“Hey, I’m barely official,” Dan said.

“You are official. You’re a PI hired by a victim and a consultant with the FBI,” Axel assured him. He offered him a grim smile. “And there will likely be questions about the legendary Axeman and the Florida cases you’ve worked already.”

“And it doesn’t matter. None of us has anything to really give people,” Ryder said.

“An active investigation. That’s all you need,” Axel said.

Dan glanced at his watch. It was already growing late in the afternoon. The conference was scheduled for five, barely an hour and a half away.

“All right, all right,” Dan murmured.

Ryder nodded. “See you at headquarters,” he said.

“And where are you going?” Dan called after him.

“Lunch!” Ryder replied.

Dan watched him go. Eating kept the body going.

But after the autopsies he’d just witnessed? Lunch would wait a bit.

“I’m going to the office to see if Adam has managed to get anything that might be helpful in any way. He’ll have Angela on the home front following any old clue possible,” Axel told him. “You’re welcome to come with me.”

“No, thanks. I’m going to check on...on my employer,” he said.

“Good idea. You should know, we have agents out, blending in with the locals and tourists, watching out for Miss Delaney and anything suspicious. And I know Ryder has cops out on the street, too, some in uniform, some not. They’ll be keeping an eye on Miss Delaney, I’m certain, but I understand your fear for her, too.” Axel hesitated. “There are serial killers out there all the time, but my gut tells me that, even if we’re looking back twelve years, this is somehow related. Even if there is a history of such crimes specifically in New Orleans.” He shook his head ruefully. “That’s why Adam wanted me to approach you.”

“Yeah? Well, thank God I didn’t burn any bridges. I resigned with fair notice. I didn’t bash any attorneys to their faces or in the press. I just... I don’t know. After that case, I had to get out of Florida. I love it there, but I was so frustrated. Such heinous crimes, and we could do nothing. I’d owned the place here for years... It belonged to my grandparents. My sister got their home in Baton Rouge, and I got the one in the French Quarter. Anyway, after the last trial, it seemed time to relocate here.”

“And for six years you’ve been a PI,” Axel said. He grinned. “How’s that working out?”

“It sucks. But it was the right move at the time.”

“You may be ready to move on from that, too,” Axel told him. “Anyway, see you at five.”