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She read the notes Kaely had written on some of the pages. Then she took a deep breath and looked at the empty chair across from her. She felt a little ridiculous, but she decided to try it anyway. If it worked for Kaely, maybe it would work for her.
“Okay,” she said in a low voice, hoping no one next door or walking down the hall would hear her, “you found a way to get two of the most famous profilers in this country to kill themselves. You think you’re clever. You spent time setting up your scenario. You’re organized, and in fact, you have your next moves already figured out.”
Alex sighed. She felt stupid. But she took another deep breath and continued. “You went after Monty because you could easily get to him. You didn’t have time to set up a complicated scenario, so you did what was most convenient. You also wanted us to see that you had power over us. What you did was for all of us, not just Monty. Unfortunately for you, we stopped him from killing himself. I don’t think you really wanted to pull that trigger. I’m sure you’re rather put out with us. Good.” Alex could feel resentment burning inside her like a fire she couldn’t quench. “You’re a coward. That’s why you plan your killings from a distance when possible.”
She took yet another deep breath. She needed to get her anger under control. It wouldn’t help. She needed to use her training. Her instincts. “How long did it take you to come up with your thirty-second scenario? Quite a while, I think.”
Alex shuffled through some of the papers again, looking for something, anything else that might move them one step closer to the UNSUB. Although she was trying to stay detached from him and his dark deeds, watching a friend suffer had put a personal aspect to this case. She was angry. She wanted this guy. She’d felt the same way about the creep who’d killed the detective’s wife in Kansas City. She’d almost spiraled out of control in her desire to catch him. The rage had consumed her, and she didn’t want to go through that again.
Alex breathed slowly, in and out, until her breathing was controlled and steady. Then she began again. She looked at the chair across from her several times but saw no one. Wasn’t she supposed to see the UNSUB sitting there?
A story about a case in Nashville the authorities couldn’t solve had circulated through the KCPD. Kaely had used her unusual process as a favor for an FBI special agent in charge. He got something more than a profile. Kaely had looked through the file and solved the crime. Just by using this unusual method, she’d actually given them the name of their UNSUB.
Alex sighed. She was pretty sure she wasn’t going to come up with a name, but at least she believed they now knew why Monty’s situation had been different from the other killings. She glanced at the clock on the wall. Kaely could be back anytime. She needed to wrap this up.
Once again she stared at the chair. She tried to imagine the UNSUB. Older. Sixties, maybe? Probably white since most serial killers are. No one responded. No one sat in the chair. But at least she wasn’t seeing the figure she thought she’d seen last time. That had clearly been her imagination.
“Why are you targeting us?” she asked. “Who’s next? Kaely?”
Nothing.
“That has to be it. Whatever you want from her won’t happen. Her family is protected. She’s protected. You can’t possibly be after me. I’m not important.”
Suddenly, something dark entered the room—like black smoke. It swirled around and then settled into the chair across from her.
Alex heard a low voice that seemed to whisper, “You’re not Kaely Quinn. You’re no match for me. You will die.”
