Shannara hung up the phone placing it back in the pocket of her work uniform. She'd just finished speaking with the coroner resulting in the puzzled look that was now on her face. It had now been several hours since she left the street where the victim had been found. It was now approaching lunchtime. She'd made her way over to the storage lot on the note that had been left in Kayla's mouth. But she had received the call stopping her just as she was going to unlock it.

The news of the girl's death was not a pleasant one. She had been drugged, the toxicity report had shown traces of midazolam. The drug would have calmed her down, maybe even put her to sleep as she was being coated in wax, while still alive it seemed. She doubted that the woman could even struggle as her throat, nose and eyes were coated with the substance, suffocating her until she died frozen in time. Traces of wax had been found in her lungs and stomach, it was possible she had been fed it through tubes as well. The killer wanted to coat every part of her body in the substance inside and out. Mummfiing and preserving her as another one of his art pieces. She had been turned into a living wax figure until she finally succumbed to death. It was likely, not quick death once the wax started being poured into her lungs, not a pleasant way to go.

The sun was reflecting off the metal doors in front of her, the heat beating into her. But all she could think about was how the hot wax must have burnt sliding down her throat. Her hands clenched into fists before throwing her wrist into the metal door. The hot metal protested and groaned against her assault as she let out a frustrated screech.

The autopsy was still currently in progress, but the coroner wanted to inform her as soon as he knew any vital information. She asked if anything was missing from her body, and his response had been, everything, everything was missing. Her insides had been completely replaced with foreign objects, he had sounded completely puzzled by it. He explained that he had done ex-rays, on the images he could see that all her internal organs had been replaced, the empty cavity filled with numerous objects. He described them as little action figures of some sort. When she had asked the question if they looked like or could be antique statues the other end of the phone had gone dead silent. A short time later, he confirmed that she was correct having opened the body and removed a small fabergé egg from her abdomen. The coroner stated that it felt as though the person who had done this had some medicinal knowledge. The body had been sewn shut similarly, if not exactly like he would after an autopsy was performed.

Breathing deeply she forced herself to focus on her current task now that the conversation was over. She slipped a new pair of gloves on, she retrieved the key from the small evidence bag, no time like the present to investigate the storage container and she was already here. Better to cover all her bases and quickly. Unlocking the padlock she lifted the large roller doors to be greeted by what she had feared after the dreaded phone call.

Picking up her phone she dialled Jessie's number. "You heard the news?" She asked as he promptly answered.

"Yeah, it's pretty messed up." He sounded defeated.

"Well, I've just found her insides, you might want to get down here." She didn't even have the drive to sound professional, she was angry.

"I was really hoping it was just going to be normal stuff, like a spare bed, some cabinets, old lamp shades, ya know." He nervously laughed.

"That stuff is here too... just with a sprinkling of body parts." She cringed at her own dry joke.

She heard him sigh on the other side of the line. "Alright suiting up, cya soon."

She hung up the phone and stepped inside the small storage lot. Inside was a sight she never thought she would find herself coming across. Perfectly lined up on some old-looking decorated chairs were several jars. Each held a different piece of what she assumed was Kayla, DNA would confirm this later for her. A heart, a pair of lungs, a liver, a kidney and her intestines were meticulously stored in a yellow fluid. Each jar had a neatly tied ribbon around the lid. Attached to the ribbon with a dangling tag attached to it. On closer inspection, she found that each jar had been labelled and priced. This little detail was mimicked on all the objects and artifacts within the storage lot.

"I think I know how she was able to pay for the house she owned on her little wage..." She mumbled. For a girl in her early 20's the detective had found it odd that she had paid off the home she had been living in, though she hadn't had a chance to look into if it was simply something she had obtained from inheritance or something similar yet.

The entire lot was crammed full of bubble-wrapped and boxed goods. Each had a note stuck to it stating what the item was, what year it was from, where she had obtained it and of course, it's worth. She was shocked to see items she had known to be reported as stolen by the local museum amongst the goods. Continuing her search of the lot, off to the side she found a list of potential buyers, Kayla probably made a substantial living selling stolen goods on the back market. Was this the dirty little secret she had kept from everyone? 

More and more this crime was lining up with the others, though this was the first that had the crime scene slip over to areas. Why would the killer see it fit to lead her around on a scavenger hunt when all other crime scenes had been contained? She felt a chill run down her spine as she recalled the photos that she had received on Danni's phone. She suddenly felt as though she were being watched.

