A cannibalistic serial killer targeting gay men is on the loose. Devin, who has become increasingly erratic in the last two months, just split up with Gary, his lover of three years. Vanni, a habitué of the gay clubs, makes extra spending money on his knees in the club johns. Is one of these men the killer? Or will one of them instead become the killer’s next target? Detective Hollis Robbins is in charge of the case. He intends to stop the killer, if he can. When the killer strikes again the four men’s lives intertwine as the search for the murderer intensifies. Will the attraction that two of them begin to feel for each other survive the hunt? Do they have the strength to continue on after tragedy strikes and teaches them that love can be bittersweet?

The Beast Within

“None that links them together. It’s the method of killing that does that. All three had their throats slit, their hearts cut out and one limb severed at the joint, which is not an easy thing to do, according to the ME. He likened it to carving up a Thanksgiving turkey only on a larger scale.”


Richter nodded then said, “Which brings us to the question of what happened to the missing flesh since it was stripped from the bones. Is this some sort of ritual thing going on here or do we have a cannibal on the loose?”


“Well the ME says he doesn’t gnaw the flesh off,” Abbie replied. “He says there are scrapes on the bones indicating he cuts it off. So,” she smiled slightly, “the comparison to a turkey dinner ends there.”


“If he is cannibalizing the heart and limb does he take them home with him or just go off deeper in the woods to eat?” Richter wondered aloud.


Chapter 6