Not Until We Are Lost

The file on the New Dietrich slayer wasn't nearly as thick as Frank would have liked. The killer was careful and he covered his tracks well. Frank liked a challenge as much as the next guy, but not when lives were on the line. Never when lives were on the line.

All the same, he had a lead to check out. The killer seemed to move around. He never took the same victim to the same place twice. Or if he did, that place was a well-kept secret. Frank had charted out a few different potential sites where the abducted women had been tortured and finally met their end.

Frank was doing his best to think like the killer might think. It was a dark place to go, but it had generated a long list of places that were potential locations for the latest woman to go missing. Time was running out and Frank really wanted to bring this gal home.

He tucked the list back into the file. Two places had already been checked out and shown no signs of the killer or his intended victim. Those places were crossed off but left legible. Tonight he would check out the third place on the list.

Max and Eleni had already gone home for the night. Or perhaps the two kids were out chasing down something on that stolen necklace. Maybe they'd even finally gotten around to admitting they were sweet on each other and done the whole dinner and a movie thing. Whatever the case, Frank didn't have anyone to check in with as he donned and his fedora and trenchcoat and headed out into the night. It was probably better that way. He didn't like the idea of either of them getting tangled up in this unpleasant business.

Frank got into his car and headed off toward the warehouse. Maybe it was a long shot, but maybe just maybe this would be the lucky break this case needed.

Frank Rake had just sat down with his morning paper and coffee. It was a daily ritual that helped clear his mind before he dove into the ever-growing stack of case files. He didn't know what it was in this town lately, but he suddenly had a deluge of business. Including a contract with the police that had just come in the other day.

Speaking of which... the paper in question was slammed down as a certain article was skimmed.

"Damn it," he muttered.

The information getting out was going to make it a hell of a lot more difficult to put his finger on the pulse of this one. He was already pretty sure that those crimes were connected, but that didn't mean that he wanted the killer realizing that. He also didn't want the killer knowing that he was working on this. This could get awfully dangerous.

Frank stood and walked over to the window. He'd put a 'Help Wanted' sign out a few days back, after he'd gotten one too many calls from nervous men looking for their intended, and moms looking for their daughters. He stared at the sign, considering it very carefully. Anyone who might respond to it now could be in danger. Should he take it down? On the other hand, those women who were currently missing were running out of time and there was still a killed on the loose who fashioned himself some sort of twisted Don Juan. He finally left the sign where it was and went looking for the bottle of gin that he kept behind the desk for days like this. He had a feeling that this case was going to have a lot more days like this before it was done.