Before She Dies by Mary Burton

been a freshman or sophomore in high school.”
    The old man smiled. “You’ve filled out, but you are much the same.” He glanced at Sinclair. “He was quite the conscientious young man. Never late. Never complained.”
    Sinclair grinned. “I’ve always said he was a Boy Scout.”
    Mr. Tanner nodded. “How is your father, Daniel?”
    “He’s well, sir.” Mr. Tanner and his father had been friends for thirty years. His father had gotten Rokov that long-ago summer job. “I’ve not seen him in a while. This economy keeps menders like your father and I busy. Good for business but not so good for friendships.”
    “Better to fix the old than buy new.” How many times had he heard his father utter those words?
    “A notion that is again popular.” He set down the jacket and rose, shifting his stance from side to side as if working out kinks. “What can I do for you?”
    Rokov unclipped his cell phone from his belt. “I’d like you to look at a picture of a jacket.”
    “Sure.”
    Rokov pulled up the picture. He’d been careful to snap just the jacket and not any part of the victim. “You know I’m with the Alexandria Police.”
    “I do indeed.”
    He held out the phone to Mr. Tanner. “It’s got your name on the label.”
    He adjusted his glasses and leaned closer. “It was a custom piece. One of a kind. I worked on it for a month.”
    “Who was it for?”
    “A young woman with dark hair.” He held up his finger. “But I will have to look up the name. Just a moment. You will wait.”
    “Of course.” He replaced the phone back in its holster.
    The old man disappeared through a curtained doorway.
    Sinclair glanced around the shop and moved to a black leather jacket. “So you worked here?”
    “That’s right. I delivered pieces to clients, picked up supplies, ran whatever errand Mr. Tanner needed.”
    “I thought you worked for your father.”
    “I did that as well.”
    She touched a brown jacket’s soft leather sleeve. “If I worked here, I’d be broke because I’d be buying all the stock. Gorgeous work.”
    “Mr. Tanner’s work is top of the line. A piece from him will last forever.”
    She flipped over the price tag. “I don’t think I can afford forever. The best I can do is the immediate future.”
    “So it is with most.”
    Mr. Tanner reappeared holding a white index card. “Her name is Diane Young. And she lives on Beauregard.” He rattled off the address. “So what has happened to Ms. Young?”
    “It’s not good.”
    Mr. Tanner frowned. “I am sorry. I remember her now. She was a nice lady. She told me she read fortunes. She said I would live to be very old. I laughed and said I was very old.”
    Rokov wrote it down. “Thanks, Mr. Tanner.”
    “Of course, Daniel. Tell your father I said hello.”
    “I will.”
    They moved back outside into the sunlight and each put on their sunglasses. “Do you think identifying the victim will be that easy?”
    “Let’s hope.”
     
    He sat in his office watching the video on his computer, earplugs tucked in his ears. The monitor was faced away from the closed door and he could easily minimize the image if someone entered unexpectedly.
    The picture was crystal clear, and when he watched the scene on his computer, he felt almost an intimate connection. The world around him faded away, and he imagined he could crawl inside the computer and relive the event.
     
    His hands around the witch’s throat, he stared into her eyes. They’d been playing their games for several days, and with each passing day her fear grew, heightening a thrilling sense of power.
    But this last time he was not playing any longer. This time, he was here to end their journey together and absorb the power of her magic.
    He pushed her head under the water and held tight as she kicked and grabbed at his wrists. A muscle twitched in his jaw as he held her down. Her pulse throbbed faster and faster under his palms. Soon the energy would leave her body and enter his