Chapter 25: Three Times is a Pattern

They beat the police to the scene. There was a brief moment of hope, thinking that maybe they’d gotten there in time, that maybe they’d find Leslie alive and well.

But as soon as they got out of the car, they knew it wasn’t the case. They knew they were too late, and the police simply hadn’t been told yet.

As soon as she stepped out of the car, Marian smelled the blood. She didn’t need Harley to tell her that it was the house on the left, nor even to tell her that the woman lived in the upstairs of the duplex.

“Should we call the police?” she asked, as they approached the house and Harley smelled the blood as well. “It does not smell like it will be long before mortals smell her as well.”

“It’s pretty cold out,” Harley said. “It might be a while before they can smell her.”

“I do not think the heat is off in her apartment,” Marian said. “The weather will not save her.”