Little by little, Albertos eyes grew wider and wider. By the time Rachel dropped the hotline name, he looked absolutely mind-blown. The look on his face reminded her of her own feelings when the tarot reader had revealed her future at the party she and Peter had attended. It sent a little chill through her that she managed to suppress.

I didnt…I was just…

And with that, Alberto Spears eyed them both like a child caught in a lie. Theyre all dead?

Four men, Rachel said. Yes. All dead.

Albertos face scrunched up in a tormented expression and he let out a hiss. It was an attempt to keep himself from crying, but it didnt work. Tears came and he slammed his hands down on the table, letting out a shouted curse.

Here we go, Rachel thought. She looked to Jack with expectation and then waited for Alberto Spears to talk.

Look, I swear, I didnt have anything to do with….with them being dead. I thought if they called the hotline, they were better, you know? I just used the fact that they were calling the hotline to sort of bait them.

Bait them? Jack asked.

The look that came across Albertos face was one Rachel had only seen a few times during the course of her career. It was rooted in shame, but it dealt greatly in guilt, too. It was the look of someone who was beginning to realize just how deplorable an action theyd taken part in might be. And in that realization, having to somehow accept it while in the company of strangers.

All of them had PacCall as service providers. I was sort of tracing calls, about one hundred in all. I was keeping tabs on people who called suicide hotlines. But to keep it simple, I just focused in on one.

Betters Days Suicide Prevention Hotline, Rachel said.

But why? Jack asked. Did you just call them up to talk shit? To try to make them feel worse about themselves?

Alberto shook his head. There were still tears coming down his face but Rachel wasnt sure if they were the result of his having been caught or some sort of genuine regret. I used a voice filter and contacted them. I told them I knew what they were going through. I told them that I would go public with the information unless they paid me. I had recordings of the calls from when I traced them, so I knew all the details. I threatened to put it all online. Their call histories, internet searches on the phone, everything…

Rachel had heard some pretty awful schemes before, but never anything quite like this. It was so wretched that it took her mind a moment to properly analyze what he was saying. So you mean to tell me that you were trying to blackmail each of these people, using their suicidal tendencies and thoughts as a payday?

Yes.

Jesus, Jack hissed. Thats low.