Alice went straight to bed, not feeling up to doing anything else. That, however, didn’t translate into a good night’s sleep. Even without setting her alarm clock, she woke up feeling exhausted. She lay in bed for a while, staring at the ceiling and reflecting on what had happened yesterday. The more Alice thought about it, the more embarrassed she felt.

          Alice had snapped at a witness and then lashed out at her boss. In all her years on the force, she'd never done anything like that before. What had she been thinking? Even knowing it was old emotional wounds being opened didn't make her behavior seem any less strange now that she'd calmed down. As time went on, her own actions the previous day began to feel like those of a stranger.

          Gary was right. She'd gotten obsessed.

          Maybe a vacation would be nice after all, even if it was technically a suspension. She could set up that mother daughter day she’d been thinking about. However, before Alice could decide what she wanted to do, she heard a knock at the door.

          Who would be looking for her at this time of the morning?

          She put on some slippers and a robe over her pajamas and then went to answer the door. Opening it revealed a pair of men in suits with sunglasses standing in the apartment hallway. One was a tall, bulky man with dark hair and pale skin. He reminded Alice of a wrestler for how sturdy he looked and the grim, no nonsense expression he wore on his face. The other was a slender, dark skinned man with round sunglasses and a shaved head. He also had a friendly expression on his face, even with his eyes hidden.

          “Detective Hayes,” said the bulky man, pulling out a wallet and revealing a badge. “I’m Special Agent Thompson, this is Special Agent Walker, and we’re with the FBI.”

          Alice had a feeling she knew what this was about and sighed in exasperation.

          “You’re taking over the Frederick Benjamin case, aren’t you?”

          “You guess correctly,” said agent Walker, impressed.

          Alice wondered how Gary was going to feel about this.

          “We’re also reopening the case you were a witness to,” said Agent Thompson. “The Baxter Case. We believe both that case and this new one are connected to murders committed in other states.”

          Alice frowned.

          “This was a serial killer?” she asked, surprised. “Why haven’t I heard of this? A single murder in a random city is one thing, but several murders across state lines sounds like it should make national news or something, especially if it’s gone on for ten years.”

          “Normally, yes,” said Agent Walker with a soft accent. “But these murders are committed years apart, and when they do go national, they tend to get relegated to supermarket tabloids due to their…ahem…more eccentric methods.”

          Making them look like vampires did it, Alice thought bitterly.

          “We just wanted to ask a few questions,” said Agent Thompson. “May we come in?”

          Alice felt a small spark of amusement. It had been a while since she’d been on this end of witness testimony.

          “Sure,” she said. “But if it’s alright with you, I’d like to get dressed first.”

          The agents didn’t mind. Soon Alice wore jeans and a modest blouse while she sat in a comfortable chair and the agents sat on the couch. Alice, as law enforcement herself, knew precisely what to expect from this sort of thing. Talking about how she found the Baxter family’s bodies wasn’t pleasant, but it wasn’t her first time doing it, so she managed. They asked her if she ever saw Baxter’s interacting with someone they didn’t know or if they ever saw someone suspicious in the neighborhood. All standard stuff. They did, however, have one question that Alice wasn’t expecting.

          “At the time,” said Agent Thompson, writing in a notebook. “Did you notice the Baxter family acting strange?”

          “I didn’t interact with them much,” said Alice. “I just knew them as the family of Arthur’s friend. I don't remember them cutting off contact with people abruptly, but I can't be certain.”

          “And have you noticed anyone around you acting strange recently?” asked Walker.

          Alice raised an eyebrow.

          “Someone I know?” she asked.

          “Yes,” said Agent Thompson. “Have you seen anyone acting distant or withdrawn?”

          “Suddenly avoiding contact with friends and family?” added Agent Walker. “Like the Benjamins did.”

          Alice frowned. “You said that this murderer strikes only once every few years and in different states. You don't think this murderer is going to strike again now, do you?”

          “Just a precaution,” said Thompson. “We're not expecting more murders, but this murderer has returned to Saint Vivia after all this time, so we figure we can't be too careful.”

          Alice suddenly got an ominous feeling, and she crossed her arms to rub her forearms nervously.

          “You may have noticed that both murders showed no sign of a struggle,” said Agent Walker. “We suspect that the murderer gains the confidence of his victims, partially through the use of drugs.”

          That ominous feeling started to grow.

          “What drugs?” asked Alice.

          “Admittedly,” said Agent Thompson. “We don’t know. With all the victims’ blood drained, any direct evidence of foreign substances is nonexistent. We believe drugs might be involved because the behavior change is so consistent between cases. It's likely a drug that increases suggestibility, but again, without evidence, we can’t be sure.”

          Alice slumped back in her chair, the ramifications of this dawning on her. What if something like that had been used on Arthur?

          Alice pushed those thoughts away. She'd already suffered the consequences of obsession recently and wasn't eager to go down that road again. She considered the question and was glad to have her answer right away.

          “No,” said Alice. “I haven’t noticed anyone acting out of the ordinary.”

“Alright,” said Agent Thompson. “Thank you for your time. If you do notice anyone acting strangely, please give us a call.”

