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"They were pregnant," Carter exclaimed, galloping into Jimmy's office. "The cousins! And this new girl we brought in yesterday. They were all pregnant!"

"They were so young," Jimmy trailed off. "How far along were they?"

"Not very . . . I doubt they even knew. I double checked Allie Meade, and she was too. I can't believe that I missed it. I guess it makes sense if they were all raped before they were killed, but still . . . do you think they had to be pregnant before they were skinned?"

Jimmy shook his head. "They're four for four in that account. So I'd say yes."

"I don't want to interrupt," Skeeter said, knocking on the door frame."But you have to look at this, Jimmy. I think I found the connection among the four victims. Or at least the start of one. We looked into their email accounts. It's amazing what these kids can do on computers today. Anyway, they all logged a lot of time in a chat room called Creatures of the Night. It's a role-playing game. I don't really understand it. Anyway, they all interacted with someone called Venom. He asks them to meet him in a cave in the woods to complete the game."

"Son of a bitch," Jimmy replied. "Where?"

"I don't know, but I've got people working on the computers to see if we can recover some deleted emails. And maybe one of them will give directions to this cave."

Jimmy thought of the expanse of woods surrounding woods. "There are too many to look at now. They're every few feet in the woods it seems. How soon until the emails are recovered?"

Skeeter shrugged. "I don't know. This computer stuff is beyond me. A few days, maybe a week?"

"I want to know as soon as it's done. This is the first real break we've gotten," Jimmy replied, feeling slightly ill at all that was going on. "Keep me informed, and I want all of this kept out of the news. I mean that."

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"Are you fighting?" Samantha asked, looking in between her Aunt and Uncle. "Well?"

"No," Kenny replied, shooting Max look. "We're fine."

"Yeah," Max agreed, forcing herself to smile. "Really."

"My Mom and Dad fought all the time," she trailed off, glancing over at Nate. "You're not going to get a divorce?"

"Where would we live?" Nate chimed in, looking up from his legos.

"We're not getting a divorce," Kenny insisted. "We're not fighting. Everything is fine."

"Daddy, up," Emily cried, throwing her arms up in the air. "Daddy?"

Max bit her tongue to keep from smiling, as she watched Kenny sweep Em up in the air. He's a great Dad, she conceded, I'll give him that. Groaning internally, she placed a squirmish Lindsay in her playpen. I don't want to fight with him, she thought, why do we keep doing this to each other? Rising slowly back to her feet, she felt his eyes upon her. Looking back over, she gave him a small smile, as he placed Em back down on her own two feet.

"Can we build another fort today? The first one got covered up in the blizzard," Nate asked, jumping up. "Or do you have to go to work today?"

"We can do that," Kenny trailed off, not wanting to go anywhere at the moment. "Why don't you grab your coat and stuff?"

"Can we have a snowball fight too?" Samantha asked, slamming her math book shut. "We never got this much snow in Boston. It all got plowed over."

"I think Em and I can take you two," Kenny said with a grin. "Go on, get your stuff."

He watched the three of them scamper off, before crossing the room to his wife quickly. I can't keep fighting with her, he thought, shit, she is pissed though.

"I'm sure you'd like to chuck a snowball at me about now," he said cautiously.

She didn't say anything right away, but held his gaze. "I'd like that a lot."

"Come on then, "he trailed off. "Lindsay's passed out, we can put the monitor on the porch. It'll be fine, and you'll be able to pelt me with snowballs if you want."

"I'm not mad," Max stated, not sure she really believed that. "Confused. Can you just leave me alone for awhile?"

"We're ready," Nate called, bouncing back into the room.

"Nate, hold on," Samantha said quietly, as she observed her Aunt and Uncle glaring at each other in the middle of the room. "Lets go back upstairs for a while. The snow can wait."

"No, it can't," Kenny cut in, not liking the feeling of Max slipping away from him. "We're going to have a good time. Go on out. I'll be there in a minute."

