The flames danced along the length of his frame. He was held by a woman that bathed in the same golden light. The screams rose around them. Her own voice rising in a fierce battle cry as she charged forward, leading her brothers and sisters against the impossible waves of the opposing army. They fell from the sky by the thousands, shining wings on their backs and spears gleaming from the newly rising sun. Her legs never stopped moving though it was clear that the odds were stacked against them. The sound of men and women’s cries faded as the gap closed. He frantically called to her, their minds linking together. Small snippets flashed from her mind to his. There was a plan, he sensed it within her. Something stupid, desperate, and genius all at once. He tried to draw more from her, but she steeled herself from his prodding. The men shifted into formation, the archers shifting into three rows in the back. The front line formed the arrowhead, hoshi formation, and his eyes widened. No, this was for familiar terrain, close quarters and level ground. Their enemy was falling from the sky! A gleam from the empress’s hand caught his attention and he glanced over. He stared in disbelief at the tiny metal─ it was a ring, glowing with tiny sigils. He squinted to make out more, but all too soon, her hand was hidden from view. The gap closed between the ranks and seconds before the inevitable collision the front line blinked, leaving only their archers behind them bordering the outside and the eastern front.

Silence, dry brittle air, and a crackling storm ignited all at once around them. They blinked back into existence along with half of their army. He opened his eyes─ the world was normal but it was wrong. They somehow were flanking the enemy from true west. Even confused, the seasoned warriors recovered in seconds, charging next to their empress. The opposition had realized this a fraction of a second too late. They had the advantage for as long as they needed. The arrows flew into the fray, attacking first the enemy and then crashing into them.

Daniel jolted out of his chair. He frantically searched the room, his body crouched in defense. Renji spat, hissed and then bolted from the room. Rubbing his eyes, he slowly oriented himself to the space. Home. He was home. “What the fuck,” he muttered stumbling down the hall. He searched in the bathroom and then circled back to his room. He finally located the terrified ball of fluff under his bed. Renji was so puffed up his tail was the size of Daniel’s arm. “Easy boy,” he murmured, stroking the cat behind the ears. Renji growled, and then chirruped quizzically, but allowed his gentle intrusion. Daniel stood finally and walked from the space. Renji would come out when he felt that the danger had passed. He didn’t blame the poor little guy. That was some yell he had let out earlier.

He let out a sigh as he stepped under the hot water. It had been a long time since he felt a connection like that. The last time had been when he was with Celeste. That thought gave him pause. Was he seeing the future or the past? Was it simply a memory like the last connection they shared? There was something about the visions that seemed─ off. He is always there, at her side but he isn’t. Maybe he was only able to see through her memories. He turned off the water and stepped out. The last one he had seen was Celeste’s childhood memory. Did they all work that way? As much as he wanted to assume, his detective side was screaming at him. There was something that he was missing, something big. So the ring did have a purpose. The question was, how did it work? The lab had come up with nothing, it was completely clean. He needed to investigate it more, but for now it would have to wait.

He shrugged into slacks and a sweater, tugged on his boots and grabbed his keys on the way out. His shift didn’t start for another two hours, but there was no way that he could go back to sleep. Not after all of that anyway. He turned left onto Renner Parkway, following the route that spilled onto Renner Road. It was early, but traffic was always bad off of Campbell to merge southbound on to 75. Especially anywhere near the university. Hell, since they built the new Toyota building 75 was a nightmare in both directions. He sighed at the small line of cars in the turn lane. Schools were nearing midterms, which meant double the usual morning traffic. It was a little slower to go the back route, but he knew these streets in and out. He had been a patrol officer for nearly six years and was born and raised here. At this point, he could probably drive with his eyes closed, even down most of the residential areas. Still, this was abnormal for five in the morning. His work ringtone went off and he quickly answered, “Detective Wallis.” “Good morning, detective,” she responded, “I’m surprised that you’re already awake.” He chuckled, “Yeah, I couldn’t sleep, what have you got for me?” Kate typed in a few things before responding, “We’ve got a signal 7, Detective Paloma is 10-49. Are you ready to copy?” “10-4 dispatch, show me en route.”

