She didn’t fit in here—Liberty Lake was too good for her.

When she met someone like Andy, she didn’t initially believe that they were as noble and good as they seemed. But he was exactly as he came off. She hoped that he kept that spark of optimism and joy because so few people had it. In fact, she knew only two people who didn’t have an ounce of hate or violence in their soul—Andy and her grandmother.

Andy was the reason she did what she did—people like Andy Knolls and her grandmother Em. And damn if she’d ever let them down.

They were driving to the third name on their list when Matt Costa called Andy.

Andy answered and put Matt on speaker. “Kara is here with me. She’s riding shotgun today.”

“Good. Harris and I are at a spread in the county, about halfway between Spokane and Liberty Lake. Joanne Grant. She’s the principal of St. Elizabeth’s.”

“Is she—?”

“She’s not here. Her place has been tossed. I’d think she was robbed, but nothing valuable appears to have been taken. Cushions are torn open, a mirror’s broken, a bookshelf knocked over. There’s no blood, but we need an APB out on her.”

“Grant left town yesterday,” Andy said. He typed on his onboard computer. “Right after the press conference.”

“How certain are you?”

“My officers followed up on the phone. I have her contact information—Abigail also has it. She’s in Yakima with her sister.”

“I’ll get it from Abigail.”

“You think she was the target.”

“Very likely. Dr. Jones said if we screw with his plans, he may crack or deviate. This house? He’s definitely cracking.”

“That’s great.”

“Hold that thought.”

“I mean, we saved the principal.”

“It’s still only eight-thirty in the morning. He may very well have a backup plan, and we need to make sure everyone is accounted for.”

“Of course. Kara and I just cleared two, are heading to the third on our list.”

“I need a favor—can you call in the crime scene investigators? I need this place gone over and I already called Jim, but we have to jump through the goddamn hoops Chief Packard put in place.”

“That’s county—”

“I’m not dealing with another jurisdiction. This is the Triple Killer. My team would normally take care of it—when we’re fully staffed. But right now I need help, and Jordan’s people are good.”

“I’ll get it done.”

“Thank you. Be careful out there, Andy, Kara.”

“Always,” Kara said.

Andy called Brian Maddox and relayed the information. He’d navigate the jurisdictional issues and get the job done.

When Andy hung up, he said, “We talked to Grant yesterday. She left because of the press conference. It worked.”

He sounded relieved and happy all rolled together, but Kara was still worried. Matt was right. They may have taken one target off the table, but he would have a second or third target in his sights.

Until the cop. According to the shrink, he had a specific person in mind. A person he would be compelled to kill. But considering he’d escalated—nowhere in the reports had she seen trashing a house as part of his MO—maybe he wouldn’t wait until March 9 to go after the cop. Maybe he would speed up the timetable. They all had to be diligent from here on out.