The sound of leaves crunching underfoot was the only thing that broke the silence. But it was fall in New England, this sound was nothing new. But if you listened a little more closely, you might hear the unmistakable sound of something being…dragged. There were muffled sounds of panic, of begging, but that would stop soon. 

 

Soon all would be silent.

 

__________

 

"You look tired, Patrick," Andrew observed. He sat a streaming mug of coffee in front of Patrick, who only glared at him in response. Hands were raised defensively. "I'm just saying. How much sleep did you get last night?"

 

"Not enough," Patrick answered gruffly. He glanced down at his hands, cracking his knuckles. The skin there was raw and cracked and it stung a bit as it was stretched. "Nightmares."

 

Andrew gave him a sympathetic look but luckily Patrick was spared any more niceties by the arrival of Erica Peters, current unit chief. "Sorry I'm a little late guys, but um, unfortunately I have a pretty good reason." Like a hail of buckshot, a gallery of pictures appeared on the screen over her shoulder. "Buffalo PD discovered another body last night, in the Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve. Same MO as all the others."

 

"Looks like he didn't bother to hide this one as well," Andrew pointed out. "You think he's devolving?"

 

"Maybe he got spooked," Patrick said. Unsurprisingly, all attention pivoted to him. He ignored them, gesturing to the screen. "You can tell he was trying to bury the body. Just didn't get very far. Who found the body?"

 

"Early morning jogger," Erica answered. "Said he was going for a quick run before work, heard some noises in the woods. Found the body…half buried. Didn't manage to get a good look at the unsub though, unfortunately. But I'm gonna send you out to look at the scene, Patrick." This caught Patrick's attention immediately, his hackles raising. Why would she– "We need a fresh set of eyes, see if you can't find something we're missing. Take Ricky with you. He can fill you in."

 

There was the sound of chair legs scrapping the floor, which was inevitably Ricky getting to his feet. "Wait, now?" Patrick asked.

 

This time it was his turn to be on the receiving end of a glare. "Yes, now," she repeated. "This is our fifth body, we don't have time to waste. While you two are out at the crime scene, Spencer, I want you to handle the media. This sh*t is getting majorly out of hand. Joe and I will talk to the victim's family."

 

It was almost funny to Patrick how easily his body slipped back into this routine but he supposed that was a fault of the familiarity. Erica's nod of dismissal was enough to put him into autopilot mode. Phone, badge, gun. Phone, badge, gun. One foot in front of the other. Need to let Kate know he'd be late. Need to let Kate know– He stopped in his tracks. Kate. 

 

"Earth to Patrick?" A blur of flesh in front of his face. Patrick forced himself back to reality and found Ricky standing in front of him, both of them standing near the rear bumper of an SUV. His friend had a concerned look on his face, which made Patrick's stomach burn. "Are you sure you're okay to do this?" Ricky asked. "You know you could always tell Erica–"

 

"I'm fine," Patrick interrupted. There was an edge to his voice, one that Ricky seemed to pick up on immediately. "Let's just go and get this sh*t over with."