          He handed her a business card with an FBI logo and his contact information, which she pocketed.

          “Before we go,” agent Walker added. “Let me give you a word of advice. We suspect that whoever is behind this initially gains trust by presenting themselves as someone in need. Car broke down, phone not working, et cetera. Given that the killer is likely here in Saint Vivia, I’d recommend that you do not, under any circumstances, allow any strangers into your home, no matter how much help they seem to need.”

          “I’ll keep that in mind,” said Alice.

          The agents nodded and then let themselves out. Alice watched them walk down the hallway outside her apartment curiously. Something was bothering her about this, but she couldn’t place what it was. This new information had rattled her, sure, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something more going on. Exactly what that was, she couldn't say.

          Alice shook her head. She needed to get this out of her mind. It was time to make good on her previous plans.

###

Alice texted her mother, and they agreed to meet at mom’s house, the very place Alice had grown up. The only car Alice used was the one issued to her by the police, and Gary was using that, so Alice used a rideshare app to get there. As she sat in the backseat, she looked out the window as houses passed her vision. Soon Alice saw the Baxter house go by, and she quickly looked away. Another family lived there now, naturally, but she still couldn’t bear to look. There were just too many bad memories associated with that place.

          The driver dropped her off, and Alice walked to the front door of her old house, a white one with old fashioned décor. As Alice stepped onto the porch, it creaked just as she remembered. When she knocked at the door, Alice expected her mother to open it up with a cheery disposition.

          When Mom opened the door, her disposition was the exact opposite of cheerful. The woman looked like an older version of Alice. The only differences visible were her graying hair, the wrinkles on her face, and the tear marks staining her makeup. She looked up at Alice sadly, sniffling.

          “Mom?” asked Alice, astonished. “What happened?”

          “A pair of FBI agents came by this morning,” said her mother, wiping her nose with a handkerchief. “There’s been a murder. One that’s just like…just like…”

          And she started crying again. Alice stood there hesitantly, uncertain of what to do. Eventually, she put her hands on her mom’s shoulders, and Mom quickly moved in for an embrace. Alice comforted her mother for a moment and then led her into the living room, where they took seats on the couch.

          “Oh, I’m sorry, dear,” said Mrs. Hayes. “I’m such a mess right now. Agent Jackson and Agent Brown were so patient with me, but that didn’t stop me from making a fool of myself.”

          As Alice’s mother wiped more tears from her face, Alice momentarily wondered just how many agents were working on this case. She quickly returned her attention to her mother, though. That was more important.

          “Don’t apologize, Mom,” said Alice, sighing. “I’m not much better. I’m on mandatory leave because I yelled at my boss.” Alice sighed. “He took me off the very case that brought the FBI."

          Mrs. Hayes chuckled, still wiping tears from her eyes. “I would have thought you’d want to be taken off that case.”

          Alice didn’t respond. It wasn’t an unreasonable thing to assume, but it made her wonder if she’d been just a little too distant with her mother lately. Sara Hayes didn’t know her daughter very well, and Alice had no one to blame but herself. Seeing her mother crying over this, Alice was suddenly grateful she'd been suspended.

          “Alright, mom,” said Alice. “I think it's time we took our minds off of this. I have at least a week off, so what do you want to do?”

###

Alice and Mom did a couple of things that day. They went shopping at an antique store, finding all sorts of rare and beautiful things. They had lunch at a little café styled after the ones in Paris, and finally, they took a trip to the Saint Vivia Art Museum. All in all, it was a productive mother daughter day. As they drove back through the city in Mrs. Hayes’s old station wagon, they chatted for a bit until Mrs. Hayes decided to turn on the radio. She switched channels for a bit until they both heard something from one of the local news stations.

          “…another gruesome set of murders on the outskirts of the city.”

          Alice, who had been smiling, slowly frowned as she drove. Mrs. Hayes froze, her hand over the channel dial, as the reporter continued.

          “The first victim, Frederick Benjamin, was found a day ago by his nephew. These newest victims were found by their neighbor early this morning. Just like the first victim, all of their blood was completely drained through two pricks in the neck. What mechanism was used to achieve this is unknown at this time. However…”

          Mrs. Hayes turned off the radio and looked at her daughter. Alice saw Mom's despondent look in the corner of her eye and felt the same way.  Could this really be happening?

          The two of them sat in silence for the rest of the drive.

###

Over the following week, Alice took it easy, or at least tried to. The day after she visited Mom, Alice heard about two more murders, and then the next day, four more. Five days into Alice’s de facto vacation, it became clear that there wasn’t just a single murderer behind this. Alice turned on the news that morning for the most shocking report she’d ever heard in her life.

          “And with seven more murders reported to the police this morning,” said the newscaster, a woman with a fearful look on her face. “It brings the total number of deaths to nineteen. The FBI has given no indication that they know who is behind this, whether it’s an individual or a group effort, but one thing is certain. The City of Saint Vivia is going through dark times.”

          Alice agreed as she stood in the middle of her apartment. She hugged herself, suddenly feeling very cold.