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Gary stared at the photos of the victims. “PrEP… what’s the full-length version?”
“Pre-exposure Prophylaxis.” Then he followed Gary’s gaze to the paper where Riley had written the letters carved into the victims, and his blood ran cold. “Oh my God. That’s it.”
Chapter 32
COLD SPREADout from Gary’s core. “We’ve been blind.”
Dan was at his side. “I did the math. There are twenty-two letters. He’s just getting started, isn’t he?”
“Then we’re going to do all we can to make sure he doesn’t achieve his goal.” He glanced toward the door as Lewis entered, carrying cups of coffee in a cardboard tray. Riley was behind him. “Great timing. We’ve got work to do.”
Riley took one look at his face and came to a dead stop. “You’ve got something.”
Gary picked up a pen and handed it to Dan, who wrote Pre-exposure Prophylaxis below the photos of the victims, then underlined the first seven letters. He stepped back, and Gary pointed to the board. “Recognize anything?” He caught Riley’s sharp intake of breath.
“What’s that?” Lewis peered at it.
“It’s a medicine for people who don’t have HIV but are at very high risk of getting it,” Riley said in a low voice.
“And who are those people?”
“Anyone who shares needles to inject drugs or has a partner who is HIV-positive or has multiple partners…. A lot of gay men are on it because they don’t want to use condoms. Some still use them, however, because it doesn’t prevent STDs.”
Lewis stared at him. “How come you know all this?”
Riley’s gaze was cool. “My brother is gay, all right? And even if he wasn’t and we didn’t talk about everything under the sun, I’d still know what it was, becauseIdon’t live under a rock.” He turned to Gary. “What do you need me to do?”
“See if you can get the medical records for all the victims. I want to know how many of them were on PrEP.” He couldn’t shake the ice that had settled in his veins. “I have a feeling it’s going to be all of them.”
“If they were on PrEP, they’d have to get tested every three months, usually at a sexual health clinic,” Dan added.
Gary nodded. “Lewis, make some calls. See if any clinics have our victims on their files.”Finally. This could be the break they needed.
“How many clinics are we talking about?” Lewis demanded.
“That’s what you’re going to tell me.”
“I’ll work on the medical records,” Riley said. He shook his head. “How did you figure this out?”
“I wouldn’t have managed it on my own. Dan pointed me in the right direction.”
Riley smiled. “Thanks, Dan. We owe you.” He hurried out of the room.
“I’ll go look up clinics.” Lewis grabbed a cup of coffee and followed Riley.
Gary handed Dan a cup. “I think you’ve earned this.” Dan took it and gazed at the board, his head tilted to one side. “What is it?”
Dan wrinkled his nose, his brow furrowed. “I’m thinking, that’s all.”
“Then think out loud.” Gary leaned against the table, his own cup in his hand. “What’s on your mind?”
“I’m not a detective. I don’t see how my musings could be useful.”
“Let me be the judge of that.” He took the cup from Dan. “You get your coffee when you’ve told me what’s bothering you.”
Dan let out a mock gasp. “Oh.NowI see. You’re mean.” Before Gary could protest, he returned his attention to the board. “I keep going back to that feeling… that the victims knew their killer.”
“Okay. What about it?”
