Satan's Arrow

Book excerpt: The method of operation (MO), of this killer is complex and gruesome. All of his victims are women between the ages of twenty and thirty and they are all attractive brunettes, either artists or patrons of the arts in and around the Washington, D.C. area, and their bodies are found in secluded areas in the counties surrounding Washington, D.C. In all the cases, the women are abducted and taken somewhere to be raped and tortured, later taken to the place of execution where, in a satanic ritual, they are sodomized and then crucified upside-down, and then killed by an arrow through the heart. The killings had begun thirteen years ago and then suddenly stopped with the fourth victim. After an apparent long cooling-off period of eleven years, the killings begin again two years ago and the F.B.I. task force was augmented. Special Agent Adrian DeWinter, sixty-two, and the most experienced and successful agent in the field is appointed Lead-Investigator, and special agent Vivian Dubary, twenty-nine, is made Co-Investigator. A new murder, with the victim discovered in Rock Creek Park, in Washington, D.C., yields only moderate leads. The psychotic killer is meticulous, but is partially identified by a family of hikers. Vivian goes undercover as an artist at the popular Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria hoping to attract the murderer, while Adrian, with a close-nit team, investigates the Satanic Church, leading to an apparent dead end. The (UNSUB) unknown subject, is cornered in two shoot-outs with police and, on both occasions he kills them all with a powerful hunting rifle, no witnesses, but the task force is slowly closing in. In the meantime, Adrian is contacted by the Society for Paranormal Analysis and is informed that a four-year old girl, Becky Williams, may be a genuine case of past-life memories, a reincarnation of Cameron Summers, the fourth victim thirteen years ago. As Adrian explores this direction on his own, Becky reveals vital information leading to the identification of the murderer. Combined with Vivians undercover operations, the investigators successfully identify the killer. But without solid evidence they have to resort to a dangerous trap which leads to an exciting violent end. Filled with horrible serial murders; police shoot-outs, factually based F.B.I. investigation methods, a delving into the world of art, Satanism, and a case of genuine reincarnation, Satans Arrow is a paranormal thriller with unique twists and turns, entry into the dark dimensions of a psychotic mind, and an interesting surprise ending.