Knights v Hunters: The Choice

Lena looked from one brother to the next. Why hadn’t she run into them in the past year? Could it be that I have been searching for people who were living right under my nose? Impossible!

“I’ve never seen you here, ever,” she said instead.

“Well, we haven’t see you either,” Caleb retorted. “We’re at classes or in the library or at our part time jobs most of the time. Not very exciting.”

Rafe looked at Caleb and spoke to him in silence, “Jobs? What jobs do we have?”

Caleb seemed nonplussed. “Chill bro. We work part time at a coffee shop that she has never been to.” Rafe just shook his head.

Lena still couldn’t believe this. She and Sawyer had actually been looking for these boys not too long ago. Okay, she hadn’t asked around any university, which she should have and she certainly hadn’t checked her own back yard!

“Are you boys off somewhere? Do you have time for a quick chat?” she asked.

“We’re off to dinner,” Rafe said. “You can join us if you wish?” Lena looked hesitant for a second and then nodded.

“Tell me where and I can meet you in fifteen minutes,” she said.

“We’ll wait for you in the lobby. It’s just the diner around the corner,” Rafe said. Lena nodded, then ran up to her apartment.

“She’s got a lot of energy for someone who’s already worked out!” Caleb commented as they went down to the lobby.

Rafe had to admit that Lena Peck was pretty fit. She was obviously someone who took good care of herself. He wondered if Detective Channing had made a move yet, but sensed that he hadn’t.

True to her word, Lena Peck met the boys in the lobby fifteen minutes later. She was dressed casually, in dark blue jeans and a light yellow t-shirt, her red hair combed back into a ponytail, not a sign of make-up on her face.

Rafe listened to her thoughts. As they walked to the diner, he could hear a dozen questions passing through her mind. Why have I never seen them in the building before? Is it a co-incidence that I have been searching for them for a while and they just pitch up, in my building? How can they afford to live there? Was Sawyer right, are they just some rich kids playing amateur detective? Can I trust them?

It was only when they were seated in the diner and had placed their orders that Lena proceeded to ask them what was on her mind.

“What happened to you guys that night when Harry Tyler died? I looked for you everywhere and you seemed to have just vanished,” she said.

“To be honest, there was such chaos when he attacked that lawyer, that we took off. You and Detective Channing weren’t back and we didn’t think that we could help anymore and besides, I needed to get rid of those images of him killing his children from my mind. I don’t think I’ve been successful,” Rafe said. Lena looked like she believed him.

“I can understand that, but why didn’t you come in afterwards?” she asked curiously.

“Well, our parents asked us to come back home. Our uncle took ill and they weren’t sure he was going to make it. So we were there for a few days and when we came back, all the hype around Harry Tyler seemed to have died down, so we just went back to classes,” Caleb offered.

Lena stared at Caleb first and then Rafe. Their explanation was plausible, but she still felt that they were keeping something back. “Would you mind if I ask how you can afford, as students, to live in my apartment building?”

Rafe’s face reddened, but he laughed, “By doing what you do, Detective!” he said. Lena looked confused. “By working hard!” Lena smiled at that. “Our parents pay half the rent and we pay the other half through our part time jobs. They wanted to get us off campus so that we could focus on our studies.”

“Yeah, for some reason they think we would actually engage in all those campus parties that everyone talks about!” Caleb piped in.

Lena laughed at that. Caleb might appear to be a party animal, but the serious Rafe certainly looked like he preferred books to parties.

“So why were you looking for us? I hope we aren’t in any trouble?” Rafe innocently asked.

Lena hesitated. “No, nothing like that. I just wanted your version of what happened in that interview room. I don’t like loose ends, that’s all.”

“Oh, okay,” Caleb said. “It all happened so fast. One minute, Tyler had a knife in his hand, the next he was out cold on the floor. Then there were cops racing into the room, so we left after a while.”

“Did you see what happened to the lawyer?” Lena asked. Rafe relived the image of Eden that day, stabbed and poisoned by Harry Tyler.

