She did. Maybe that was partially why she acted the way she did. Facing a killer alone was easier than letting herself rely on another person again. Ruby hadn’t even considered the precarious position she put Gabe in, so similar to how Asher had cut her out of his plans in order to protect her.

“I will ask for help next time,” Ruby said, begrudgingly.

“Then you won’t mind this,” Gabe said before calling back over his shoulder. “Hey, medic, can you come take a look at my partner?”

A paramedic from the remaining ambulance immediately looked up.

“Ruiz,” Ruby protested, “not now. We’ve got to talk to John. He said a lot of things we’ll need to look into.”

She caught sight of the cross around Gabe’s neck. If John was one of Vallejo’s apostles, was there a whole collection of mimics waiting in the wings?

“He’s in custody, Hunter,” Gabe said. “We will talk to him after you get proper medical attention and 12 hours of sleep.”

There were more arguments on the tip of her tongue, but the paramedic was coming up fast.

“I’m not going to talk to him without you,” Gabe promised.

Ruby nodded in defeat.

Before the paramedic guided her away, she caught sight of John in the back of the car, smiling faintly.

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

They had caught their killer.

There was no need for interrogation. Ruby did not need to extract a confession or trick John into revealing evidence of his involvement. They had him. He would go to jail and he would stay there for the rest of his life.

But that wasn't enough.

Ruby needed to know how he was put on his path. Once they confirmed his identity, many other details had fallen into place, but his connection to Vallejo was one thing that could not simply be confirmed with data.

“So, Jared Reuben,” Ruby said, sitting down across from him. He had quite the different quality to him while dressed in a jumpsuit. His hair was slicked back and he had shaved.

Ruby could see how he could follow his victims, blend in without causing suspicion. His face could fit in as easily on a dating app as a police lineup.

“I told you I am John,” he said.

Ruby caught Gabe reaching for his cross out of the corner of her eye.

“You followed your sister Marcia on tour,” Gabe said. “Have you always tagged along? Maybe back when the Lucky 13 murders were first happening?”

John smiled as though he were keeping a secret. Ruby had her own secrets. John wasn’t the only one with leverage.

“Maybe you crossed paths then. Mentor and mentee,” Ruby said.

“I can't say where I was. I go where my whims take me,” John replied.

“It can’t be that hard to follow you,” Ruby said. “Something very interesting came up when we ran your DNA.”