Ogunquit, Maine

The Medical Examiner was the first place that Rossi and JJ asked Sherriff Burton take them; the plan was that Rossi would get dropped off there to get a full report on the victimology of this copycat, and JJ would go to the beach where he would talk to Stan Liddy. Rossi saw Alvez off right after he was introduced to the ME. Presently, he was in the room, looking at three bodies with their body parts matched together.

"So tell me what we've got here." Rossi opened the dialogue.

The ME took a deep breath. "What we have here is three dismembered bodies." He started with the obvious. "The arms, legs, and head were all removed post mortem. The tool marks tell me that this was done with something heavy and sharp; maybe a meat cleaver or an axe, possibly a machete." He indicated the rough look of the cuts; really more like tears in the flesh and breaks in the bones of Hector- presumably the first victim based on the order they went missing according to what Garcia found. "See here? It's a really messy job. Whoever did this really had no clue what they were doing."

Rossi nodded. That meant they were probably dealing with a rookie. Maybe their copycat was some kid who thought mimicking the infamous Bay Harbor Butcher was a quick way to fame. It was still far too early to say for sure, but it was as good a start as any. "Then it's a safe bet the stab wound is the cause of death." He said rather than asked.

"Yes," the ME replied, again directing Rossi's attention to Hector. "There's definite hesitation marks on this one, like the killer wasn't sure if he wanted to go through with it." Then he went to One Shot, the assassin. "Here there are still hesitation marks, but not quite so pronounced. The marks on the limbs and head are still a mess, but..."

"He's gaining confidence." Rossi finished for him. "That or he had a lot less objection to killing a hitman than he did an ex-vet who went over the edge."

"We don't get anything this big around here, so I'll defer to you on that." The ME said. "But if you ask me, I would guess the later. If you look at this last victim, you can see that the hesitation marks are even more pronounced than on the first one."

"Killing a person is bad enough, but killing a kid is a whole different ball game." Rossi agreed. One thing was coming clear now; this UNSUB was a killer, but not likely a psychopath. This wasn't something he particularly enjoyed, but rather something he felt was a necessary means to some kind of end. That meant there was a specific reason each victim was chosen. What they needed to do now was figure out what that reason is.

"Well, Dex, it looks like you really shit the fuckin' bed, doesn't it?"

Dexter Morgan looked up from the trash bin he was changing and towards the sea. There, in what he knew was his minds' eye, he saw Debra standing just beyond the waterline at high tide. This is a new development. It's been years since I've seen Harry, and the ghost of my sister has never been a part of this.

Back in 2013, right before Hurricane Laura hit Miami, Daniel Voegel aka Oliver Saxon aka the Brain Surgeon shot Debra. This was after Dexter called Deb regarding the whereabouts of their suspect because right at the moment of truth he decided that he no longer wanted to kill. For the first time ever, his feelings for Hannah actually overshadowed his desire to kill completely. Deb responded to the call; but then that Marshal showed up and released Saxon. Saxon killed the Marshal just as Deb showed up, then he shot her and made his escape. Deb got a shot off, wounding Saxon, and then contacted emergency. She died later that day in the hospital. It was my fault; there's nobody to blame except me. Is this ghost here to remind me what I'm responsible for? Is she here to remind me of exactly what I've done and who I really am?

"Saxon shot me, dumbass! What you did was prevent me from becoming a fuckin' vegetable. That's not what I'm talking about." Then Deb pointed behind him. Dexter turned around and saw Sherriff Burton and an attractive blonde woman walking towards him. For the briefest of moments his thoughts went to Hannah Mackay and Harrison; for a fraction of a second he thought the woman was Hannah, back from Argentina. It was only a split second, but even those was long enough cause him to nearly start running towards her; to go to her and hold her and kiss her warmly...

"Watch yourself, Dexter," it was Harry's ghost speaking to him now, standing right beside him. This was a ghost he was used to; even after all these years. "This could be some kind of trap. They may be on to you and trying to trip you up..."

Taking that possibility into account, Dexter approached the Sherriff and his counterpart with carefully measured steps; not too slowly so as to show signs of reluctance, and not too quickly so as to arouse any suspicion of haste.

"Hi, Stan," Sherriff Ryan Burton greeted. "I'm sorry to have to drag you back into all of this, but since you called those body bags in I had to contact the FBI; a town like this just isn't equipped for a case like this."

