If you say so, he said. Just let me take this opportunity to go ahead and get this out of the way for what will now be the third case in a row: if somethings bothering you and you need to talk it out

I know. Youre all ears. You dont mind listening.

Oh, I mind it, Jack said. And quite frankly, Im not very good at it. But yeah, Im here for it.

Rachel drove a bit further away from the precinct and, neither of them being picky, chose a Sleep Inn primarily because it was in walking distance of a chain restaurant. The two of them had worked together long enough to be comfortable with the motel check-in process, getting it down to quick sort of science now. Only on one occasion had they been forced to share a room; it had been awkward and almost unbearably comical, and they swore to avoid it all costs in the future.

Keys in hand, with rooms directly beside one another, they entered their respective rooms. Rachel was feeling surprisingly fine, the major headache just a distant memory now. With the list being thinned out and what appeared to be a very odd motive on the table, she was actually feeling thrilled to be on the case. It was rare that she was involved in a case where finding the killer came down to a list and a simple process of elimination, and something seemed almost academic about itmethodical.

She entered the room and found it exactly like the countless others shed stayed in over the years. Decently made, smelling of old shoes and a faint air freshener, everything tidy, just enough to seem in place. She kicked off her shoes and looked to the bed, wanting to simply crash and watch a bit of TV. But the case was too close to her now and she knew it was all her mind would be on.

Well, that wasnt true. She was still thinking of Alex Lynch, and of Paige. She checked her watch and saw that Paige should be getting home from soccer practice in about an hour. Maybe shed call Paige, order some Chinese or Thai from somewhere, and invite Jack out for a beer to go over the case.

And tell him whats being going on? Maybe tell him about the little intruder in your brain that is going to kill you in about a year or so?

Maybe, she said out loud. And even the idea of it did bring a bit of relief.

So then why are you so scared?

She had no answer for that. but the heaviness of it was enough to make her go ahead and sit on the edge of the bed. She put on the TV but didnt pay much attention to it. It served as nothing more than background noise as her mind spiraled in several directions: the transplant list, the victims, Alex Lynch, Paige, Peter, her tumor…