Scarlett is a Law Enforcement Officer with ten years on the job. She was recently promoted to Investigator. She worked hard to be an investigator. Her brother was also a Law Enforcement Officer that was killed in the line of duty when she was fifteen. Ever since he died, she wanted to follow him and have a career in Law Enforcement. The day she was promoted, Scarlett knew her brother was looking down on her. She was the first female investigator working in the County of Blue Lagoon. She is excited to have the job and feels she must prove herself. Other male officers applied for the job, but Scarlett got the promotion. Scarlett felt like society believed Law Enforcement was a job for a man. With her being a female, she was always held to a higher standard. In the beginning of her career, she felt like everyone was waiting on her to fail. After getting to know her, the officers liked her. She is married to Brad a High School Principal and has two small children Katie 5, and Allison 7 in Elementary School.

 Scarlett was at Katie’s first Ballet Dance Recital when she received the call from Colonel Andrews. Scarlett was called to report to the scene of a dead body. When she arrived, the scene is closed off by the police. As she walked down the sand dunes to the beach. The wind was blowing through her hair. The sun was beating down on her face. The closer she became to the body the rotten smell overpowered the smell of saltwater. It was the body of a young female that had washed up on the beach.   The female was approximately twenty years old. She was dressed in a black evening gown. She had on a diamond necklace, earrings, a gold watch, and a gold bracelet with one ruby bead. Now Scarlett’s job was to determine who killed her and why. The female was taken to the coroner’s office to determine the cause of death. The female was killed by strangulation and there was no sign of sexual assault. She was also scalped. It was unusual to find a body scalped in current times. Cutting the crown of hair from someone was traditionally viewed as proof that the person was dead. Had someone been paid to kill her? Who was she?

  Scarlett checked the missing person’s report, there was a report of a female approximately twenty years old missing. The family was notified and was called to come and identify the body. The body was identified as Rebecca Vanderbilt. Rebecca was working her way through college as a dancer in the Ruby Night Club. Scarlet wanted to know who the last person was to see her alive. Rebecca’s family provided a photo to assist with the investigation.

 Scarlett asked the family when the last time was, they saw her. It was ten days since they saw her. Rebecca was just a college student with no one wanting to kill her. She was from a prestigious family with money. Rebecca had wanted to make it on her own. Her family disapproved of her working as a dancer. The family had turned their back on Rebecca except for her sister Amy. Amy was her oldest sister twenty-five years old. Amy supported her sisters desire to go to college and be independent. Depending on the family money would give the family control. Rebecca was a strong woman determined to make it in the world.

 Scarlett interviewed the workers of the Ruby Night Club. Rebecca (Baby her stage name) was the new upcoming dancer. She started out as being a topless server. Most of the girls had to work years as a topless server before advancing to a dancer. The dancers made more money than the server. The server only made tips from serving the drinks. The dancers made a percentage of the till plus tips. The income for a dancer is unpredictable. Baby advanced in her job quickly. She had only been working at the club for six months. Some of the other girls were jealous of her.

 Baby had blonde sun-bleached hair and the perfect tan for a beach babe. There were always men coming into the club just to see her. Baby was not only a beautiful blond-haired person. She was also educated and could continue a conversation with anyone. She had a special laugh. She always slightly tilts her head back when she laughed. Her laugh would echo through the club, and everyone would laugh. The smile and happiness she brought to the customers helped her advance her career. She was a young woman full of life. A life that ended too soon.

 Scarlett and the teachers at the school gave Brad a surprise Birthday Party. Brad never had a birthday party before. When he was a little boy all he ever received for his birthday was a chocolate cake. His family never really celebrated a birthday. The guest was singing Happy Birthday and started to cut the cake. Scarlett received another call to report to the scene of a body discovered in the woods. When she arrived, the scene was roped off by the police. Scarlett arrived it was the body of a young female that had been scalped. This was two women that had been scalped in the week. The female was wearing a red evening gown. She had a bracelet with two ruby beads. The body was taken to the coroner’s office and examined. She was approximately seventeen years old. She was strangled to death with no signs of sexual assault. In the woods several feet away from the body Scarlett discovered a purse. The purse was filled with marijuana, money, and a driver license for Jody Sinclair. If the murder were for money or drugs, they would have taken the purse. Scarlett went to the address on the driver’s license.