“No, we waited with her until the paramedics came and then we left. I thought that the ambulance had taken her away,” Rafe said.

“No, they never treated her. She just disappeared. We checked the hospitals close by and none had admitted her.”

“Well, maybe she wasn’t so badly injured,” Caleb suggested. “Rafe and I certainly didn’t see any blood.” That part was at least true.

“Maybe. But she was stabbed, which would require some medical attention,” Lena said. “Although Marquez also said that she wasn’t bleeding, that she just held her side and fell.”

“She could have worn a vest,” Caleb suggested. “If I had known that we would be in the presence of a psycho, Rafe and I might have done the same!”

Lena considered that for a moment. “Vests don’t stop knife wounds, especially since Tyler was holding her when he stabbed her. Given the angle and the force, there’s no way that she escaped injury.” Lena sighed. “And given that, if it was me, I would have sued the NYPD. We failed to check Tyler for weapons when we brought him in.”

Exactly, Caleb thought. Although the NYPD hadn’t considered Tyler a suspect when they brought him in, they should have searched him.

“Did you ever find out why Harry Tyler killed his family?” Rafe asked, still curious as to Tyler’s motive. He had seen and felt so many conflicting emotions when reading Tyler and he didn’t yet know how to piece it together to form one coherent picture. He’d felt Tyler’s despair and sadness and he’d also felt his fear. Why was Tyler afraid?

“Sadly, no. He wasn’t cheating on his wife or doing anything illegal and his friends and family could offer nothing that could explain why he did what he did. I’ve been on this job long enough to know that people hurt each other for a variety of reasons, but even if he just snapped, we have no knowledge as to what triggered it and I know that there is always a trigger. We just couldn’t find one in this case.”

They ate in companionable silence for a while until Lena interjected.

“So, had any psychic revelations recently?” she asked, turning towards Rafe. She’s trying to bring us into the case that we came here for, Rafe thought.

Rafe paused, fork midway towards his mouth. The pasta was too hot to eat anyway, although that didn’t seem to stop Caleb who was wolfing it down like he hadn’t eaten in days. In other words, in typical Caleb style!

“I always have some episode or another,” he said non-committedly. He knew that Lena was considering how far to delve. “I try to focus on other things. Thinking of dead people isn’t exactly on the top of my fun-things-to-do list!”

“You’re thinking of dead people?” Lena asked casually.

Ease into it bro, Caleb advised.

“Yeah, especially these past few weeks. And it doesn’t make sense,” Rafe said.

“You want to talk through what you’ve seen?” Lena asked, “after all, dead people are my business!”

“Don’t use that as an opening line on a date,” Caleb advised. “Big turn off for the guys. Trust me, it’s bad enough being related to someone who has all these visions. My parents would freak out if they knew what goes through Rafe’s mind sometimes!” To lighten the mood, Caleb asked, “By the way, did your secret crush ask you out yet?”

Lena’s curt, no, was met with a quick response by Caleb. “Don’t worry, he will. He’s just trying to find a way to do it. You’re different than the others.” Lena equally wondered what Caleb meant and wished it to be true.

“Back to your “dead people” visions,” Lena continued, turning to Rafe “anything you want to talk through with me? I’ll be happy to help where I can.”

“Look, it’s probably nothing,” Rafe started off by saying. “I’ve just had these visions of dead people all around the city.” Lena dropped her fork as she heard that. Could Rafe be having visions of their case?

“Don’t worry, Detective. I’ve told him, this is New York City. Dead bodies are part of the décor!” Caleb added.

Rafe could hear the wheels turning in Detective Peck’s head. They had definitely reeled her in.

“Rafe, can you remember what these people look like?” Lena asked. Maybe if he did, they could show him a few photos.

“I don’t have the clearest view of them, but yeah, I think I can at least describe them to you,” Rafe volunteered.

“Great. Can you come in to the station early tomorrow? I can show you a few photos of people we’ve found. Maybe you’ll recognise someone.”