"Good afternoon, Sherriff," Dexter replied. "It's no problem; I kind of expected it, really." Burton is a good cop and a good person. He's right, though; a town like this needs all the help it can get. Even more important, a town like this doesn't deserve to have something like this dropped on its shores.

Ryan pointed at the woman. "This right here is Special Agent Jennifer Jareau of the Behavior Analysis Unit of the FBI. She wanted to talk with the man who found the bodies."

"The FBI, Dexter," Harry's ghost told him. "Not only that, but it's the BAU. You need to be careful. These people are trained to read people like you."

Agent Jareau extended her hand to him; Dexter took it and noted her pleasingly firm grip as they shook hands. He also saw her wedding band. I wonder how her husband handles her being away. They must a have a very strong bond if they can make it work.

"I'm very sorry to step into your day, Mr. Liddy," she said. "I just need to ask you a few questions and then I'll be out of your way."

Dexter nodded. "Of course, I'll be happy to help if I can."

Agent Jareau smiled. "First, do you mind telling me again about how you found the bodies?"

"Sure," Dexter replied. This was easy enough; all he had to do was tell the truth. "I came out here to start my shift and I saw what I thought at the time was three trash bags of litter right along the tide line." He pointed at the exact spots where the bags were. "I also saw that there were three boats out on the sea, and my original idea was that maybe one or all of them decided the best way to get rid of their trash was to dump it overboard. As it is part of my job description, I attempted to pick them up for proper disposal. The first bag I picked up broke, the contents fell out, I turned around and there I saw it was body parts. That's when I called Sherriff Burton over there."

"You said there were three boats out at sea," the agent confirmed. "By any chance did you get the names of those boats?"

Dexter had. "I sure did," he replied. "They were the Maine Stream, the Atlantic Dreamer, and the Neptune Explorer."

"I know where all three of those dock," Sherriff Ryan announced. "But I can assure you they're good, local folks. There's no way any of them had anything to do with this."

JJ turned her attention over to the Sherriff. "I'm sure you're probably right Sherriff," she said, "and believe me when I say the last thing any of us want is to upset the apple cart around here. On a more personal level, I completely understand just how troubling the presence of Federal Agents can be to the balance of a place like this town of yours. All we want to do is gather what information we can and get out of your way."

Dexter was impressed with this agent; she read Sherriff Burton like a book and said exactly the right thing in exactly the right way. She even included a subtle flip of her hair at just the right moment, thus putting the Sherriff at ease.

"If you can just take me back to the ME's where we can get Agent Rossi, and then to the owners of those boats, maybe we can determine if they saw anything."

"There are two of them here, Dex." Debra's ghost said, still nearer the water than Harry was. "That's like two Lundy's at the same time. You'll want to watch your fuckin' step."

Ryan nodded, apparently consoled by the agents' charms. "Well, I guess that'd be alright." He said. "It's why I called you in, I s'pose."

The two them turned to leave, and then Agent Jareau doubled back. "Mr. Liddy, before I go, I wanted to check just a couple more things." She said, and before Dexter could reply she continued. "If I'm to understand correctly you were once with Miami Metro Police, right? It was Narcotics, right?"

At least my cover identity is holding up.

"That's right," he confirmed, and added in anticipation of the next question: "I just burned out of the whole law enforcement scene, you know? It was day in and day out of the same thing; crime, violence, corruption, and worst of all the politics of it all." He hastened to add: "Not to say anything bad about the department itself or anyone specific in there; they're great people. I just couldn't do it anymore."

"I understand completely." Jareau said. "It's just that this case has a lot of similarities to a case that took place in Miami a few years ago. Are you at all familiar with the Bay Harbor Butcher Case?"

Harry was right. She's trying to trip me up; put me at ease and then rattle my cage a little.

"Not really, no," he answered. "It wasn't my department. I do seem to remember that one of your guys was around back then, and I did hear it turned out to be a cop; Sergeant Doakes, I think."

"You have a good memory!" the Agent said. "Yes, it was James Doakes. Did you happen to know him?"

"I'm not sure if anyone really knew him when I look back." Dexter said. "I do remember he was always angry, though. Sorry I can't be more helpful."