       A woman about came to the door. Scarlett introduced herself as an investigator for the county. She asked to speak to Jody Sinclair. The man, Mr. Sinclair, had not seen Jody in days. She last saw her on the days before he left for a business trip. She had just arrived home. Jody was her daughter. Ms. Sinclair attempted to call her several time with no answer. Scarlett began to tell Ms. Sinclair that a body of a young girl had been discovered. Jody’s purse was discovered nearby. Scarlett asked Ms. Sinclair for a photo of Jody. Ms. Sinclair went upstairs into Jody’s room and provided her homecoming photo. Scarlett asked if she knew someone that could come and identify the body. Ms. Sinclair agreed to come to the morgue with her husband. The body was identified as Jody.

 Scarlett continued to question Mr. Sinclair and Ms. Sinclair to find a clue about the killing. Jody was a troubled teenager. She had gotten involved with drugs after meeting her boyfriend. She was junior in High School and rebellious. She started hanging out with the wrong crowd and her parents objected. They never had any problems with Jody before she met Andy. Andy was a school dropout and encouraged Jody to do the same. Jody had dreamed of going to college and becoming a nurse. Then she met Andy and got involved with drugs. Jody was a beautiful blonde-haired lady with a prefect tan. Scarlett asked her parents where Jody got the bracket with two ruby beads. Neither of her parents had ever seen it before.

  Scarlett asked where she could talk to Andy at. Ms. and Ms. Sinclair did not know where to find him. Jody had only been dating him for a few months. Ms. Sinclair called Jody’s friend Indy and obtained a telephone number to talk to Andy. Scarlett did want to talk to him on the telephone. She wanted to talk to him in person. Scarlett returned to the and called the telephone company. The telephone company provided the address for the phone number. Scarlett went to the address and knocked on the door. A man looked out the window, saw the police car, and ran out the back door. He got into a black van parked in the yard and left.

 Scarlett continued in a high-speed chase with the van. Police chases create a dangerous situation for everyone involved especially when police go to extreme lengths pursuing a suspect. Scarlett radioed the station for assistance. She had no idea why the suspect was running. She was only there to talk to him. Did he kill Jody. Scarlett continued to chase him for miles on a long county road. Finally, the other officer created a roadblock at the intersection. He ran over the sidewalk and escaped the roadblock. Scarlett was still in pursuit with several other police with her. The van ran out of gas and the man started running in the woods.

  Scarlett radio the station and asked for the K9 tracking unit to assist. When the K9 tracking team arrived. The K9 tracking team are trained to track criminals, sniff out illegal materials, search building, and other jobs that humans cannot do as well as dogs. The K9 tracked the man into the woods and lead Scarlett straight to him. Police dogs have assisted law enforcement officer for over a century, and they provide talents humans simply do not possess. They are trained to attack in certain situations and are capable of inflicting severe wounds. Police dogs are taught to bite and hold. Scarlett hand cuffed the man and took him to jail.

 Scarlett questioned Andy about the murder of Jody. Andy stated he did not know what she was talking about. The police searched the house and discovered it was a meth lab. Andy stated he ran because he did not want to be caught in a meth lab. Andy was arrested for manufacturing meth with the intent to distribute.

       If Andy was telling the truth about Jody, Scarlett knew there was a serial killer on the loose. But who was it? Both girls were young blond-haired person headed girls that had been scalped. Both girls were wearing a bracelet with ruby bead. The first girl had one ruby bead and the second had two ruby beads. Scarlett realized the ruby bead represented the number of girls that had been killed. But why were they scalped. Was it because they were blonde headed? What was the connection between the two girls? Both were in school. One in college and one in high school. What was the connection.

