The paper in front of her was whole, and in the place of Vallejo’s gaping hole, there was an ad for a mobile home trailer, nearly identical to the one she had grown up in.

Ruby dropped heavily into a chair, burying her face in her hands.

Vallejo knew the things about her that hardly anyone in the FBI even knew. That was what he wanted her to know. He knew her better than anyone. Vallejo, the killer, the mastermind behind some of her worst nightmares.

She stared for a long time at the vinyl siding and blue detailing of the ad. Ruby had come so far from those beginnings, but the shock brought back all those memories in a way she hadn’t been prepared for. Too hot summers spent outside because it was even hotter inside the metal sardine can of her home. She could visualize the plastic children’s toys littered all up and down through the trailer court in the cramped yards each trailer occupied.

She remembered riding her bike through it, her childhood friend right on her tail. Ruby’s childhood had been not unlike her adulthood. It was divided clearly into a before and after, the midpoint always loss.

The fear of being seen subsided into anger. Vallejo took her by surprise, but he miscalculated. Remembering her past didn’t petrify her, it reminded her of all the moments that had led her to joining the FBI. He was taunting her with her past and with another clue, dangling it in front of her like that stupid ‘pearls before swine’ comment. He was trying to tell her by the time she knew what this meant, it would be too late.

That couldn’t happen again.

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

The faces of the victims stared back at Ruby. If she was right and Marcia Reuben wasn't the killer, more victims would soon join Vanessa, Alannah, and Pearl on the wall.

Three women had to be enough to derive another pattern, something that would tell her how the killer chose the victims.

Lost in thought, Ruby didn't even notice the figure in the doorway until he knocked.

Bellisario filled the frame, still somehow looking alert despite the hour.

“I thought you were in interrogation,” he said.

“Agent Ruiz is handling it,” Ruby replied, barely looking away from the victims' photos. It was like scanning a childhood puzzle book, searching for similarities between the pages.

Bellisario studied her for a long moment.

“You had the same look on your face when you were hunting Vallejo,” Bellisario said.

Ruby finally gave him her full attention. He always knew how to make her focus.

“I just want to make sure there are no loose ends,” she said, “nothing we missed.”