Dr. Catherine Jones was arguably the most brilliant profiler the FBI had currently working for them. She was one of Matt’s closest friends—at least, she had been until last summer. Still, there was no one else Matt would rather have working with him on a complex case like the Triple Killer.

“That’s terrific,” he said.

“She’s not coming back, Matt. You know that,” Tony said.

“For this case she will.”

“She’s been on leave for eight months.”

“Six months of that was a suspension, which was bullshit, and you know it.” Matt glanced at his watch. It was five-ten. “I’ll get her back. What time does the plane leave?”

“Nine-forty. Brief layover in Chicago.”

“I’ll pack a bag and stop at her condo on my way to Reagan. I can bring her onto my team, right? That hasn’t changed, has it?”

“Of course not, but she doesn’t want the position. I talked to her twice in the last month, and she is not budging.”

“She will.”

Tony continued as if Matt hadn’t spoken. “Catherine recommended a new profiler, a Dean Callahan. He has solid references—before Quantico he worked in—”

Matt cut him off. “I want Catherine.”

Tony threw his hands in the air. “Good luck.”

“She wrote the profile on the Triple Killer—she’ll want to be involved. You and I both know that.”

Tony nodded his agreement. “So you’re going to guilt her into it?”

“If that’s what it takes.” Matt had known Catherine since their time in the academy. They’d become good friends over the years, to the point that he’d been an usher in her wedding and had become best friends with her husband. Matt understood her better than she knew herself, and he wasn’t going to let her sit this case out. Not when she’d written the original profile.

“I suppose if anyone can convince her, it’s you—but tread carefully. Catherine has been through hell and back. I don’t have to tell you that.”

No, he certainly didn’t. Matt opened the door to leave, then turned and said, “If this guy kills three people every three years, how much time do we have?”

“Six days total.”

“Six?”

“Two and a half to his next strike. He’ll attempt to kill again on March 6 and then again on March 9 if his pattern holds.”

“So we have less than three days to stop him.”

“Good luck with that—based on his profile, he has his second victim—and likely his third—already selected. He stalks them, knows their habits, when to grab them without anyone seeing. Seven dead and no witnesses, no DNA, no suspects. Once you’re out there, you’ll have less than forty-eight hours before another body drops.”

“I’m not willing to accept that we’re going to lose someone else,” Matt said. “Like you said, we have forty-eight hours and more information about him now than we did in the last two killing sprees. The local cops are already on it, plus we have my new team.”

Tony shrugged. “Read the files. We have shit on this guy, even with the murder today. An MO and a rough profile. You’re going to have to make some fast hiring decisions. Right now, besides Ryder, you’ve only approved Michael Harris out of Detroit—I’ll expedite his transfer. And we have Jim Esteban from Dallas ready to come on board.”