 Every night Scarlett had a special night with her family she received a telephone call to investigate a victim. Katie could not understand why her mother left before she saw the recital. Scarlett promised to make it up to her with a special dinner and a movie. Katie was excited to go the movies. It was something that they had never done before. Katie wanted to see Cinderella. The new Cinderella was advertised on the television set all the time. All the girls in her class were going to see Cinderella. Cinderella the beautiful princess. Katie pretended to be Cinderella all the time. She dressed up in Cinderella costumes all the time. Allison would pretend to be the Fairy God Mother and wave a magic wand and Katie would suddenly have on a beautiful blue dress. 

Scarlett began researching to determine if the ruby bracelet had a significate meaning. In the Middle Ages, rubies were viewed as a stone of love, energy, passion, power, and a zest of life. Like no other gemstone in the world, Ruby is the perfect symbol for powerful feelings. The first victim had a bracelet with one ruby, and the second victim had a bracelet with two rubies. The number of rubies symbolized the number of victims that had been killed.

  Scarlett compiled research and wondered if the killer’s heritage was Northern Europe. European groups adopted the custom of posting rewards for scalps. The blonde hair is most associated with the people of Northern Europe. The victims were not sexually assaulted; therefore, sex was not a motive. The ruby was significate regarding the number of victims. The scalps were kept as trophies by the killer.

   The bodies were found in a small community. With no witnesses. No additional evidence had been discovered. Both victims were in school. Both had blonde hair. Both victims had a tan. Light skin is commonly found amongst the native populations of Europe and Northeast Asia as measured through skin reflectance. The victims had a tan meaning they were light skinned. Scarlett had needed to find the connection. Was it possible the killer was focusing on Europeans? Did all the European indicators mean anything.

 Scarlett decided to take the family out to dinner at the Three Crowns Restaurant. The Three Crowns is best known for Smorgasbord. A Scandinavian meal, originating in Sweden, served buffet-style with multiple hot and cold dishes of various foods on a table. She was hoping to find a clue while at the restaurant. It was the only restaurant in the small town that served European food. If the killer was European, this was one of the places the killer liked to visit. While at the restaurant, Scarlett saw a display of bracelets with the ruby bead for sale. While waiting on her food to be delivered to the table, the telephone rang. She received the call from Colonel Andrews. Scarlett was called to report to the scene of a dead body. The body was in a dumpster behind the Ruby Night Club.

 When she arrived, the scene was roped off by the police. Scarlett arrived it was the body of a young female that had been scalped. The female was wearing a blue evening gown. She had a bracelet with four ruby beads. The body was taken to the coroner’s office and examined. She was approximately twenty years old. She was strangled to death with no signs of sexual assault. Scarlett examined the contents of the dumpster and discovered a restaurant bag from the Three Crowns Restaurant. The bracelet had four beads on it. If the beads were the number of victims, then one body had not been discovered. There was also a purse in the dumpster. The purse belonged to Susan Alexander. The diver license address was 142 Pine Nut Drive. The Three Crowns Restaurant in on Pine Nut Drive.

 Scarlett believed the ruby beads were purchased from The Three Crowns Restaurant. The beads were Ruby, and the dumpster was behind the Ruby Night Club. Is it possible the Night Club and the restaurant had a connection? She arrived at 142 Pine Nut Drive and knocked on the door. Ms. Daisy a senior citizen answered the door. Scarlett questioned her. Susan Alexander was in the bedroom asleep. Ms. Daisy invited Scarlett to come into the dining room while she went to the bedroom to get Susan. Susan entered the dining room and sat down at the table beside Scarlett. Scarlett informed her the purse was discovered in the dumpster behind the Ruby Night Club.