“Honestly, Detective, I don’t know if I want to get involved in whatever’s going on. I’m still recovering from the last time,” Rafe hedged.

“Just think of it as your civic duty,” Lena retorted. “It might be nothing and…”

“No, I think Rafe’s right,” Caleb interrupted. “I don’t think our parents will be too happy if we neglect our studies. Besides, my brother is never going to get a girl if he keeps on seeing dead people!”

Rafe blushed.

Lena laughed. “I can understand your reticence and I promise not to take too much of your time. Come by tomorrow morning and we’ll try to put this to bed,” she urged.

“Uh, I can’t make it in the morning. We have classes. How about after lunch?” Rafe asked. Caleb had warned him to take it easy and not appear to be too eager. They didn’t want the detective to think that they were always available. She might become suspicious.

With the time agreed, they continued with their dinner and had an interesting discussion on the latest football game. Lena Peck had various interests, was well educated as well as beautiful and Rafe couldn’t understand why Sawyer Channing hadn’t asked her out yet. Maybe he’s intimidated by strong women, he thought. Whereas I am crazy about a certain strong woman!

Later that night while Rafe communicated with Eden and Caleb called their dad and Ethan to provide an update, Lena had a long discussion with Sawyer. He was as surprised as her that the boys had turned up and equally suspicious. He warned her to be careful of them and not to share anything about their case. Lena told him of Rafe’s visions and her invitation to him to come down to the station the next day.

“Okay, what’s your plan?” Sawyer asked.

“I thought we could throw a few of our victims into the pile of photos I plan on showing him. See whether he picks any one of them. Hey,” she said as she heard his frustrated sigh, “what exactly do we have to lose?”

“Nothing, I guess, except our professional reputations! Lena, I don’t want us to be known as the cops who need psychics to help solve our cases!” he fumed.

“Neither do I. But right now, we need to find out what happened to those people, more than caring about what people think about us,” Lena responded.

“You’re right. We just need to be careful how we handle this, partner.”

“I promise I won’t embarrass you. Besides, the sooner we solve this case, the sooner you can get back to your steady diet of blondes!” she threw in.

“You make a good point, Red,” Sawyer responded.

They said their goodnights, each thinking about the other as they went to bed.

The next morning, as soon as Lena Peck left for work, the boys went for a jog. They couldn’t bear to go to the gym across the road, not when they were used to training in the open. They needed to stay fit and focussed even though it was strange to run amongst Normals. They all seemed so detached, running whilst listening to music, not even looking at people as they passed. Rafe cautioned Caleb to slow down, which was difficult for him, especially since he was so used to speeding through their massive compound. A Hunter running at that incredible speed might attract attention, even amongst these self-obsessed Normals!

A few hours later, the boys went to NYU, just in case the detectives checked up on them. They knew that they were registered at the university, thanks to Ethan, but they had to ensure that they met up with a few students who would be in the classes they were supposedly taking, just so that they were remembered. Caleb was great socially, Rafe, always awkward at first, normally took a while to become comfortable. Still, they managed to grab a quick lunch with some of their “classmates” before taking a cab to the station, back packs in hand, their cover stories agreed.

“Hi, we’re here to see Detective Peck,” Rafe announced at the front desk. The officer on duty called Peck to collect them. Apparently a new protocol had been established after the Harry Tyler incident.

Lena Peck was dressed in a dark blue business suit, with a white frilly blouse, her hair tied back in her customary ponytail. Her handshake was quick and it was obvious that she was nervous to present the boys once again to her not-so-affable partner.

“Channing, you remember Rafe and Caleb who helped us with the Harry Tyler case?” Channing nodded and offered a handshake to the boys. “I’m going to take them into the interview room to show them some photos. Want to come along?” she asked.

Sawyer hesitated for a second, but then shrugged and followed Lena and the boys into the interview room, where Lena had already laid out rows of photos.

