CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

The hours slipped by at an alarming pace. Morning had turned to afternoon and afternoon was on its way out while Ella still stared at the name Cassius Auctor on her whiteboard. Across from her, Luca was still scouring Carter's YouTube videos.

‘Down to the last ten videos,' he said. ‘No sign of the mask yet.'

Ella was lost in her scribblings on her board. Cassius Auctor. Did it mean anything? Did it conceal his real identity somehow? Or was it just some dime-store alias he'd cooked up to sound spooky?

Cassius, from Cassus. A void. Auctor, meaning author. Pretentious as hell, that was for sure. Yet the more she chewed it, the less it tasted like a clue. Author, because he was writing his own story? Only he was using blood instead of ink?

But then there was the writing group lead, if it was indeed a lead at all. Like nearly everything in the past two days, it could just be another coincidence.

Just then, the office door crashed open. Redmond filled the frame, ruddy-faced and breathless, clutching the doorjamb like it was his only friend. ‘They're here. Every warm body I could wrangle, just like you said.'

Ella blinked at him, momentarily thrown. Her head was still spinning dark fancies of Auctor and his diseased imaginings. ‘What? Who?'

‘The cavalry, Dark. The troops we need to make this thing sing.' Redmond straightened, tugging his uniform into crisp lines. A lawman going to war. ‘They're waiting for you. Ready to get their marching orders straight from the General's mouth.'

The General. Now there was an image. Ella Dark, scourge of Yamhill. Leading her ragtag platoon into the jaws of war. It would be funny if it didn't make her want to puke up her spleen.

Ella rolled her shoulders and readied herself. ‘You coming, Hawkins?'

Luca spun on his chair. The poor guy's eyes had gone square. ‘You want me?'

‘Yeah. Let's give these cops something to believe in.'

‘Alright, but you're the speaker, not me.'

'Done.' Her voice held a tremor, but she coughed it away. This bitch didn't do doubt, at least not where anyone could see.

The precinct was a sea of blue when they walked out. Starched uniforms and shiny badges as far as the eye could see. Some faces she recognized, most she didn't. But they all wore that same expression – the look of those who were about to gallop into the valley of death and just needed someone to tell them they wouldn't die tonight.

Ella let her gaze rove over them, taking in the pimply rookies and grizzled vets alike. This was her army for the night. And she'd use every weapon in her arsenal to make damn sure as many of them made it home as possible. She must have projected some odd cocktail of bleak resolve because Luca, materializing at her elbow like a guardian angel, leaned in to murmur, ‘You've got this, Ell.'

She gave him a nod then stepped forward to the front of the class. She raised a hand, and the few ragged conversations that had been dragging tangled up. A collective hush fell.

'Thank you for coming, everyone,' she barked. 'I won't sugarcoat it. We've got a situation on our hands. The kind that doesn't end with tickertape parades and the key to the city.'

A ripple went through the assembled cops. Nervous glances. They'd all seen the headlines, heard the stories. They knew a monster lurked in their midst. Ella was just giving shape to their nightmares.

‘I'm sure you all know about the four murders, all having occurred in haunted house attractions around town. Well, this unsub isn't going to slow down, so we need bodies in every haunted house, ready to catch this guy in the act.'

A hand in the crowd went up. Ella nodded at him. ‘How do you know he's going to strike again? What if he just stops killing?'

‘We're dealing with what's known as a mission-oriented offender, which means this guy won't stop for anything. He's executing a vision, a fantasy, and nothing – not even the prospect of death or capture – will dissuade him.'

Another hand. ‘How d'you he'll target another haunted house?'

‘Because the haunted house location is a crucial component of his ritual. Last night, we saw him drive a victim to a house just to kill her there. This is the one part of his approach that never changes and never will. Also, I spoke to the killer on the phone and he told me directly.'

A third voice. A woman this time. ‘How are we gonna find this guy? Just hide in these houses until we see someone trying to commit murder?'

Fair question, Ella thought. ‘No. We've got footage of this unsub, as grainy as it is. The Sheriff will hand out pictures before you all get going. From what we can tell, the perp is between six-two and six-four. Cropped hair. Local accent with a tinge of something from across the border. Slow cadence when he talks, eloquent and speaks with confidence. If you see anyone matching this description, isolate them immediately.'

‘You want him alive or dead?' one asked.

Ella sucked in a breath. She thought of how she felt when Austin Creed had been handed the death penalty. Ripley always told Ella that death solved one problem but created another.

‘Alive,' Ella said. ‘The Sheriff'll assign you to your teams, and those haunts are about to become your second homes. I want you all to know every inch, every trapdoor, every blind corner. Our killer knows them too. Whatever happens, our guy takes his final bow, and whatever else happens, we are the ones who walk out of those haunts. Our killer will be marched out in chains.'

There was a ragged chorus of assent. Even the rookies, green as new grass, looked ready to take a bite out of crime. Or at least go down swinging.

Redmond unfolded himself. 'You heard the lady. Pair up, and I'll tell you where you're headed.'

And as the bullpen burst into contained chaos, Ella sagged. Just a fraction. Just enough for Luca's hand to feel like the only thing holding her up.

‘Quite the pep talk there, partner,' Luca said. ‘You talk to all the boys like that?'

Ella smiled, despite the circumstances. ‘You jealous again?'

‘A little bit.'

Ella barely had time to catch her breath before a uniform came barreling through the sea of blues, elbowing past his comrades like a running back gunning for the end zone. He skidded to a halt in front of her.

‘Agents, we got a hit,' he said.

Ella's heart kicked up a notch. ‘A hit? On what?'

‘The vic's car. Amanda Krafton's. Sheriff had me monitoring traffic cams and, well… Someone just called it in. Meter maid. Her white Camaro's been squatting on a yellow curb all day.'

Adrenaline flooded Ella's system. This could be something.

‘Where?' The word came out sharper than intended.

‘Stark Street, just off the town square.'

‘Not a common dumping ground?'

‘Definitely not. Closest parking spot to the shops.'

‘How far from Greygate Manor?'

‘Miles,' the officer said.

Ella turned to her partner and saw the same fire staring back. This was where Amanda Krafton parked her vehicle before the killer had driven her to her death. That meant she'd walked somewhere in that zone before being picked up.

‘Could lead us nowhere,' Luca said. ‘Could lead us everywhere.'

He was right. This lead was a coin flip, especially being so close to the haunts opening up.

Fifty-fifty odds.

She'd played worse.

‘Hawkins, you wanna go check it out while I rally the troops?'

‘Just point me in the direction,' he said. ‘I'll call you as soon as I've got something.'

‘Be safe. Don't do anything dumb.'

‘Count on it.'

Luca disappeared through the crowd. Ella waited for Redmond to assign his men to their homes for the night, and Ella wasn't sure where, but she'd be amongst them too.