"That's fine, Mr. Liddy. Thank you for your time." She said, turning away and producing a phone.

"Remember what Dr. Voegel said about how that anger didn't fit the Butcher's Profile, Dex." Harry's ghost warned. Dexter wasn't sure where he picked up referring to them as ghosts; they were more like memories.

"Come to think of it," he said aloud, allowing the agent to turn and face him again. "In hindsight Doakes's anger always seemed a little on the nose to me."

That caught JJ's attention. "What do you mean?"

"Well, he was always storming around, cussing and swearing like he had a major axe to grind with everyone. At the time most figured it was some kind of holdover from his time with Special Forces, but now that I have a little distance, it seemed a little bit deliberate; like he was trying to convince everybody he an angry person that should not be crossed. Maybe that was some kind of cover or defensive measure." He said. "I'm just guessing, of course, but on the force I dealt with people who put on false faces all the time," like my own, "and after awhile I got to being able to pick it out. Most of the time it was a face of calm, but I don't see a reason why someone couldn't put up an angry badass personae just as easily."

"That's a good point. We'll keep it in mind." She smiled as she turned away with her phone. She addressed someone named Dave and said they were on their way back before she and the Sherriff got out of earshot.

Who's Dave? Is that her husband? Or is it the other agent, this Rossi she mentioned?

"You're starting to sound like the old fuckin' serial killer Dexter Morgan again!" Deb warned. "Let this go, Dex. You got a somewhat normal life now; maybe pathetic and sad, but normal. Don't go stepping on your dick trying to fix something that doesn't need fixing."

"She's right, Dexter." Harry agreed with Deb; maybe for the first time ever. The best thing you can do right now is step back from this. At the very least wait and see what else turns up before doing anything."

"Maybe you're right." Dexter said to people who weren't really there. Agent Jareau was right; this was way too similar to his old work to be a coincidence. That meant there was a copycat out there somewhere, and that meant the FBI would have to revisit the original Butcher case. He covered his tracks before; even after LaGuerta reopened the case and got dangerously close to solving it. That didn't mean this Jennifer Jareau and Rossi person couldn't have found something that everyone, even him had missed...

Miami, Florida

Fresh out of Deputy Chief Thomas Matthews' office, Captain Angelo Batista stepped into the briefing room at Miami Metro Homicide just as Lieutenant Angela Miller opened up, asking first about the progress being made on the Jason Cooper case.

"The pistol that we fished out of the Loggerhead Marina had a serial number match to one registered to Charles Duggan," Shaw reported. "I checked with Robbery and this is the same Charles Duggan that reported a stolen pistol about an hour before the ETD of the victim."

"Ballistics just came back," Masuka added. "The bullet that killed our guy came from that gun."

"Do we have anything that connects Duggan to Cooper?" Angie asked.

"I asked around the club that Cooper worked at." Shaw responded. "Two days before the shooting, Cooper threw Duggan out for harassing one of the servers." Jason Cooper was a professional wrestler who plied his trade under the stage name "The Juggernaut" JC, and supplemented his income part time as a bouncer at the Hoodoo Nights Night Club.

"It's not an airtight case yet, but it's enough to bring Duggan in for questioning." Miller said. Shaw nodded. "What about this body bag case? What do we have on that?"

"Detective Shaw gave us a positive ID on the victim." Quinn jumped in. "45 year old Nadine Michaelsen, out on bail pending her trial for the murder of her husband Robert Michaelsen. Identification is confirmed by a drivers' license located on the scene."

"The scene is a dump site, but that should be obvious." Masuka added. "DNA verification is pending, but so far it looks like this is indeed the same woman that Shaw arrested. Beyond that, I'm not optimistic about finding any other DNA evidence. No fingerprints found on the body or the bag it was stored in."

"What do we know about the body?" Miller asked.

"The cause of death was a single stab wound to the chest; right above the heart." Astor Morgan, Masuka's latest and greatest intern said. "We found hesitation marks on the wound. The body was dismembered post mortem, most likely with a machete; really sloppy work, too." It wasn't much of a surprise that Astor, Dexter's stepdaughter, would take an interest in this kind of work. Dexter was one of the best forensic technicians Miami Metro had ever seen. He married Rita Bennett mother of Astor and Cody. Then, as Debra Morgan was closing in on Arthur Mitchell – the Trinity Killer – Arthur tracked down and murdered Rita. It really only made sense that both Astor and Cody would take an interest in fields that would put them in positions to help capture the bad guys after losing their mother like that. Astor was something of a computer wizard already, and now she showed a lot of promise in forensics. Cody was looking into becoming a cop.

