“You are a real piece of work,” Dolan said.

Jessie smiled sweetly as she opened the car door and got in.

“So I’ve been told.”

*

It didn’t take long for Jessie’s confidence to crumble.

Back at the station, as she waited to make her pitch to Captain Decker, something was going on. No one said anything overt but she could sense a heightened energy in the air.

She wondered if a more credible lead in the hunt for either man had emerged, making her questionable argument for staying on the Stanton case unconvincing. If that was the case, she didn’t have a backup plan. Whatever was going on, it was big. She was ushered into the same isolated conference room, where she waited with Murph for twenty uneventful minutes. Dolan had disappeared.

“Do you know what’s going on?” she asked Murph.

He looked at her, mildly satisfied with her discomfort.

“How would I know anything?” he asked. “I’ve been stuck in here with you.”

“You’ve got that earpiece,” she pointed out. “I’m sure you’re getting updates.”

“Can’t help you,” he replied, seemingly enjoying being in a more commanding position after several hours of being a glorified personal driver. Before she could respond, the door opened and both Decker and Dolan walked in.

“There’s been a development,” the captain said without preamble.

Jessie could tell immediately that whatever the news was, it wasn’t good. Decker’s already deeply lined face was even more creased than usual and he seemed reluctant to make eye contact. Somehow she knew the news was connected to her. Decker seemed hesitant to go on. Behind him, Dolan looked even more taciturn than usual.

“Go ahead, Captain,” she said, steeling herself. “I can take it.”

“Ernie Cortez has been found.”

That should have been great news. Ernie was the NRD security officer who killed his co-workers and helped Bolton Crutchfield escape. If he’d been located, they might finally have a lead on Crutchfield’s location. But the demeanor of both men suggested she ought not get too excited.

“I’m sensing there’s more,” she said.

“He’s dead,” Decker sighed.

“Heart attack?” Jessie asked skeptically, trying to keep the creeping panic she felt at bay.

Dolan stepped forward.

“He was found in an alley dumpster about six blocks from here. The man was gutted from sternum to pelvis. His insides were lying next to the dumpster. That’s how they managed to find him.”

Jessie leaned back in her chair, trying to process the news. Crutchfield had secretly cultivated Ernie for years, essentially seducing him. It had worked so well that Ernie had willingly slaughtered a half dozen of his own co-workers in the service of a serial killer. And now Crutchfield had brutally, unceremoniously dispensed with him.

Why? Had Ernie disappointed or angered him in some way? Had he turned on his master?

But she knew that couldn’t be the main reason. If it was, he wouldn’t have left the body so close to the place where he knew Jessie worked. It was a message—for her.