At those words, Sheriff Brady opened the door and closed it behind her. Tara turned to Warren. They both knew they had to move fast.

Warren stared off into the distance, his face scrunched in thought.

He then spoke. “I think we should set up a dragnet.”

Tara nodded. He was right. It was the only possible way to catch the killer. They had no other lead, but they might be able to pick checkpoints where he might travel through next, and hunt him down themselves.

“That might be hard with just the two of us though,” Tara replied.

It was unlikely that Chief Brady would offer up her own officers, but to cover such a large amount of ground, they needed more than just two people.

Warren turned to her fully. “I know,” he said. “I think we should call some neighboring police stations.”

Chapter Nineteen

Tara and Warren stood in a room of the Bridgewater police station with ten eager officers standing around them. It didn’t take Warren long to find some volunteers. The first station he called, the chief got on the phone and volunteered ten of his guys, including a lieutenant. Now they all stood in front of them like soldiers.

Tara looked down at the map, rolled out on a large table. It was the same map they had stared at earlier that day—that marked each crime scene and the direction of the compasses.

She and Warren had already contemplated that the killer was moving south and they had agreed that it was the best lead they had right now, but with a trail that spanned across fourteen states, and with crime scenes randomly spaced apart, determining where he would strike next would be difficult. They knew they didn’t have much time. They had already lost almost a full day, and it was likely the killer could strike again that very night.

Warren spoke to the room. “We’ll pick some checkpoints and split up into teams.”

They all nodded.

“Just let us know where you need us. We know these trails well,” the lieutenant replied for all of them.

His last name was Daniels and he stood about six feet, with a five o’clock shadow that made his jaw look even more defined than it already was. It was nice to have someone on their side for a change, and Tara felt a new optimism in his presence.

She peered at the map again and placed one finger on the dot where the second crime scene was, right outside of Hanover, New Hampshire, and another finger over the dot that marked the third crime scene in Vermont.

“Well, he traveled fifteen miles in about twenty-four hours, so potentially that means in five hours…” She used the map’s scale and mapped out another fifteen from where that murder occurred. “He would be about here, in Vermont, where the trail intersects with Route Four.” She placed her finger down on the map to mark the spot. “I think one checkpoint should be there.”