“Are you happy to finally have a door to kick down?” Ruby asked, raising an eyebrow. Surely that had more appeal to Gabe than consoling family members. He made a face in response.

“Maybe she was just desperate to do something,” he said. “I think it was a lot to take in.”

“Yes, it was,” Ruby said.

“True crime enthusiast probably thinks he’s got off scot-free,” Gabe said, “thinks he knows how to commit a perfect crime.”

Ruby couldn’t deny the possibility. Someone could easily think that way, but she had a feeling Gabe was insinuating something about her, too. If Gabe was right, Ruby was buying into the ploy by going back to Vallejo. She hated the idea of being manipulated by these killers, as if the FBI was just part of the larger plan.

“I think what we have here are two people who are both lost,” Ruby said. “One who is lost in the truth, and one who is lost in lies.”

They sat in silence for a few moments. Gabe closed his notebook.

“But?”

“I think she's right,” Ruby said. “I think he's dangerous. Sylvia was on the phone with Alannah when she died. She could be a target. We need to investigate him and make sure he’s not going to go after her next.”

As a BAU agent, Ruby had always been tasked with repeat offenders and serial killers. She hated to think how many singular crimes there were in which controlling men killed their girlfriends. Whether or not Alannah’s ex killed both their victims, he sounded like a piece of work.

“I can’t argue there,” Gabe said.

Ruby stood and looked out at the river, the glare long gone, the light turning a muted red. Gabe stood beside her.

“Let’s go pay him a visit,” Ruby said.

CHAPTER TEN

Brett Dennis Thorne's neighborhood could've been featured in a major crimes unit textbook.

Bars on the windows, weeds growing in the cracks of the walkway, heavy metal music blaring--there was no mystery why Sylvia would suspect him. The whole street had an overgrown, crumbling quality of a place that had been forsaken. Ruby could imagine that anyone who lived there would feel left behind, and feel angry about it.

As they got out of their SUV, they stood out sharply from the dusty exteriors. Ruby was acutely aware of how much they looked like law enforcement, even in so little as posture. Even if they had plain clothes to match, the way they held themselves would give them away.

Ruby turned to Gabe, gauging his reaction for insight into how he felt about it. Their backgrounds were so different. Ruby’s version of poverty didn’t look quite like this, but she recognized the smaller details like the frayed lace curtains hanging in the windows and the odd rusted toy truck laid sideways in a dry garden bed.