He ended the call and almost right away, Rachel could hear him moving around on the other side of her bathroom wall, rushing to get dressed and head out.

Rachel moved quickly, allowing less than three minutes to pass between getting off of the phone with Stanhope and slipping her shoes on. As she got to her feet and hurried to the door, the world swayed a bit and her head felt suddenly heavy. She stumbled backwards just a few steps and sat down on the edge of the bed. It was an area of the room she was getting very familiar with.

The headache came quickly but was gentle. There was no dizziness, nor any white or black stars rocketing across her field of vision. It was just a disorienting feeling, as if her body was trying to tell her to hold the hell on a second.

To her, it was her tumor speaking up. Remember me? it seemed to be saying. You can work like normal and pretend all is well, but Im still here. Just wanted to remind you.

She took a deep breath and lowered her head, waiting for the dizzy spell to pass. When she finally looked back up, everything seemed to be okay. There was a very minor headache lurking in the darker corners of her head, but that was about it.

There was a knock at the door just as she got to her feet. Rachel? Jack asked from the other side. You about ready?

She opened the door, relieved to find the dizziness gone and the threat of a headache slowly dissolving. Yeah, she said. Lets go.

***

The Ragland residence was fourteen miles away from the motel, but the lack of traffic so late at night made for a speedy trip. When they arrived, there were already four cars on the scene, including the one that had been parked right outside when Christina Ragland was murdered. Rachel was grateful for their presence because it allowed someone else to try to anchor the wailing, shocked husband while she and Jack ventured upstairs to where the body had been found.

She and Jack walked over to the patrol car parked on the side of the streetpresumably the one that had been there while the murder had occurred. Rachel showed her badge as she approached them. The driver rolled his window down, a look of suppressed guilt on his face.

You guys saw nothing? she asked.

Not a thing. The guy behind the wheel was middle-aged and clearly didnt like the accusatory question. Maybe it was because he also looked a little spooked and confused. Our eyes have been on that damned house since nightfall and we saw absolutely nothing.

Hes right, the cop in the passenger seat said. A stray cat crossed the western tip of the lawn around nine thirty. That was the most action we saw all night.