A new name at the end of a now ‘personal’ letter. Was this a sign of the killer evolving? Ace would never have admitted to anyone the fear he felt. He had no time for fear. The phone rang as he typed in the last word. It was the police chief from the night before and he seemed slightly emotional even for a police officer.

It would not take him long to get to the crime scene today, for it was Ace’s own landlady who had been killed. He now truly regretted taking the sleeping pills with the alcohol chaser last night.

Now he realized why the police chief was so affected, as it had been his mother that was slain last night. Ace went downstairs slowly and the smell of blood entered his nose as he reached the ground level.

Outside the rental office a pool of blood had collected; this was not going to be at all pleasant. Inside, the woman’s body was strung up. She was dressed with a crown on her head and a hunting bow in her hand. From her neck hung a sign, which read, ‘Conqueror.’ Ace automatically knew this was the first of the four horsemen the killer had mentioned. The hairs on his neck stood on end as he remembered part of the letter.

“The horsemen come, the end is near-you will help.”

Ace knew this case was very serious, since any killer bold enough to leave a hand-delivered letter was bold enough to do any number of things. The crime lab came up empty regarding fingerprints; the only thing they could tell him was that the ink appeared to be less than a day old.

His cell phone began to vibrate on his hip. When he answered it, a small wispy voice on the other end made his face brighten in smile. His grim look was replaced with a smile that creaked across his face. He left the crime scene and went to stand outside for some fresh air and better company.

“Hailey, sweetheart! How is my angel?”

His daughter was just checking on him; even at five, she was worried about him. More like her mother every day and even more so since the divorce. Ace thanked her for her concern and told her that he would see her this coming weekend, which was only three days away. This was the best ten minutes of his day he told her, and they would have a great weekend together.

An officer came up just then with a worried expression. Ace said a quick goodbye, hung up the phone and gave the other man his full attention. The officer handed Ace yet another pristine envelope, this time from a plastic bag with Ace’s name, address and a smiley face written on it—in blood. Ace forced his hand to come up and take the envelope. As he did, the officer added, “This was placed at the crime scene within the last few minutes.” Fear made Ace sick to his stomach as his thoughts turned to Hailey. Had the killer heard the private conversation between him and his daughter?

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