It was because of this identity that her parents were brutally murdered by assassins. Of course, she had personally hunted down those thugs and even put a few bullets in their heads. Five, to be exact – three for the leader of the group that was hired to kill her parents and the other two for his two minions. That was her first time shooting and killing someone. In her report and her debrief, she had stated that she did it out of self-defence, but she knew it was just a lie. She had cleverly staged it in such a way that she would be able to get her revenge without getting caught, though she knew that the major general and her mentor suspected as much when they heard the news that the assassins were dead.

As for the mastermind behind the whole evil scheme, she had sought him out and put him behind bars. She didn’t shoot him, for dying would be far too much of an easy escape for him. She wanted him to suffer for what he did to her family and the many other lives he’d tortured in vain, so she decided that letting him rot away in jail was the best punishment for him.

She did everything she could to bring him down, hoping that it would somehow bring her comfort to know that she had avenged her parents’ death, but revenge never seemed enough to relieve her from her pain. Even until this current day …

Swallowing hard, Jenn took a deep breath and pushed away the bitter memories, trying to focus on more pressing matters. She quickly diverted her concentration to the case at hand.

Six teenage girls were murdered in her hometown in the past three years. Three of them were murdered on 5 May, while the other three died on 1 August, in their respective years. Also, forensics estimated that the time of death for each victim was after midnight – somewhere between twelve thirty and two in the morning. So she could pretty much sum up that the serial killer had a time pattern.

According to the general, the local authorities couldn’t seem to find out how the girls were murdered. The lab reports stated that none of the victims suffered any sexual assault or physical abuse other than skin abrasion on the wrists, which in other words were rope burns. No traces of toxic substance or drug could be found in their systems. None of the evidence found in the crime scenes indicated occurrence of violence while the murders took place. The cause of death stated in each of the reports was major heart rhythm disturbance which led to heart failure.

It seemed as if the victims were simply tied to the chair and then their hearts just magically stopped working, but of course, Jenn didn’t believe that this was scientifically possible.

It must be that the agents in charge were not looking hard enough. That was the only conclusion she could come to. Now that she was given jurisdiction over this case, she made a mental note to personally revisit each crime scene later. Jenn was aware that finding evidence years after a murder would be hard, but she had to start somewhere.

That was why she hated cold cases, especially when people who didn’t seem to know their jobs well had obviously handled the case. Crime scenes could have been tainted, and any possible trace of evidence would have been wiped off by now. She was off to a rough start.

Right now, the only solid information that she had about the serial killer was his time pattern and his choice of location in presenting his victims – secluded areas in town. It made her wonder what the local police and detectives were doing throughout these three years. She heaved a deep sigh as the dates of the murders swirled around in her head: 5 May … 1 August. What was so special about these dates? Wait! She remembered something suddenly.

Three years ago, on 5 May, the first murder took place. Four years ago, on the exact same day, she left home and was recruited into the NSSS. She remembered the date so clearly because it was actually the day her parents were brutally murdered too. That was why she was taken into protective custody, which led to her decision to join the NSSS to have her revenge. Jenn pulled herself back to the matter at hand before she could start dwelling on the past again.

So was it just pure coincidence? Or could it be a clue to her investigation? But wait: the other date – 1 August – meant nothing to her at all. Hmm, so perhaps it was just a coincidence. Now she was back to square one. Great.

Smiling wanly at her reflection, Jenn turned away from the mirror. She wore a slight grimace as she moved to her backpack and took out the case files that the general had given to her this morning. Well, she would have to start from scratch now.

Jenn read the victims’ biographies, though they were already imprinted in the back of her head. She needed to find some sort of link between the victims. But unfortunately, there was none, except for the fact that all six of the victims had auburn hair. For her, that did not count as anything much for a promising lead, not that she was going to ignore it. If the killer really was aiming for random redheads, that would mean that she was most probably dealing with a psychopathic homicidal maniac. That would not be pleasant.

A part of her was sure that these murders were not committed for a thrill or anything that suggested psychopathic killer; rather they were committed by a killer who loved puzzles. Studying the photos of the death scenes, it was obvious that she was dealing with a very sophisticated and somewhat elegant serial killer. For starters, all the victims were found dead without any signs of physical trauma and drug toxicity. In the photos, each girl was blindfolded and tied to a chair in an empty room.

What intrigued her most was that this killer could kill someone without actually doing her any harm. Well, physically anyway, according to the autopsies. This killer didn’t want their blood on his hands, she thought, so that could mean that he didn’t really want to harm them. In a way, he was still fighting his conscience and giving them a chance to live – if her hunch was correct.

When she learned about this case from the general for the first time, she already had a hunch about how the killer actually did it. But she needed to prove her theory right first, so she was not going to jump the gun and make assumptions right away.

Sighing, she put the files away and lay down on her bed. That was all she had for now.

~

When Jenn woke up the next morning, the first thing she did was cut her hair. She had decided to return as a new Jennifer Cole. Her hair was already dyed black, so she did not need to change her hair colour. She simply cut off her hair until it was shoulder length. When she was done, she put away her scissors and stood back to admire her handiwork, nodding in approval. Not bad, she thought.

The next thing she did was put on something casual. She had only brought along some plain clothes so she did not have much choice. Tirjuan was just a quaint little town after all, so she figured that fancy clothes would be a waste of space. Rifling through her backpack to double-check her things, she decided to keep her magazines and gun in her backpack. She wasn’t planning to start any action on the first day in town, so she would not need the gun today, plus it would blow her cover if she accidentally flashed it in front of the people in town. However, she kept her badge in her jacket, just in case.

As Jenn started to sling her backpack over her shoulder, she heard her cell phone ring. Placing a hand on her hip, she slipped her hand into her pocket and took out her cell phone before glancing at the caller ID. She almost let out a groan.

It was him again.

Fighting the urge to ignore his call, Jenn pursed her lips and ran her tongue over her upper front teeth as she put the cell phone to her ear. She answered the phone in a clipped tone. “Warner.”

Ben replied, “Catherine, I heard that you’re going back home.” His strong, masculine voice sounded concerned. “What’s going on?”

She exhaled the breath that she was holding. If the general decided to tell Ben about this, why couldn’t he just tell his son the whole story? She rolled her eyes, feeling annoyed. “I’m working on a case.” She spoke in a businesslike tone, void of emotions, despite the emotions that were brewing inside her. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Oh.” She heard him sighing in relief over the phone. “Uh … No, I don’t need anything. I just—”

Jenn had decided that it was time to cut him off. “Well, if you don’t need anything, you might as well leave me to do my job. Bye.” She heard him calling her name before she hung up on him. Making an exasperated sound, she grabbed her backpack off the bed.

Jenn shoved her cell phone back into her pocket, muttering unintelligent things to herself. She quickly checked out of her room and continued on her way to Tirjuan, feeling irritated and distracted by the phone call from Ben.

What a way to start her day.