In minutes, they heard sirens. The group was curious, but before they could start exploring, police arrived.

The mediums in the group might have believed they had their channels to the dead. Certainly, none of them had foretold the future.

Axel arrived with the first group of police who immediately steered the tourists away from the house, down to the end of the other block, setting up perimeters to keep them and any other curiosity seekers at a distance from the scene. The fenced-in ruins were fenced off in another way: crime-scene tape.

Naturally, the tour group began to speculate on what had happened. Katie offered to get them back to the French Quarter in her carriage, but even as she spoke, Ryder arrived. The police would be happy to take them back in patrol cars.

There was nothing to see here, even though they protested they could help if there had been a crime.

They were politely refused.

Dan had little to do at first except set his arm around Katie and stand out on the sidewalk. They would be interviewed and explain how they had found the body.

Media arrived quickly. With or without the internet, sensational news seemed to travel on the air. Still, the public would be held at bay.

Seeing the smashed remains, there was little way to identify the person. None of them touched the body. That was Dr. Vincent’s purview.

The FBI and NOPD had feared from the get-go that there would be more victims. No one was happy that they’d been right.

Dan settled Katie in her carriage, then walked back into the crime scene and hunkered down with Axel by the victim.

Unrecognizable.

But he knew when an analysis was done, it would prove this was the woman who had been attacked by the axe found in Katie’s yard.

He’d never seen her before, other than in images.

But he knew who she was.

Katie had seen her. Years before, and then now, here in New Orleans.

Despite the mangled face, Dan was certain they’d found the mysterious Jennie at last, and while she might have been in a partnership with this Axeman, she wasn’t anymore.

The partnership had ended.

Lethally.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Dr. Vincent or his assistants had cleaned the corpse, making her as presentable as possible.

The blood had been washed away, but that couldn’t change the fact there was a massive gash that sliced the face open at an angle, tearing through the forehead, eye, nose, and mouth.

Staring through the glass at the corpse as she was displayed, Katie nodded.

It was the woman she had known as Jennie, the woman she had chased through the streets just the other day.

She couldn’t help but wonder if she was dead because of her.