Everyone took a step closer, whether they were conscious of it or not. The fan whirled in the background. The haunting sound of the man’s labored breathing through his gas mask was almost too much to take. Teddy glanced at Vega, the detective’s chiseled face beneath his short dark hair filled with hope and expectation. Then at the district attorney, all wound up like a spring.

The man in the gas mask gathered the plastic and pulled it away.

Teddy felt his heart skip a beat. The noxious smoke rose from the corpse like the plume from a mushroom cloud, the shock wave smacking everyone in the gut. Darlene Lewis was lying on the table completely naked, her arms and legs tied down with rags, her mouth gagged. Her eyes were open and bulging beyond their sockets, and her neck appeared bruised. From the hideous expression on the girl’s face, it looked as if she died screaming. But it was worse than that. Skin had been removed from her body, and when Teddy noticed, he shuddered in terror. A large patch of skin on her lower right calf, another just above her shaved vagina, and even more from the underside of her breasts. A thick, clear liquid was oozing from the breast wounds and collecting on the table. Teddy tried to look away, but couldn’t.

Unusual circumstances. He knew what the words meant now.

“Bring in the lights,” Vega whispered.

Teddy took a step back with the others as the crime scene techs grabbed their lights and positioned them around the table.

“Close the curtains,” the detective said. “And turn off the house lights.”

The room went black. Teddy wasn’t sure he could deal with the darkness, then felt Powell take his hand, give it a gentle squeeze and let go as the fluorescent lights were switched on. They were black lights, casting the body in a deep blue, dream-like glow. The girl’s skin darkened and white-hot marks appeared all over its surface.

Fingerprints. Bite marks. Impressions left from the killer’s lips.

Vega moved closer, his eyes dancing over the dead body in amazement.

The super glue had somehow mixed with the moisture left behind from the murderer’s skin. What he’d done to the girl blossomed to the surface like flowers smoldering in the void. For Teddy, it was a leap into the darkness, almost as if he were watching the murderer at work before his eyes. The crime was in motion, yet he couldn’t stop it as he watched it unfold. The madman’s hands pawing at the girl’s legs, then moving up her body. Kissing her open thighs, feeling her arms and then grabbing at her chest until he finally reached her neck. It was almost as if his hands and mouth had been dipped in bright white paint, leaving a record of what they’d done. Now Teddy understood why Vega hadn’t wanted the body disturbed—why the detective had taken the chance and tented the body before it was handled or moved. Teddy couldn’t help but admire him. Even at a glance, the brilliance in the man’s dark eyes shined through.

“Bring in the cameras,” Vega said.