Chapter 2: The Red Folder
The precinct was a hive of forced caffeine and low-level anxiety. Elias ignored the chatter, heading straight for the "Dead Archives" in the basement.
He didn't need the computer. He walked to Row 14, Shelf C. He pulled a dusty red folder. Inside was the file for the Blackwood Murders of 2006.
He laid the crime scene photos from tonight next to the grainy Polaroids from twenty years ago. The signature was identical. The "O" shaped bruise. The missing left shoe. The precise, surgical extraction of the victim's tongue.
A shadow fell over his desk. It was Julianna Vance, the DA's lead investigator and the only person in the city Elias actually trusted.
"You're chasing ghosts again, Elias," she whispered.
"Ghosts don't leave fingerprints," Elias replied, sliding a magnifying glass over the old photo. "But they do leave echoes."
"The Chief is going to pull your badge if you link this to Blackwood. That case nearly burned the city down."
"Then I guess we better get some fire extinguishers," Elias said. "Because the killer isn't a copycat. He's a perfectionist."