Chapter 2 The Detective

The Detective

Detective Aiden Rourke hadn't had a day off in fourteen months. Not since the first body was found.

They called him "The Artisan" in the papers, though Rourke hated that name. There was nothing artistic about what the bastard did. Four victims, all women. All posed like Renaissance paintings. Each one accompanied by a haunting oil portrait-eerily accurate-displayed somewhere near the scene.

The latest victim, Emily Harrow, had vanished two weeks earlier. A law student. Bookish. Quiet. Not the kind of woman who usually drew this kind of attention.

Rourke stared at the evidence board in his office. Four victims. Four portraits. Four months apart. The killer was meticulous. Patient. He didn't rush. He selected. Studied. Stalked.

And then, he struck.

Rourke lit a cigarette-his fourth that hour-and leaned back in his chair. One thing bugged him more than anything else: the quality of the paintings. They weren't amateurish. They were exceptional. Someone out there had talent. Someone trained.

He picked up the list again-artists in the area whose work matched the style. Seventy-two names. Elias Granger was number forty-seven

He wasn't even aware that he was number forty seven he had to look at his books that was when he realized