“No—that’s not it. I mean, maybe—partly—I expected you at the station when I got there this afternoon. But you’re on vacation. I can’t expect you to devote 24-7 to this case.”

The way he said it made Kara think there was something more, but she hoped she was wrong.

You’re not wrong about these things.

“I promised to help for the duration,” she said. “But today I needed to take time to go over my last case. It’s—well, it’s a clusterfuck right now and my boss needed specific information.”

Not completely true. Kara needed specific information so she knew that she hadn’t left any holes in her case.

“I know we’re on a clock here,” she continued. “In fact, I’m having dinner with Brian Maddox and his family tonight. He worked in Liberty Lake during your window of time, and he lives here. He’s one of the smartest cops I know. I was hoping we could talk things out informally.”

“He mentioned the dinner earlier.”

“You want to come? He wouldn’t mind,” Kara said.

“I would—but I can’t. We believe that the Triple Killer also killed three homeless men fifteen years ago. And this time, he screwed up. We found blood in Ogdenburg’s bathroom that doesn’t match the homeowner. We’re getting closer.”

“But.”

“But a cop is at risk and we’re not close enough. I reiterated to Andy, and earlier on the phone to Maddox, that they both need to be extra careful—and be particularly sensitive to anyone watching them. Even if they just feel like they’re being watched.”

“I’ll make sure Maddox takes it seriously. He’s a good cop—he knows he’s not invincible.”

“I’m frustrated,” Matt said. “It’s March 7. End of day. That means not only does the killer know who his next victim is, he’s been stalking him. Ogdenburg was killed early the morning of March 6. The coroner puts TOD between one and four—said the ME can probably narrow it down. The guy was in his bed. Didn’t fight back. The killer came in and killed him while he was sleeping. Only a short time after Andy was there.”

“I know,” Kara said, her voice tight.

I found his body after all...

But Matt didn’t seem to read between the lines, which was probably a good thing. She didn’t need to be coddled.

“Our guy could kill a cop at midnight March 9...up until 11:59 p.m. This guy knows his next victim’s schedule. He’ll see that the cop has deviated from pattern.”

“He’s been reading the newspapers. He knows cops are riding in pairs.”

“What if we’re wrong and the victims are truly random? And it’s only their profession or the location that matter to the killer? He could grab a cop in, hell, Boise, Idaho, and drive eight hours here and kill him in Liberty Lake.”

“Matt—I don’t think your Dr. Jones’s profile is wrong on this. It’s a weird pattern, but it is a pattern. It may not make sense to us, but it makes sense to the killer.”