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Jake shot Fiona an inquisitive look, but she was still building the theory in her mind. She remembered that Marie, the senator’s daughter, had mentioned he had an extreme fear of bees on top of his allergy. And now Mason had been killed by his greatest fear—drowning.
Did Trish have a fear of spiders?
If that were the case, then they had been looking at this case all wrong. They’d been chasing down the insect/arachnid lead, but maybe that wasn’t it.
Maybe the killer was targeting people and killing them based on their biggest fears.
If they could confirm Trish’s fear then they would have it. Fiona was sure of it.
“Thank you for your time, ma’am,” Jake said, standing, and Fiona was grateful, because she needed to get alone with him so she could explain herself.
“Please do everything you can to help bring justice for my son,” Francine said.
“We will, ma’am,” Jake promised, and with that, he left the house, with Fiona following.
Once outside, they stepped into the warm evening air. The sun was finishing setting, casting dark orange over the sky. Jake turned to Fiona, but she cut him off:
“It’s their fears, Jake,” she blurted. She was sure of it. This time, it felt right.
When Jake looked confused, Fiona elaborated, “Marie Barlow said her father had a fear of bees. He was killed by giant hornets. Mason was afraid of water, and he died from drowning.”
It seemed to click in Jake’s head, and his eyes went wide. “That’s the connection,” he said. “Maybe Trish was afraid of spiders.”
“I’ll call her friend and find out.”
Fiona was so excited, she could nearly fall over. Every stressful moment in this case was boiling down to this moment—the thing that could finally bring them all together.
They got back in the car, and Jake started driving. Meanwhile, Fiona took out her phone, looking through the case files until she got a contact of Trish’s—the coworker who had found her body. After a few rings, the girl they had met at Trish’s apartment answered.
“Hello?”
“Good evening, ma’am, is this Candace Thomas?” Fiona asked. “This is Fiona Red with the FBI—we met you at Trish Walker’s apartment.”
“Oh, yes, I remember you,” Candace said. “Have you found anything?”
“Not yet,” Fiona said, “but I wanted to ask you a question. Did Trish have a notable fear of spiders?”
There was a pause on the other line before Candace finally answered. “Yes, she did,” she said. “Trish was deathly afraid of spiders. Like, majorly so. I think she even used to go to some support group about it.”
Fiona’s heart raced, and she shot Jake a look as he drove. “What support group?”
“Sorry, I don’t know,” Candace said. “I think it was some anonymous meetings like AA but I don’t know where.”
“Thank you for your help,” Fiona said, and hung up the phone. She sighed. “It’s true. Trish had a spider phobia.”
This was it. They had their connection. All three victims had had phobias, and all three had been killed by their greatest fears.
Jake nodded, his lips pursed. “So we’re looking for a killer who is targeting people based on their fears.”
They exchanged a look, the reality of the situation sinking in.This killer’s timeline was fast, and now that they had their smoking gun, they needed to act fast. Any more blood spilled was blood on their hands.
“Candace said Trish attended a support group,” Fiona said. “It was anonymous, but maybe we can find out more about it.”
“We need to find out more,” Jake said, his voice firm. “Let’s go to the precinct and get started.”
Fiona nodded in agreement, and with a newfound determination, they drove off toward the police station. Fiona felt a sense of relief. They had a lead—a real one—and now it was time to put all their cards on the table.
***
