At 2:10 a.m., Rachel and Jack were prepared to call it a night and head out to find a hotel. There had been zero reports and due to the late hour, a few pairs of officers were able to set up stakeout situations around some of the more prominent bridges on the list. As they made the decision to call it a night, Rachels phone rang. The display showed a New York City area code and she felt a bit of hope stirring within her. Maybe this would be a cop. Maybe they finally had some sort of a break.

This is Agent Gift, she answered.

Well, damn, said a man with a thick northern accent. Sorry, Agent. This is Officer Wachowski. Thought we had something for you that came over the radio. A seventeen-year-old kid loitering on the side of the Pulaski Bridge. Turns out he was dealing pot. But I literally just got that update when the phone started ringing.

No worries, Officer. Thanks for being so prompt, if nothing else. She looked to Jack in the passenger seat and said, False alarm.

He nodded as they both settled into the same forlorn understanding. Theyd given instructions to call them right away if anything was found, if anything even resembled a suicide attempt from the side of a bridge. At the same time, theyd been going for nearly twenty hours now (well, Rachel had; she didnt know when Jack had woken up the previous night) and they both needed to get at least a few hours of sleep under their belt.

Are you tired, Jack?

Eh, Im okay. If youre feeling guilty about the notion of getting to sleep, I feel the same, though. Im good to pull a few more hours if you are.

Yeah, I think Im good for that. Im going to need you to drive for a bit. The GPS voice and all these streets and bridges…I feel like Im in one of those escape rooms, you know?

No worries there. Ill drive for a few hours.

They swapped seats and Jack headed out toward the Williamsburg Bridge. They both doubted that the killer (if there was a killer) would revisit the same scene, but it was just a few streets away and none of the officers on patrol had rolled by there in over half an hour.

Sitting in the passenger seat and watching the dark, yet somehow also illuminated New York City streets pass by was both peaceful and anxiety-inducing all at once. She found herself revisiting that scary moment on the Williamsburg Bridge earlier in the day, wondering what it might be like to jump. To feel the wind, the loss of stability, the freedom.