Her mind was racing as she ran over possible reasons. She was the head detective on the Killers case. Did the killer set something like this up to be able to watch from afar? Was he trying to find out what they knew and if the killer was in danger of being found out?

Soon enough Jessie and his team arrived taking over the scene. She handed over to Jessie and decided it would be best to leave them to their work. Her next move was to head back to the station. She wanted answers and the only way she was going to get them was by studying the evidence and following up on other leads. As the hours dragged on more details came trickling through as more items were processed, but no concrete leads came to light continuing to frustrate her.

Her small office, which she had been given, gave her a full view of the comings and goings of the small police station. The parents had been called in for a positive ID of Kayla, she'd seen them come in rather composed, then leave broken. She needed to find this sick bastard.

She had requested Kayla's diary and handbag as soon as she got back. While she waited she had retrieved the other girl's belongings and compared common interests, or possible locations they had visited. She needed to know where the killer was finding these girls. Scanning the wallets she noted down all the cards and receipts she found. Cell phone records could show what towers they were closest to, but not exactly where they had been.

Some things did cross over and warranted a visit, while others just seemed bizarre. An officer dropped off Kayla's belongings and her cell phone records. Pulling all the items from the girl's wallet she came across a note, it read:

Hey beautiful, so good to see you out and about. I hope we cross paths again soon.

Was this a new fad? Did people send handwritten notes to each other like they were in school? Her own note came to mind. But the handwriting had clearly been different. Definitely from two different people.

Shannara flipped open Kayla's diary and skim-read most of it until she found what she was looking for. Kayla had started receiving little love notes, as she called them, she didn't say where though. She would also leave him messages in reply, knowing that he was watching her. The notes grew quite flirtatious and she even recorded having met him twice.

This person sounded like a creepy stalker to her, perhaps Kayla was just happy to be receiving attention. She cringed, poor girl. This was not a man she would have openly met with or be happy receiving notes from. This could be who she was looking for, it did fit, but not for her other cases. Only continuing to leave her with puzzling doubts. So many things were the same and yet the difference were screaming at her that something was off, she couldn't ignore it.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, retrieving it she answered while still reading. "Yes?"

She frowned as no one answered on the other side, but there was someone there, she could hear them breathing. She pulled the phone away from her ear to look at the caller ID. She wasn't holding her phone, it was Danni's and the screen read Kayla.

She slammed the phone back to her ear and waved frantically to someone to get the tracking device. "Hello, is this the man that was dating Kayla?" She asked.

"No, but I took the phone after he tossed it. She's not part of the set." The voice on the other end was so deep it sent chills down her spine as every hair on the back of her neck stood on end. As fast as he had spoken, he had hung up.

As the police officers came fumbling in she stared at the phone shocked. "What the hell did that mean?!" Her mind was wailing, screaming at her that her hunch was correct.

She jumped as her actual phone rang this time. "What!" She answered it sternly.

"Eh, ah, sorry..." It was Jessie.

"Jessie, sorry. Danni's phone just rang, I'm a little on edge." She explained.

"Understandable, but ah," He paused, he sounded worn and concerned. "I've got some bad news... Every part of her is here."

"How is that bad new-" She cut herself off, her eyes widening. With each murder up till now, the killer had taken something of the victim's body. They had not released that fact to the public, so if this scene was so similar but no body part was taken. She wasn't a part of his set, her blood ran cold as the man's voice on the phone echoed in her mind. That had been him, not only did he have a handle on the fact that he was being investigated, but he also knew of the latest victim. But how?

"We have two murders on our hands now." He concluded for her.

"Shit!" She couldn't deny it.

"There also seems to be someone or something else's DNA at this scene." Jessie's voice snapped her back to the present.

"That doesn't seem right with how clean the house was... It could be deliberate to throw us off?" She questioned.

"Oh I agree, but this, this feels like it's different. I've sent you a photo."

She pulled her phone back and put it on speaker to look at the image. There was a small back substance that appeared on the underside of the roller door. "What is that?"

"It's congealed like blood, but it has an odd colour and odour... I'll be sending it to the lab for analysis."

"Alright, thanks for the update Jessie." They said a quick goodbye and hung up, all eyes now on her.

She sighed. "This case just got a whole lot more complicated. We are now under the assumption that this latest murder is not of the same killer, but is related."

"A copycat?" One officer queried.

"I hate that phase." She remarked dryly.