“And if it works in this case, you’ll be back again.”

“You have my word that we will do that only if we’ve already exhausted every other possible option,” Farnsworth said.

The mayor touched each of the photos of the four women who’d been attacked. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Please let us search for a familial match.” Sam slid a piece of paper across the table to her. “Sign the waiver making an exception in this one case. Let’s stop this monster before he can kill another innocent woman.”

Brewster stared at the paper for a full minute before she pulled it toward her and signed it. “Please don’t make me regret this.”

“We won’t,” Sam said. “But if we make a match, we’ll need to disclose that we were given an exception. That’s apt to cause some blowback for you.”

“I can handle that if you catch this guy.”

“We’ll do our best. Thank you, ma’am.”

“Before you rush off, have you given any more thought to my offer of a promotion?”

Sam, who’d been on her way to a clean escape, sat back down. “No, ma’am. Honestly, I haven’t thought of it again since the day we last spoke about it. My position hasn’t changed since then. I don’t want the job.”

Farnsworth gave her a look.

“Even if I’m honored to have been considered, ma’am.”

“I really wish you’d consider it, Lieutenant. It’s an amazing opportunity to put a woman who’s truly earned it in a position of leadership within the department.”

“I agree,” Sam said. “As long as that woman isn’t me.”

“You’re the one I want.”

“And I appreciate that, but if that’s the only job I’m allowed to do, I’d leave the department.”

Brewster tipped her head as if she hadn’t heard that right. “For real?”

“As real as it gets,” Sam said. “I believe people are born to do certain things. For some of us, it takes us a while to figure out what that thing is. I’ve always known what my thing is. From the time I was a little kid following my dad around, I wanted to do what he did. I wanted to find the killers and lock them up. It’s not just what I do, ma’am. It’s who I am. If I can’t do that job for the District, I’ll find somewhere that I can do it.”

Sam held the other woman’s gaze for a long moment, determined not to be the first to blink.

Brewster finally sighed and looked down at the table. “I figured it was worth one more shot before I moved on.”