Matt said, “Special Agent in Charge. Just to clarify. You can call me Matt.”

He’d told Tony he didn’t want or need the promotion—Quinn was right about one thing, once agents moved up the ranks, they often turned into dicks. But having the promotion was vital to establish a chain of command, and it gave him authority in most investigations—including seniority over local FBI staff.

Since he didn’t particularly like Nancy Waring or her bureaucratic attitude, establishing a bit of authority right from the gate seemed both appropriate and fun.

Dr. Reynolds worked swiftly and methodically on the autopsy of Manners, both the external and internal examinations, while also asking Matt questions. “You’re not from the Spokane office. Seattle?” The Spokane Resident Agency was under the larger Seattle district office umbrella.

“No, Doc. I’m with the FBI Mobile Response Team.”

“Never heard of it. Is it like the Evidence Response Team? They have one out of Seattle. I’ve worked with them a few times over the years.”

“Similar, yes. The ERT has advanced training in evidence collection and processing. But they’re limited in scope and only work in their local jurisdictions. The MRT was established to assist in special circumstances—like this case—specifically in small, rural communities underserved by local and state law enforcement. Our team—which, to be honest, is still being built—has a broader jurisdiction, and consists of experts in every facet of criminal investigations. We’re not limited to forensics, but handle the full investigation.” At least that was the goal once the team was fully staffed.

“Spokane is hardly rural.”

“The body was found in Liberty Lake,” Matt said. “And we believe the Manners murder connects with several other homicides over the past six years in two other states.”

“Serial killer,” Reynolds said bluntly.

Matt didn’t comment. Instead, he let the Chief Medical Examiner do his job.

Spokane might be a large city by Washington standards, but its Resident Agency had a large geographic jurisdiction and bare-bones staff. Matt hadn’t even had time to meet with the Spokane Supervisory Special Agent, Jessica Torino. In a perfect world, he would have gone through her office first to minimize stepping on too many toes, but this case was time sensitive. He hoped Ryder had reached her and she was cooperative.

The ME repeated his findings for the tape. Manners died of massive blood loss as a result of four deep knife wounds. “It’s my opinion, Agent Costa, that the first cut was fatal. The knife went so deep it punctured the posterior of her stomach. Then he sliced down, through her other organs. It takes some strength, and there doesn’t appear to be any hesitation marks—though with the extreme damage to the body, they may not be obvious.”

“And the other three cuts?”

“Not as deep, but they would have certainly been fatal as well. Every organ was compromised in some way.”

“The killer right-or left-handed?”

“The victim was on her back during the attack. The cuts on her right side—or the killer’s left side, since he had to be facing her—are deeper, then become more shallow as the knife reaches the opposite side and exits the body. As if he stabbed the knife into her, then sliced through at an upward angle. I would be confident in stating that the killer is right-handed.”