He pulled into the parking lot twenty minutes later. Without traffic, that would have been an eight minute drive tops. He glanced over to see what was available to drive. Most people assumed that detectives drove nice cars, including him, until he went through his training. A detective’s car isn’t supposed to stand out, so they generally used older models of foreign cars. The last few years as a police officer he got to see the inside of the newer chargers, but those days were long gone. At least he got the flashy title. He quickly checked in with dispatch, his supervisor, and listened to messages from last night. Thankfully, there was nothing pressing like this morning. Homicide investigations were never pleasant, but at least the killer had been courteous enough to wait until 4:45. Most murders happened between 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. and it was his turn to be on-call.

After signing off for the car he slide in and checked his route. He was slightly annoyed that he didn’t take his assigned car home yesterday, the scene had been less than five minutes from his house. He had the option to drive it home last night since no one was using it today, but he preferred his escalade with all of its upgrades so he could listen to his podcasts and audiobooks. Mike was already there with a skeletal crew, along with the responding officer and crime scene investigator. He was a little confused at being called out, but Mike must have needed him there for a reason. He dialed Mike’s number as he pulled out of the parking lot. He picked up on the first ring, “Paloma.” “Hey, Mike,” he said. “Hey, there he is. You en route?” “Affirmative just stopped by the station, ETA six hundred hours.” Mike sniffed before responding, “10-4 good copy.” His voice sounded like its usual level of playfulness, but there was something there that Daniel caught. He could have gone solo last year, but he preferred partnering with Mike. They always worked best together. That also meant that he knew when something was off. Something was definitely off. They hung up and Daniel glanced at his GPS. He wondered about this thing sometimes. All he really needed to know was the crossing streets and he kind of let it drone on for the rest. It was nice to have something going in the car, and he wasn’t really feeling music right now. Some coffee sounded good though. Maybe he would stop by that place Celeste liked for a few and grab one after walking the scene and interviewing witnesses. Hopefully, it wasn’t another long morning.

It was two minutes till six when he pulled up to the house. It was a large, one-in-a-half-story ranch style home located in the Canyon Creek area near North Collins Boulevard and Renner road. Most of these homes were built in the early 70’s. The community was mostly made up of older retiree’s and upper-middleclass families. Since all of the new companies started moving to the Plano and Richardson area, many of the homes were skyrocketing in value. His own little three bedroom was now worth over four hundred thousand. He had been tempted to sell it more than once, but honestly, he liked the little place. This particular home looked to be built around the early 1970’s with red brick, white trim, and black shutters. The original windows looked to be replaced with larger bay-style windows and there were two large oak trees growing out front. He reached down and grabbed a pair of shoe covers from his floorboard, his tablet, and recorder. He marked that he had arrived on his tablet for dispatch and stepped out. The street, Forest Grove Drive, was saddled between two major streets and was bordered by Renner Trail to the north─ a popular running trail that went past the homes and branched off to later become University Trail. Daniel knew that it circled around the University of Texas at Dallas’s campus. Mike had briefed him a bit before he got there but he would need to get notes as soon as possible from the witnesses and talk with the neighbors. He would also need to talk with the first responding officer to make sure there weren’t any other witnesses before allowing him to return to his patrol duty. The crime scene investigator had established a perimeter, roped off the space, and cleared the space for Mike to enter. That meant that this was probably pretty cut and dry as far as the homicide was concerned. Though occasionally it also meant that they needed all the help they could get. He’d find out soon enough.

Two officers were positioned on the south side of the home facing the main street on the sidewalk. He recognized one of them, Officer Jeffery Hernandez and his new partner. He’d have to ask Mike who the new kid was and get his badge number. He looked to be in his early to mid-twenties with blonde hair, was over six feet tall, with a muscular build. Definitely ex-military─ his demeanor and stance said it all. Mike had texted that there were sentries stationed at both the entrance and exit and another at the garage door exit. A small crowd had gathered outside on the sidewalk across from the officers. He stepped out of his car and looked to his left. They were only one house away from North Collins Boulevard. He knew the street was tedious to turn out from so if anyone turned in from a main road, they would have most likely traveled south from Renner road, or traveled North on Canyon Brook Drive and then west onto Forest Grove. That area was notorious among locals for being a pain in the ass with all of the newly finished construction. If you went too far north, you would have to wait for the long light, turn left and then drive all the way down to Custer to get back to one of the connecting streets. The area was designed that way on purpose to keep it private from the main road.