"Okay," Samantha agreed quickly. "Come on Nate, Emily. Let's go build a snowman."

"Can we finish this later?" Max finally asked, after they left. "We're not going to fix anything now."

"I don't want to fight with you," Kenny conceded, not liking the fear he saw in her eyes. "Yeah, later then."

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"Look at this," Carter called beckoning Jimmy and Skeeter over. "It was so far up there, I almost missed it. I'll have to recheck the others to make sure, but look. It's so odd."

"What?" Jimmy asked, as Carter held up the piece of paper. "Is it a note?"

Carter nodded. "Or something. It's kind of gooey and bloody. Hold on, it says something that I can't make out. I'm going to get it cleaned, then maybe it'll give us some direction."

"Hey," Pete called, knocking on the morgue door. "We got something off of the computer. A note from this Venom to Allie Meade, a.k.a. Luster. It's very informative so far. God bless these computer wizards."

"We're coming," Jimmy said, trying not to feel to hopeful. "I want to know what's on that note as soon as you know Carter. Skeeter, lets go."

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Max smoothed back Emily's hair, as she put her to bed. "Good night, Sweetie."

"That's three down," Kenny called cautiously from the doorway. "Nate just passed out in his bed."

Max nodded, just as cautiously. "I guess you tired them out in the snow. You guys looked like you had fun."

"It would have been more fun with you," he added, as she made her way slowly over to him. "You're moving around pretty well."

"I'm trying."

"What are we doing, Max?"

"I don't know . . . I don't want to fight. Kenny, I don't even know what to say."

"I know."

"What now?"

He reached out to stroke her cheek gently. "We'll figure it out."

Not liking the vague statement, she sighed. "I know what you want and…I'm not sure I can do that. Can we table it for now?"

Max and the kids, Kenny thought, they are all that matter to me. She…I can't handle watching her almost die again. "Okay."

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"She went to meet him on October eighth," Skeeter spoke aloud, as the reread the email. "The night she was killed."

"In the woods," Jimmy finished. "This place though, these directions . . . They don't make sense to me."

"Do you think that it's part of this role playing game?" Skeeter asked slowly. "Words or phrases that they used?"

"Probably," Jimmy conceded, rereading the email in front of him. "What do you bet that there are similar sayings on the paper that Carter pulled out of the fourth girl?"

"I'd say it was probable," Skeeter agreed. "Pete is monitoring the chart room, looking for this Venom, and I'll put him on alert for some of these phrases."

Jimmy nodded. "We'll run a search on them too, hopefully something will show up."

"It has too."

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I don't want to go to work today, Kenny thought, pausing in the kitchen doorway. Max doesn't know how lucky she is to be able to stay home with them, even if it's just temporary. Hell, I don't want it to be temporary. We've gotta finish that talk sometime. She's a natural at this…Look at her.

"Why couldn't it have snowed on a school day?" Samantha grumbled, thinking of going back to school with all of those jerks. "It's not fair."

"They'll be plenty of snow days, believe me," Max replied, not really wanting to send her off to school. "Then you can go to school until July."

"July?" Nate yelped. "That's summer!"

Max tried not to laugh at his startled expression. "Don't worry about it yet. Go get your stuff. We're going to be late. And you Miss. Emily, lets get your shoes on."

"Hey you. I didn't hear you get up," Kenny said, laying his hand on her shoulder.

"Morning," Max said, a little of unsure what to say. "I know you don't have to go to work until 11, so you might as well slept in."

"Thanks. Uh, you've got everything under control down here?"

"I'm getting the hang of it . . . God bless the genius who came up with cereal."

"Maybe someday they'll make it so you don't even have to add milk . . . What are you up to today?"

Max shrugged. "I'm going to drop them all of at school, swing by physical therapy this afternoon, and lunch with Laurie and Linda. Nothing exciting. You?"

