But Tara was determined not to give up. She knew his opinion mattered—it was a key ingredient in the final determination of her success on this case.

“I’m excited to be on this case with you,” she said.

Warren, after all, had a reputation for solving the most difficult cases, but at Tara’s words, Warren didn’t even look up, clearly an effort to ignore her. She decided to continue.

“You solved that case in Tallahassee, right?” she asked.

She was referring to a serial killer case in Florida, where victims were brutally murdered in their beds, their houses broken into, each hit with a blunt object. The case had gone cold until Warren stepped in. He discovered that the killer was a prized forensics professor from Florida State University who had a sick fascination with blood spatter.

“Yes,” he sighed, but not diverting his gaze. “That was my case, along with many others.”

He continued to look at the files in front of him.

“Well…I’m glad Reindhart put me on this case with you.”

Tara threw one last attempt out there before exhausting her efforts, and she turned back toward the window. As much as she wanted to ease the tension, she wasn’t going to force someone to talk who clearly didn’t want to.

“Yeah, well…” he spoke, to Tara’s surprise. “Usually Reindhart partners me with more experienced agents.”

Tara turned back toward him. “This is going to be a tough case to crack,” he added before continuing to flip through the files.

Tara stared at him, unsure of how to respond. He clearly doubted her abilities and was not afraid to insult her either.

“I’ve been trained already,” Tara replied. “That’s why I’m here, and I’m sure I will be of much more help than you assume.”

Warren shrugged, his eyes still fixated in front of him, brushing her off.

A wave of frustration flooded Tara’s body until it forced her mouth open.

“Fighting against me isn’t going to make this partnership any easier.” She let the words flow out of her mouth. “You should really give me a chance…it would probably be in both of our best interests.”

She felt her face begin to flush, unsure of how her words would be taken. But she was surprised when Warren looked at her, revealing a smile.

“Maybe you’re right,” he said. His words hung in the air before he grabbed a folder and handed it to her. “Here…if you want to take a look.”

“Thanks,” Tara said as she took the file, shocked by his reaction.

She opened it and images of the victims stared back at her. The first two victims—the couple—stood at the peak of a mountain. It was a picture that had been pulled from the woman’s Facebook page and used in an article when they went missing. She had striking green eyes and blond hair that contrasted with his darker features.

She moved on to the picture of the third victim—also pulled from her Facebook page—standing in her hiking gear, her smiling face beaming at the camera.