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With Janet Cressey eliminated as a suspect, they were at a low ebb. In just the last twenty-four hours, they’d thought they had their killer on multiple occasions. But one after another, they’d all alibied out. First Ava Martell’s husband, Harrison Buhner. Then both Nina and Rhett Kirby. And now they could add Janet Cressey to the list. As of now, they didn’t have another lead to pursue, no suspect to question. It was crushing.
The door to Gaylene Parker's office opened, and she waved for Jessie and Ryan to join her. Jessie heard Ryan sigh softly next to her and wondered if it was a sigh of resentment at being summoned by someone he'd once supervised. But other than that, he gave no indication that he was bothered.
As they walked over, Jessie glanced at her phone. It was 10:22 a.m., almost two hours since they'd interviewed Janet Cressey. And in the interim, they'd made no discernable progress, which they'd have to admit now.
Once they entered the office, Parker motioned for them to sit. Jessie, whose legs felt like rubber, did so happily.
“How are you doing?” Parker asked. “I know this is a lot more than you expected for your first case back.”
“I’m getting by,” Jessie said, which didn’t feel like a lie. “Definitely tired but otherwise good.”
“No headache recurrences?”
“Nothing like before,” Jessie replied, “just standard issue exhaustion and some serious frustration.”
“You’ll let me know if it feels like too much?” Parker requested. “Karen Bray and Sam Goodwin are wrapping up a case this morning so one of them may be able to step in if need be.”
“I’ll keep you posted,” Jessie promised.
“Well, you might change your opinion on sticking with the case after hearing this,” Parker told her. “I just got off the phone with Chief Decker and he’s very concerned. Obviously two murders of high profile women, using similar methods on consecutive nights has everyone riled up. He knows that you're doing your best and that you're sleep-deprived, but he's worried about another killing tonight and the firestorm that would cause. I'm sorry to put that extra pressure on you, but he said that if anyone can handle it, it's you two."
Jessie could feel her intermittent stress headache fire up again, though she did her best not to show it.
“We understand the magnitude of this thing,” Ryan said, “I can assure you that we’re not going to let up.”
“Glad to hear it,” Parker said. “So where are we?”
“Unfortunately, nowhere good,” he said. “None of our initial suspects have panned out and we’re back to grunt work. We’re checking everyone from the fundraiser last night, as well as the folks who attended the Kirby’s get-together, for violent priors.”
"We're also looking for other shared connections between Ava Martell and Gabriella Silva," Jessie added. "Jamil and Beth are reviewing all their service providers, from personal trainers to security company techs to gardeners. But as you can imagine, because they lived in the same neighborhood, there are a lot. Sifting through them for ones that feel relevant has been slow going."
"All right," Parker said. "Why don't I let you get back to it then? Your time is better spent focusing on that than explaining yourselves to me. Just keep me in the loop, please."
Almost immediately upon leaving the captain’s office, Jessie’s headache subsided a bit. They started back toward their desks when Ryan put his hand on her shoulder and rubbed it gently.
“Were you being honest about the headaches back there?” he asked.
“Almost completely,” she told him.
He didn’t push the issue.
“Do we want to check in with Jamil and Beth to see if they’ve made any progress in our absence?” he wondered.
“You go ahead,” she said. “I’ll catch up in a minute. I just need to clear my head.”
He nodded and continued down the hall. Jessie stopped at the very next door, which led to an exterior courtyard in the center of the station. She stepped outside and was immediately blasted by the cold air. She wasn’t wearing her jacket and didn’t feel prepared. She was about to go get it when she decided to suffer through the chill in the hopes that it might offer her some mental clarity.
The courtyard, usually full of people on food or smoking breaks, was completely empty. Jessie walked over to a wooden bench beside the one tree in the yard and sat down. All at once, the weight of the last day hit her.
In addition to her head, her whole body was sore from sleeping on couches and sitting in uncomfortable chairs during countless, long interviews. She was bleary-eyed from fatigue. She felt residual guilt over her thoughtless "kids at Christmas" comment to Ryan. And she realized that she hadn't had a chance to speak to Hannah in nearly two days. Suddenly, the cold didn't feel so energizing.
None of your self-pity will help you solve this case.
Accepting that reality immediately calmed her down. She closed her eyes and did her best to focus on what she’d come out here to think about: these murders. All this time she’d had the distinct feeling that she was running around like a chicken with her head cut off, following whatever lead landed in front of them without taking the time to consider its merit.
She tried to change that now by focusing her attention on what really mattered. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, that she was missing an important detail. She couldn't help but think that she had skipped a step, one that, if retraced, would lead her directly to the killer.
Jessie tried to cut herself a little slack. After all, she was rusty, not having pursued a killer since September. Of course, being out of the habit wouldn't be much comfort to a potential third victim.
