In our line of work, there is no such thing as being a victim of success. There is just success.

We can’t stop what we’re doing for fear of emboldening someone any more than we can stop evil men like him from existing. What we can do is stop them from hurting anybody else.

For much of the last year, the liaison position thrust on Detective Reed Mattox and his K-9 partner Billie, forcing them to split time between the Columbus Police Department and the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation, saw them doing an increasing amount of work for the latter. Cases handpicked by the governor with the hope of currying goodwill on his own behalf, sending them to nearly every corner of the state.

An arrangement Reed was growing increasingly wary of, and when a body turned up in The Bottoms where he and his partner used to spend much of their time, he was more than willing to take it. A chance for them work in familiar territory with familiar colleagues, as well as a shot to bring justice on behalf of the young woman who was brutally murdered and displayed in a park for all to see.

A task that had just begun when other victims surfaced.

The makings of a serial spree targeting working girls throughout the city, with each addition bringing new details to light. The emergence of patterns hinting at the type of killer Reed and Billie had barely heard of, much less encountered before. Someone driven by delusions of grandeur, making it clear that every last detail was done with intention.

Including the involvement of Reed and Billie themselves…