Grandfather would have the most stunning revelations. Father would have the most practical. Uncle Darius was the only one who really seemed to see right into people.

He tried to teach me how to see too. Sometimes I think he taught me too well. But it was this skill that made me think I had a chance as a cop. I couldn’t go around making tigers appear to stop bank robbers. But seeing what was in front of me, drawing conclusions that others were oblivious to, that was a useful skill. I guess that’s what made Hashimi stand out as the Greenville Killer.

I move past the containers and look at the labels. Only one is visible. It’s a ground penetrating radar system I’d read about in some briefing. Not the old kind they have at field offices, but the new experimental one that can resolve high-resolution images through concrete. This is military-grade.

Interesting.

It was a pipe dream until 9/11. After that, nobody thought it would be silly to spend a hundred million dollars developing machines to look through several tons of rubble for bodies. I can assume the other cases probably contain field versions of equipment we have back at the labs or more experimental gear.

I splash some water on my face and try not to look at myself in the mirror. It doesn’t matter how many people tell you that you look great without makeup, you still notice. Seeing my face from a decade ago on that magazine didn’t help either. I’m still fit from jogging and yoga and get hit on by college guys, but I know youth is a diminishing asset. I’m afraid there’s going to be a point when I start counting the compliments and the looks that I now ignore and feel bad when they come up shorter than before.

After I broke up with my last boyfriend I caught myself looking on his online profile to see if his new girlfriend was younger than me. She wasn’t. It shouldn’t matter, but it does.

As I find my way back to my seat, I think about what I’ve seen on the plane and what I know so far. Body. Ground radar. Not much. The bureau is taking this very seriously. The stunt with the website must have rattled them. It’s not often you get someone capable of doing something like that as well as pulling off a murder. Semi-smart computer types try to hire outside help. They think it’s something you order like an Uber. That’s why they get caught.

Most killers have a below-average IQ. Even serial killers. Movies like to make them out to be cunning masterminds, but most of them would fail a fifth-grade math test. They fit into the category of disorganized killers. They don’t set out to kill their victims, they just end up murdering them out of some violent impulse. It could be motivated by shame in the middle of a sexual act. A feeling of insecurity. Violence is a way for them to try to assert control. It’s usually messy and unplanned.