“Could be a staff member—former staff member—or a patient. Or someone who gave her undue attention. We’ve gone through police records and Anne never took out a restraining order against anyone. But you were her best friend. Did she ever think she was being followed?”

“No—not like that.”

“Like what?”

“Well, like a stalker.”

“It could be anything—even just a feeling.”

“I can’t think of anything—we did everything together. Worked, had the apartment, we both loved cross-country skiing. She wasn’t close to her parents and ended up spending more holidays with my family than hers.”

“Okay—we’ll come back to that. I’m fishing around here, but we think the killer knew Anne when she was a nurse. Did she have any male friends? Or an ex-boyfriend?”

“Ex-boyfriend? Who’d wait so long to kill her? In front of her b-baby?” Her voice cracked and she cleared her throat. “The guy she dated before Craig was kind of a jerk. He was a doctor, and I told Olivia not to date him, but he was really cute and did the whole knight-in-shining-armor shtick. He cheated on her, broke her heart. Jason Tragger. Still single, still dating nurses—but in Seattle.”

It didn’t fit, not Catherine’s profile, but Matt made a note. “What kind of doctor?”

“Oncologist. Specializes in childhood leukemia. I mean, he’s a jerk to his girlfriends because he can’t keep it in his pants, but he’s a really great doctor.”

“How long did they date?”

“Six or seven months. Then she didn’t see anyone until Craig rolled into the ER. He looked like death warmed over, but she said he had a sparkle in his eye and she knew he was the one.” She sighed. “They loved each other from the beginning. I mean real, soul mate kind of love. My husband and I were together for years before we talked about marriage, and it’s comfortable, you know? I mean, I love him, and we have a great marriage, but it’s a comfortable love, like cozy blankets by the fire and a dog at your feet. When Craig looked at Anne, he saw nothing but Anne. From the minute they met until the day she died. It’s been six years but he’ll never remarry. It would be romantic if it weren’t so damn sad.”

“What about problems at work? Someone who didn’t like her, who thought she did a poor job, or maybe too good of a job and outshone them?”

She looked confused. “That was so long ago. I really can’t remember anything specific. We rarely worked together, but if there was something that bothered her she would have told me. And why would someone kill Anne because of something she may have done or said? Or all those other people the newspaper mentioned?”

“We don’t know. Between you and me, we think each victim may have slighted the killer in some way, very possibly unintentionally. Like for example, if you cut someone off on the road but don’t notice and you get a horn in your ear. Or you get a promotion when someone else thought they should have gotten it. It could be completely innocuous, but something that festered in a person with a psychopathy.”