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force is pretty much on call for you, Lincoln, you know that.”
    I nodded. He wasn’t kidding. They’d entertained some crazy ideas of mine, even before this. Taking a dozen officers and scouring the sewer systems and any underground service tunnels was probably the worst, but they had all readily volunteered to assist. It was nice to see the camaraderie, the brotherhood in action for good - unlike what I had seen in the past.
    “I’ll run the radars back to the Gendarmerie for you. Are you heading back to Poland now?”
    “No, I’ll be staying at least overnight. Maybe something else will come to me.”
    “Okay. Well, look, I’m off at six if you want to grab a pint or something. Maybe take the edge off a little. And you can bounce ideas off of me if you want.”
    I didn’t know what to think. It wasn’t really my idea of a good time, but maybe having another person working on it would help. A sounding board was always good to have. Kara was out of ideas and I knew it was wearing on her, and Chen was never awake at the right times. Thanks to the odd hours I kept and the time difference, any time I called him was usually not a good time for him. He’d talk and help as he could, then I’d usually get a call or email several hours later once he’d really had a chance to process it.
    Lefevre seemed like a bright young cop though; what was his first name again? Luc? I should have known it by then, but it was getting to the point where it was too embarrassing to ask. I’d have to ask someone else before I made a fool out of myself.
    He was an easy person to work with; smart, intuitive and dedicated. And it helped that his English was solid since my French sure as hell wasn’t. He’d been on the job for about six years, he’d said, so I put him in his late twenties. I didn’t know him well, met him once or twice during the Crawford case, but he had always been one of the first to volunteer to help me out when it came time to look for Kat. He had spent the entirety of his career on the street but it was obvious he was meant for bigger and better. A position in homicide or on another detective squad couldn’t have been far off.
    “So, what do you think? If I’m imposing, then just tell me.”
    “Nah, you know what? Sounds like a plan. I’ve got a few ideas I wouldn’t mind someone else’s input on. Name a spot in the Ninth and I’ll meet you there, say eight?”
    “I don’t know any in the Ninth. Will the Fifth work? Not far from here.”
    “Yeah, close enough.”
    “Alright, it’s called the Elephant and Castle. It’s on Quai de Bondy , right along the river.”
    “Sounds good,” I said. “See you there. If you don’t mind taking those radars back, I’ve got a couple of places to go to.”
    “Like I said, not a problem.”
    “Thanks,” I said, as I turned and walked away. It wasn’t far from here to my apartment in the Ninth arrondissement – one of Lyon’s numbered neighbourhoods - and the weather wasn’t too bad. It was cold, but at least Lyon wasn’t getting the snow that the north was.
    The walk was short and brisk in the cold air. It was late in the afternoon, the sun hung low in the sky and the wind bit into my uncovered face. Ten minutes later I walked into a different kind of cold – the barren, the emotionless, the empty.
    I had found an apartment in Lyon at a price that couldn’t be beat. It gave me everything I needed for when I stayed in the city – proximity to the region I knew I would find Kat in, basic amenities, a place to sleep, and a place to think.
    We had torn apart Crawford’s apartment, taken everything that stood out as evidence and sealed the place. But the investigation into his murders was over. We knew he had acted alone and he was long dead and buried, his reign over. Only one aspect of his deviant legacy lived on, and the answer to solving it had to be in his apartment somewhere.
    Crawford had no family, at least none who were willing to come forward and