CHAPTER FOUR: Joe moved closer to Nick, confused. "Come again?" Nick bent down, gently moving the girl's head to the side and touched the edge of the mask. "Look how tightly it's plastered onto her skin. My guess is he drugged her, plastered over her face, and let her suffocate to death." Miley exhaled slowly. "This crime is even more different than I thought. He made the mask while his victim was alive instead of doing it after she died..." Nick nodded slowly. "He's evolving." "Exactly. And when a killer this precise, this methodical, this disciplined, still has room to evolve..." "That's trouble." "Yeah. A lot of it." An officer walked up to Nick and Miley. "Hey! Nick! You might want to see this!" Nick turned towards the officer, noticing that he was holding a black-light over to body. The officer pointed to an inking on her arm. "Look what I found!" Nick studied the inside of the girl's wrists. A stamp of a circle of animals from the Chinese zodiac showed up. "Wait a minute, I know that stamp. That's from the Zen Club in Chinatown. It's an upscale bar and karaoke club. Given how crisp the image is, I'm guessing she was there last night." Miley nodded fast. "Someone there must have seen something." "Well, Special Agent Cyrus, looks like we got a lead." He chuckled, giving her a gentle wink. Miley rolled her eyes. "Ugh." Nick drove Miley to Chinatown. She went over her paperwork in stony silence. "Not much of a talker, are you? Too busy profiling?" Nick teased. "As a ...
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