The elevator doors opened, and Detective Poe stepped past him into the car. He followed. He was a big man and knew his shoulders and braced legs took up a good bit of surface area, but he had always seen his size as an advantage. Most took a step back to give him room in tight spaces. Poe did not.

This close, he noticed those long legs brought her up to his shoulder, or roughly five nine. She kept her makeup sparse, but high cheekbones and full lips did not require much paint. He guessed she was in her early thirties, but her gaze displayed more life experiences than most had at her age.

The doors opened, and they made their way to the forensic lab, where she spotted a shorter man with a rounded face and belly. When she smiled at him, it was genuine, and it softened her angled features. Spencer noted faint crow’s-feet feathered at the edges of her eyes, suggesting she either laughed often or squinted into the Texas sun too much. He was inclined to believe the latter.

“Andy, I’d like you to meet Texas Ranger Carter Spencer. Spencer, this is Andy Lucas, head of our forensic team.”

Spencer extended his hand. “Officer Lucas.”

Lucas’s grip was strong and his gaze measured. “Good to meet you, Ranger Spencer. I don’t think we’ve crossed paths before.”

“I’ve been back in Austin a couple of years. Worked mostly drug cases.”

“How do you like Austin?”

“I grew up here, but it’s changed. There’re streets and housing developments where they did not used to be. But Austin and I have been getting reacquainted,” he said.

Detective Poe reached for her phone and glanced at the screen. Impatient, she appeared to be filling the time until Spencer and Lucas’s meet and greet was over.

Lucas glanced at her and did not appear to be surprised by her vague irritation. “Let’s have a look at what I have so far.”

They followed him to a large room with a sizable light table in the center. There were two piles, and both contained plastic wrap, packing tape, and strips of knotted cord that had been cut. “We took these from both crime scenes. On the left is the evidence from the first scene and on the right, the second. Same brand of plastic, tape, and cord. This killer sticks with what works for him. All of this can be purchased at a hardware store or online and is going to be difficult to trace.”

Spencer studied the evidence bag containing the cord restraints. They had been secured to the victim’s hands with a constrictor knot. Once in place, it would have been almost unbreakable. “He put a lot of thought into this murder.”