Aries: Murders of the Zodiac, #3

By Paris Morgan

When the FBI uncovers a burial ground with Zodiac markings, Leslie and Ryan are called in to help.

Joining forces with the FBI, Leslie and Ryan are drawing on their experience and knowledge to help apprehend the killer. Loyalties are called into question when an accident strikes. Ryan refuses to believe Leslie's hunch that the serial killer has made them his obsession.

When another woman is taken from the area, Leslie is tired of waiting to take action. She goes on the hunt to find the killer and his latest victim, knowing her own life could hang in the balance. He draws her into a sick game of cat and mouse before Leslie realizes that her only chance at survival is to outrun or outsmart him. He's managed to outthink her twice before…

When Leslie goes missing, Ryan finally has to admit he was wrong. A madman with a taste for gore has his partner, and when their psychic friend calls to warn him of the killer's plans it's a race against time to save Leslie's life.

Will Ryan be able to save her in time, or has Leslie finally met a horrible death?

Paris Morgan continues this gripping series of psychological thrillers. Each title is more bone-chilling with plot twists that will have you racing towards the end. Aries is the third book in the Murders of the Zodiac series, drawing you deeper into the web of the Zodiac killer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Misdirected Tales
• Release date: May 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223092261

Book preview

Prologue

Leslie

Iknew better than to glance back over my shoulder while I was running, but it was hard to go against my natural instincts. I ducked, barely missing the arrow that thunked into the tree inches from my head.

Terror raced through my body. He knew exactly where I was. This was a game to him, and I was his prey. I knew I wasn’t the first one he’d chased through these woods because I’d seen the bodies of those who hadn’t made it. I wasn’t sure about everything that he did to his victims, but I refused to be one. Not tonight.

The moon shone through the trees, giving just enough light for me to see a path, but it also meant he could follow me easier through the less vegetative area.

A scream pierced the night, and instead of heading to safety, I turned back. I couldn’t let him have another girl. He wasn’t going to win this game; not if I could stop him.

Chapter 1

Three Weeks Earlier — Somewhere in California

Adog barked, alerting the hunter of his find. His owner ambled over, assuming that he’d found another dead squirrel, until he saw the hand sticking out of the dirt. Fumbling to grab his dog’s collar, he managed to keep him away from sniffing the finger pointing up.

The leash clipped into place, then he pulled out his phone to make a call. Sheriff, you need to get out to the wooded area over off the highway. Fred found a hand sticking out of the ground. The hunter looked around self-consciously. No, I didn’t check to see if there was a body attached. Yes, it looks real, and Fred went crazy trying to get to it. No, I don’t think he’d act that way if it was fake. Sure, I’ll wait here, but hurry. I’m all creeped out now.

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Twenty minutes later, I pulled up behind Leroy Blake’s vehicle and parked. It wasn’t hard to follow the path he and Fred had made through the woods.

I’d barely made it a few steps away from the squad car when I heard Fred barking.

That you, Sheriff? Leroy called out, his voice echoing through the wooded area.

Yep. Make sure you don’t shoot me, I chuckled, knowing that he was always careful when out in the woods. We didn’t have much in the way of woods near the beach highway, but there was just enough on the inner side for tourists to get lost in.

Hey there, Leroy. What’ve you got for me? I put my hand down near Fred for him to sniff me before trying to pet him.

Well, Fred’s the one who found it. We hadn’t gotten far when he took off. I had to chase after him, and that’s when I found him sniffing this hand. I was all I could do to get his leash on and pull him away to call you. Good thing it was out here on the edge, because if we’d have gone much farther, there wouldn’t have been any cell reception.

I pulled on a pair of latex gloves and bent down to examine it. When I touched the finger that was pointed upward, the hand stayed steady, so I was going to assume that it had been buried and might still be attached to the arm. Wiggling the dirt away from the wrist, I could see there was indeed an arm underneath. Green paint decorated the nails, and the fingers looked a little soft, with few to no wrinkles on the back of the hand. I was going to say they belonged to a woman, probably younger than twenty-five.

This was going to take more than just me to find out what had happened. I’d done my part in checking out a call from a friend, and now it was time to make it official and call in the crime techs.

Leroy, can you do me a favor?

Yeah. Need Fred to help track down the body? Leroy asked eagerly.

Uh, no. I’m afraid it’s not very exciting. I stood up, looking at the area around the hand sticking out of the ground. I need you to cancel your hunting trip for the day and call my office when you get out to the road.

Aw, Sheriff. That’s not fair. I’m the one that found it—well, Fred did, but we’re a pair, and he can’t have his picture taken or be interviewed by the news channels, but I can speak for him. Leroy groaned in dismay.

