“The pain’s still there and some…side effects.” Mahler looked at Rivas silently, as if considering something. He wiped his face with the towel. “You okay partnering with Holland for the time being?”

Rivas shrugged. “It’s fine. We’re going down to the city to talk to the owners of this company DivingBell. See if we can confirm the IDs of the suspects and get a line on their addresses.”

Mahler smoothed his hair and reached for his shirt. “Interesting to see how Holland handles himself in the field. Martin thinks he’s a good fit.”

They walked down the corridor to the VCI room. Holland stood at the whiteboard, peering at the victim’s timeline. “So, Eddie, can we discontinue the seventy-two-hour countdown? No actual body was found last night, right? Don’t we have to admit the Elise Durand homicide isn’t the same as the ones two years ago?”

The room fell silent. Rivas, Coyle, and Eden watched Mahler slowly move across the room to Holland. “No victim’s been found in the park, but that doesn’t mean one isn’t there.”

“Come on, Eddie, the evidence’s different for this one.” Holland pointed to the photo enlargements taped to the wall. “That’s not Partridge carrying the body. He’s not our guy.”

Mahler smiled. “You sound awfully sure for someone who just came on the case.”

“I’m looking at the evidence.”

“Partridge’s not our guy for this one. But until I see something different, I say he’s the one who did the girls two years ago, and I don’t think he’s finished.”

Eden stood and walked to the whiteboard. “I agree. Last night when you were in the park, I did some more work on the victim in Fresno, Sandra Avelos.” She pointed to a new photo. “This is her. Strangled in a public park in April 2017, two days after Easter. Killer used the same type of cord and strangulation pattern as the earlier Santa Rosa and Vallejo victims. Same signature cut at the base of the spine. Partridge’s girlfriend says he went with her to Fresno for the major holidays.”

She faced the others. “But there’s something else. The medical examiner found blood on the tail of the victim’s blouse.”

“So what?” Coyle said. “The killer cut her, right?”

“Only it wasn’t Avelos’s blood. The doer must have accidentally cut himself.”

“Wait. What? Is it a match to Partridge’s blood type?”

“It’s his type. But it’s O positive, same as forty percent of the general population. By itself, it’s not conclusive. If we had Partridge’s DNA, we could run a test that would tell us one way or the other.”

Mahler peeled the Avelos photo off the whiteboard and examined it. “I hear the Fresno PD sent you something.”