She gave up just shy of 3:30 and snuck downstairs. There, she boiled some water and had a cup of lemon ginger teasomething shed learned helped to gradually stir her fully awake in the face of a day that was going to be long and tiring. Shed brought her phone down, intending to scroll through Facebook and read the news. Instead, she ended up opening the bucket list shed started earlier in the day.

The tears came before she knew it and Rachel had to put the phone down. For that reason, it scared the hell out of her when it rang. With a little yelp, and swallowing back a tide of sorrow, she picked it up. She saw the time4:12and was therefore not at all surprised to see that it was Director Anderson. He was calling from his mobile number, not the desk in his office, so she assumed hed been rudely awakened by a call for assistance on a case. And for some reason, it appeared that she and Jack were the agents he always chose to throw at those early morning cases. Probably because they were still considered relatively young.

She answered quickly, hoping the initial ring of the phone had not stirred Paige awake. She walked quickly to the laundry room just off the kitchen as she answered, closing the door to hide her voice from the rest of the house.

This is Agent Gift, she said.

Sorry for the late call, Gift. I got a call about a case that I think you and Rivers would be a good fit on. Its in New York, so I need you to get a move on as soon as possible. Looks to be an ugly one and if there is a serial on our hands here, hes moving fast. Ive got HR booking the flights right now.

New York? she asked, a bit surprised. It was rare that Anderson ever sent agents from Richmond out any farther than Baltimore, Maryland, or Raleigh, North Carolina.

Yeah, I know its a hike. But it looks to be a series of jumpers that may not have actually jumped. Three in as many days, and this latest one seems more like a murder than a jump.

This made more sense. She and Jack had worked two cases like this in the past year and a halfsupposed suicides that ended up being staged murders. One had been with the use of shotguns to the head while the others had been hangings. She really hoped this wasnt going to be the sort of thing that she and Jack became known for.

Im having the police, autopsy, and forensics reports sent to you and Rivers. Check in when you get to the Big Apple, would you?

Yes, sir.