Page 11 of The Butterfly Killer

As he said it, it appeared. Marcus looked down and there was a clear tarp underneath them. The man was also wearing gloves now and a mask.

“What clothes are you wearing?” Marcus asked him.

The man shrugged. “Whatever I have on.”

Marcus’s brows furrowed. “Why do you care so much? After all this time? Why are you paying so much attention to the details? The set up?”

The man stopped what he was doing and laughed. “Why wouldn’t I? This is special. It’s my anniversary.”

Marcus shook his head. “No it isn’t. Your first kill was?—”

The man laughed again. “My first kill? Thisismy first kill!”

Marcus was yanked out from the room and through the front door. It slammed shut as he was pulled from his dream.

He gasped awake. His alarm was blaring. He reached over the side of the bed and grabbed his phone. It was on four percent. He’d already missed three alarms. The sun filtered through the small window.

“Fuck,” he gasped as he ran a hand over his sweaty face.

He took a minute to just sit on his bed. He was already late. What was a few more minutes? It wasn’t like anyone cared.

He pushed the self-deprecating thoughts aside and pulled himself out of bed. His dream came to him in little bits. The thing he remembered most was the shadow by the screen door. Had that really happened? Did the killer never get to finish what he started?

He was in the shower when the last part of his dream hit him.

“Holy shit!”

He jumped out of the shower with suds still in his hair. He quickly toweled off, yanked his clothes on, and rushed out the door.

Marcus was frantic as he quickly walked into the department building.

“Woah! What’s up with you?” Patrice put his arm out to slow Marcus down.

Marcus almost barreled right through him, searching the heads of people already in the bullpen. “Have you seen Blevins or Agent Mercer? Anyone working the Butterfly case?”

Patrice gave him a strange look. “No. Why? Has something happened?”

Marcus panted. He gave the room another look over before he met Patrice’s eyes. When he saw the worry in his friend’s eyes, he realized how crazed he must have seemed. The breakthrough Marcus had might not be that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. But someone on the case needed to know before they chased after the wrong guy.

Or the right guy. God, he didn’t know if he was even right about this. He might just be blowing smoke up his own ass.

“I just got to tell them something,” he finally said. He took a ragged breath.

“Okay,” Patrice said with a pinched brow. “Take it easy. I’ll see you later.”

Marcus nodded. “Yeah.”

Patrice walked out to do whatever he was doing that day. It seemed like he was always busy doing something. It must have been all the people who weren’t available for work and he waspicking up their jobs. Marcus understood how that felt. He was doing it almost daily.

He cursed at himself as he walked further into the offices.

“Marcus!”

He stilled when he heard Chief Williams’s voice calling him from his office. Marcus slowly turned to meet the Chief’s gaze.

“Can I speak to you for a moment?”

The other officers at their desks looked up. Marcus’s face burned as he walked toward the Chief’s office. Chief left the door open as he walked toward his desk. When he sat down, he motioned at the door.

---