Page 21 of Her Last Doubt

She thought of her tumor and how she had, for a while, been torn between the choice of letting her life end or fighting like hell for another chance. It wasn’t the same decision the three victims had made about their preferences in terms of where they’d die, but it was close. She felt there was something there she was missing but it was just a bit out of her reach.

It was maddening, really. She stepped out under a dark sky that had gone the color of slate and took a deep breath. And as she started to walk, she did her best to convince herself that this was more than a simple, temporary retreat from a case that was starting to feel more personal than she’d anticipated.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Rachel found a bench at the end of the block, just past the reach of the Hargrove's lamp post. It sat by what looked to be a now-defunct bus stop—a rare smear on the well-to-do and well-polished neighborhood. The street was quiet and the cold had settled in for the night. She buttoned her jacket and stuffed her hands in her pockets as she looked at the bare median trees for a moment.

She knew what she needed to overcome this little hurdle and waited only about thirty seconds before she took her phone out of her pocket. She dialed home and Jack picked up on the second ring.

"Hey. How's it going down there at the Hargrove?"

"Nice place, but it’s making for a very long day," she said. "Most everyone here is being cooperative but it’s just not…it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere.”

“Any idea why?”

“Well, we’ve got three victims spread out over six weeks. And because they were elderly and the first two were written off initially as likely natural causes, no real forensics work was done. So we have three bodies and are sort of starting from scratch.”

“Yeah, the notes came across my desk today. I don’t know if it was sloppy police work or just working on dangerous assumptions.”

“Maybe a mix of both,” Rachel said. “Anyway, how was your day?"

"Meetings. Phone calls. Looking over case files. The usual." She could hear him moving through the kitchen, the sound of something being set on the counter. "Your case is getting some attention around the office, by the way. People are talking about it."

"What are they saying?"

"Pretty much what we just touched on. How it’s sort of a nightmare case because no one considered foul play—much less a serial killer—until there were three bodies."

Rachel didn't respond to that directly. Honestly, she was done talking about it. "How's Paige?"

"She's right here. You want to talk to her?”

“Yeah.”

“Hold on."

There was a brief shuffle and then Paige's voice came on, quicker and higher-pitched than Jack's. She started off strong, her voice carrying the momentum of someone who had been waiting for an opening. Rachel knew where it was headed right away, so she was wary of it. But really, it was just a relief to hear Paige so excited and animated about anything. It was a rare thing to hear these days.

"Mom. Okay. So. I need to tell you about my history project because it actually turned out really well and Mrs. Alderman said it was one of the strongest in the class, which I feel like she probably says to everyone but it still felt good, and also Emily and I had a thing today but it's mostly resolved, and I read three more chapters of the book for English which I actually like more than I thought I would."

"Take a breath," Rachel said, laughing. “Lucky for you, I caught all of that and don’t need you to repeat it.”

“Ha, funny. So…tell me about this case you’re on. Dad says it’s a messy one.”

"Yes, it’s messy."

"Is it the apartment building thing? Someone at school said their mom heard something about it on the news."

"I can't talk about active cases, you know that."

"I'm not asking for details. I'm asking if it's the apartment building thing."

"Paige…"

"Fine." She didn't sound particularly bothered. "Is it dangerous?"

"No, it doesn’t seem to be.”

"Are you being careful?"