"I'm sure everyone here knows how familiar this case looks," Batista interjected. "You all know exactly what I'm talking about. Since I was part of the investigation team on the original Butcher case, I'm stepping in and taking lead on what looks and feel like a probable copycat. I'm also pulling Sergeant Quinn to assist me."

Lieutenant Miller turned her head to face the Captain, and then scanned the room quickly with her eyes as was her habit when trying to decide what the best call would be. "That'll be fine," she said. "Quinn, you're with the Captain on this one."

"Got it," Quinn acknowledged, doing his best not to pump his fists as if in victory. Angel had to admit that immediately following Deb's death he was worried about Quinn; given how close those two were as partners –even as lovers – there was a damn good chance Joe Quinn would spiral out of control. That was why when Batista got bumped to Captain he promoted Miller instead of Quinn. He also very nearly advised against Miller making him her Sergeant until she said she believed putting Quinn in a position of authority and therefore responsibility will help him stay focused; maybe even give drive to do good to honor Deb's memory. As it worked out, Miller was right.

"Begging your pardon, Lieutenant," Shaw objected. "But since the victim was my arrest, I'm most familiar with this case. I should be lead on it."

"It's exactly because of your association with the victim that you are not, Detective." Miller countered. "The last thing we need is for the courts or God forbid the press to have any ammunition that would even suggest that our investigation is being tampered with. You know as well as I do that is exactly what would happen if the detective who arrested someone is the same one who investigates her murder just days after she makes bail on appeals."

Detective Shaw relented his point. It was understandable that he was reluctant to do so, but Miller was making the right call and Shaw knew it.

"Do we have any leads on the body dump?" Miller asked.

"At the moment we do not." Quinn admitted.

"Then we have a lot of work to do." Miller responded. "Start with Shaw and all he has on Michaelsen. There might be a specific reason she was chosen." Even as Quinn nodded in agreement Miller dismissed the briefing. As she did so Angel grabbed Quinn.

"Come with me for a second first." He ordered. "You can talk to Shaw after this; Matthews wants to see us right now." Quinn followed Angel to Matthew's office.

The Deputy Chief had Angel close the door behind them. To Joe's mind that was never a good sign. He racked his brain; did he fuck up somewhere recently? For the life of him he couldn't think of how or when.

"I just got a call from the FBI." Matthews said, not wasting any time with pleasantries. "They're sending three agents here from Ogunquit Maine, and are asking for all information we have on the Bay Harbor Butcher. All because three bodies in similar condition to the Butcher's victims washed up on the shore there and were discovered by someone named Stan Liddy."

Now it made sense. Stan Liddy was the name of Dexter's new alias. That meant Dexter found the bodies and called it in. The rest of the conversation was pretty much unnecessary; they had to make sure that Dexter's cover solid. Quinn knew it was; he made sure he put the best people he knew on that. Before he met Deb, Joe Quinn had a long and checkered past playing both sides of the law; both here and back in New York. One thing he learned early on is that the best way to lie is to tell the truth as much as possible. The trick was to word the truth in just the right way in order convey the message you want. This was why Stan Liddy was now a former Narcotics agent with the Miami Metro Police department. Due to burn out, Stan Liddy went into early retirement. The fact that Liddy was in Narcotics was completely true. The fact of early retirement was also true; except that the retirement was due to the fact that Stan was as dirty as they come, and IA caught up to him through a sting operation. In the event that Dex should find his identity under investigation, the sting was included in his background, but then doctored to look like that sting operation screwed up an undercover operation, and was the last straw leading to his retirement. Dexter's cover was solid. All the same, Quinn would have to go and talk his person and make sure all the I's were dotted and all T's were crossed; at least on the digital front. This conversation was safe in this room; all three of them knew that Dexter Morgan was still alive. Out of respect for his wishes, it was important to keep those who knew of this in a very tight circle.

"Well, we've got a lot of work to do and we have to get it done fast." Matthews urged. "The Feds are going to be here within the next two hours."