Thats a shame. Theres something different about you now. I cant quite place it, but…youre struggling with something other than this case, arent you? He chuckled and added, You can tell me what it is if you want.

Rachel thought of Lynchs ex-girlfriend and the model, all torn right open. She felt like that as she stood in front of himlike hed ripped her open and could see every single thing about her, even her secrets. And despite that, she felt a question crawling across her tongue. It was unexpected and certainly not one she would have ever dreamed of asking him. But being here in front of him, things were different and she could not help herself. As she asked the question, she could almost sense the tumor in her brain pushing it out for her.

Whats it like? Being that close to…to death?

He wasted no time with his answer. It seemed as if hed spent some time contemplating it himself over the years. Intimate, but in a very polarizing way. For me, its being right there on the edge of it…knowing that one day I, too, will be on that edge, looking out the other way. But to give someone else that push…its like nothing you can imagine.

For a split second, she almost wanted to know what he was talking about. With the tumor, she was definitely worried about her own mortality and was more aware of it than she ever had been before. Before she could say anything else, Rachel finally turned away for good and headed for the door.

That must be what I see thats different about you, he said. She never turned around but did pause by the door, her hand frozen as she reached for the knob.

Somethings messed up with you, he said, almost insightfully. Somethings…broken.

She said nothing. She knocked quickly on the door and waited for the guard to respond. When he did, Rachel slipped right out and the guard closed the door behind her. It felt like shed stepped out of an icebox and into the comforting heat of a woodside fire on a winters day.

You okay? the guard asked.

Yes, Im fine.

Though, if she were being honest, she almost felt as if the eyes of Alex Lynch were somehow still on her, even through the closed door. She exited the jail as quickly as she could without seeming out of sorts. When she returned to her car, she sat there for a moment, quiet and unmoving. She stared at the building, going over everything Alex had said.

Somethings…broken.

Hed meant it about her, but she wondered if maybe there was something more there. Could it be the reason someone simply snapped and started killing people? Or could the brokenness be a more tangible thing, a brokenness that served as motivationas motive?