“Well, Rafe, based on some of your descriptions the other night, I’ve selected a few photos of victims whose murders remain unsolved. Take your time and see whether anyone pops out at you.” Lena had included photos of at least four of their victims in this pack and waited, with almost bated breath, as Rafe scanned the photos.

“I see some of the victims,” Caleb said.

“Yeah,” Rafe responded. “I’m also seeing a few photos of people who are still alive! It’s obvious we’re being tested.”

Rafe picked up three photos off the desk and handed it to Lena.

“Are these the people you saw in your visions?” she asked, almost disappointed.

Rafe shook his head. “No, those three people are still alive, unless they have an identical twin roaming about!” Lena looked at Sawyer and smiled with relief. Yup, these boys were the real deal.

Rafe’s hand hovered above the photo of Thomas Marshall. He eventually handed that to Lena.

“This is one of the guys I saw in my dreams,” he said.

“Do you remember how he died?” Sawyer piped in.

“Uh, no. I just saw him in the boot of a car,” Rafe said. “I can’t see how he died, although I didn’t see any blood.”

Sawyer seemed a bit unnerved. Thomas Marshall had been strangled and there was no blood on his body when it was found.

“Anybody else?” Lena prompted, her heart already racing.

“Uh, this guy.” Dean Calloway. “He was very strong, seemed to fight back. I think he was shot.”

Rafe then proceeded to pick out the photo of Phoebe Winters. Shot.

After thirty minutes, Lena and Sawyer excused themselves and stood outside the interview room whispering.

“Channing, you have to admit that maybe these guys can help us on this case!” Lena said, more excited than she had been in weeks, hoping that the boys could offer them a lead.

“I don’t know, Peck,” he said, running his fingers through his already ruffled hair. “I think we might need to speak to the captain first. This task team is so high profile and so closely watched, we can’t afford to have any details leaked.”

“C’mon, those boys helped us with the Tyler case. I don’t recall reading anything about that in the papers. If Rafe had immediately identified Thomas Marshall, I might have been suspicious enough to consider that maybe these boys could be involved in these murders themselves, but he didn’t. He pulled out the photos of people we know and he knows are still alive. Look, I agree that we should ask the captain, but let’s not question their trustworthiness,” Lena said almost angrily. Sawyer looked at her in surprise. She really believed in those boys, he realised.

Captain Marquez was equally surprised to hear that the boys were back and that Rafe had visions of at least three of the murders. He asked Sawyer and Lena to do a background check on the boys to see whether they were who they said they were and then agreed to let them in on the case, provided that the involvement of the boys was not disclosed to other members of their team. Lena readily agreed, also aware that the captain’s reputation was on the line.

Walking back to the interview room, Sawyer grabbed Lena’s arm, just before she entered the room. “Peck, look, it’s not that I don’t trust those boys. I’m just suspicious about how they turned up, knowing things about truly heinous crimes. I mean, it’s not something that I thought about when I was in university. Aren’t you curious?” he asked.

“Yes,” Lena admitted, “which is why I will let you run the background checks in case I’m tempted to overlook something.” Sawyer nodded and indicated that he would make a start on that whilst Lena spoke to the boys.

In the interview room, Rafe sat with his eyes closed, his mind flashing through some of the photos he had just seen. He was a Reader, not a psychic, yet he had seen how some of those people had been killed without being in the vicinity of the actual killers. Only a few of the Hunters had that gift, his father included. Was he developing a new skill?

“You okay,” Caleb asked, with a look of concern.

“Yes. I’ll speak to you later,” Rafe responded as he heard Lena opening the door.

“Everything okay, Detective?” Caleb asked, looking at an almost contrite Lena.

“Yeah, listen, we just needed to verify a few things with the captain. What I’m about to tell you boys is highly confidential and cannot be repeated. Is that clear?” Lena asked, looking first at Caleb and then Rafe.

“Okay, sounds serious, but you have our word, Detective,” Caleb answered. Rafe nodded in agreement.

