Dave polishes off his tuna melt sandwich and grins craftily at Detective Mackey. Detective Mackey is far from amused. The second tuna melt sandwich Dave ordered sits uneaten inside the styrofoam tray it was delivered to him in.

  "What? Not gonna eat that, James?" Dave quips.

  "Nope! Have at it, Dave," Mackey says, lowering his head and going back to his work.

  Expecting a more comedic reaction, Dave sighs heavily. This morose Mackey is no fun. Whatever happened to the prankster whippersnapper who used to intentionally switch their coffee cups, crack wise, and eat all of the jelly donuts? What has happened to Detective James Mackey? Dave leans over to see what Mackey is so fascinated by. His brow crinkles when he spies the heading at the top of the first page.

  "So...What you working on?" Dave asks, as if he doesn't already know.

  "Eh...Nothing much. Just some old reports," Mackey says, refusing to elaborate.

  "Nothing much, my ass!" Dave hisses, gripping the top sheet of the stack of papers in front of Detective Mackey. "Records from the Department of Motor Vehicles? Lich, Montana. This particular record is from three years ago. Okay. Weird. Hmmm. Now...I wonder why you would need these records, James? What business could you possibly have in Lich, Montana? Hmmm, Detective Mackey?"

  "None of your business, Dave," Mackey says without raising his head. "As far as anyone else is concerned...The Aquarius Murders are over."

  "Well, they are. There hasn't been another murder in almost a month," Dave counters. "What exactly are you hoping to find about Aquarius in those records?"

  "Your faith is so non-existent, Dave. I can learn a lot from old records. The guy didn't fly here, Dave. Well, not like a bird...Anyway. And he has to have a vehicle of some sort. How else is he transporting the victims? Besides, I'm not only researching motor vehicle records. I've been cross-referencing any and all persons who have moved to the area...From Montana...In the last five years. Thankfully, there have only been fifteen transplants from Montana during that period. Maybe, I should have gone back even further. However, Sabrina Engle was killed a little over four years ago. I think it's safe to say the killer was probably still a resident of Lich when he murdered the poor young woman.

  "Sounds logical," Dave agrees.

  "I don't have a whole lot of time to do all the checking, myself. Between my new cases and everything else I have to do. Your arrival is very timely, Deputy Newsome. If you would be so kind as to..."

  "Uh-uh. Oh no. Find you another gopher, James. Like I said, there hasn't been an Aquarius murder in about a month. Just because I can understand why you would want to see those records...Doesn't mean I want to join your little witch hunt. I'm done. And the case is closed."

  Detective Mackey leans forward on his desk, a serious expression tightening his handsome youthful features.

  "If you remember, Dave...This guy went four years before he started up again. He waited four years after killing Sabrina Engle...Before he violated and brutally murdered Bridget Davis. A beautiful young mother. This monster hid in plain sight the whole time. Four freaking years, Dave! While we all went about our daily lives, not realizing there was a violent predator in our midst."

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  Dave leans back in his borrowed chair and scowls at Detective Mackey. Sometimes, the kid can be so bullheaded. Most times, he's simply a pain in the ass.

  "You're not going to let this go, are you?" Dave says, slightly peeved. "You're going to chase this phantom Aquarius of yours until he drives you crazy."

  "He's not my phantom. Okay. Riddle me this, Dave. How does a forty-eight year old homeless war veteran, suffering from PTSD, and with no car...Grab three able-bodied women, kill them, and dispose of their bodies? Especially, in the manner we've witnessed? And more importantly, without being observed?"

  Dave is silent for a brief moment, mauling over what James has said. James takes Dave's silence as a cue to continue.

  "George Yolder is not our man, Dave. He couldn't have done it. He may have attempted to rape Madison, and he may have carved those lines in his chest. But, George did not kill those other girls. He couldn't have. At the time that Sabrina would have been murdered, George was undergoing treatment at a mental institution for a suicide attempt. He spent a total of eleven days in the hospital. A hospital in this state. He was nowhere near Lich, Montana during that time period. And the Lich case is definitely tied to our case. How does a man commit murder in a state...A town...He's never stepped foot in? Answer me that, Dave?"

  Dave's mind scrambles to avoid the truth of Detective Mackey's words. Aquarius is dead. He must be dead. Dave so wants the murdering son of a bitch to be dead. The alternative is too much to bear.

  "He had the symbol, James," Dave weakly answers.

  "Any person could have figured out the sign of Aquarius and did exactly the same thing, Dave. But no one knew about the bobby pins and the stone in Sabrina's privates. No one except you, me, the investigative team in Lich, Montana-- and now Hazel. He used the wrong symbol. The real symbol. Not the one from the stone in Rose Perry's stomach. George did his research. He wanted to die. He knew our team wouldn't ask questions. He knew they'd take him out."

  "Oh man, James. I...I can't believe that. I don't want to believe that. You've...That can't be right," Dave stammers, a deep fear settling into his soul.

  "I've been working all of this out in my spare time, Dave. Which isn't much. The facts just aren't facting in this case. Nothing adds up. Everyone wanted to believe so bad. We may have let a murderer slip right through our grasp. We're going on the assumption that Bridget Davis was a do-over. That the killer started his countdown over at one. What if he didn't? What if Bridget was just a continuation? That means Carmen is number four. And there may soon be a number five. Madison doesn't count. She was George Yolder's ticket out of this world. Via a sniper's bullet. Suicide by cop. Aquarius is alive."

  "No, James. No."

  "Yes. I'm afraid so, buddy. Just a fine example of the level of complacency we both discussed. The kind of complacency, the public feared we'd render to this investigation. We missed up, Dave. Aquarius is still out there."

  "Oh jeesuz!" Dave groans. "So what do you propose we do, James? Open the investigation back up?"

  "Not likely to happen without some seriously compelling new evidence. My theories weren't enough to convince the chief before. I doubt they would be now. Everyone wants to sweep this case away and forget about it. It was the same for the Sabrina Engle case in Lich. People want to be able to sleep at night. I can understand that. But I worry that Aquarius has been back-building...Like a raging storm. He's biding his time. Getting ready for the next attack. Someone tried to take away his spotlight. He's not going to be happy. He's gonna want to show us who's boss."

  "I hope you're wrong, James. I really do," Dave says in a hoarse whisper.

  "We're going to have to be discreet. If Aquarius is still in Castleton...We can't let him know we're onto him. I believe he'll run and go deeper into hiding. Only to reappear somewhere else. We're gonna have to do things unofficially. I'm going to need your help, Dave. The names I cross-referenced...We'll need to do some background checking and a little canvassing. In our spare time, of course. I'd really appreciate the help, buddy!"

  "Okay, then," Dave says. "Give me a few names to follow up on."

  "Thanks, Dave," Detective Mackey replies with a relieved sigh.