“I honestly think it will do you some good. Quell the scuttlebutt.”

She blew out a breath and thought for a few minutes. Dan was right, she did need to get the city’s confidence back. Badges and honors were all well and good, but in the long run, the only thing that mattered was the close. Though the people of Nashville were a forgiving bunch, the escapades over the past year had tarnished her spotless reputation, and in turn the reputation of Metro. They needed to know that she was back, one hundred percent back, solid and able to solve this case. Because eight teenagers in one night was going to rock Nashville unlike any case it had previously faced.

Too bad Baldwin had to leave town. She’d worked with his team on other cases and knew that, despite their differences in the past, the chief of police liked having the FBI involved in major crimes. He felt it engendered confidence from the masses. No matter what, when people heard those magic letters, F-B-l, they felt safer. Well, most people.

She heard her mother’s voice in her head. Beggars can’t be choosers. No kidding, Mother.

She ran it through her head for a minute. They could use the extra footage of the scene. She had a feeling that their killer was watching, reveling.

“Okay, I’ll do it. When?”

“We’re live in fifteen minutes.”

She put her hand on his arm to stop him. “Hey, Dan? Thanks.”

He just nodded and left her.

She scooted inside and found Lincoln making notes on his netbook.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey back,” Lincoln replied. “Just talked to McKenzie. He’s got the party frozen. Says there’s some parents frothing at the mouth to get their kids home under their own roofs. When you’re done here he’s ready for you to go over there and chat with the kids.”

“You have the video covered?”

“Yes. I’m going to head back to the CJC, upload everything we have and start searching for squirrels.”

“Good. Dan wants me to do the presser, so wait for that footage. Did you two cook this little plan up?”

“Nope. It was his idea. But he did ask if you’d shoot him on the spot if he suggested it. I told him you weren’t quite that trigger-happy.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, and he gave her a small smile.

“I need to get prepped. Do we have next-of-kin notifications on all the victims?”

“All but one. Here’s your information.” Lincoln handed her a sheaf of papers. It was hard to believe that only four hours had passed since they’d arrived at the first scene. It felt like days.

“Got pics from the rest of the scenes?”

He handed her some Polaroids and his notebook, where he’d accurately sketched the layout of each tableau.

‘This is perfect, thanks. Oh, a little something to tuck into the back of your mind-the crime scene I just came from, Brandon Scott? You’ll see the level of violence was ten times the rest of the victims. I think he may have been the target, and the rest of the victims were just to cover the killer’s tracks. You need to get as much information on this kid as humanly possible, and fast. He may be the best link we have to our killer.”

“Really? Then maybe the suspect is still close by.”

“I get that feeling, don’t you? This is all so damn… showy.”

“Yes, it is. And coordinated. Not a single person we’ve interviewed saw anything out of the ordinary. No bogeymen creeping in the backyards, nothing. The killer fits into the neighborhood.” Taylor flipped the page on Lincoln’s notes. He was so thorough, she felt like she’d just relived the last few hours.

“On our suspect? I’m going to hazard a guess that we’re looking for a Caucasian male between fifteen and twenty five.”

“Fifteen., .you think a kid could be responsible for this level of destruction?”

“Anything’s possible. The victimology is the first clue- you know that. But I wouldn’t recommend saying that out loud. I think we need to roust some of the school administrators and see if anyone has been making threats first.”

“I’ll keep all options on the table.”

“Okay, then.” She took Lincoln’s notes and stepped into the Kings’ kitchen to gather her thoughts. Her mind was abuzz with possibilities.

Was Brandon Scott the intended victim and the rest of the murders collateral damage? That was a horrid thought, but something that she certainly needed to be aware of. It was entirely possible that this wasn’t the work of an adult. She knew they had a monster on their hands, but if that monster turned out to be a kid himself, they had bigger problems.

Nine

Nashville

10:00 p.m.

Taylor stood in front of the whirring cameras, Dan Franklin next to her. She was speaking into forced light, and couldn’t see much, just the outlines of bodies, a journalistic nightmare of the living dead. She’d been hoping that she’d be able to look into the crowd, recognize the killer and end this charade, but that wasn’t going to happen.

She held up a hand to silence them and began.

“I’m sorry to see you under these circumstances. Tonight we’ve been struck by a tragedy, the magnitude of which we’re only just beginning to understand. We’ve lost seven of our children. An eighth is fighting for her life at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, We have the very best men and women at Metro, and they are working around the clock to assure two things-one, that we catch the suspect who committed these crimes, and two, that you and your children are safe.

“I won’t be releasing the names of the victims at this moment because not all next of kin have been notified. We’re doing all we can to make that happen, and as soon as we do Dan Franklin will have the list for you. I’d anticipate that happening overnight. I can confirm that three males and five females were targeted in this attack.

“We are confident we will be able to bring this suspect to justice very soon. We ask that anyone who has information about these crimes come forward. A tip line is available at 888-555-9880 and will be manned twenty-four hours a day. You can remain anonymous if you wish. We do ask that you call the tip line instead of Crime Stoppers so we can keep all information relevant to these cases in one place.”

She steeled herself, then said, “I’ll take questions now.”

There was a cacophony of voices. She picked one she recognized, Cindy Carter from FOX, and focused on it. Cindy asked, “Are there any leads?”

The crowd quieted down.

“The question was, do we have any leads. Rest assured that we are doing everything possible to capture the suspect, and are working these crimes as a single event. We believe the same person is responsible for all of the murders this afternoon. But, as I’m sure you’re aware, I’m not in a position to discuss anything that relates to the ongoing investigation.”

There were groans, then the typical repositioning of questions, all of which Taylor was forced to deflect. That was how the game was played-feed a little bit of information to the reporters, let them ask their questions with the knowledge that they wouldn’t be getting an answer on the air. Off camera, each would sidle up to Taylor, or Dan, or any of the other officers and get the inside scoop. Most of Nashville’s reporters had a great tradition of being told the truth, because the police trusted that they wouldn’t put that truth directly onto the air and ruin their cases.