Lich, Montana

  Needlemeyer Hotel, Bed and Breakfast

  Room 43

  Dave sighs heavily and turns over on his back. He glances up at the clock on the nightstand. Five in the morning. Time to get moving. He and Detective Mackey have a plane to catch. Climbing from the bed, Dave yanks a fluffy white hotel robe from the chair where he threw it only an hour ago.

  Has it really been an hour since he and Hazel said their passionate goodbyes? He and James will be arriving in Castleton at nearly the same time that Hazel will be boarding her own flight. They really should have considered updating their travel arrangements. Then, they could've spent even more time together. But no, the case must come first. He and James have been away from Castleton too long already.

  As if on cue, there is a knock on Dave's hotel room door. The disgruntled deputy throws on his fluffy robe and moves slowly toward the door. Detective Mackey's voice greets Dave from the other side.

  "You awake, old buddy? You'd better be. I heard you sneak in this morning, you sly devil. Open the damn door! We need to talk. It's important."

  Dave groans and unlocks the room door. Detective Mackey enters the room fully dressed and ready to go. He looks Dave over from head to toe and grins.

  "Ooo...Davey, Davey! What have you done?" Mackey teases.

  "Shut up, James! You little pervert. I did what any man is capable of doing. If he wants to. Now, bug off!" Newsome barks.

  "Such confidence," James gloats. "You must have had a very adventurous night, Davey Wavey!"

  "Ergh! You are...My god, James! What are you sixteen? What the hell is wrong with you? You are in serious need of a woman. I know you said, it's been a long time. And I understand your loss. I truly do. But, maybe you're out of practice about what constitutes odd behavior surrounding the opposite sex. Do you wanna go to a club one night? I'm open to the idea anytime. There's plenty of women to choose from, if you're bored. I'm not a page out of some racy romance novel, James. I just wanna love who I love and...Yeah. Just cut it out, okay? It's creepy!"

  Detective Mackey's eyes narrow and his lips turn up in a wolfish grin. He sighs heavily.

  "Okay. If you insist, Dave. I'll stop pestering you about sneaking around with your boss' daughter. I'm only doing it to get on your nerves and encourage you to come clean. Preferably, before her daddy shoots your nuts off."

  Deputy Newsome swallows down the lump in his throat and averts his gaze from Detective Mackey's face.

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  "Turns out, I can't do that. Not yet, anyway. Cause her father is liable to shoot my nuts off either way," Dave confesses.

  "Why's that?" James says with a crafty smile.

  "More than thirty years ago...Hazel's mother and I were a thing. Hazel informed me last night...That her father isn't too happy about that juicy detail. Seems Bernadette came clean on her deathbed. If I mention my intentions for Sheriff Northrop's precious daughter...It'll be my deathbed too."

  Mackey's grin widens and he slaps a hand against his right thigh. Dave peers sidelong at his detective partner, anger building up in his chest.

  "Are you sure you're not Hazel's father, then? I mean, are you really sure, Dave?"

  "Yes, I'm sure!" Dave growls. "Bernadette married Jeffrey Northrop almost two years after we stopped seeing each other. She was five months pregnant with Hazel's sister when they eloped. Besides, Hazel even looks like Jeffrey. She doesn't look anything like me. It's impossible anyway."

  "Oh, Dave! I knew you were a little...Over indulgent. But, how does a man screw a mother and her daughter? Was it some odd attraction? A secret deathwish perhaps? I am thoroughly perplexed."

  "You know what, James? You said, you had some important information! Spill it or get the hell out of my hotel room! I've got to shower before we go."

  Detective Mackey's face straightens and he exhales loudly. He drops his head, wishing the words he has to say were merely a joke and not a reality.

  "It's her, Dave. It's Carmen. She's the Aquarius Killer's third victim. No tattoo, but she still had her wisdom teeth. A partial dental record and DNA confirmed the Jane Doe is in fact Miss Asbury."

  Dave is speechless as Detective Mackey crosses to the window and leans against the wooden sill. The sun will be coming up soon. Yet, the darkness poking at the detective's heart continues to grow. What have they really learned by coming to Lich? Except that they may now have a fourth victim? The truly first victim of a homicidal nutjob. A murderer who has been killing, and hiding in plain sight, for many years.

  "I know I can be a pain, Dave! I've been told that before. But making light of things which deeply bother me...Is how I make it through this job. Ever since I was a kid, I always wanted to be a detective. I watched every movie and episode of Sherlock Holmes. I studiously read every story about the world's greatest detective. I stayed up at night watching reruns of Dragnet and other cop classics. I wanted to be those cops. I wanted to make a difference."

  James turns to Dave and his brow is deeply creased. Dave stares back at James, a concerned expression on his face. Something about the detective's stern countenance tickles the back of Dave's brain. It doesn't help that Mackey's face is partially obscured by shadow.

  "But then, I grew up," James continues. "I learned that no matter how many bad guys you put in the clink...Ten more will rise to take their place. Because the world is a bad place, Dave. The batteries it runs on are made with the blood and bones of the innocent. You and me...We can only do so much against so much evil. And this Aquarius piece of crap...Is one of the most evil things I have come across in my fifteen years as a cop. He scares me, Dave. Because he isn't afraid. He's getting bolder because he doesn't believe we can stop him. Carmen...What he did to her body. The way he put her on display like that. I hate the mutherfugger. I hate him. I want him deader than a doorknob. I want to be the one to kill him. And that scares me too!"

  "Are you okay, James?" Dave questions, casual concern turning into genuine worry for his cop companion.

  "I will be...When Aquarius is dead!" Detective Mackey says in a deep voice.

  Dave grimaces, watching the uncharacteristic transformation which has come over the young detective.