A year ago, Jordan and Rogan had run into each other. She had still been reeling from Avery’s near suffocation, and because they no longer had a professional relationship, she’d found a way to justify their brief affair. Rogan had understood her romantic track record and should have predicted that the relationship would not last. Still, he had seemed surprised when she ended it after a month.

She glanced at the clock. Time to get down to the press room. She pulled her hair out of its bun, combed it out, and repinned it. She grabbed lip gloss from her desk drawer, applied it while peering into a small mirror, and then pulled on her jacket. She arrived in the conference room ten minutes before the show.

Spencer and Captain Lee were already there and talking. The ranger did not look happy, but then she doubted he ever did. She made a mental note to ask around about him.

Television reporters had come from all the major local stations. For the newspapers, the Statesman and Chronicle were represented. This was more attention than any of her other cases had ever received.

Captain Lee motioned her forward, and he positioned her on his left and Spencer on his right. Jordan squared her shoulders, tried to accept this was part of being a cop, but impatience jabbed her.

Captain Lee cleared his throat. What followed was a rehash of the few scant details they had cobbled together. Young women. Petite. Strangled. Wrapped in plastic. The detail he left out was the plastic bag over the victims’ heads. Cops often left out a detail that only the killer knew. It could be the ace in a cop’s pocket.

Spencer spoke next. He assured everyone that the Texas Rangers were the lead on this case now. More updates would follow.

Jordan was not called to the podium, which basically told her she was officially sidelined. In all honesty, the spotlight was not her happy place, and she preferred working in the shadows. The less she was noticed, the more effective she could still be on this case. If either man had assumed she was backing away, he would be incorrect.

“Detective Poe, do you think this killer will strike again?” The question came from an evening television reporter, Angela Richards.

If Jordan and the reporter were friends, she might be honest and say he would. But to admit it publicly not only would create worry in the community but also could be laying down a challenge to the killer. “Our focus remains on solving the two cases we have now. And as I always do, I advise everyone to take the standard safety precautions when they’re in public.”

Though true, it was basically an unsexy comment too boring to garner any headlines.