“A few months back, we found the body of a man in his car. He had been strangled. He had been missing a couple of days. Rafe, one of the photos you picked out is that of the victim, Thomas Marshall. The other two photos you picked out were those of Dean Calloway and Phoebe Winters, two further victims, both of whom were shot. We have reason to believe that the killer or killers of these people are connected,” Lena said.

“Why do you think that, Detective?” Rafe asked, relieved that the police were also focussing on connections between these killers. His father believed that McCall and Gentry were responsible for the deaths of all these people because the ambience at each crime scene had been the same. Imagine having to explain that to these Normals!

“These killings seem so random that they’ve actually left a pattern. There’s no motive for any of these murders. We have not been able to find any forensic evidence other than that from our victims. No fingerprints or fibres, etc. Even in the case of Dean Calloway who put up a tremendous fight, there wasn’t a shred of evidence to offer a clue as to what preceded the murder. These killers are exceptionally good,” Lena surmised.

“How many victims do you have thus far?” Caleb asked, knowing that the latest victim had not yet been found.

“Eight,” Lena responded. “Four men and four women, mostly killed in different ways.”

“Wow,” Caleb responded. “Is there anything we can do to help?” Lena was glad that he had asked first.

“Yes, I think that you can help, if you have the time?” Lena asked and Rafe indicated that they would certainly try. “Okay, come with me.”

The boys followed Lena to her office and saw what was evidently their crime board for this case. The photos of the eight victims were displayed, together with their ages, known family and last known timelines. Caleb realised that although the board was set up similarly to the one they had set up with Ethan, the Hunters seemed to have more information on it than the police.

Sawyer looked up from his computer and nodded to Lena, a secret message that only she seemed to understand, for her shoulders immediately relaxed as Sawyer joined them at the board.

“These are our victims, placed according to the dates on which we found their bodies. As you can see, our killer or killers doesn’t seem to have a particular type – these victims range in ages, looks, hair colour, etc. Their only commonality is that they are all Caucasian. Channing and I think that maybe our youngest victim, Missy Adams, was killed by somebody else?” Lena said.

“Why?” Rafe asked, looking at Sawyer.

“Missy was eighteen years old. Our other victims are much older, closer in age to each other, which provides some pattern.” Sawyer noticed that Rafe and Caleb seemed unable to commit to that theory.

“What else do you know about these people?” Caleb asked, moving closer to the board. Something about these victims looked familiar. He turned to look at Rafe and his brother simply communicated, “I know”.

“Very little. I mean, these people didn’t even have the same dentist or shop at the same grocery store!” Sawyer said in frustration.

“Do you have photos of the crime scenes?” Rafe asked. Lena nodded and she and Sawyer handed the boys a stack of files.

“Crime scene and autopsy photos,” Sawyer explained. “They were killed elsewhere and dumped at those scenes. I’ve looked at this a hundred times. Nothing jumps at me.”

The boys hunched over the files for a while. Lena and Sawyer noticed that they barely flinched at the gruesome images in the files. Those photos would have shocked them at the boys’ ages. Something was off!

“I have to say, I’m really questioning the wisdom of the field of our studies since we met you guys!” Caleb remarked. To Lena and Sawyer’s unasked question, he responded, “Rafe and I are pre-med,” he explained, “but working with cadavers is very different to looking at real life murder victims! I don’t know if I have the stomach for this!” Lena sighed in relief. That explained it!

Thirty minutes later, Rafe said out loud. “Did you notice their hair colour?”

“What about their hair colour? A redhead, three blondes and four dark haired victims,” Lena said confused.

“Yeah, but of your four dark haired victims, one is a natural redhead, the others, natural blondes!”

“What?” Lena asked, pulling the files closer. Sure enough, whilst reviewing the autopsy photos and reports, she could see that the boys were correct. She passed the files to Sawyer.

“So what? Do you think some frustrated hair stylist might have offed them?” Sawyer asked sarcastically.

