Henry scanned the park, looking for his partner. It took him a few moments, but he finally saw her walking into a line of trees. He smiled as he moved closer to her, as he could see the determined look on her face. Jo Martinez took her job very seriously, and it was one of the things he admired about her. No matter how difficult the case, justice would be done and peace would be brought to the victim's family.

"Hey, Henry," She said, catching a glimpse of him.

He nodded, placing his hands behind his back. "Detective."

"I just finished looking over the crime scene, and I'm disappointed. There doesn't seem to be anything unusual that could lead us to the identity of our victim."

"Hmm," He said, pausing. "Maybe you need a fresh pair of eyes."

With that, Henry walked into the wooded area. His eyes immediately moved from the more open spaces to those areas one might miss. The ones densely populated with ferns and overgrowth. While he believed the crime techs perfectly capable of finding evidence, he still believed they missed something.

His search lasted for around twenty minutes, before he noticed something strange. On one of the trees was carved an intricate heart. The detail was quite astounding – he had never seen anything like it. The heart curved inward, and coming from all sides of it were swirling lines. It was as if the heart was breaking, getting ready to burst into a thousand tiny pieces.

"Jo," He said, beckoning her over to him. "Take a look at this."

She walked over and leaned down to see what he was pointing at. Her eyes widened a little in surprise. "Wow. That's beautiful."

Henry nodded. "It is, but that isn't what puzzles me. Take a closer look."

Leaning down further, her eyebrows knit together as she studied it. "J.T."

He nodded again. "Whoever carved this either left their initials, or the initials of the person they carved it for."

"Wait a minute," She exclaimed, putting her hand out to touch it. A sticky substance appeared on her fingers. Standing up straight, she looked over at Henry. "Does that look like blood to you?"

His eyes widened. "It most certainly does, Detective. Could it be possible?"

Jo smirked at his astonishment. "I believe we found our killers signature. And I would pay good money to bet the blood is our victims."

Henry suddenly moved away from Jo, and walked toward the entrance of the woods. Looking around, he took careful steps to reenact the scene. "Our victim is walking by the woods. The killer is already hidden among the trees. He or she lures the victim far enough in that no one would see them together." He paused, taking a few steps and stopping where the body was found. "John Doe stops here and the killer strikes, giving one swift jab of the knife. Once he is dead, they come over to this tree," He walks over the Jo's side again. "and carves this heart with the same knife used to kill our victim."

"Let's say I'm the killer," Jo said. "I'm taking a big risk sticking around after I just killed a man. Especially to carve something into a tree. I mean, look at this," She points at the heart. "It must have taken the killer a good half hour to finish this, if not more time."

"This is goes much deeper than a random kill. Whoever our killer is, they're out for revenge of some kind."

"And if it's revenge they are after," She said pausing. "This won't be their last kill."

"Sounds like the killer is a woman."

Abraham had listened to his father go on for the last half hour about his latest case. There didn't seem to be much he didn't know now about the case. Their formerly John Doe had a name – Cameron Klinger. He was fresh out of college and going to play baseball for a minor league team. His whole life was ahead of him. They had collected his blood from the tree and bits of bark as well, hoping they might find something that could lead them to the killer. Unfortunately, nothing turned up.

"What did you say?" Henry asked, looking up from his meal.

"I said, 'It sounds like the killer is a woman.'"

"Why do you say that?"

Abe stood up, taking his empty plate and putting it into the sink. "Because would a man truly spend the time to carve such a detailed piece of art on the tree?"

"That is stereotypical of you, Abraham," He said, giving his son a look.

"I'm just being honest," He said with a shrug. "While it is possible a man could have carved it, I would bet on the killer being a woman. You said the victim was stabbed once in the heart, and that's it?"

Henry nodded.

"Stabbed in the heart; a broken heart carved in a tree; sure sounds like an act of revenge against a former lover."

The idea bounced around in Henry's mind long after their conversation was over. One stab wound to the heart was an unusual way to be murdered. Not that they hadn't seen it before, but usually when someone was stabbed, it was multiple times. And in order for someone to carve such a intricate heart, they would need a firm, yet delicate touch. The old adage, 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,"1 popped into his mind. If this killing was indeed done by a woman jilted by her lover, then it's quite possible she may kill again.

Jo yawned before taking another sip of her coffee. She had decided to get in early to continue with their latest case. Thankfully, their John Doe now had a name, and the pieces of this mystery could fall further into place. Turning on the monitor of her computer, she waited for the screen to light up. Within moments, Jo was typing away, doing as much research as she could on Cameron Klinger. It didn't take long for her to find information.

According to his various social media accounts, Cameron had just finished college and was using his summer for travel. Pictures flooded the screen of the young man on a beach in California and a wooded area somewhere in Maine. From what she gathered, he had family in both places. Detective Hanson had contacted the boy's parents yesterday evening to inform them of their son's death. Both Mom and Dad were devastated, and said they would cooperate in every way to help find their son's killer. It was quite the breath of fresh air having a family who was willing to cooperate. Not all family's were so forthcoming.

The sound of someone clearing their throat caused Jo to look up. Standing in front of her desk was Henry, with quite the smile on his face.

"Good morning, Henry," She said, smiling back at him. "You're looking quite...cheerful this morning."

"I have good reason to be," He said with a pause. "I believe I know the gender of our killer."

Jo sat up straighter in her chair. "Really? How?"

"Abraham," He said simply.

She smiled at the name. Though Henry, and the rest of the staff at the precinct, weren't allowed to discuss case information with anyone, she didn't mind that he told Abe. It was always good to have a fresh pair of eyes and ears to help, and Abe had become someone she cared about. He was practically family. "What did Abe have to say?"

Henry then began going into great detail of the conversation he had with his roommate. Every piece of information he could think of flew from his mouth, and more than once Jo had to cover her own to keep from laughing. He was incredibly excited, and well he should be. From what she heard, it made sense that the killer was a woman. They would need to broaden their search, and even consider looking into any past girlfriends of their victim.

"That roommate of yours is a smart one," Jo said, smirking at Henry. "I wonder where he gets it from."

For a moment, a startled look flickered across Henry's face. Confusion flashed in her mind, but she quickly dismissed it. There were many things she didn't know about her partner, and she suspected the look on face, which had disappeared so quickly, was just another mystery. She didn't have much time to dwell on it as she picked up the phone and dialed. She would see how willing they were to cooperate.

1: Quote by William Congreve

Hello lovelies!

I hope you all enjoyed the third chapter of this story. I'm already planning the climax of this story out in my head, and can't wait to write it! (Though, it won't be coming just yet). Anyway, thank you for all your favorites and comments, and overall support. Love you guys!

God bless,

LovedLik3WildFire

John 3:16