Dexter had left the crime scene much earlier than expected, and since then, his thoughts hadn't given him a moment's peace.
He couldn't stop thinking about what Larry had said. His voice, although calm, had that particular tone that only someone obsessed with details could have. An experienced profiler… and someone with a good ear for hearing the truth hidden within scenes of violent crimes.
He mentioned her without realizing it, long before identifying who the killer in the first pond case was. Tara. Not by name, of course, but it was enough to set off all my internal alarms. The way he described the crime scene, the characteristics of the attacker… The pattern was clear. Too specific. Tara had been there. And if Larry noticed it, even unknowingly, then I knew it too.
The Ice Truck Killer case… That one was taken from me, and the chance to study it was zero, since there was no blood. I was forced to watch from the sidelines while misguided justice made its move. I couldn't do anything. Nothing that followed my code without risking everything in Larry's eyes.
But this time… This time is different.
Tara isn't like the others. She's the connection Larry needed to find the Ice Truck Killer, and I wasn't going to give him that chance.
The Ice Truck Killer is meticulous, almost artistic. A killer who doesn't act on impulse but by conviction. Cold. Precise. Like me. And for that very reason, they must disappear.
The hunt has begun. The opportunity to beat Larry is in my hands now, and I won't waste it.
First, I need to know more. Recent movements. Possible victims. Is she active, or was it just an isolated appearance? I can't afford to fail. If she is who I think she is, she'll be expecting someone to follow her.
Maybe… she's even expecting me.
But I know how to play too.
I can be patient.
I can be silent.
And when the time comes, I'll make her look into the eyes of what she truly is.
A monster. Like me.
But unlike her… I have a code.
…
A few hours later, Larry was lying in a bathtub filled with water. Cigarette smoke lingered in the air, and pill traces could be found scattered across the floor.
Beside the bathtub, Larry had his modified SIG Sauer P226 pistol, which he carried everywhere. As a criminal profiler—very different from pathologists—he was allowed to carry a service weapon with him at all times.
Fortunately for him, Larry had been able to keep these benefits even while working for the Miami Police Department.
"What are your real motives for leaving these corpses behind?" Larry asked in his sleep, referring to the Ice Truck Killer.
The logical explanation would be that the killer was trying to send a message—but to whom? The way the killer involved someone else to distract the police—no, to distract him—was something easy to notice.
Whatever the reason, the Ice Truck Killer was being very cautious with him. Maybe he feared Larry would find him before his message reached whoever it was meant for.
The first victim was Emma. She fought back against her attacker. But since he was a man, there wasn't much she could do after being drugged.
The important thing now was to catch Tara. If they could bring her to the station, they would then have a detailed profile of the Ice Truck Killer. But now that the police were looking for her, it was unlikely the killer would leave any loose ends.
At this point, Larry had lost hope.
Nothing happening now was in his control—it all depended on the police and how they chose to investigate. They had their weapons, very fine ones that Larry himself had given them to catch Tara.
But whether they would take full advantage of those tools was another matter.
As Larry drifted off in the bathtub, he dreamt of all the murder details, and something he hadn't noticed before appeared in his mind.
"A trail..."
…
At 7:00 the next morning, a cell phone ringtone woke Larry, who had somehow ended up back in bed.
In that moment, he resisted the urge to throw the phone out the window and instead answered the call.
Masuka's excited voice came through.
In simple terms, everything he said was that Larry needed to return immediately to the location mentioned in the messages.
Apparently, after further investigation, Sergeant Doakes had found a truck behind Tara's house that matched the tire marks left at Ron's crime scene.
It only took a few more checks to find traces of Ron left in the back of the truck.
Masuka said they were lucky to find this treasure box full of evidence pointing to Tara as the killer, just as Larry had suspected.
And one more thing—Tara had been arrested in the early hours of the morning and had confessed everything during a surprise interrogation.
Larry jumped out of bed as soon as he heard that from Masuka.
"She confessed just like that?"
"She really did!"
"Wait for me—I'll be there soon!" Larry hung up after getting a few answers that deeply intrigued him.
Was the case really solved that easily?
No, no!
Something felt terribly wrong, so Larry grabbed the first clothes he could find and drove straight to the police station.
When Lieutenant LaGuerta saw Larry walk in, she approached and immediately grabbed his hand, shaking it firmly. "Your reports arrived just in time. At first, the suspect didn't say a word, but she completely broke down when she saw Emma's body."
As she spoke, Larry's phone buzzed twice.
He looked down without a word and read the message. It seemed the on-duty technician from the trace inspection lab had sent him an email.
Larry clicked the message to expand it.
Subject: "Fingerprint detection on outer packaging."
Larry wasn't surprised—he knew Tara's fingerprints were on the golf sports equipment left in Ron's home office.
After reading the contents, Larry looked up—and that's when everyone in the station started clapping.
"Congratulations, Forensic Specialist Luk!"
"A new case added to your flawless list!"
Larry simply nodded, secretly knowing the case was far from over.
But no one besides a select few needed to know that.