buzzing of Morgan's phone broke through her concentration. She glanced at the screen and saw Marsha's name flash across it. Answering the call, she braced herself for whatever new piece of information was coming her way.
"Hey, Morgan," Marsha's voice crackled through the speaker. "I've got the results from the UV analysis on that feather you sent over."
"Alright, let's hear it," Morgan said, her eyes never leaving the screen as she continued typing.
"Under UV light, the feather glows blue," Marsha explained. "We've identified it as belonging to an albatross."
"An albatross?" Morgan echoed, pausing her research to process this new clue. "What about the feathers found on Steven Kirk's body?"
"Those were from a parrot and an eagle," Marsha replied. "Seems like our killer has access to a wide variety of bird feathers."
"Thanks, Marsha," Morgan said as she hung up the call and turned to face Derik. "We've got another piece of the puzzle. The feather from Annie's crime scene is from an albatross. And the ones from Steven's body were from a parrot and an eagle."
Derik's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "That's quite the collection. Our killer must work with these birds, or maybe even collect them."
Morgan nodded, her mind racing with possibilities. "We need to find out who in the area has access to these kinds of birds – especially someone who might have a connection to our victims."
"Agreed," Derik said, his fingers already tapping away on his keyboard as he started searching for potential leads.
As they delved deeper into their investigation, Morgan couldn't shake the chilling sensation that crept up her spine. Each new detail seemed to draw them closer to the twisted mind of the killer, and she knew it was only a matter of time before they finally came face-to-face with the monster behind these grisly crimes. But would it be soon enough to stop him from claiming another victim?
"Let's start by checking out places that house rare birds," Morgan suggested, her eyes scanning the laptop screen. "Maybe the zoo?"
"Actually," Derik interjected, "the zoo doesn't have an albatross. But they do have a Brazilian parrot – like the red feather found on Melissa."
Morgan nodded thoughtfully. "That's a start, but we still need to find someone who has access to an albatross." Fingers flying across the keyboard, she continued her search. Minutes ticked by as she combed through websites related to exotic birds and avian enthusiasts.
"Here," she said suddenly, pointing to a link. "There's a bird sanctuary about forty minutes from town. They have many exotic birds and call themselves a sanctuary rather than a zoo." She clicked on the link, which brought up the sanctuary's social media page. As she scrolled through the images of colorful birds, her heart skipped a beat when she spotted a photo that appeared to show an albatross.
"Looks like we might have a lead," she told Derik, her eyes locked onto the image.
"Great," he said, leaning in for a closer look. "Let's get over there and see what we can find out."
Morgan couldn't help but feel a sense of urgency as they prepared to investigate the sanctuary. This killer was picking off victims with unique traits, possibly building some sort of twisted nest. Each new piece of information seemed to draw them closer to understanding the mind behind these brutal crimes. And with each passing moment, the likelihood of another death grew greater.
"Derik, we need to cover more ground. You should go to the zoo and interview the employees there, while I visit this bird sanctuary," Morgan suggested, her eyes never leaving the albatross photo on her laptop screen.
"Are you sure we should split up? It might be better if we stick together," Derik countered, a hint of concern in his voice.
Morgan sighed, knowing he had a point, but time wasn't on their side. "This killer won't wait for us to catch up. We need to act fast, or another victim could fall prey to his twisted game," she said with determination. "We can't afford to take our time here."
