Dreams and Reality Series

When the US Marshals Serial Crimes Tracking Unit comes knocking at Aislinn Cain's door, she is given a chance to use her past to save other people's futures. She has survived attacks by two different serial killers and devoted her life to studying the darker side of human history.  A new killer is using medieval torture methods to slay his victims. She can give them a glimpse into his twisted world, but not without a cost. If she opens herself, she risks falling into the depths of her own darkness. Can she afford to help, knowing that the cost could be her own humanity?

Some family trees need trimming.  When pairs of feet start turning up in Columbia, Missouri, it becomes apparent that a serial killer is prowling the streets. However, the feet are not giving away many secrets and without bodies, it is impossible to identify the victims. The investigation stalls and the killer is free to slaughter as many victims as he can find.  When Aislinn Cain and the SCTU shows up, Aislinn realizes that this isn’t a new serial killer. He’s terrorized her hometown before. Her father worked the case the first time with only an exotic bite mark as a clue. Now, Aislinn will start the manhunt of her life as she becomes determined to catch the monster that eluded her father. As she sinks further into the hunt, she'll uncover a horrifying past that proves skeletons should stay locked in closets.

He skins his victims alive, taking pleasure from their pain.  In the cold, dark nights of Alaska, a hunter is stalking his prey. Once found, he takes them into the woods and skins them alive, prolonging the experience as much as he can, but the satisfaction always wanes.  Aislinn Cain and the Serial Crimes Tracking Unit have just finished up another case when they get the call. Now they are packing their bags and heading for Alaska in March. The team must overcome the hostile locals and harsh climate to catch a killer before he steals the life another woman.

Aislinn Cain and the Serial Crimes Tracking Unit are being sent to the hottest place in North America to investigate mummified remains that were found in Death Valley. When Xavier Reece uncovers elemental mercury in the heart of one of the mummies, they discover there is more than Mother Nature at work.  The victims have matching injuries, but only one of the bodies reveals the liquid metal, raising questions about how many killers are using the valley as a dumping ground. The team will have to use extraordinary means to connect all the victims to a single killer. However, with most of the victims unidentifiable due to the condition of the remains, their usual procedures of investigation are impossible.  With 32 bodies already found, how high will the body count rise before Aislinn Cain and the SCTU can capture this killer?

The Butcher is on a rampage. He's working his way across the state of Missouri, in a reign of terror, righting the wrongs he believes have been committed against his family and himself. In his wake, he leaves a blood bath; a string of mutilated victims that seem to have no pattern.  With The Butcher, it's personal. Both Aislinn Cain and Malachi Blake have ties to this monster. As a result, neither the SCTU nor the VCU can assist in his capture and the job is given to two untrained FBI agents. When one is murdered, Cain and Blake are forced to join the hunt, as consultants.  Both of them will have to battle their own demons to catch The Butcher. Demons that will show exactly how much monster they each have inside themselves. A truth that neither of them are ready to face.

For most of Kansas City, it was a beautiful spring day.  For Eric Clachan, it was the day he would get justice through bloodshed.  A rifle would ensure that the spree killer would never destroy another family.  He wouldn't stop there.  Eric had a list of other targets inside the prison walls.  Targets that would ensure justice would change.  A single day would change the world and pave the way for the US Marshals to become the baddest serial killer hunters in the world.  Eric knew this as he looked down the scope and took aim.   Max Goff needed to relax.  His life had become overwhelming.  He should have gotten a massage and spent a day with friends.  Instead, he stole a car and began a killing spree that would terrorize an entire city.  Until the newly formed US Marshals' Serial Crimes Tracking Unit would come hunting for him and he would learn what fear really was.

