PETE BELLOWED as he struggled to rein in the banner. Whoever painted it had done so recently: The paint hadn’t quite dried and was dripping slowly, giving the impression that it had been written in blood. I’ve seen a lot of disturbing things while solving cases, but even I found the image chilling. “Who would do something like this?” Jenna asked quietly, her voice catching as she fought back tears. Immediately, I turned my head toward the suspicious guy I had seen earlier, but he was gone. I thought I could just make out his back heading down the street, but a thicker crowd was already forming around us. I wasn’t going to be able to go after him before he got out of sight. “Jenna, are you okay?” I heard Bess say urgently next to me. I turned to see Jenna breathing rapidly and her eyes twitching back and forth as she registered all the people around her snapping photos on their phones.
