“Perceptive as ever, my dear."

"Thanks. Hey, wait a minute —-'

The phone rang, and all joviality left the room. This phone had been installed for one purpose, and that was to take calls from the shifter network. Sasha even got up and came to the door to find out what was happening.

Within moments, Madison looked ill. She killed the current play list and started the "emergency warning" broadcast.

"Is it --" Sasha started to say, then stopped when Madison put her hand up.

"This is an emergency broadcast to any and all students at FCU," she started, her voice breaking.

"FCU campus has requested that all students, faculty, and staff please go indoors. Make sure that your are with a minimum of at least one other person. This is a mandatory curfew for the FCU campus. Do not open your door for anyone you do not know except for FCU Police. Police officers will always go in pairs, so do not open up if there is only a single officer present.

Please keep your radios on and await further instructions. This is NOT a drill."

Madison droned on almost blankly for several more minutes, emphasizing the seriousness of the situation before signing off.

"They found her," Madison whispered.

"And it doesn't sound like they found her alive."

Edgar got back to the house far too late. They had finally sent him and the other investigators home while the morning crew showed up.

The evidence had been collected, the scene blocked off, and the victim . . . well, there was nothing left that could done for her.

“\ihat happened?" came a voice from the dark before Ed could even close the door. He figured his sister would have waited up.

It was an official investigation, so he knew that he should not be sharing information with anyone. But he also knew that his sister often saw things that he missed, and he needed a fresh pair of eyes anyway. His hurt from the strain of what he had seen.

“Are you sure you want to know?"

“Have you ever known me to ask and not want to know?"

"I... I think I need a drink first."

Heda picked a bottle of wine from the floor and a glass. She and Joanna had picked it up on the way home, because Heda knew that her brother would need it.

"How bad?"

He sat down next to her.

"He skinned her," he whispered, putting the files down on the coffee table.

"Dammit Heda, he took the skin off from over her heart after he killed her and put it in her mouth. He put her on something called a Judas Cradle where he put her --" Ed was breaking down.

Heda did a quick search on her laptop and saw what he was talking about. A victim was forced to sit on top of a small pyramid while weights were tied to her waist, or they were lowered and raised via a pulley system. It was painful and demeaning and crippling.