Only, as she drove farther away from the office and her home, she wondered if this was true. Paige was, after all, already weighing heavy on her mind. It had never been easy to leave Paige and Peter behind, but it was harder this time Maybe it was because of the secret she was keeping, but Rachel almost felt as if she were betraying her daughter.

Just another reason to just tell her when she got back home. But first, as always (as Peter might bitingly say), there was a case to close.

CHAPTER FIVE

Rachel drove directly to the site of the second crime scene as Jack once again read over the few case notes on his phone. When they arrived on the scene, a local deputy was already waiting for them. It was just shy of 8:30 and the city was filled with the noises of morning traffic. Roanoke, Virginia, was not a booming metropolis by any means, but it felt just as big as Richmond as people were zooming to work and doing other morning errands.

The crime scene was the parking lot of a small hospital. The lot was two levels, the primary level running adjacent to the hospital grounds and the second lot sitting at the bottom of a hill, connected by a set of concrete stairs built into the hillside. This lower-level parking lot was where they met the Roanoke Deputy, a middle-aged African American man with graying hair and the beginnings of what Rachel had always referred to as a pot belly. He seemed like a pleasant enough fellow, but he looked tired and a bit distressed.

Good morning, agents, he said as Rachel and Jack met him by the hood of his patrol car. Deputy Jerome Stanhope. Good to meet you.

Agents Rivers and Gift, Jack said, stepping forward to shake the mans hand. Somewhere further ahead of them, an ambulance was dispatched, rolling out with its sirens blaring. Deep down, though she knew it was ridiculous, Rachel wondered if it was for her. She figured maybe it was just a reaction shed have until her final days, hearing ambulance sirens and assuming it was some sort of glimpse of her future.

So what do you know about the case? Stanhope asked them.

Just what the local PD told our Director, Jack said. I mean, weve got the case notes, too, but theres not too much to go on. Two murders that seem to be the same in approach. One significantly worse than the other.

Our reports say both bodies had their throats slashed, Rachel said. But this most recent victim also had a deep stab wound in her stomach.