Now, Leroy, you know I wouldn’t want you to miss out on all the fame this could bring. If you can keep quiet for about twenty-four hours, I’ll make sure to call the media myself and tell them that you were the first person on the scene. I held up a hand in warning. But I’ll only vouch for you if you don’t tell anyone about it until I tell you to. If I catch wind that you’ve gone and told the whole town before I say you can, then I might tell them you’re a suspect.

Panic filled Leroy’s features. Now, that’s not fair. I won’t say anything unless you tell me to, but how am I supposed to call your office if I can’t say anything?

Just tell my office where I’m at, and that I need a crime scene team. This way, if nothing important comes to light, then they won’t laugh at you down at the barber shop. If we do find something, then you’ll be the town hero.

Leroy scratched at his stubbled chin. I guess that makes sense. You wanna keep from letting the killer know about it. I’ll do just what you say, Sheriff.

Thank you. It’s people like you that make police work easier. I watched as he straightened with pride before pulling on Fred’s leash.

You can count on me, Leroy called over his shoulder, hurrying toward the road.

Exhaling the breath I’d been holding, I scanned the area around the strange finger, noting four other mounds that looked like burial plots as well. I’d been worried that I had one body on my hands, but if these others were similar, then we had a serious problem.

This was going to bring the Feds into my town, and that wasn’t good for the tourist business, as we were just getting into spring. One of California’s major tourist highways ran through our town, drawing people to a stop for the night, or to take advantage of the beaches that went crowded with college students on break.

Walking in a small circle around the five mounds, I didn’t see anything that stood out. This person hadn’t left even a gum wrapper behind, which told me that this wasn’t their first kill. This part of the woods had a few regulars that came out to hunt birds or squirrels. There wasn’t much wildlife beyond that, and the hunting rules were pretty strict if it wasn’t the right season for that license.

Leroy, a town local, was one of the few that still went out hunting regularly, but he always returned with very little to show for it. I felt pretty sure that he just went out with his dog to get away from people who weren’t quite sure what to do with him and his quirky behavior.

My radio beeped, meaning that other squad cars were in close enough range to communicate.

Hill, that you?

Yes, sir. We’re pulling up behind your vehicle now.

Did you request the cadaver dog?

I sent Sam out to borrow one. He’ll be back with it shortly, Hill answered.

Great. Follow the path, and you shouldn’t have any problem finding me.

On our way with the equipment.

Roger that. And keep off the radios with information.

Yes, sir.

Patience wasn’t one of my strong suits when it came to this type of thing, but thankfully, this wasn’t a stakeout. I hated those with a passion.

Most of my team was used to working in the woods or on the beach, but hauling the tools needed for this job would make the ten-minute hike take longer. I leaned against a tree, wishing that I hadn’t quit smoking. It would at least give me something to do while I waited.

Standing there, it was easy to see that the five mounds were laid out in a row, each one at the foot of a tree. I wasn’t more than ten feet away from them, but it appeared that something was etched into the tree about six feet up from the ground.

Carefully walking around the mounds, which I was certain were graves, I pulled on another pair of gloves to trace the symbol that was carved into the tree. It looked like two circles with a V in between them. I’d seen it somewhere before, but at the moment, it escaped me. The carving looked fairly fresh, and now that I was looking for it, I could see that both of the other trees had the same symbol etched into the bark.

A branch snapped behind me, and I had my gun halfway out of the holster when I realized that it was my officers.

What have we got, Sheriff? Hill asked, out of breath, dropping the bags he was carrying onto the ground.

Five murder victims, and the killer left us his sign. I turned, confident that our quiet little town was about to become anything but quiet in the coming days.

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There had been five bodies, all young women. Damn, I hated to be right about something like this. We’d sent them to the county coroner, but since we didn’t normally have things like this happen in our county, and with only one coroner, I wasn’t sure that we’d get all the evidence we’d need off of five bodies. I’d asked them to hold off on doing anything with them while I made a few phone calls.

Pat Hill was my second-in-command, and he was going to stay with the bodies until I could work out some sort of protective detail. We didn’t have the workforce for something like this, and I already had everyone out in the woods searching for any signs of the killer.

I fingered the business card that I’d been given at a training meeting two years ago by the speaker, Ava Perez. I didn’t want to call, but this wasn’t about me. It was about the town I protected.

Hello, this is Ava Perez.

Hi, this is Vance Turner. We met at the sheriff training function two years ago.

What can I do for you, Sheriff Turner?

We just found five bodies, all young women, buried out in a patch of woods. I’m afraid that we don’t have the skills to process the bodies appropriately and might miss crucial evidence.

Ah. So, you need a little extra help from our labs?

Holding my breath wasn’t going to make this any easier. "You said that if we needed help, to call. Well, I’m calling. We have a killer on the loose, and it’s not going to go over well when it gets out. I don’t have the manpower to watch over the overflow