“My boss turned the case over to the Texas Rangers. The two murders are related, and he’s worried I’m in over my head. Which, for the record, I’m not.”

“Politics does make the world go around.”

“Maybe, maybe not.”

“So, why’re you asking me about a case that you were removed from?”

“I’ve seen some nasty crime scenes. But these two have to be the worst.”

“Can I ask how the victims died?”

“I’m not saying anything the press hasn’t heard. They were sexually assaulted, held for an undetermined time, and wrapped in thick plastic. They were smothered to death.”

“Damn.”

“Yeah, it was a quiet, cruel violence that I’ve not seen before.”

“And you want to know why a killer would do something like this?”

“I do.”

He steepled his fingers, resting his elbows on the arms of his chair. “That’s a hard one.”

“Both bodies were packaged in the same manner. Hands bound, gags in the mouths, naked. That’s nothing new to the streets.”

“But the plastic is.”

“I’ve seen wrappings used to help dispose of a body, but not as a manner of killing the victim.”

“Suffocation is slow and induces a great deal of fear. The air in this room is about twenty-one percent oxygen. We both would experience impairment if it dropped to ten to fifteen percent, and then we’d feel panic. Death occurs at eight percent. Were either of the women strangled?”

“Hard to tell on the first because of the state of decomposition, but there were no signs on the second. And both hyoid bones were intact.”

“The plastic is a form of entrapment.”

“It would also allow the killer to easily watch the victim die,” she said.

“As you must know, some killers are excited by the pain of their victims. And plastic is an easily accessible, fairly untraceable weapon. No ballistics or knife wounds that can be traced back to the killer. You would have to find the original roll of plastic and match the raw edge of your sample with the last cut.”

“That works when I find the killer,” she said. “Tell me what I don’t know.”

“Your guy is smart. That kind of killing requires planning. I’d say he’s clearly excited by erotic asphyxiation. Does he have a type?”

“He likes blondes. Small boned. Young.”

“Blond, like you?”

“Maybe. But I’m not small boned or that young.”

“You’re also not easy to subdue and control like these victims. Do you think he’s finished?”

“If I had to bet the farm? No.”

“Does this case remind you of Avery?” he asked.

Her body stilled, and with great care she crossed her legs and threaded her fingers. She had confided many details to Rogan when she’d seen him as a patient. “A little.”

“That’s why you’re still working the case. It’s personal.”