He outlined how the killer grabbed Manners somewhere between work and home, and they believed she was taken directly from the parking lot of the hospital where she worked. He drove her to Newman Lake—where her car was recently found—and then had another vehicle to transport her to Liberty Lake, where he killed her. The timeline was precise—she went missing just after 8:00 p.m. on March 2 and she was dead between midnight and 3:00 a.m. on March 3, according to the preliminary autopsy report.

“Sexual assault?” one of the detectives asked.

“None of the victims were sexually assaulted.”

“Tortured?”

“There is no evidence of pre or postmortem torture.”

“Were the victims drugged? How?”

It was a good question—and it was also clear that Matt didn’t have an answer.

“Because the initial investigations were all separate in different jurisdictions, and some of the bodies were found weeks after death, toxicology has been inconsistent. We believe based on lack of defensive wounds on the victims, that some were drugged or otherwise incapacitated, which facilitated their murder.

“We’re extremely lucky that Ms. Manners’s body was found so soon after her death. We have more time than we have had in the past—but it’s still not a lot of time. He will kill again on March 6 and on March 9 unless we stop him. He has a set pattern. We all need to be extra diligent. Manners was taken from Spokane, but that doesn’t mean the next victim will—or won’t—be. The only thing I’m confident about is that the individual will be killed in Liberty Lake.”

“And you’re certain this is the same killer,” Maddox asked.

“Yes,” Matt said without hesitation. “I wish I had more information to share, but please, anything you see or suspect or just your gut telling you something is off, let your supervisor know. There will be a briefing sheet available shortly with these details, and I will make sure your department is kept up-to-date on our investigation. We need you all, and we’re happy to work with you to catch this guy.”

Maddox stood up. “I’m taking point with the feds from our office, and I’ll make sure we have what we need—and they have what they need. You’re the finest cops in the state of Washington, and we will stop this killer here.”

The door opened next to Kara and she moved over and stepped back against the wall. Blending in.

A man in full uniform—the chief of police based on his stripes—stepped in along with another cop in plainclothes. Everyone turned and acknowledged him.

Maddox looked both irritated and uncomfortable. Interesting. Kara loved interdepartment drama—unless she was in the middle of it.

“Chief,” Maddox said with a nod, “did you have something to add?”

“Quite a bit, as you’re not chief of police yet, Brian.”

What a jerk. Kara already hated him.

Kara leaned back to observe the exchange, plastering a blank, disinterested expression on her face.

The chief walked to the front of the room, extended his hand to Matt—who looked briefly blindsided and annoyed, but hid it well—and said, “I’ve read the report Agent Costa provided, and spoke to the Assistant Director of the FBI, Tony Greer. Of course our office will provide whatever assistance the federal government needs. This killer is in part targeting cops, and I don’t want anyone to take that lightly. We will be diligent. Until this bastard is caught, no one patrols alone. I’m implementing a check-in system and already spoke to Chief Dunn in Liberty Lake, who concurs. Everyone will call in when you’re home. When you leave for duty, you’ll call in and then we’ll check you off when you arrive. When you’re off-duty and leave your house, we need to know where you are and who you are with. We need to have each other’s backs. Understood?”