The police officer nodded. “Given the timestamp on the phone call and the bus frequency, we figure it all went down beginning to end in under ten minutes.”

“Sounds like our guy isn’t the savoring type,” Gabe said. That wasn’t exactly how Ruby would’ve put it, but Gabe wasn’t wrong, either. Just ten minutes to spring on a woman and bleed the life out of her.  After that, he could have just melted back into the shadows.

“Where’s the sister?” Ruby asked.

The officer shrugged.

“Can’t get a hold of her,” he replied. “We only know what she told dispatch.”

Ruby’s brow furrowed. How hard was it to track down the one person who had more information about what happened? It seemed like slack police work to her.

“No one’s made sure she’s alright? Her sister just died,” Ruby said. “She could be at risk.”

“She refuses to speak to anybody,” the officer replied.

Ruby bit back her reply.

“What exactly did she tell dispatch?” Gabe pressed on, dodging the issue.

“They were talking on the phone when it happened,” the officer explained. “The victim was about four blocks from home. The sister, Sylvia Danes, she said she heard a male voice, and it didn’t sound like the vic knew the guy.”

Alannah had almost been home. She’d been so close to safety.

A phone rang and Gabe fumbled for it in his pocket, casting an apologetic look at Ruby before taking a few steps away to answer his phone.

“Never mind that Sylvia is the best source of information we have; if this is personal, she could be in danger,” Ruby said. “Law enforcement isn’t just responding to crimes. If you try a little harder, you can prevent them, too.”

The officer looked sheepish and his own partner waved him over, saving him from Ruby’s high standards. The only person benefiting from their lack of thoroughness was the killer. She sighed, reining her emotions back in. This was the kind of thing that sent so many of her rookie partners running.

Gabe slipped his phone back into his pocket, coming back over to her.

“Coroner’s office just called. They’ve got another body to pick up today. If we don’t get over there now, the medical examiner’s going to be up to their elbows in someone else’s case,” Gabe said.

“Smooth,” she hissed at him.

“Hey, you want to see if they’re identical M.O.s,” Gabe said. “Sounds like the coroner has something for you.”

CHAPTER FOUR

Two women lay on two autopsy tables.

It was easy to jump to conclusions based on pictures of women in blood-drenched clothes. Her mind naturally filled in the details she wanted to see, the small images ready to support Ruby’s confirmation bias.