“I see what you’re getting at,” she said, though she sounded confused, “but Anne was a great nurse. Patients loved her. Doctors loved her.”

“But the emergency room—she probably dealt with tragedy. Some people don’t take tragedy well.”

“Like losing a patient?”

“Sure.”

“I couldn’t possibly remember every patient she lost. She worked in the emergency room—there were people who were dead when they came in, or already dying. It can get crazy down there.”

“What about her immediate supervisor.”

“She had several during the time she was here. Administration should be able to help you there.”

Matt already had Ryder working with administration. “Olivia, you may remember something after I leave—and so I need you to call me, even if you think it’s small. Anything about the time that Anne worked here that gave you pause, or that she mentioned that bothered or disturbed her in any way. It may be a colleague, a patient, a patient’s family—anything.” He handed her his card and wrote his cell number on the back.

“I will.” She stared at the card. “So the newspaper was right—Anne was killed by a serial killer.”

“Yes, that part they got correct. But much of what they wrote was exaggerated. I can tell you this—we have a team dedicated to finding this killer and giving Anne and the other victims justice.”

“Is it true a teacher might die tomorrow?”

“Not if I can help it.”

Matt was still angry that the press had so much information.

“I hope you find him, Agent Costa.”

So do I.

Matt had a missed call from Michael and hit redial. “News?”

“Big news. The jackpot. I found it.”

Michael sounded winded but excited.

“You found the knife?”

“Yes. I found the knife approximately sixty feet from the shore. Jim and Miles from the crime lab are here—they wanted to package the evidence specifically. It’s not the knife they’re interested in.”

“You lost me, Harris.”

“Shit, sorry—I got distracted. Thirty-five feet from the shore, I found a large plastic bag full of clothes. The bag had been deliberately cut—likely by a knife—so water could get in. Jim figures the killer was disposing of the clothes he wore, said no other set of clothing has been found at the previous crime scenes, so this could potentially be huge.”

“He’s right. But it’s wet—what can they get from it?”

“That’s why Jim rushed up here. They want to contain the clothes and bag in sterile conditions, immediately start the drying process—which is going to take time. He said even with water contamination if there’s a lot of blood, he’ll be able to find some and match it to the victim. And possibly the killer if he somehow nicked himself through his gloves. But there could be other evidence—like a receipt or a note or credit statement. Depending on the ink and paper, they might be able to read it if it’s dried properly. Maybe even hair wrapped around a button. We’ll at a minimum get the clothing sizes, brands. Anything that can narrow the suspect. Hell, he could have left his driver’s license in the bag. Remember the idiot in New York who dropped his wallet next to his victim?”