With most homicide investigations, it was plausible to believe that the suspect knew the victim, which meant they had been here before and knew about the street’s quirks. He walked toward the front door, careful to stick to the areas that weren’t marked as part of the investigation. He noted that like most homes in the area, it was newly renovated and freshly painted, which meant that it had probably changed owners recently. He finally reached the front door and rapped a few times. Mike was there in seconds. “Hey, thanks for getting here so soon.” Daniel nodded, slipped on his shoe covers, and stepped inside.

* * *

After Mike briefed him, he was caught up with what the crew knew. The first responding officer had already been interviewed by Mike and had shared all of his notes. After reading over them, Daniel already started piecing some things together but would need to interview the witness and neighbors before building a more solid case. Officer Jared Dayton had done an excellent job in questioning the witness and keeping them from talking with anyone else, however, Daniel would still needed to question them. Often when someone is questioned directly after a homicide they struggle remembering everything right away. Especially after being attacked by the suspect. According to Mike, the witness was also the victim’s older sibling. She was described as an Asian-American female with dark brown hair, brown eyes, average build, and approximately twenty-eight years old. She lived two blocks east of the victim on the same street. He would go by her house after he finished walking the scene with Mike and the crime scene investigator. It was more than likely Detective Brown, since this was typically the area assigned to her. Mike was being oddly quiet as he led Daniel to the back yard. They paused before exiting the house and Mike nodded at the investigator.

“Detective Brown can take it from here. I’ll need to hand everything over to you from here on out.” Daniel blinked at Mike, “Why?” Mike sighed heavily, rubbing at his eyes. “I’m─ involved.” His eyes dropped to the floor and it took Daniel a second to realize that Mike’s eyes were tearing up. “Jesus,” he said, “how involved?” Mike sniffed and quickly swiped at his eyes. “Enough to know that I’ll need to file for a divorce and lawyer up.” The shift in the room was palpable as Daniel hardened his gaze. In an instant he went into detective mode, “How long has this been going on, Detective Paloma? Were you here when it happened?” Mike’s face darkened as he locked eyes with Daniel, “look, I know that I fucked up, but I did not kill this girl.” Daniel said nothing, staring down at his partner. Mike sagged and then looked outside, “six months.” Daniel tried to keep his anger in check. He knew Melissa and the kids, this would kill her. “Jesus, fucking Christ Mike. What the hell were you thinking? You and Mel─” “Don’t you dare lecture me. You have no idea what’s been going on in our lives.” Daniel rolled his eyes. “Spare me. The last time I talked with Mel everything was going fine between you two.” Mike shook his head, “She never likes you to worry, and you know that. We have been talking about a divorce for over a year now.” Daniel was shocked. How could he be so out of touch with his closest friend? Then he remembered that it had been just over six months since he started to obsess over Celeste’s disappearance.

He remembered all those times Mike had called wanting to hang out and he declined. This was probably something Mike would have talked to him about, had he of been a real friend to him. He suddenly felt incredibly guilty. He couldn’t do this now, it would have to wait until later. Daniel shoved down his emotions and looked at Mike’s face─ he saw genuine remorse, and a man that was defeated. This wasn’t his partner being a detective, this was a man that was about to lose everything. He reached up and squeezed Mike’s shoulder, “has detective Brown been made aware?” Mike nodded, looking outside. “Yes, Sandra knows. I made a full statement with the responding officer and her. They’ll be in touch with me later.” He turned and walked back toward the front entrance. He paused and looked back, “find out who did this to her. Catherine didn’t deserve this.” Mike’s voice threatened to break on the last word and he quickly turned back and disappeared from sight.