Rafe laughed. “No, but it does indicate that they were colouring their hair and if we consider their original hair colour, then the killer seems to have a type. Why did these victims change their hair colour? It could be nothing of course. Just an observation.”

Lena eyed Sawyer. He looked a bit antsy. Yesterday they had thought that maybe these victims were in the witness protection programme. Now, the boys had picked up a clue from the autopsy reports that indicated that four of the victims had actually changed their hair colour. Co-incidence?

“Peck and I thought that maybe these guys were in witness protection, but it was confirmed that they weren’t.” Sawyer said.

“Why did you make that assessment?” Caleb asked, looking interested.

“Well, except for Missy of course, we couldn’t find any information on our victims before they turned twenty-one years old. It’s almost as if they started their lives at that age!” Caleb almost dropped the file he was reading when he heard that. No, it couldn’t be, he thought.

Rafe knew what Caleb was thinking. There had to be a connection, he thought. It seemed too obvious. But why had they killed Missy Adams? She didn’t fit the profile!

“That’s interesting,” Rafe remarked, all the while thinking that there were too many clues leading to just one definitive conclusion.

“You see, the more we look at these victims, the more we realise that Missy Adams was either killed by someone else, or she was killed by accident,” Lena said.

“What do you know about her parents?” Caleb questioned.

“Her parents are John and Sara Adams. Her father is a respected physician and her mother is a social worker. Why do you ask?” Sawyer asked curiously.

“What if Missy Adams’ death wasn’t accidental? What if the killer or killers were after someone else in her life who was closer in age to their previous victims?” Caleb suggested.

“Their parents, for starters?” Rafe added.

Sawyer had to admit that he and Lena hadn’t thought about that and he quickly ran a background check on Missy’s parents. A while later, while Lena and the boys continued to review the individual cases, Sawyer leaned back in his chair and softly whistled.

“What’s up?” Lena asked.

“You’ll never believe it. Caleb, I think you’re on the right track. There is no information on John and Sara Adams before age twenty-one. They seem to have appeared from nowhere and both ended up at Columbia University. They’re both forty-five years old, born only days apart.”

“I think it is about time we chatted to the Adams family,” Lena said and then scrunched her nose as she realised how that sounded. Sawyer laughed.

“Yeah, you’re right. I’ll give them a call and find out when it’s convenient,” Sawyer volunteered. “Rafe, Caleb, I’m not sure whether you want to sit in on this?” Lena tried not to show her surprise. Sawyer had obviously bought into the boys’ authenticity.

“That would depend on the timing,” Rafe said, trying not to appear overeager. “We have a test early morning, so we have to put in some studying tonight. Let us know what time you’re meeting the family and we’ll let you know whether we can make it.”

“Yeah, we can always catch up later,” Caleb concluded. “I’m assuming of course that you’ll let us help where we can?”

Sawyer smiled. Let them help us! They had pointed out a few things that he and Lena had missed!

“Of course,” Lena said quickly. “Just come on over when you are done. Here’s my card. Call me if you have some new insights.”

“We also know where you live now,” Rafe joked. Lena nodded.

“Okay, so are you going to call Ethan or shall I do it?” Caleb asked as they entered their apartment.

Rafe hesitated. “Let’s talk through what we know first and then we can test our theories with Ethan and Dad.”

Caleb agreed, heading straight for the fridge to make a quick sandwich.

“The fact that Lena and Sawyer are only able to get information on the victims and Missy Adams’ parents after they turned twenty-one, is telling. It’s likely that we’re dealing with former Knights here,” Rafe said.

“Could they be part of the Untouchables?” Caleb asked, barely able to utter the words out of his full mouth.

“They could be, if they were co-incidentally banished at the same time of the Year of the Choice. Seems unlikely though. I think that these former Knights chose to live among the Normals. I don’t think that they’re part of the Untouchables. We can probably confirm that if we meet with Missy Adams’ parents.”

“So Gentry and McCall are offing the former Knights,” Caleb said.