"Work and stuff," he trailed off, studying her thoughtfully. That's what I want for her, easy, simple, not chasing down cults. "I'm not going into 11. You want to go get something to eat after you drop the kids off?"

"Okay," she agreed slowly, as the other three bounded back into the kitchen. "Sounds good."

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"We've been watching Jordan Bradshaw, but it doesn't look like he's left the house much," Pete said, nodding toward the brick building. "Would you look at that?"

"Interesting," Skeeter mused, watching the boy make a beeline for the car in the driveway. "Wonder were he is going?"

"I say we follow," Pete replied. "It's the first time he left the house in days . . . since we found the fourth girl."

"Dana London," Skeeter confirmed. "Fourteen years old, from Rome. The media is going nuts now. Lets go."

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"Excuse me? Are you Maxine Lacos?" a voice said, as Max came out of physical therapy. "I've been meaning to have a word with you."

"Do I know you?," Max asked carefully, sizing up the man in front of her.

"Dr. Jackson Bradshaw," he said flatly. "I've been meaning to have a word with you, especially after one I had with Dr. Brock."

This isn't good she thought, glancing down the empty hall. My next life I'm coming back as a rock. "What would that word be?"

"You have a smart mouth. My son did nothing to your niece. Nothing. He wouldn't touch trash like her. Whatever the police are trying to pin on him is ludicrous, and I know it all started with that little tramp."

Shit, he sounds like my Dad, Max thought. I wonder what he said to Jill. "You really have no idea what you're talking about."

"Shut up. I'm not done yet," he snapped. "Do you have any idea who I am? What my connections are? All of you are making a dangerous mistake here."

"Please," Max retorted. "Do you have any idea what you sound like?"

"I can make your life very difficult little girl," he growled. "I'm already working on getting Dr. Brock's medical license suspended. What should I do to you? Or to your family?"

Max dropped her tone to match his. "You're not intimidating me at all. I've dealt with bigger assholes then you. I see where your son gets his self righteousness from."

"You won't speak of him! You're not worthy of that!"

I wish I had my cane to smack him with, Max thought, not liking where this was heading. "Is that all you wanted to tell me?"

"Watch your step because I'll be keeping my eye on you."

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"It's a picture," Carter declared, slamming the plastic bag down on Jimmy's desk. "Look!"

Jimmy exchanged a look with Kenny before replying. "I can see that . . . What is it?"

Carter shrugged. "Think it's a creature of the night? I found a web page on this game, and this looks strikingly similar to some of the drawings. See the thick lines and dark eyes. Almost all of the pictures look like that, and this one has fangs. I'd say it was a vampire."

"So our killer thinks he's a vampire?" Kenny asked. "Or he wants to be one?"

"Vampires don't eat skin," Carter offered.

"There aren't any vampires," Jimmy cut in. "Whatever game he's playing to lure these girls . . . it obviously started in that room. And this Venom hasn't been in there since Dana London was killed."

"Maybe he already found someone else who interested him," Carter offered. "Or he knew that the girls' computers had been confiscated?"

"And that we would find the emails," Kenny finished. "So he found a new way to find them . . ."

Jimmy nodded, knowing he was thinking of Samantha. "It's not going to happen. What about the other girls? Any drawings?"

"No, I double checked. This is the first."

"We're going to keep working on it. No one else is going to die."

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"What is this place?," Pete asked, looking around the grove of trees. "Where the hell are we going?"

"Shut up," Skeeter asked. "And keep your head down. This might be our first real break. Would you look at that?"

Jordan walked to the center of the grove, and kneeled in a circle of rocks. Bowing his head. He began to mumble under his breath.

"What the hell is he doing?" Pete whispered. "Shit!"

Jordan raised the knife, as he pulled the squirming kitten out of his jacket. "This should subside you for now, great one. I'll bring you a better gift soon. For you."

Skeeter turned his head, as the knife slit the cats belly and he heard the boy laugh.