5:30 AM

"What'd you get?" Laura asked.

Caleb gave a small shrug. "Not much." He handed her a Styrofoam cup. "It's hazelnut," he said. She offered a smile as she held the warm cup of coffee against her chest. "The homeless dude is Jeb Stinson. He's a normie, not much help to us," he said.

Laura nodded. "That girl that was killed a week ago?"

"Bedding?" Caleb asked. 

She nodded. "Tina Bedding. She was beheaded, her hands were cut off, she was left in a dumpster outside of town, head nowhere to be found. She had the winged necklace in the front right pocket of her jeans. Right?" she asked. 

"You're asking me, but we both know you're right," he said. 

She sighed. "This victim -- our Jane Doe -- is the same thing. Beheaded, hands removed, left in a dumpster without any real and-or credible witnesses. Her head is obviously not in that dumpster, and another copy of that damned necklace is in the front right pocket of her jeans," she said. 

"Which means?" Caleb asked. 

She shook her head and leaned back against the wall. "It means that we might just have a spree killer on our hands."

"No serial killer?" Heath asked as he walked into the room. 

"Serial killers kill a  victim and then have a cooldown period before the net killing. It's not week after  week or day after day. It more like... month, break, next month," Laura said. 

"Maybe you're dealing with a copycat. Maybe there are two serial killers," Heath said. 

"Officer Burns, one of us carries the title 'detective' for a reason. It means I'm higher up than you are, more qualified than you are. That means I will not chase your thoughts, nor will I entertain such absurdity in your claims," Laura said. 

"I was joking, Detective," Heath said. She tilted her head to the side. "You know, like sarcasm? I was being sarcastic? It was a joke, all in good fun?" he asked. 

She shook her head again. "I won't tolerate joking, either. Death and murder are no simple joking matter, Officer Burns," she said. 

"How do you work with her every single day without flaw?" Heath asked. 

Caleb raised an eyebrow. "Typically, we learn to tolerate and work well with the one that we married," he said. Heath cleared his throat and looked down at the floor. "Holy shït. You didn't know we were married," he said. 

"God save your soul," Laura muttered. "The coroner won't have an ID on Jane Doe for at least two days. Without a face, we can't run her through missing persons. Without hands, we can't run her for fingerprints. Without a head, we can't run her dental records. We're running a blood test in hopes that she's registered on something for said blood."

"What if we can't find her that way?" Heath asked. 

"Then I work my äss off to find out who she really is. And I won't stop until I get that information." She pressed a hand to Caleb's chest. "This girl -- our Jane Doe -- wasn't killed here. There's nothing to lead to the conclusion that her death happened anywhere nearby. This just happened to be lucky enough to be our killer's dump site, nothing more. So, I've spoken to the coroner. Lucky for us, he's willing to let us come down and take a closer look at the body, see if we can find anything that can lead us to a kill room," she said. 

"Lucky for us," Caleb repeated. He placed his hand on top of hers and flashed her a white smile before turning to Heath. "You coming with, Officer? Are you ready to watch the magician perform?" he asked. "She does magic up close. It's right in your face. It's not even a slip of the hand," he added. 

"Let me get Clawd, okay? We'll meet you two down there," Heath said. For the first time in a long time, he was genuinely excited about going to the morgue and seeing a dead body -- a headless corpse. 

6:00 AM

"What are ya lookin' for, exactly?" Clawd asked.

"Clues," Laura said as she ran a gloved finger over the jagged cutline of the victim's neck. "Hopefully, I'll find something that can lead us to a kill room, maybe even a killer," she added quietly. Her voice sounded far away, as if she was distracted. And truly, she was distracted. She was distracted by the crime that had been presented to her. 

"What if ya can't find anythin' on the body?" Clawd asked. 

Laura looked up at him and shrugged. "Then we will remain at square one, Officer Wolf," she said. 

Clawd hated being called by his last name. But he knew better than to correct Laura Rainshot. She was the kind of monster that called people by their last names for two reasons. It was a way of respect, and it was a way of distancing herself from others, preventing attachment or serious relationship. That was why it had taken five years of asking before she finally agreed to marry him. She was a complicated woman and an even more complicated detective. But together, those things made her good at what she did.

"Found it."

Caleb took a step forwards so that he was standing just behind his wife. "What is it?" he asked. 

Laura touched her first two fingers to a harsh scratch on the victim's side. "That's from tree bark. She scraped a tree along the way. She probably tried to run," she said. She cocked her head to the side. "But she wasn't fast enough," she added. 

"Maybe the woods? Where Bedding was killed?" Caleb suggested.

Laura nodded. "I was thinking the same thing."

"Why would a killer kill in the same place twice?" Heath asked. 

"This isn't a game of hide and seek, Officer Burns. You aren't looking for a place to hide. You're looking for a place to kill. And killers are a thing of routine, of consistency. If they can kill in the same place twice, they'll do it," Laura said. 

Caleb held up a finger as his phone started ringing."I've gotta take this one," he said. Laura nodded. "Yeah... Mmhmm. Five minutes?" He looked down at Laura. With a sigh, she offered a reluctant nod. "I'll be there." He ended the call and shoved his phone into his pocket. "I'm sorry, baby. Find what you can in the woods," he said. 

"Whatever." He kissed the top of her head. "Stay safe." He nodded before walking out of the room. Laura drew in a deep breath before straightening out her posture. "Who's coming with me?" she asked. 

"We are. Both a' us," Clawd said. 

She offered a small smile. "Let's head on out."