It was the core of the entire case. They thought theyd stumbled across the reasoning a few times but it had never quite panned out. Even the way theyd found Gemma Chapman had seemed promising at firstand there was still something to that reasoning that stood out to Rachel. Maye there was something there. And if it was…then maybe it would be advantageous to stop looking it the entire ordeal through the eyes of a killer. Maybe it would make more sense to look at it through the eyes of someone that wanted to be a mother but couldnt.

Alex had said it perfectly: the killer is going after these women because the treatments will give them the chance to conceive.

Rachel thought of how she might have felt if she had been trying to get pregnant but everyone around her seemed to be having no problems. While it was a sad scenario, she felt like there had to be more to it. What if the killer already knew what it was like to be a mother and something about the treatments was triggering her? If that were the case, what could possibly happen to make a woman snap so badly that she would go after women trying everything they could to have a baby. How could…

Slowly, Rachel got to her feet. Could it be that simple? Had they been looking at this thing through the wrong lens the entire time?

Maybe it wasnt just about the killer losing their chance. Maybe they had no chance to conceive at all.

It was an interesting thought, but there had to be something more to it. There had to be some catalyst that spurred it on. Rachel then started to wonder what would be the one thing that might drive a mother to absolute madness…?

She rushed for the conference room door and left the darkness behind. She did not run back to the desk where Jack was still at work, but she moved much faster than she normally would while inside. When she approached the desk at something of a trot, Jack looked up to her, perplexed.

I know youre getting tired of hearing this question, he said, but…are you okay?

Listen…I think were on the right track, Rachel said. But I dont think weve pushed the line enough What if the killerassuming its a womandid once have her chance but now its gone. What if the killer once had a child but the child died and now, for whatever reason, she cant have more?

The skepticism on his face was brief, almost instantly overruled by excitement and clarity. Damn, that does make a lot of sense. Nodding, he looked back to the laptop and to the files and papers spread all around their desk. Looks like we need to start looking for something a bit more specific, huh?

Looks that way, she said, already starting to sift through the paperwork again.

***