Prologue
Elisa Martini, age 19, walked down the Morgantown, WV streets around midnight as usual. She was on her way home from work. A familiar man joined her and the two walked side-by-side. She smiled, greeting him in Italian. The two talked as they walked into their Italian neighborhood.
However, when they neared an alleyway, the man clamped his hand over her mouth, dragging her into the alleyway. The sound of ripping clothes echoed in their ears, even long after he'd raped her.
He ran from the blood-soaked alley a half hour after he'd attacked, a piece of paper having been left by her stabbed body. It was not a note, but a charcoal drawing.
A portrait, in fact.
A portrait of the victim.
A portrait of the victim...long before she had died.