“Best guess it is a special tool, but nothing I can name. I mean, it’s possible that it is just a scalpel, as that’s the right thickness of the blade and sharpness of the tool that would be required. I don’t believe that, though. Making these lines perfect while someone is alive is nearly impossible unless they used a strong sedative or paralyzing drug, because no one could hold that still, regardless of the threat. The pain would be far too great.”

“We’ve never had any toxicology come back with drugs,” I said.

“That’s correct. So, if drugs had been used at some point to subdue them initially, then the Chameleon Killer is keeping the bodies long enough that the drugs are out of their system. The issue is that the bodies show up either the same day or the day after they’ve been killed, so there would be no time between the initial drug administration, the victim being killed, and when it is left for someone to find.”

“Okay, so this killer is methodical and possibly a trained artist and uses a tool to kill, but what about the mutilated bodies we’ve had? Can you tell if that has been a separate killer as well?”

“That, I’m not sure of. You’re aware of the differences you have between the two styles of kills before this one. The notes are already in your file, so you know what I’m talking about. This body doesn’t follow any of the other characteristics. In fact, there is not one identical thing. It’s all poor attempts to place the blame in another killer’s direction.”

The doctor held up the young woman’s hand and pointed at her dirty fingers that were caked with mud. Then he pointed to her face that didn’t even look like a face from the abuse she’d taken, and finally, he pointed to the marks that, at first glance, had seemed the same, but the doctor was right. They were vastly different from the other bodies.

“I believe that your Chameleon Killer is either a split personality, and you get either the artist or the more gruesome and violent kills depending on what personality is doing the killing at the time, or….”

He held up his finger.

“These bodies are from two different killers, but they are a perfectly crafted pair with the same passion for killing, and they have honed their craft over time.”

This killer…” The doctor pointed to the table. “Is a cheap copycat, and whoever it is may know how to kill, but they are not very good at making it look like the Chameleon. These bruises all along her body and arms tell me she took a beating over a number of days before she was killed. Some of the bruises are already yellowing and almost healed, while others beside them are brand new.”