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confirmed it.
    “What the hell happened here?” He asked, putting on his latex gloves. He walked around the room and looked through her things, trying to get a feel of the victims’ personality.
    “The victim was tied to the four corners of her bed with her bras. We aren’t sure yet, but I think it’s safe to assume she was sexually assaulted, probably after the suspect beat her up,” Kevin offered.
    Carson stared at the battered woman’s bloody face. His chest tightened as he thought of Ellie lying there in the victim’s place. He took a deep breath as he tried to refocus and get his composure back, “How old is she?”
    “Twenty-four.”
    Carson took another deep breath, the weight on his chest heavier, “What about the other victims?”
    “Well, so far the youngest is twenty-three and the oldest is twenty-six. I looked through the photos of the victims we’ve found so far. It’s like any girl the suspect considers attractive is a potential victim.”
    “Do they have anything else in common?” He wished the answer was yes, he would be able to eliminate her and breathe a little easy.
    “No.”
    “Damn it! Where are those files?”
    “Back at the office.”
    “Speaking of women, how’s your girlfriend?” Gwen asked, without looking up from her notebook. Carson looked at her, sensing the hostility in her voice, and he wasn’t the only one.
    Richard’s eyebrow rose with curiosity, “Why did you say it like that?”
    “Last night we found her on stage dancing with two strippers, drunk out of her mind.”
    “It was her twenty-sixth birthday,” Carson defended, “We all did wild things at twenty-six.”
    “I didn’t.” Kevin objected.
    “Yeah, we know.”
    “So she’s practically half your age. Carson, are you having a pukey mid-life crisis?” she jeered.
    “She’s ten years younger than me Gwen, you know that.”
    “How are you two doing?” Richard baited, “Those two weeks must have affected the relationship in some way.”
    “We are doing just fine,” Carson smiled sweetly, “There is no rush, and we’re taking it one step at a time.”
    “Is that code for ‘she’s holding out’ on him?” Kevin asked. He then exclaimed loudly when Gwen and Richard nodded in response, “Dale Carson, you’re slipping!”
    “No, I’m not,” Carson jumped, with a bruised ego, “She’s just different. I want to take my time with her, see how it goes.”
    Richard chuckled, “Carson in a steady relationship, that I’d pay to see.”
    “I give it a month.” Gwen said, with such conviction it bothered Carson.
    “How about we get the asshole that did this before you start placing bets on my relationship?” The thought of Ellie being the psycho’s next victim bothered him. How he wished he could just lock her up in his house forever to keep her safe. He wouldn’t be able to stand it if something like this happened to her.
    “I’m going back downstairs to see what Paloma and Doran have. Kevin, walk with me.” The two disappeared leaving Gwen and Carson alone with the body.
    “Hey, what are you doing?” Carson asked under a whisper.
    “What are you talking about?” she returned with a blank look.
    “You are taking cheap shots at Ellie. Is this about us? We agreed, no strings attached, remember?”
    Gwen looked at him intensely, then after a moment her gaze softened, “I know, I just don’t like being replaced without notice, and besides I’m just looking out for you.” She had smiled at him before she left the room. Carson wasn’t sure he believed her, but he wasn’t going to probe.
     
    ****
     
    Ellie looked at her phone message confused. Dale had sent her weird messages before, but this one was on a whole different level of strange.
    “What’s wrong?” Kris asked stepping behind her.
    “Dale’s weird message... he says we shouldn’t go out alone, it’s safer to walk together.... are we in high school again?”
    Kris laughed sitting back on the couch, “He’s sweet and