Page 17

As they once again made their way back to the Bowery precinct, Rachel could feel the afternoon rapidly getting away from them. The road stretched before them, eerily empty save for the occasional passing truck. From her place behind the wheel, she peered out into those rural Virginia forests, wondering just how many dark secrets they were hiding.

"Let's lay out what we know," Rachel said. "We have four women who've gone missing: Monica Turner, Andrea Haskins, Sarah Dupree, and Carla Rhodes." She paused, tapping her pen against the paper. "And we can eliminate Jane Casagrande since multiple sources confirm she likely relocated to Kentucky to escape an abusive relationship."

Novak nodded, his hands steady on the wheel. "And all four remaining women were dealing with thoughts of suicide."

But before she could start speaking, a text notification lit up her phone screen. She didn’t pick up her phone because she was driving, but she did glance at it long enough to see that it was Jack, asking for an update and wondering when she would be home. The sight of the notification made her realize she hadn't checked in on Paige all day. What class would her daughter be in right now? Seventh period? Eighth? The fact that she couldn't remember her own daughter's schedule sent a wave of guilt through her. Some mother she was, hunting killers while not even knowing where her child was at this exact moment. It stirred up echoes of the wrestling match she used to have in the past, trying to balance her career with being a supportive and loving mother. Was she really already going back there?

She pushed the thought aside, forcing herself back to the case. "Exactly," she went on. "Monica's sister confirmed it, despite her mother's denials. We know Andrea had discussed it with her therapist. Sarah's note, while not explicitly suicidal, hinted at wanting to escape her life. And Carla..." She trailed off, flipping through her notes. "Carla left what appeared to be a clear suicide note."

"But something's off about all of this," Novak said as Rachel slowed for a stop sign at an intersection.. "If these women were truly suicidal, why the disappearances? Why not just..." He left the thought unfinished.

Rachel completed it for him. "Why not just follow through with it? Most suicides are relatively straightforward; the note is written, the act is committed. There's rarely a prolonged disappearance first." She rubbed her temples, feeling the weight of the day's revelations. "And then there's the matter of Carla's body."

The car turned onto the main road leading into Bowery, passing the town's faded welcome sign. Rachel continued, "Those bruises and abrasions around her wrists and ankles tell us something crucial. She was restrained, held somewhere against her will before she was killed."

"For five months," Novak added. "That's a long time to hold someone captive."

Rachel's mind raced through the possibilities. "What if..." She hesitated, knowing how speculative her next thought would sound. But she found that it sounded just as good verbally as it had in her head upon leaving the Turner house. "What if someone is specifically targeting these women because they're suicidal?"

Novak glanced at her briefly before returning his eyes to the road. "You mean someone's watching for women showing signs of suicidal thoughts? Following them?"

"Or finding them through some other means," Rachel said. "Think about it. These women were all vulnerable, potentially isolated. Some had already written notes explaining their disappearance. Like we keep saying over and over again…who, outside of family, would look hard for someone who'd expressed a desire to end their life?"

The precinct building came into view ahead of them, its brick facade darkening in the fading daylight. Rachel's mind drifted momentarily to Scarlett's murder. Something about these disappearances, the methodical nature of them, the careful planning, reminded her of how Scarlett's death had been staged to look like a random home invasion. But Rachel knew better. The precision, the lack of evidence, the timing of it all... it felt personal. Like someone trying to send her a message.

She shook her head, trying to focus on the current case. It seemed that her brain was now becoming easily distracted…something she was usually very good about. These women needed her full attention right now. While she did feel like there might be some odd mystery waiting at home, centered around Scarlett’s death, she had to keep her focus tight on Bowery—on hunting this killer and hopefully even finding a few of these missing women.

Several minutes later, she pulled into the parking lot, but neither made a move to exit the car. They were far too deep into theories and thoughts to risk losing it all now.

"But that brings us back to the crucial question," Novak said as Rachel turned off the engine. "Why keep them alive for months only to kill them? Why did Carla Rhodes have to die after five months of captivity?"