A bomber is terrorizing county fairs and one of the SCTU will fall  Bright midways, rides with loud music and flashing lights, barkers trying to get people to spend money on rigged games; the normal sounds of county fairs everywhere until an explosion rips through the tinny music of the carnival rides. Now the screams are not squeals of delight but the terrified shrieks of the dying.  The danger is no longer imaginary, something to shrug off when the ride is over. A killer is studying each fair, looking for that special ride that will rain down the most horror. The bombs he sets brings complete destruction. They leave a dirty field covered in broken bodies and crumpled machinery.  The Serial Crimes Tracking Unit has their hands full searching for his next target and sifting through bodies. Aislinn Cain is having trouble getting into the mindset of the bomber. Her failure to relate makes the body count climb. Then the unimaginable, a member of the SCTU gets cut down. How far will Aislinn go to get justice for her fallen friend and catch the killer? 

he most violent city in the United States doesn't normally garner much attention from the SCTU. Victims are easy to find on the destitute streets and dark alleys. They are even easier to prey upon as they desperately cling to hope. Their bodies are easy to hide in the abandoned houses and buildings that litter Detroit. In a city turning into a ghost town, serial killers stalk the trapped residents with hellish delight.  One killer gains national attention, even among the most vile and violent Detroit has to offer. He isn't just killing his victims, he's burning their bodies and the buildings they are in with impunity. He does not hunt in the shadows, but takes his victims during the cold light of day. He's methodical, calculating, and leaves no clues for the police to follow.  Leads are so few and the kills so brazen, that Aislinn Cain and the SCTU pack their bags and head for the grim streets of Detroit. It is in this desolate waste of a city, that they will face their most depraved and deceptive serial killer yet. 

Tourists and natives trolling bars and the scenic places that make up the French Quarter are being hunted.  A mutilator intent on gathering trophies made up of swatches of skin laden with tattoos and scars is the hunter.  The victims, left drugged but alive, are unable to help the police with a description of the perpetrator.  With no clues and a serial criminal at large, the local police have no choice but to turn to the Serial Crimes Tracking Unit. The Serial Crimes Tracking Unit, better known as SCTU, is used to dealing with dead bodies, so they are unsure their hunting skills will be useful.  While the perpetrator might fit a profile, the living are of little help.  After all, they don't even remember being attacked.  Dealing with the living, especially those who have been victimized has never been a strong point of Aislinn Cain.  As Aislinn and her team go to work at solving this case, they find themselves in a race against the clock. It is only a matter of time before their serial mutilator escalates into a serial killer.

Poisoning is the preference of most female serial killers and Sioux Falls, South Dakota has a poisoner on their hands.  The killer's choice, belladonna, a rare flower in the United States.  The use of it is nearly unheard of. Then a chance encounter; a hand gesture, the laugh, Aislinn Cain knows it's him.  Her old foe has returned to torment her.  The rest of the SCTU is worried her brain tumor has returned, because it's impossible. As Aislinn falls further down the rabbit hole, chasing phantoms, the team tries to pull it together to find their poisoner.  However, Aislinn isn't the only one chasing phantoms, as belladonna brings back nightmares for another member of the SCTU and will leave them questioning their decision to work with serial killers.  Then someone attacks the VCU, further hindering the investigation.  Amid the mass deaths, the SCTU must decide between tacking down the person poisoning bar patrons in South Dakota or getting revenge for their fallen serial killer hunters.  Finding this killer will bring more questions than answers, it will open old wounds, and force everyone to rethink what they know about serial killers

San Marcos, Texas.  A picture perfect American landscape.  Communities dominated by Friday Night Football, modest homes, and happy families.  Until the serenity of small town life is broken by one family's discovery of bodies in an abandoned well. Local police try to keep the discovery quiet; they seldom deal with murder and aren't prepared when one of the bodies turns out to be a local high school boy.  The multiple murders drive home the sinister reality that they are no longer innocent of the crimes that plague large cities.  Based on the skill involved, the Serial Crimes Tracking Unit realizes that this is not the killer's first time.  As the SCTU digs deep to discover the killer, they uncover more victims.  Anger and fear begin to cause panic in what was once a quiet community.  Aislinn Cain and the members of her team need to find the killer before the town implodes with terror and the citizens begin doling out their own brand of justice.

There is a conspiracy afoot, one involving some of the most dangerous people on the planet. A network of organized serial killers exists; Aislinn Cain and the SCTU have found evidence of it. Yet, they have very few leads.  Until the serial killers go on the offensive and Aislinn Cain wakes up to find herself living her worst fears. They have stormed the Federal Offices where Nyleena Clachan works and staged an uprising within the serial killer prison, The Fortress.  To bring an end to this madness and find out who is behind it all, sacrifices will have to be made. The costs will be high as Aislinn and the team go up against some of the baddest serial killers that exist.

