“I have two murdered women. One was a recluse. The other, a dentist, disappeared from an affluent community six months before she was found dead in the same low-income apartment complex as the recluse. They were both killed the same way. The same person committed both crimes. I have no leads for this case and the more we find, the more bizarre it gets.”

“How so?” Val asked.

“The killer wants us to know what happened. This person is dropping clues very strategically. It all reeks of a serial killer but these can’t be random murders. I think both Francine and Jeanne were hiding from someone. So, any information that you can add, from a dental angle of course, may be important.”

“I’ll do what I can.” She knew Blythe would never let her examine the teeth or the skulls. But she remained hopeful that she’d be able to help Gavin in some way.

The two talked nonstop as they finished their food, Val didn’t even notice when the waitress placed the bill on the table. She had grown more attracted to Gavin as the evening wore on. She was about to ask him one last question about the case and then take a chance by proposing dinner again another time, but his cell phone rang. He checked who was calling.

“Can you excuse me? I have to take this one. It’s my wife.”

Gavin got up to answer the call. As soon as he said wife Val felt her heart sink. She sat at the table alone as he walked away. When he came back he laid two twenty-dollar bills on the check and thanked Val for her time. His demeanor was completely different. His face was taut, the smile that he had all evening completely gone. He seemed preoccupied and barely said goodbye before leaving.

Two hours after dinner with Val, Gavin sat at the desk in his study going over the crime scene photos again, drinking his third glass of wine. His limit was two, especially after a beer at dinner. The open bottle, a Saint-Émilion Grand Cru, was next to him, and tonight he intended to finish it. With each sip, he felt his frustrations easing.

Staring at the photos from Francine Donohue’s and Jeanne Coleman’s apartments, he knew something wasn’t right. He just couldn’t put his finger on it.

Though the wine was easing his stress, it was doing nothing for his ability to deduct anything and his thought process was getting more clouded by the second. He jotted down a few notes and as he did, his thoughts drifted to Val, and as quickly as she entered, he pushed her from his mind.