Soon he would be free for one month. One month to track and to kill. The one he'd sacrificed himself for would pay and if he earned his reprieve in the process . . . Good.
If he didn't. . .
Well, vengeance sometimes deserved a good sacrifice. At least this time, he'd die knowing no one was laughing at him anymore.
CHAPTER 1
Cafe Maspero
New Orleans
February 2008
"Have you ever wanted to put your head in a blender and turn on the liquefy switch?"
Simone Dubois frowned then laughed at Tate Bennett, the parish coroner for New Orleans, as he took a seat at the dark wood table, across from her. As always, Tate was impeccably dressed in a white button-down shirt and black slacks. His skin was dark and flawless, a gift from his Creole and Haitian heritage. With sharp, sculpted features, he was extremely good-looking and those dark eyes of his never missed a detail.
His impeccable attire was a sharp contrast to her faded jeans, navy sweater and riotous mop of dark brown curls that would never obey any style Simone attempted to beat them into. The only feature she had that she considered even remotely interesting were her hazel brown eyes that turned gold whenever the sun hit them.
She wiped her mouth on her napkin. "Honestly ... I can't say that I have. But there have been a few other heads I'd like to do that to. Why?"
He chopped a folder in front of her. "How many serial killers can one city have?"
"I'm not up on those stats. Depends on the city I suppose. Are you telling me we have another one here?"
He unwrapped his silverware and placed his napkin on his lap. "I don't know. Couple of weird minders have come through my office over the last two weeks, Seemingly unrelated."