Four months ago, the branch of the federal government that enforces the Serial Killer & Mass Murder laws was attacked.  It was organized and used every ruthless killer that could be scrounged up to carry it out.  Aislinn Cain and the SCTU lead the charge to take back their neighborhood and the Fortress.   They succeeded, but at high costs to law enforcements and civilians.  It left Kansas City and the government reeling.  Backlash was immediate and harsh.  The Violent Crimes Unit of the FBI was disbanded, leaving Malachi Blake and Caleb Green without jobs.  Aislinn Cain was suspended for three months.  However, the worst part was that most of the killers involved escaped. When piles of bones begin turning up in public parks around Kansas City, nobody wants to deal with such a blatant statement that a serial killer is stalking their backyards.  He's organized and arranges to the bones to shock anyone that might find them.  He wants everyone to read the stories that the bones tell about his victims. With all the turmoil, Aislinn Cain's suspension is lifted so that she can lead her own unit to track this home town serial killer.  Most of her team are in training.  They are the beginnings of a second SCT unit.  They must move quickly though because this killer has been at it for years and has suddenly accelerated his killing pace. Just as Aislinn thinks things can't get any worse, a mystery man shows up.  He brings violence and death with him.  Her unwanted stalker is willing to kill for her, but she doesn't know who he is or why.  Until she gets a single clue and realizes the past of one SCTU member could force them to stop investigating the bone cleaner and start a frantic search for a far darker serial killer. 

Aislinn Cain wakes up on a cold concrete floor having been drugged and kidnapped by serial killer Raphael Henders.  Despite the chaos, she has a few questions; is Gabriel still alive?  If so, for how long? And where exactly is she? As the answers start to reveal themselves, Aislinn comes to the realization that Raphael Henders is unlike any serial killer she has ever faced before.  Not only is he brilliant, cunning, sadistic, and brutal, he is part of the organized ring of serial killers that the SCTU has been trying to eliminate.  More importantly, he is just one step removed from the leader of the organization and he has answers that Aislinn needs to put her past behind her. To survive and get what she needs, Aislinn will have to play Raphael's game.  Death is not an option, pitting Aislinn's own desire to survive against her need to figure out who exactly was behind the murder of Aislinn's father and sister all those years ago.

Aislinn Cain and the rest of the SCTU have just finished a case in Colorado when they are rushed back to Kansas City to deal with a problem close to home.  The person that has been trying quite pathetically to kill Nadine Daniels for the last few years has turned to killing her clients.  The newspapers dub him the Family Annihilator because he is killing entire households protected by Daniels' Security.    As Nadine's files are trucked to the SCTU headquarters to be sifted through, it quickly becomes apparent that Nadine has more enemies than even Aislinn Cain.  Aislinn struggles to get into the mind of abusive domestic partners.  Most are insecure narcissists not psychopaths or sociopaths unlike the serial killers they normally chase.    Also, as is the case whenever Nadine Daniels is involved in something it is more complex and complicated than it appears on the surface.  Daniels' Security has been in business more than fifteen years and they have had a lot of cases both on the books and off.  Not to mention it is impossible for Nadine's private life and business life to not overlap and Aislinn finds her private life and law enforcement life overlapping as a result.  Aislinn worries all these distractions will result in the killer getting away or worse, completing their objective – Kill Nadine Daniels. 

Some American cities thrive on the gilded dreams of young hopefuls. An endless stream of beautiful naïve woman, barely out-of-school ebb and flow through their streets, providing a smorgasbord for predators. Few of these women will see their names in lights, the grim realities of city life forcing them to find alternative income sources; improving their chances of being victimized.   Rarely do these women get noticed. But when over a dozen of these women disappear in a short time to never reappear, even law enforcement pays attention. The FBI arrives first on the scene, but no bodies leaves the agents impotent. They pass the case along to the Serial Crimes Tracking Unit.   Aislinn Cain instantly realizes there are two major difficulties for her and her team: The victims are prostitutes, and most people don't care if someone is murdering prostitutes, and without bodies it is impossible to make a case that they have become prey for a serial killer. However, after looking through the case files assembled on the missing women, she knows in her bones that Nashville, Tennessee, has a serial killer stalking the streets at night.   This case will test Aislinn Cain as she struggles against people who consider themselves morally superior to the victims and work with academics to invent new search techniques to discover their victims' remains. This will be the first time she's using the new investigative skills she's learned, along with trusting her intuition and knowledge of the killers that hunt in the dark.

