“But Spokane isn’t Liberty Lake, remember. Though they’re both in the Spokane Valley, they’re twenty miles apart. They’re different jurisdictions, different towns, schools, everything.”

“Which tells me that the law enforcement officer the killer has already targeted worked or works out of Liberty Lake. He’s laying these victims on his own doorstep, so to speak.”

Andy Knolls was Matt’s first thought.

“That’s exactly what I was talking about with Kara last night.”

“Kara?”

“Kara Quinn, the detective.”

“Right—I forgot. From LAPD.”

“I said that the cop would be connected to Liberty Lake. There’s only a handful of cops who work out of the PD here—plus the police chief, who’s more a figurehead than cop,” Matt said. “I’ll have everyone called in for a mandatory meeting today and maybe one of them knows these other victims.”

“Good—if we can disrupt the killer’s pattern, he’s bound to expose himself. So be prepared—what I said the other day still holds. He may change his MO. He may take out more than just the one cop he has targeted. But my sense is that he has a specific victim in mind and he will do anything to get to him. I suspect he personally knows the cop, just like he knew Banks and Marston. But the victims may not have remembered him, and the cop may not, either. Especially if whatever happened to set this killer down this murderous path occurred when he was a child.”

“I’m going to jump in the shower and get working on this. Thanks, Catherine, this is exactly the break we need. And the press conference was a success. Andy Knolls and the other Liberty Lake cops personally spoke with everyone who works in the education field and lives in Liberty Lake. Many left town or stayed with friends. Keeping potential victims alert is half the battle.”

“I agree—just be careful, Matt. You’re putting yourself out there, and this psychopath is not going to like it if he can’t get to his target.”

“Que es exactamente lo que queremos.” Which is exactly what we want.

“Not if he becomes erratic,” Catherine said. “Ten cuidado, Mathias.”

“I promise to be careful. Glad to know you still care.”

Matt hung up, half hoping that Kara was in the bathroom. But she wasn’t. He turned on the water, then found a note on the mirror.

Matt ~

I don’t normally kiss and run but didn’t think you wanted to explain my presence to your team. Catch you later.

~KQ

He frowned. He was glad she left a note, but he expected something more than this informality. After last night... Hell, he was horny again just thinking about her.

Shut it down, Costa.

He stepped into the shower cold, which cleared his mind and his libido, then heated up the water and two minutes later stepped out. Five minutes after that he was dressed and entered the war room. Ryder Kim was, of course, already working.

“When did you get up?”

“Five o’clock, sir.”