Merrville County

  Later Wednesday Evening

  Fell's Springs

  The Phillips Farm

  "Excuse. Excuse me," Deputy Newsome utters.

  The disbelieving deputy and Detective Mackey make their way past a throng of milling police officers from both Fell's Springs and Castleton. The double doors of the dilapidated red barn gape open like an enormous and ravenous mouth. The darkness within foreboding and dreadful.

  "Oh...Jeezus, Mackey," Dave whispers. "He took two victims this time. How in the hell does a man carry off two women without being noticed?! Explain that crap to me. How the hell did he do it?"

  "He may not have taken them both at the same time," Mackey says, stepping under the police tape blocking the barn's entrance. "This place is so far out of the way, it's possible the killer made more than one trip without being seen."

  "This way, detectives. The storm cellar is in the back," says a woman officer from the Fell's Springs Police Department, motioning with her left hand.

  Dave and Mackey follow the officer until they reach an opening in the barn floor. The officer hands Detective Mackey her long black flashlight.

  "It's not a pretty sight, Sir. What he did to those young women...It's not right."

  Dave's stomach drops at the officer's candid admission. Whatever is through those thin metal doors can't be good. When is it ever though?

  Detective Mackey descends into the storm cellar first. As such, he is the first one to catch sight of the vulgar scene. The detective puts a hand to his mouth. Deputy Newsome catches sight of what James has already observed, and his eyes grow wide with terror and disgust.

  "What the fug?"

  Two female bodies are positioned several feet away. One woman reclines backward, her arms braced behind her, palms glued to the metal floor. The right hand of her female companion is adhered to her left breast. The second woman's other hand is stuck fast to the nape of the reclining woman's neck. Both women are locked in what could be called their final grotesque kiss.

  Detective Mackey steps closer, pushing aside the feeling of despair growing in his heart. Something about the women's embrace is all wrong. Other than the fact that they are very much dead. The reclining woman's right eye is partially open. While her partner's eyes are glued completely shut. The reclining woman was most likely alive for most of the torture. Not to mention, the two women look remarkably similar. Too similar.

  "Oh my god, Dave! Dave these women are twins."

  "What?!" Dave says, inching closer.

  "These women are twins! I'd argue...Identical twins."

  "How can you tell that with their faces so...Oh jeez!"

  Dave takes a single step back, his brow creasing. The large detective shakes his head, lips drawn firmly together. Detective Mackey angles his head and narrows his eyes before speaking.

  "It's everything, Dave. Look at them! I mean really look at them. Even with the damage to their faces...You can see it if you really look. Bone structure, the shape of their brow ridges, the shape of their hands, their fingers, the color of their lips, skin pigmentation...Including the color of their breasts. Even their cuticles have the same shape. And their ankles...There's a patch of skin missing from the left ankle of one and the right ankle of the other. They had matching tattoos. They're twins, Dave. Or, they were."

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  "But, if they're twins...Why did the killer arrange them like a couple of sexy vixens in an adult film? What the hell does it mean?" Dave exclaims.

  "You don't get it. They're not having sex, Dave. They're fused together. It's like he's trying to make them one person. Fixing what he perceives as nature's supreme mistake. It's pretty obvious, when you consider what we know about this psycho. He thrives on subverting nature. Or the laws therein. He views himself as an authority higher than nature. Really look at it..."

  "No!" Dave growls. "I don't want to look at it, James. Not anymore. This is a case for the Fell's Springs police. I can't! I'm through."

  "What?" Detective Mackey says, eyes taking in the stern set of Deputy Newsome's face. "What do you mean--"

  "I can't stand this anymore, James. If what you've theorized is correct...This piece of crap is gonna keep killing girls until he meets his quota. And now...He's moved outside of Castleton. What's next, a trio of bodies? A damn cheerleading pyramid made of young women? I can't look at another dead girl, Mack. I'm through. I was about two years from retiring. I can't do this anymore. No. I just...No."

  "Dave?!"

  "No, Mack! I'm through. No more dead girls. I can't do it!"

  Deputy Newsome throws up his hands and prepares to charge up the cellar steps. Detective Mackey moves expertly to cut the big man off. Mackey's eyes are flashing with righteous anger. He blocks Dave's path with his body, glaring at his investigative partner.

  "You think those girls wanted to be dead, Dave? You think they wanted this? Just so they could have the pleasure of bruising your fragile ego?"

  "Get out of my way, James. I'm through. I can't do this!"

  "You don't have a damn choice, Dave!"

  "There's always a choice. It's like you said before we went to Lich...I no longer believe I can perform my duties to the best of my ability. And for that...I choose to resign. I'm done."

  "You're done?!" Mackey challenges.

  "Yes. I'm done!"

  "You're a coward, Dave!"

  "How dare you call me a coward...You weird son of a bitch! I've seen my fair share of dead bodies, Mackey. I've seen a housewife who was bludgeoned to death with her husband's favorite Mickey Mantle baseball bat. I've seen the result of suicide pacts, where you couldn't tell a participant's head from a bowl of dark red gelatin. I've seen entire families laid out in their homes. I'm no coward. But this...This is getting too much for me. I can't do it anymore."

  "So...You're just gonna walk away? Gonna give up?"

  "If you wanna call it that? I'm no good to the case if I can't function as needed, Mack. It's best I let someone else take over. I owe it to those girls."

  "No, you owe it to them not to quit. Quitting is what got us two more dead girls. Quitting was closing the case after that prick Montel ordered George Yolder shot...Without making sure he was the true Aquarius. And we all just went along with it. We betrayed these girls. And now, they're dead. Don't do that again, Dave. Or I promise you...You'll regret the next murder even more."

  "You don't understand. I can't do this anymore. I just can't. The walls I put up. They're coming down, Mack. Every time I view one of these fugged up crime scenes...The walls crumble some more. I can't afford for those walls to come down, James. They're the only thing keeping me sane. I have to resign. While I still have my mental faculties intact."

  "Like hell. We don't have that luxury, Dave. There isn't time. These girls represent the Aquarius Killer's fourth and fifth victims. Maybe, his sixth. If we count Sabrina Engle. Aquarius is getting bolder. Like you said, two girls at once takes a lot of stealth and skill. We have to keep it going, Dave. We have to keep up the momentum and the pressure. We can't afford to let up. I need you, Dave. I need your knowledge and expertise. So far, you've helped keep me grounded. Now, for the sake of any future victims...Let me help you."

  Dave peers over one shoulder. The sight of the two sisters, fashioned as if performing an incestuous orgy, causes the deputy's stomach to clench. The woman officer who handed James the flashlight peeks into the cellar and begins descending the steps. Dave watches her with solemn eyes. James grips Dave's left forearm in a strong hand and nods in the female officer's direction.

  "You think she wants to be here, Dave?" Mackey whispers hoarsely. "She's not much older than any of Aquarius' former victims. How do you think she feels? You think she doesn't wish she'd never been born a woman? You think scenes like this don't give a woman like her nightmares? I'm certain they do. But she's here, Dave. And, she's doing her job. If she can be here? So can we. We owe it to the victims. No more victims, Dave. No more. We must see to that."

  "Yeah. Okay, I get it. I'm good.

  "You sure, Dave?" Mackey says, tracking Dave's fleeting expressions with his hawkish gaze.

  "Yeah. Yeah, I'm good!" Dave says.

  "Is everything okay?" The woman officer queries, trying her best not to look at the two bodies resting about twelve feet away.

  "Yeah. Everything's good," Dave reiterates, fabricating a lie to keep from screaming.