Stride decided to get out of town in the last month before he returned to his job as Lieutenant in the Duluth Police. He and Serena had escaped to a getaway cabin outside the city to fish, hike, and make love. But they had done almost none of those things. Instead, he had tunneled deeper inside himself, pulling away from his job, his life, and even from Serena. Now he was supposed to go back to the Detective Bureau in another week, and he wasn't sure he was in any shape to do so.

Stride saw the red light flashing on his BlackBerry. A new email had arrived. He slid the phone out of its holster and saw a message from his Duluth partner, Maggie Bei. The subject line read: Number Four.

Stride stiffened with unease, because he knew what Maggie meant. When he opened the message, he saw a brief note: Get your ass back here soon, boss. We've got a body near the Lester River.

In the past month, three women had disappeared from their homes in the rural farmlands north of Duluth. Despite a massive search, no trace of them had been found, but the evidence suggested they had cach suffered a violent assault. Now the assailant had struck a fourth time and left behind a body.

Stride was frustrated that one of the most disturbing strings of crimes in the city in recent years had been laid at Maggie's feet while he struggled with his injuries in the woods more than an hour away. He trusted her instincts as an investigator, but they both preferred working as a team. Without him, she felt adrift. He felt the same way without her.

Maybe he should go back early. Tomorrow.

Or maybe not at all.

He didn't text her back. He never got the chance. Before he could key in a message, he saw headlights cut through the room. He looked Out the front window and saw an Itasca County Sheriff's vehicle parking in the damp ground near his Expedition. As he watched, the lights disappeared, and a woman in uniform climbed out and walked up to their front door.