“You do think it’s odd a body was found in Manu’s apartment, right? Is it Manu? Did the serial killer put it there? Does this guy even exist? I haven’t heard anything about it on the news.” As soon as I finish speaking, the number three pops into my head—the body count I’ve personally seen since arriving. More than most people do in a lifetime. Even before Valentin presses his lips together, I have my answer.

“Miss Darby, do you recall what I shared about your sister’s investigation your first day here?”

I scan the pudgy cumulus clouds overhead. “Nothing?”

“There are multiple murders I suspect may be linked to Angela’s death. Three bodies were discovered before your arrival, bearing similar marks to those present on Angela’s body. Clément Gress was the first body found, in the garbage dumpster behind a frozen foods store.”

“I do remember that. What kind of marks?”

“Restraints or some kind of binding material. Tattoos. And a head wound inflicted by a firearm.”

Exactly as the officers confirmed at the crime scene I followed the police cars to. Ligature marks. Tattoos. Shot to the head. “Why are you telling me this? Why now?”

“Officially, we’re not confirming anything. Unofficially, the city has not seen this level of repeat murders in many years. The person or persons responsible would be calculating and patient individuals. Binding their victims for such a period of time, and then dispatching them by a gunshot to the skull, suggests these murders are impersonal. Clean. Driven by a higher need. The perpetrators appear, at the moment, to be abducting men and women arbitrarily; aside from the mode of execution, we have not yet determined any commonalities that apply to all the victims. Angela’s gunshot wound was the only one to be administered postmortem. Victims are of varying ages, men and women, of various occupations—two homeless—but, on a rudimentary scale, we can confirm each victim bears little known ties to family, and at least one tattoo. With these facts in mind, I would advise staying in tonight. For your safety.”

I sit dumbfounded. Finally, with only two nights left to me here, he offers all the details. “So the body below the sink is one of the serial killer’s victims? She has the same markings?”

“No. The body bears the restraint marks, as I’m sure you saw. But that is where the similarities end. The cause of death was a gunshot to the chest.”

“But aren’t the restraint marks significant? Where did you find the rest of the bodies? Were they also in the Seine? Maybe the killer is trying to throw you off by choosing overtly different victims. They must be linked in some substantial way. Right?” Thinking on Angela’s body double—“Were you able to determine Angela’s cause of death?”