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EVA WELSH STEPPED OFF the plane in New Orleans, Louisiana and the damp, humid air greeted her. Her other two friends weren’t leaving until tomorrow, but Eva wanted a day to herself. She hoped to let her hair down and get totally crazy for once in New Orleans, a city that was reputed for foolishness during Mardi Gras.
Tonight, she planned on hitting some of the local bars and maybe finding someone to bring back to her hotel room. When her friends got there the next day, they would go bar hopping and catch a few parades.
Since she had been smart and only packed a carry-on bag, Eva was able to hail a cab to take her to the hotel right away. She didn’t want to delay her partying tonight. On her way to the hotel, she called her parents to let them know that she’d made it to New Orleans and would talk to them later.
As she watched the scenery pass her by, she noticed the way the taxi driver looked at her. Something about him gave her the creeps. By the time she realized she might have chosen the wrong cab, it was too late. He just looked at her with a sinister smile and continued driving.
She tried to free herself from the car, but discovered that the doors didn’t open from the inside. She banged on the windows hoping to get someone’s attention, but they were going too fast down the interstate now for anyone to notice. She waited in horror for whatever this man had planned for her. Fear gripped her as horrid images ran through her mind. She prayed that she saw her family once again.
As he pulled off the main road onto a dirt road that brought them deeper into the swamp, she backed far away from the door. She planned on kicking him as hard as she could, hoping to escape when he opened the door.
As she waited for him to open the door, her heart was beating so hard she swore it would beat right out of her chest. As soon as he yanked the door open, Eva kicked with all her might. He just laughed at her futile attempts. As he dragged her from the car, she reached for something to grab.
She begged him, “Please let me go. I promise I won’t say a thing. I just want to go home.”
He threw her over his shoulders as if she weighed nothing. As the paralyzing terror took over, she knew that her time on this earth had come to an end. She turned her head and stared directly at the man who carried her off to her doom. If nothing else, she wanted his face to be burned into her soul for eternity, so that she could come back to haunt him.
When he dropped her on the ground unmercifully, she saw the flash of the blade. She felt the searing pain as it tore into her tender flesh just as she drifted into unconsciousness.
***
HE WATCHED HER EYES as life left her body. Unable to resist, he bent down and kissed her. He breathed in her sweet perfume as it mixed with the coppery scent of her blood. It was an intoxicating smell.
As he prepared the body, the voices in his head started talking. The only way to silence them was to remove her eyes and tongue. Once his ritual was complete, he carried her off to her watery grave.
***
EVERETT PICOU COULDN’T wait to drop his line in the water. He had been dreaming of this fishing trip all week. He told his wife, Kara, nothing was stopping him from getting up at the crack of dawn and going out today. Come rain or shine he was getting out on the water and fishing.
As he went to set his boat in the bayou, an object floating in the water caught his attention. He pulled out his flashlight and shined it over at the object to make sure that he wasn’t getting ready to walk up on an alligator. He felt himself grow weak from the sight in front of him. As he made the sign of the cross over the body, he called 911 to let the dispatcher know a dead body was in the bayou. There was no doubt this poor woman was dead. The poor girl’s eyes were missing.
***
DETECTIVE LEDET COULDN’T believe that he was driving out to another crime scene. He looked over at his partner and noticed that his face showed no emotion. Could it be his lack of emotion was due to lack of compassion? Both of them had thrown their whole life into their work, even to the point of not making time for anything else. Ledet tried his best to keep himself detached from a very emotional situation, at least long enough to do his job.
Ledet gripped the steering wheel tighter as he drove to the crime scene. As they left the city, they fought the heavy rush hour traffic on the Westbank Expressway. It was slow moving to Westwego; generally he enjoyed watching as the scenery changed from city to bayou, but that was not the case this morning.
His gut clenched in dread as he once again prepared to face a lifeless soul violently taken from this earth. He searched for the pack of cigarettes he’d hidden in his center console. He picked a hell of a time to quit smoking. The gum worked well, but the stress of this case ate away at him. It took a soulless bastard to kill another human being maliciously.