Daniel turned, took a few deep breaths and then walked out of the back door. Sandra was crouched next to the victim, pointing out something on the victim’s body with the coroner. He nodded and then stood as Daniel approached them. “Detective Wallis,” Daniel reached out and shook his hand, “Detective Yates, long time no see.” “It’s not detective anymore, Dan. But I appreciate the gesture. Been a coroner now for two years.” Daniel smiled and looked over at Detective Brown. “What’s the word, birds?” Don looked over at Sandra and then back to Daniel. “Well, I just got here a little while ago. It was a slow night, so came as soon as I got the call. Detective Brown can take it from here, I’m going to go ahead and help the crew prep the gurney. Just got a call a few minutes ago and we need to head over to the next location soon.” He smiled, “was nice seeing you again Dan. You take care of yourself.” Daniel smiled back, “same to you.” Daniel turned to Sandra. “So, I gather this was pretty cut and dry if the coroner is already leaving.” She looked up at Daniel. There was something there that he didn’t like. “I called you out here for two reasons. One, as I’m sure you have already been briefed over, is that you are a close friend and partner to a potential suspect in the case.” Daniel remained quiet, but inclined his head. “Two, you remember those cases that you’ve been investigating that happened earlier in the year─ the ones where the victims were drained of their blood?” Daniel nodded, “yeah.” “This is the first one like them that’s happened since April.” Daniel let out a long sigh and rubbed at his eyes. Jesus, another one. He was really beginning to hope that the killings had come to a halt.

He and Mike had been assigned to the case and had been trying to figure out─ well anything about it. After learning what he had this past year, he was beginning to suspect that it had something to do with Celeste. It didn’t help that the murders stopped after she disappeared. In one way, it at least meant that she wasn’t involved. Or that she’s come back. Daniel shook the thought as soon as it came. It wasn’t going to help thinking of her that way. There were never any eye witnesses to these─ until today. Suddenly, he couldn’t wait to interview the sister. She was definitely someone that could shed some light on this case. Maybe even clear Celeste and put his conscious at ease.

Sandra cleared her throat and averted her gaze, “Look, Daniel. I know Mike didn’t do this. But he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. We now have a witness that put him here after the victim’s sister was attacked. Come take a look at this.” Sandra walked over to the body by the pool and crouched down, pointing to the girl’s neck and shoulders. “Do you see it?” Daniel followed her hand and then looked down at the girl’s face. She was incredibly attractive with long, dark hair and light brown eyes. A glance told him that she couldn’t have weighed more than a hundred pounds. She was wearing a black one piece swimsuit and her hair was still damp. This girl definitely fit the suspect’s usual MO. She was, like the others, pale and completely devoid of blood. There were two distinct symmetrical holes on her neck that were roughly one inch apart, and was surrounded by a set of smaller holes that bordered the incisions. They appeared to be bite marks, just like the others, with several rows of teeth marks. The teeth marks, like the others, were at an angle. Which meant the animal theory of retractable teeth was still likely the case. He paused, looking at her shoulders and then her neck. Everything had been like the others except for one major difference. This time, there was more than one set. His head jerked up and he looked at Sandra, “There’s more than one?” She shook her head, “As far as I can tell. There’s something else.” Daniel knew that she would say that, he could see it both in Mike’s eyes and hers. “Both the victim’s sister and Mike have said the same thing. But the department won’t accept their statements as fact.” Daniel stared at her for a few moments before speaking. The switch was instant, “were the witnesses separated from each other when the first responding officer arrived?” Sandra nodded, “you have all of Mike’s notes, take a look at them.” Of course. He had been thrown pretty hard by what happened that he forgot to go over the notes. “I’ll take a look at these and then go to interview the witness.” Sandra nodded, “You might want to go grab some breakfast and read over them. It might take a while.” She paused and then shook her head, “I know that we are supposed to take eye witness accounts seriously, but these were a little hard to believe.” That was saying something coming from a crime scene detective. Especially one that had recently moved from Dallas County to the nice, quiet suburbs of Richardson. They had crime, like every other city, but these homicides were getting ridiculous. The feds would definitely be involved this time, if they weren’t already. He would know soon enough.

He stood with her as they both walked toward the back door. “I’m going to go grab some food after I talk with the sister first. Want to get everything in order before I read over Mike’s notes. Just in case there was something in his statement that might sway me to ask the victim.” Sandra nodded, holding the door open for him. “Smart. I think that’s wise advice before you read my own notes as well.” He raised an eyebrow as he stepped inside. “What’s got our lead investigator so spooked?” She shook her head, “Nope, not touching that until I need to. You’ll have my statement in these. I’ll let you be the judge.” She handed him her report and was gone in seconds. He walked outside and noted that the crowd had doubled since he had arrived. His hopes for this being a short day was quickly vanishing like the darkness. The sun was nearly up and already he knew that it would set before he got home.