She waited for the sheets to print, then picked them up and gave them a cursory glance to ensure the ink hadn’t run low.She left the print room and walked to her boss’s office, and laid them on her desk so she would see them first thing in the morning.Then, she finally allowed herself to smile.
She was done for the day and could go home and have a glass of wine.While her thoughts might turn to more unscrupulous ideas, it was far too late, and she was far too tired to act on them.Tomorrow was a brand-new day, and—
Jennifer stopped in her tracks when she got to her desk.She stared down at the envelope that lay on her keyboard, her name handwritten on the front.Jennifer looked around the office, knowing that she hadn’t been alone all this time.
Her first instinct was that it was a love note, even though she had no idea who could have sent it, and she smiled some more.That smile quickly disappeared when she found the idea ridiculous.She never spoke to anyone in the office, did her job every day, and often stayed later, then left alone.No one would have hung around to send her a love letter.
Unless…
Jennifer picked up the envelope and turned it over, opening the unsealed flap.She took out the document within, and on first glance, it was obviously not a love letter.It was typed up and looked official.
After a moment, she realized she knew what the document was.Her lawyer had obtained a copy at her hearing three years ago, and Jennifer had read through with morbid curiosity, studying what someone believed was going on inside her head.
It took her only a few moments more to realize it wasn’t the same report, but one that looked very much like it.The doctor's name had been redacted at the top, but her name still remained.And the text was different.She didn't remember exactly what was in the original report, but it was not what was in it now.
Jennifer didn't consider there might be any danger—she was so engrossed in the report.She sat back down in her chair and began to read.A lot of it didn't feel right, but it was fascinating all the same.As she read, it felt like someone was walking fingers up her spine.
Jennifer Hayes remains fundamentally dishonest and a continued threat to any organization that trusts her with financial access.
She began to wonder why someone had left the report on her desk in the first place.And that led to considering that someone might still be in the office with her.
She placed the report back down on the table, then looked around to make sure the coast was clear before standing up.
"Hello?"she asked.
There was no response.
"Is someone still here?"she asked.
She mentally went through everyone who worked at the office with her, trying to remember if any of them had been weird or creepy.
Then a movement to her left.She scanned the office again, then looked toward her boss’s small office.Had there been some movement from within there?Had her boss returned to work?
"Melody?"Jennifer asked, wondering why her boss would be back in the office.She had never done that before.
Unless she’s come back to check on me.Maybe she doesn’t trust me after all.
Jennifer left her desk and went to her boss’s office again.
"Melody?Is that you?"Jennifer asked.
She entered the office and found it to be empty, with the spreadsheet right where she had left it only a few minutes ago.
When she turned, she realized the intruder had been hiding behind the door, but before she could open her mouth to scream, a hand was clamped over it, and she was forced backward until she hit the desk and fell back onto it.
It didn't knock the wind from her, but it did hurt, and she moaned into the hand that still covered her mouth and kept her pinned to the desk.She was at an awkward angle with her feet touching the carpet, and her back bent over the desk.It made it impossible to gain any leverage to fight back, and she flailed her arms, trying to do something, anything.
Then the flash of a metal blade that shocked her into silence and stilled her instantly.
Her mind told her to plead for her life, even though a hand stopped her from talking, and she might have tried that if she weren’t too slow.She could think the thought, but she couldn’t enact it before the knife plunged down and into her chest, silencing her forever.
CHAPTER SIX
Alison sat in her car, looking up at the large office building.Two nights ago, she had sat at the breakfast bar in her kitchen, listening as Derek gave her hope that they might have the evidence needed to finally catch the most elusive killer she had ever chased, and then she had been woken that morning with the news.Another body had been found, and they had already linked it to the death of Thomas Warren.
Another report with her name on it had been found at the crime scene, along with a separate report from the killer coming to the opposite conclusion from the one she had in her report.
In serial murder cases, the more that could be confirmed, the better it was for the case.They could now confirm that the double homicide was connected to Alison, but that didn't help her at all.She had worried that it was the case, and now that they knew for sure, it meant two people had died because of her.Three people had died in Reno for the same reason.