Snuff films are a myth. Everyone knows that. When a serial killer begins rampaging through Kansas City, Missouri, the press dubs him The Lady Burner, because after he kills his victims, he sets their bodies on fire and burns down their houses. The SCTU knows that the fires are just a forensic counter measure. He's covering his tracks; he rapes and strangles these women while filming it. He offers the videos up for sale on the dark web, forcing Aislinn Cain and the SCTU to track a killer through the sleazy digital marketplaces where someone can buy anything if they have enough money. However, once inside the marketplaces, Aislinn realizes it's not just a case of tracking down the person selling the videos. There's an infrastructure in place that insulates the video maker, the seller, the distributor, and the buyers. Ensuring everything on the dark web, even the makers of snuff films, are anonymous

Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream, merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, let me hear you scream.  Aislinn Cain and SCTU Team Alpha heads to Tallahassee, Florida to do battle with a serial killer unlike any they have ever faced before.  The victims endure psychological as well as physical torture at the hands of this merciless murderer.  The crimes are staged as hate crimes. However, Ace and Lucas agree that each death appears to be a form of punishment, creating doubts that hate is the true motive.    Identifying and capturing this killer is the easiest part for Ace.  Deciding if justice is being served is more difficult, as this killer doesn't fit into the black and white morality, she has constructed for herself.   

With the murder of the serial killer known as The Ghost Maker, the serial killer club he ran became dormant. Now, someone calling themself Mictlan the Collector has taken control of the defunct club. He's arranged a competition for a select group of members. The serial killer with the most points at the end will win a million dollars in cryptocurrency, and he's chosen Kansas City as the hunting grounds. Fearing this could happen after The Ghost Maker's death, the NSA had an operative infiltrate the nefarious club. The operative gives the SCTU advanced warning of the competition.   To stop it, Aislinn Cain and the SCTU must identify and capture Mictlan the Collector before the first day. Identifying and capturing a serial killer is never easy and Mictlan complicates the issue by requiring competitors to take a victim to gain admittance. The competitors have less than one week to complete the entrance task, which divides the resources of the SCTU between trying to identify Mictlan the Collector and identifying the serial killers participating in the competition. For a chance at a million dollars in cryptocurrency, serial killers will travel far and wide to participate. With visiting serial killers comes new signature methods requiring the SCTU to reach out to their law enforcement contacts all over the world to at least attempt to find their place of origin and gain any files on them that might exist. The situation is dire enough that the CIA activates their own special black books operation referred to as The Home Defense Program, forcing the SCTU to coordinate with the CIA as well as local law enforcement.   Finally, as the start date of the competition gets nearer, panicked politicians want to enact martial law for the Kansas City Metro area. Convinced that martial law will result in more deaths than the competition, the SCTU is racing against the ticking clock, fighting their limited manpower, and extreme panic to save their home city from becoming a grisly battlefield.

Marshal Aislinn Cain and the serial crimes tracking unit are sent to New York City to investigate murders identical to murders committed during the 1980s. However, the serial killer responsible for the original murders is dead, killed in a shootout with the NYPD when they cornered him dumping his last victim. This new series of murders though includes details never released. Only the medical examiner's office and investigators working the case knew the killer shoved straight pins in the soles of his victim's feet. Every murdered woman, dumped in the same location as the original victims, in this new series has, not just the straight pins, but the same brand, pushed into the soles of their feet. The SCTU will need to reinvestigate the original case to ensure the NYPD got the correct man, while investigating this new series and identifying reasons someone would replicate this particular series of murders. During their investigation, they'll meet the nemesis of murdered hero US Marshal Nathan Green. Can they vindicate Marshal Green's suspicions about his nemesis and solve both series of murders or will they leave NYC questioning if they got the right man too?