“I’m just saying,” I said, “murder’s bad and all but until one of these dead ladies gets up and does something, it’s just a sick, twisted homicide.”

Brueger seemed a tad more stressed than she normally did. She leaned against one of the examination tables and sighed heavily. She was collecting herself.

“Look, the Feds are moving in and taking us off the case as of seven in the morning. They’re taking the bodies. I won’t be able to do a thing without risking my badge.”

“Well, the Feds are good at this sort of thing. They have the resources,” I said, pulling out a cigarette. “Can I smoke?”

“No you can’t,” she barked.

I lit it anyway just to see how far I could push her. I hadn’t known her all that long. I met her after I was pulled out of the drunk tank a few months after coming to Los Angeles. She seemed cool, but you can never tell with these law enforcement types. They’re as strange a lot as any. You gotta keep an eye on them. They can turn on you.

Brueger slumped. For a moment she looked like she wanted to give up. “The Feds will drag it out for years. They always do. These are local girls, Valley residents. I don’t want to see any more of this. I want it stopped. The Feds are good, but they have different motives.”

Her eyes were wide; all the coldness was gone.

“My hands are tied, Cal. I need you. You can do things I can’t. And besides, I don’t think this is a straightforward serial case. I think . . .”

I moved closer. “You think what?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I just got a feeling . . . a really bad feeling.”

“Well, leave the bad feeling for me. That’s my specialty.”

I nodded, turned, and scanned the bodies. They were all women, white and similar to each other in their overall appearance, each with a variation of dirty-blond hair and an athletic build. They had clearly been murdered, but for what reason, I didn’t know. It didn’t look like a monster case, but then again human monsters are sometimes the worst. They are certainly the most unpredictable.

I looked at Brueger, who was waiting for me to say something.

“All right, you got me. I’m in,” I said, “and you better not be lying about that reward.”

She looked sideways and down. Total guilt.

“There’s no reward.”

She shook her head. “Sorry.”

“Well, you got twenty bucks I can borrow?”