Rachel stared through the windshield, watching an American flag flutter limply in the evening breeze above the precinct entrance. "If it's one person doing this," she said slowly, "maybe there's a limit to how many they can handle at once. Maybe it becomes too much.”

“Maybe,” Novak said, “when they find a new victim, they have to... make room."

The implications of her words hung heavy in the car's interior. After a moment, they exited the car and headed inside again. The bullpen was quieter now, with only a handful of officers finishing up their afternoon shifts. There were still a few quick glances in their direction as they headed over to their temporary workspace, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as before.

They found Deputy Leery at his desk, surrounded by stacks of manila folders. His coffee cup, emblazoned with the department's logo, sat empty beside his computer monitor. Rachel noticed the dark circles under his eyes. It seemed this case was wearing on everyone.

"Deputy," Rachel said, pulling up a chair. "We've been developing a theory about these disappearances. Maybe you should hear it, too. Maybe you can provide some local insight."

Leery looked up, his expression attentive. "I'm all ears, Agent Gift."

Rachel laid out their thoughts methodically, starting with the suicide connections and moving through the evidence of captivity found on Carla's body. She explained their suspicion that someone might be specifically targeting vulnerable women, possibly holding multiple victims simultaneously. She felt like she was retreading old information for some of it, but putting it all together into one cohesive approach seemed to help not just Leery, but herself as well.

"The timing is crucial," she emphasized. "Carla Rhodes' body appears in the woods not too long after Andrea Haskins goes missing. If our theory is correct, the killer may have needed to eliminate one victim to make room for another."

Leery leaned back in his chair, and thought it over. Rachel noticed that he was again scratching at the scraggly hair on his cheek. She thought it might be a sort of nervous tic for him. "In all my years here, we've never dealt with anything like this. Serial killers, kidnappings - those are big city problems. At least, that's what we always told ourselves. I was part of one single kidnapping about four years ago, and that's it. This is just…this is so much."

A younger officer who had been listening from nearby spoke up. He approached timidly, looking first to Leery and then to the agents. "We could organize a search. Get the whole department involved, go door to door through the county. If this theory is right…someone must have seen something."

Rachel shook her head. "Without probable cause or warrants, we can't search private property. We'd be violating Fourth Amendment rights."

"But we can start developing a profile," Novak interjected. "Look for people who might fit the pattern we're seeing. Someone with the means to hold multiple captives, someone who might have access to information about vulnerable women."

Leery nodded, already pulling his keyboard closer. "I'm on it. Give me ten minutes to pull together some initial files. We've got records on most of the troublemakers in the county, though I never would have thought any of them capable of something like this. It might be like shooting in the dark, but I suppose it’s better than nothing."

As Leery began his search, Rachel stood by the window, watching the afternoon continue to ebb away from them. It was still bright out but it was the time of year where it would be completely dark by six o’ clock—the sort of dark that seemed to creep up on the southern states after October. Her mind returned to the bruises on Carla's body, to the careful way she had been positioned after death. This wasn't a typical killer driven by rage or sexual impulses. This was something different - someone who saw themselves as having a purpose, perhaps even believing they were helping their victims in some twisted way. It would certainly explain why the killer seemed to be going after those with ideas of suicide in their heads.

The precinct's evening shift was arriving now, officers trading places with their daytime counterparts. Rachel watched them, wondering if any of them had unknowingly crossed paths with their killer. In a community this small, it seemed almost certain they had.

"Rachel," Novak called softly from behind her. "We should look at the files as soon as Leery has them ready….even if it’s just one or two at first. If we're right about this, there might be other women at risk right now."

She turned from the window, noting how the fluorescent lights cast harsh shadows across her partner's concerned face. "You're right. And if there are indeed multiple victims being held somewhere..." She left the thought unfinished, but they both understood the urgency. Somewhere in this quiet county, women might be waiting for rescue, dreading the next day that would come around when their captor decided they needed to make room for someone new.