My cell phone rang. “Dominick here.” Danica and I were in Los Angeles.

“This is Giovanni. Jack and I need you in Vancouver, Washington.”

“What happened?”

“Copycat murders. The FBI and local police are already here.”

“You have more information?”

“Not over the phone.”

“We’ll take the first flight out in the morning.”

“I’ll send a car for you. We’ll meet at the federal building in Portland.” After he hung up I realized his voice had been trembling.

“Where are we going?” Danica asked.

“Vancouver, Washington. Copycat murders; they need our help.” Danica and I are private investigators, so flying to different cities with little notice is common practice.

 Danica called the airlines. “Six a.m.,” she told me as she hung up.

The next morning a black SUV was waiting at the Portland airport and immediately whisked us to the federal building. We were pointed to a conference room on the third floor. Giovanni and Jack were there, along with twelve federal agents, badges pinned to their jackets. Also present were five officers from the Vancouver police department. Giovanni introduced us and then handed us each a green file folder labeled “Ted Bundy”. We joined the others at a long oval table.

“Why Ted Bundy?” I asked “He’s been dead for years.”

Giovanni stood, “Open your file and look at the first case.” It was a report of a murder committed by Bundy years earlier. “Everything in this recent murder matches the original crime. The DNA, hair, tissue samples, and fingerprints match the original perpetrator and victim.

 “That’s not possible,” Danica said.

“I would agree,” Jack replied. “However, these tests are very accurate, and we ran them three times.”

 “Then someone had access to the evidence from the original cases,” I said.

“That was our assumption at first. However, that’s not the case.”

David Waters from the FBI asked, “How do we know this for sure?”

Jack answered. “The DNA from Ted Bundy is locked away in a safe at the pentagon and is under twenty-four hour surveillance.”

 “Why so much security?” Danica asked

“Science has found a gene that all serial killers share,” Jack answered. “If they can remove this gene they can eliminate their sociopathic behavior. Also, if we can manipulate this genetic material, we can add this chromosome to soldiers in the field.”

 “That’s the cruelest thing I have ever heard,” Danica said. “Why would anyone want to do that?”

“It’s not a matter of choice,” Giovanni said. “The Chinese have been trying to manipulate the DNA chain for this very purpose.