Can someone fill me in?”

“Allow me,” said Cael.

“Adler,” said Andrea. “I’ve come to equate you with bad news.”

“It’s good to see you too.”

“Tyler told me you were probably needed so I authorized you to come on board. Don’t let me down.”

“Do I ever?”

“That remains to be seen.”

“Well, we have a dismembered body that a young family found in Epping Forest two days ago. She’d been cut completely in half at the waist. The victim was 23-year-old Stephanie Brady from Gloucester Road.”

“Leads? Forensics? Suspects? What have we got to go on?” asked Andrea.

Dr. Hawkins spoke up from amidst the crowd of officers. “We found only one other person’s fingerprints on the body, Chief. They belonged to her boyfriend.”

“And he’s been checked out?”

“Afraid so,” said Tyler. “I just got back from interviewing him. He had an alibi for the night of her murder and he was genuinely distraught. He’s not involved.”

“What do we know about the killer?” asked Andrea. “Adler? Enthrall me. This is why we pay you top dollar.”

Top dollar? Cael thought. Is she joking?

“From what I can tell, there’s no sexual component to the murder at all. Judging by the autopsy results, he didn’t sexually assault Stephanie Brady or spend time with her body post-death. He kidnapped her, committed the deed and then disposed of her in one of the most theatrical and terrifying ways possible. He knew someone would discover her mutilated corpse in a fairly concealed area of Epping Forest. That’s what he banked on. The location definitely means something to him.”

“At the risk of sounding stupid, have we tried looking for her bottom half?” asked Andrea.

“We’ve searched the forest and the surrounding areas inside out,” said one of the officers. “Nothing at all.”

“Which means he took the time to purposely place her upper body in that location. He could have just kept her hidden along with her other half but he hasn’t.”

“Is there any chance he could have killed at the crime scene, then taken away her bottom half? Maybe we have it the wrong way around.”

“No chance,” said Tyler. If he’d have mutilated her at Epping Forest, the blood stains would have run for miles. When we found her body, there was only a handful of blood trails seeping out from inside her.”

“I see. Do we know how he cut her in half?”

“He used a metallic saw used in the manufacturing industry.”

“Shit me,” said Andrea.

“Yeah, although he made some minor changes.”

“Such as?”

“We’re not sure yet. But after this Tyler and I are on our way to investigate.”

“Good. Before I kick you all out, is there anything else I need to know? Once they get wind of this, the media are going to be all over me like a rash. We’ve managed to keep it quiet for now but it won’t be long before someone blabs.”

“Yeah, there’s something that connects killer and victim. But it might be best to keep it a secret for now. It’s got front page news written all over it.”

Everyone in the room looked toward Cael.

“Spill. We need to know,” said one of the uniformed officers.

Cael and Tyler glanced at each other.

“Magic,” said Cael.

“Come again?”

“Magic,” Tyler echoed.