Not on my end, nope. Both the woman and her husband seemed grateful that we were taking precautions. Last I talked to the others, its mostly the same. There was one ladya Gena Reedthat was pissed because her husband didnt know she was taking the treatments. But I think that turned out well, too.

Need any assistance? Jack asked.

No. Weve got it all scheduled out. Sort of like miniature stakeouts around each home until this is wrapped up.

Call us if any of that changes, Rachel said. And if anything out of the ordinary should pop up.

The cop gave a satisfied nod and rolled his window back up. Rachel and Jack returned to their car and Rachel instantly pointed the car in the direction of the precinct.

It was a good idea, in theory, Jack said out of nowhere.

What?

Your hunch about Amber Seibert back at the clinic. But it should have been a discussion between us.

I know. Im sorry.

I know you are. I can tell. As for me, Im sorry I called you out. Yes, I do know youre dealing with something. I can tell that, too. But its not my place to call you out on it. Just know that if there is something youre dealing with, Im here for you.

Rachel could only nod and say, Thanks. She feared saying anything else would bring on tears and, right behind them, the truth.

Now, we can get back to the precinct, but its nearing six o clock and there are zero leads, Jack said. Everything we need, we have digitally. I say we grab dinner and a beer, and call it a day.

They headed off to do exactly that as a fine mist of rain started to fall. The choice was an easy onea little Mexican restaurant sitting right across the parking lot of the motel the bureau had booked for them. Even in the fifteen minutes that passed between leaving the officer on surveillance and pulling up a seat at the bar, Rachel once again felt the tension between them. The fact that she knew exactly where it came from made it so much worse. They ordered burritos and Coronas in the midst of that awkwardness. And it seemed to Rachel that the longer the silence persisted, the less she felt the need to share her secret with him.

She could not keep her mind from wandering back to the moment Dr. Greene had told her the news. Up until then, the biggest disappointment in her day had been her inability to beat the obstacle course time record. Jesus, how did something like just yesterday suddenly feel like it had happened years ago?

Were decent friends, right? Jack asked when he was nearing the bottom of his first beer. She was rather glad hed decided to break the silence because she did not like where her thoughts had been headed. Like, outside of the job, were cool, right?