Chapter 1 THE UNEXPECTED PATIENT

Butalnorsk is a city that hides countless secrets. One of them surfaces when investigators discover a body. Mutilated. Violated. Marked with mysterious symbols carved into the skin. A cult? A sect? Just another madman? Or something far more terrifying? An expert in serial killings may be the key to solving the case. He has just returned to his hometown — disillusioned, exhausted, yet still in love with his profession. A former detective takes up the investigation.