Detective Bennett crosses both arms over his barrel chest and fixes his gaze on Detective Mackey. The obviously fake mustache on the young detective's face serves as a distraction. More than once, the older detective nearly bursts into laughter, but he somehow manages to keep it together.

  "Sabrina was a real nice girl," Detective Bennett says. "Despite a lot of the rumors going around. She was an honor roll student, very helpful around the community, and a truly kind and decent person. But even if she hadn't exactly been a sweetheart, no one deserves what happened to that poor young lady. I'll never forget arriving on that scene...The day Ms. Evans found the body. Francine Evans was head librarian of the public library, about four years ago. She was taking her early morning jog and saw what she thought was a homeless person or an accident victim lying in a ditch. It had rained heavily the day before, so the ditch was pretty full of water. Sabrina's body was found floating on the top."

  Detective Bennett pauses and places an open hand over his eyes, drawing it downward in a gesture of disbelief and despair. It is as if he hopes to wipe away the memory he is now being forced to recall.

  "Sabrina was a beautiful young woman. Every young fella in town wanted desperately to date her. We don't have many youngsters in Lich. Quite a few of the older gentlemen desired her too. What that monster left behind in that ditch...Hardly resembled Sabrina at all. Sabrina had beautiful hair. It reached past her butt and she usually wore it in a thick braid down her back. She was proud of her hair. The bastard shaved her from head to toe. And what he did to her...How he violated her. I can't see how anyone could do a thing like that."

  Detective Mackey folds his arms over his own chest and leans against the wall. He steels himself for the answer he doesn't really want but is fated to seek.

  "How exactly was Sabrina violated, Detective Bennett? Was she raped? None of our girls have been. I suspect it's because the murderer possesses an emotional hangup which renders him impotent."

  "He didn't have to rape her!" Detective Bennett grumbles in a deep voice. "He shoved things in her body that ought not to be in a body. He even left some of them in there. One of the items was a...A rock. A blue rock with two squiggly lines on it. Our coroner found it while doing the autopsy. She kept trying to rationalize how it got there. Until she found those other things. Lynn called me in tears. I'll never forget that day. But no, Detective Mackey...There was no DNA and no sign of forcible rape. Only the assault."

  Deputy Newsome steps forward, interrupting the two detectives for the first time. He pulls a small notepad from an inner pocket of his suit jacket. Detective Bennett arches an eyebrow as if impressed.

  "A blue rock with two squiggly lines? Care to draw what that looked like, Detective Bennett? For the sake of evidence."

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  "Sure," Detective Bennett says, taking the notepad from Dave's hand.

  Detective Bennett quickly draws what he remembers and hands the pad back to Dave. Dave hands it off to Detective Mackey, who studies it with marked intensity.

  "This...This is the true sign of Aquarius. The symbol recognized by most astrologers. He's definitely our guy," Mackey says. "Question is...Why did he stop? Why just Sabrina? And why did he move his operation to Castleton?"

  "That I can't tell you, Detective Mackey," Detective Bennett sighs. "You now know pretty much everything I do about this case. The files I faxed over to your department are as thorough as they can get. I left nothing out."

  "On the phone, you said your department found no other signs of mutilation outside of the shaving of the victim's body," Detective Mackey says. "What about Sabrina's burnt, mangled arm? Did you not think a rock...As well as other things...Being shoved inside her orifice was a pretty huge sign of mutilation, Detective Bennett?"

  "I did," Bennett replies, his voice rising. "It was my idea to suppress those details. I wanted to avoid creating copycats. Boys with an axe to grind looking to make a name for themselves by chopping up innocent girls. If the murders continued, I wanted to be sure we nabbed the right guy. But the sick mutherfreaker never killed again. Not in Lich. Eventually, I was pressured to close the investigation. Sabrina's parents wanted closure and the department had no new evidence to speak of. Believe me, Detective Mackey...I know what happened to Sabrina was horrendous. No one would deny that."

  Detective Mackey averts his gaze, staring down at the drawing in his hand. Dave watches James for a brief moment before extending his right hand to Detective Bennett. The older detective takes Dave's hand and firmly shakes it. The ghost of a smile returns to Detective Bennett's lined face.

  "Thanks for speaking with us today, Detective," Deputy Newsome says. "I know it couldn't have been easy for you."

  "Yeah," Bennett agrees with a sigh. "For the last two years, I've put that case behind me. I went to school with Sabrina's mother. Natalie was adamant that Sabrina should stay here in Lich. She never wanted her little baby to leave town. It's just so strange. Sabrina was supposed to be on her way to a concert. But her body ended up back here. No one could make sense of it. Except that the killer knew her. He knew she came from Lich. He brought her home. We never figured out why?"

  "Will you do me a favor, Detective Bennett?" Mackey says.

  "Sure."

  "I need you to discreetly open up the investigation again. I mean...Unofficially. Just a little discreet fact finding. Whatever you manage to dig up could help us wrap up our investigation in Castleton. We can both get our killer."

  "I have no problem with that, Detective," Bennett says. "Like I said, Sabrina didn't deserve what happened to her. I'll help you in any way I can."

  "Thank you, Robert," Mackey says.

  "Don't mention it."

  Deputy Newsome nods in Detective Bennett's direction.

  "Take care of yourself, Sir," Dave says.

  Detective Bennett offers Dave a wistful smile, his eyes low and haunted. A violent shiver courses Dave's spine. This is the look of a cop defeated.