“Yeah, and the only ones who can identify former Knights, currently reside in Knight town,” Rafe declared.

“Something is not right in that society. First, an Untouchable, whose abilities were not erased in accordance with a Knight covenant, attacks a Knight and now, former Knights are being killed!”

“Who would know to target these former Knights? And why? Their society, like ours, has remained in the shadows for centuries. I doubt whether Normals have the ability to identify former Knights, given the assumption that they don’t know of their existence,” Rafe continued.

“I’m with you. The only other possible perpetrators are the Hunters or the Untouchables and we know Gentry and McCall are not Hunters, so it has to be the latter. Do these Untouchables still have their abilities? That would make sense, since it is obvious that the victims were tracked. What about these former Knights? Do you think that they also left Knight town with their abilities intact?” Caleb asked.

“At this point, anything is possible. I can’t formulate a motive for their killings yet, but I don’t doubt that the Tyler case is linked. I think it’s time to speak to Ethan and Dad,” Rafe suggested.

They called Ethan and gave him a quick update. He also struggled to think of a motive for the killings, but supported their assumption that the victims were all former Knights, except for Missy Adams. Jude joined the discussion midway and tried to fathom why the Untouchables would attack and kill these former Knights.

“Is there a possibility that the former Knights still had their powers?” Jude asked.

“We thought about that, Dad. We’re assuming that they didn’t, but we’ll find out soon,” Rafe answered and then proceeded to tell his father about the interview with Missy Adams’ parents to which they were invited.

“Any ideas on how we can confirm whether the victims were former Knights?” Caleb asked Ethan.

“A few, but your father and I will discuss it first and determine when is the right time to act. I wonder if the Knights have any clue that former members of their society are wreaking havoc in New York City right now. That’s not what they stand for and these murders actually threaten to expose the Knights. If our condemned are proven to be members of the Untouchables, then our plan of action has to change because we can’t risk the Knights being exposed on the off chance that it also brings our society out from the shadows,” Ethan said.

“Yeah, which also means that we have to get more Hunters onto this mission. I don’t know if I want too many of you living amongst the Normals though. We’ll play it by ear. Ethan will know when to change our plan. I want you to be extra careful and focussed, boys,” Jude warned.

Rafe and Caleb concluded their conversation with Ethan and their father. The boys were a bit restless. They weren’t used to being cooped up for hours. They were accustomed to roaming about in their compound without fear or restrictions, their time their own, but their father didn’t want them wandering around New York City unless it was necessary.

“Bro, we better help to solve these murders a.s.a.p. We’re going to go stir crazy if we live here too long!” Caleb muttered.

Rafe agreed. He also felt the apartment closing in on them. “Let’s go for a walk,” he suggested. “We can start checking out some of the crime scenes where the victims were found.”

“Good idea,” Caleb said, grabbing his coat. As they exited their building, they ran into Lena, home early for once.

“You boys going somewhere?” she asked.

“Yeah, we thought that we’d check out some of the crime scenes,” Rafe said honestly.

Lena frowned. “Wait for me. I’ll get the locations,” she said.

“It’s okay, Detective, we read your files remember? We know the locations,” Caleb responded. Lena realised that these boys’ memories were obviously better than hers. “You can drive us though, if that makes you more comfortable,” he continued, watching Lena blush in embarrassment.

“It would,” she admitted. “Although I wouldn’t actually refer to some of those locations as crime scenes since the bodies were only dumped there, so we couldn’t cordon off those areas indefinitely.”

A few hours later, Lena, Rafe and Caleb returned to their apartment building. They had checked out the park and the alley in which Phoebe Winters and Michael Cage were found as well as the home where Dean Calloway met a cruel end. His dad was right, Rafe thought. The same people had killed each victim. He sensed that, as strongly as he sensed that the victims were in fact former Knights, who had gone about their final days not expecting to meet their ends so soon. In their last moments on this earth, which he could see so clearly, they had a look of recognition in their eyes. Had they known Gentry and McCall?