“Hey, my girl does love to party. Never met a band she couldn’t dance to.”

“And dance, she did.”

They both laughed, then Will said, “But you didn’t call to talk about Miranda’s happy feet.”

“Actually, I was hoping you could give me a hand with something.”

“This have anything to do with you and Evan looking into Dylan’s death?”

“How’d you know about that?” she asked. “Oh. I almost forgot. The word is that Will Fletcher knows everything. Word is that you have mysterious sources.”

“Not so mysterious. I saw Brendan yesterday. He mentioned it.”

“Evan and I are taking a look at the circumstances surrounding Dylan’s death, but this has nothing to do with that.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’m happy to help, either way.”

“Actually, this has to do with a case Evan is working back in Pennsylvania.”

“Those young girls that have been murdered?”

“If you know that, you probably know that they have three victims that are similar but unrelated.”

“I heard a rumor, but no details. Tell me.”

She did.

“So you’re looking to identify the tattoo.”

“For starters, yes. I can fax you a picture of them.” She reached over and studied the faxed image again.

“When do you need an answer?”

“As soon as you have one.”

“Let me get to work on it and get back to you. I assume if I get a hit, you want all available information?”

“Absolutely.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thanks, Will. Give me your fax number.”

She wrote it down, then programmed the number into the machine next to her desk.

“It’s on its way.”

“I’ll be waiting for it.”

How did anyone ever get anything done without all of this modern technology? she wondered as she fed the picture into the machine.

Well, they got it done, it just took a lot longer.

Evan’s fax fed through the machine and the buzz assured her the operation was completed. If anyone could trace that tattoo, it was Will Fletcher, whose skills were legendary in the Bureau. She had full confidence that if the tattoo had been entered into the system, Will would find it. She mentally moved on to the next task on her list of things to do.

Find Melissa Lowery.

Chris Malone, chief detective, Avon County, was staring out the window, a sheet of paper in his hand, when Evan knocked on the doorframe. Malone turned to look over his shoulder.

“Come on in, Crosby.”

“What’s up?” Evan entered the office and leaned over the back of a leather wing chair.

“Same thing that’s been up. The D.A. has the entire county on his back over this killer who’s running around, snatching the daughters of some of our leading citizens off the street, and we’re all being toasted in the press.”

“Yeah, the parking lot is full of news vans. I had to park down on Fourth Street again this morning.”

“Well, get used to it. None of them are leaving until this is over. Did you see this morning’s paper?”

He walked to his desk and held up the front page of the county’s tabloid. LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT STYMIED. HOW MANY MORE VICTIMS WILL THE KILLER CLAIM?

He turned the page and opened it to the lead story on page three and read the screaming headline. “ ‘Will Your Daughter Be Next?’ ”

Malone tossed the paper onto his desk in disgust.

“And up until this morning, we didn’t have one fucking clue.”

“What happened this morning?” Evan asked.

“This.” Malone handed him the sheet of paper he’d been holding. Evan studied it for a full minute before reacting.

DEAR CHIEF OF DETECTIVES MALONE,

I SAW YOU ON THE NEWS TONIGHT. YOU SAID THAT YOU FOUND THREE MORE VICTIMS OF THIS GUY WHO IS KILLING GIRLS IN AVON COUNTY. WELL, THAT WOULD BE ME. AND I AM TELLING YOU THAT I DID NOT KILL THOSE OTHER GIRLS, THE ONES YOU FOUND IN THE WOODS. THAT IS SOMEONE ELSE’S WORK, IT IS NOT MINE. STOP SAYING I KILLED THEM ALL. I KNOW WHO MY GIRLS WERE AND WHERE I LEFT THEM. THESE OTHER GIRLS, I DON’T KNOW WHO THEY ARE OR WHO KILLED THEM. IT WAS NOT ME.

AND ANOTHER THING. WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO GET A SPECIAL NAME FROM YOU GUYS? YOU KNOW, LIKE THE BOSTON STRANGLER, OR THE GREEN RIVER KILLER. I THINK I HAVE EARNED A SPECIAL NAME. I LIKE THE SCHOOLGIRL SLAYER. I THOUGHT SOMEONE AS SMART AS YOU WOULD THINK UP A NAME. SINCE YOU DID NOT, I HAD TO MAKE UP MY OWN. I THINK IT IS A GOOD ONE. I HOPE YOU LIKE IT. YOU’LL BE USING IT OVER AND OVER. JUST NOT FOR THESE OTHER GIRLS. WHY WOULD I WANT TO KILL A BUNCH OF NAMELESS NOBODIES? HOW COULD YOU BE SO STUPID TO THINK THOSE OTHER GIRLS WOULD INTEREST ME?

SIGNED,

THE SCHOOLGIRL SLAYER

“You think this is legit?” Evan asked.

“What do you think?”

“He seems pretty indignant that we would assume that the other vics were his. Like somehow he’s above them.” Evan read from the letter. “This whole last part, about those other girls being nobodies… he clearly thinks they weren’t worth his time.”

He handed the letter back to Malone. “As if one girl’s life was more important than another’s.”

“He’s certainly implying that.”

“I spoke with Dr. Jenkins a little while ago, right after she finished the autopsy on our last unidentified vic,” Evan told him. “She says the weapon used to kill the schoolgirls is not the same weapon used to kill our as-yet-unidentified girls. She thinks that the physical signs point to a high level of sexual activity on the part of the girls who still haven’t been reported missing, no such activity on the part of the others.”

“So she’s seeing two distinct types of victims, two different killers.”

Evan nodded.

“I also took the liberty to discuss the case with one of the FBI’s profilers, Dr. McCall, and she-”

“The same Dr. McCall who accompanied you to the D.A.’s fund-raiser last month?”

“Ah, yes.” Evan had forgotten that Malone had met Annie at a party to raise money for the district attorney’s reelection campaign. “Right.”

“What was her take on all this?”

“She feels pretty strongly that there are two different killers. She’s working up a report for us.”

Malone pointed to the letter, which was still in Evan’s hand. “Think she’d be able to look at that and give us her thoughts? Any chance we could meet with her? If nothing else, we can tell the press we’ve brought in the FBI.”

“I can ask her. You may have to go through the Bureau, and they’ll probably want to send some of their own agents to work the case.”

“I’ve already resigned myself to bringing them in. It’s a tough call, since there are so many police departments involved. On the one hand, it looks like we’ve got every PD in the county on this, and this guy is still dancing around us. Doesn’t look good, you know what I mean? Looks like we have no confidence in our local people.” Malone reflected on this for a moment, then added, “On the other hand, if we’re being outsmarted at every turn by this guy, and we don’t ask for help, we look like stubborn fools. At this point, I feel we need all the help we can get. I hate to say it, but without a suspect, without any leads-hell, we don’t even know where he’s killing these girls. We’re just finding them where he leaves them.”

“I’ll call Annie and see when she’s available.” Evan couldn’t help but be pleased at the prospect of working with Annie again, even if it was only for a consult. He hadn’t been able to see his way clear from this case to figure out when they could spend time together. The thought of even one night with her was a gift, despite the tragic circumstances.

“One more thing. Jenkins noted that each of the three unidentified victims had three stars tattooed on her left hip.”

Malone’s head snapped up.

“Gang members?”

“Maybe. Maybe a pimp, branding his property.”