After years of working in homicide, he saw how twisted the human mind could be. It was as if senseless violence plagued this city he came to love. Just when they solved one case, another evil infiltrated this city.
With the discovery of the latest victim's body, he was convinced this killer had no intentions of stopping. He would even bet his next paycheck that this guy was poised and ready to strike again.
By the time Detectives Ledet and Bryant made it to the crime scene, the sun was rising. Police cars lined the road as uniformed officers combed the area for clues.
Ledet walked stoically over to the bayou, passing crime scene technicians along the way. “Have you found anything yet?” The cop just shook his head and continued working. He saw the body lying near a clump of cypress stumps. At least the media hadn’t caught wind of the latest murder. Hopefully, by the time they found out, the scene would be processed, and the body removed.
Even before looking at the body, they knew what they would see. The killer’s calling card was all too familiar to them now. When he saw the missing eyes, he started barking orders. “I want this entire area combed for clues. For once, I hope this guy left us something to go on.”
Ledet and Bryant carefully walked around the body, being mindful of where they stepped. They looked at the body from every possible angle. Bryant sighed, “These women have the same hair color and body style. Something tells me that the victim had brown eyes as well.”
Ledet just nodded his head as he continued to examine the body. He hoped they found some evidence here that gave them a clue to who this killer was. So far, nothing had been found on the bodies or crime scenes to identify a suspect. He looked over the crime scene and started the meticulous, precise task of assessing the scene. One of the crime scene techs hollered, “We have tire treads not far from where the body was discovered. They are further down the road than our boater was so they might belong to the killer.”
Ledet and Bryant followed the young tech to see what they’d found. When they arrived, another tech was busy preparing to cast the tire tracks, “We also found footprints leading away from where the car was parked. We can’t guarantee that these belong to the killer, but if you follow the path, it leads right to the bayou.”
Ledet looked in the direction of the footprints. Could it be that they were finally catching a break? “The body has been here a couple of days though. The tire tracks and footprints from the killer should have washed away by now.”
The tech shook his head, “It hasn’t rained in a few days, and the ground is still moist from the last rain. Nature helped preserve the rest for us.”
Bryant exclaimed, “I’ll be damned. Cast everything in case this was our killer. If nothing else, maybe we can find out what kind of tires are on the vehicle.”
Dr. Ortego arrived as they were making it back to where the body was located. He looked over the body and let out a sigh, “It’s a damn shame. She looks so young.” He asked, “Did you find any identification on her?”
Ledet shook his head, “There was nothing at the crime scene. If there was anything in her pockets, I doubt we will be able to use it. The water probably disintegrated whatever was in there.”
“I’ll take extra care when we get the body back to the morgue. If I find something, I will let you know.”
Ledet turned to one of the crime scene techs, “Let’s run her prints in case she is in the system.”
After Dr. Ortego had finished examining the body, he stated, “I don’t see any scars, marks or tattoos that will make it easier to identify the body. Maybe after a more thorough exam, I will find something.”
“My guess is he parked close enough to carry her to the water. I don’t see any indication that she was killed anywhere near this vicinity.”
It took several hours for the forensics team to finish combing the area; unfortunately, they didn’t find much to go on. Their only clue could be the tire tracks found, and Ledet wasn’t putting too much hope into that either. Whoever did this didn’t leave any personal belongings on her. The killer didn’t want her to be identified. Ledet hoped that she was reported missing, and it wouldn’t be a long exhaustive search to find out who this poor woman was.
Someone out there had to be missing this poor young woman. As much as he hated the daunting task of notifying the family, someone had to do it. Dread and sorrow washed over him as he thought about her family and what they were about to be put through.
By the time Ledet and Bryant walked into the police station, they looked as if they hadn’t slept in twenty-four hours. Neither man took the time to shower this morning, so they desperately needed to freshen up. But that luxury had to wait a little while longer. There was still a lot to do before either man could go home.