Chapter 28

                                    

                                          
"The past four victims have been redhead nurses," I tell him. "There's ten victims all together already. The first few were spaced out by a month or two, but they've been getting clumped together. The UNSUB has killed what? Four? In the past two weeks..."
                          
"I used to just kill to quench my anger," Dean starts. "My thirst... but overtime I realize just how unimaginable it is. How rejuvenating it feels, the way the life drains out of their eyes and into my fingertips. Out of her eyes. It wasn't enough to kill like her. I have to kill her and feel the life leave her eyes. Show her how badly she messed up, screwing with me." 
                          
"You see it too then?" I ask. 
                          
"Yeah..." he murmurs. "Whoever is doing the killing has obviously found a new purpose for doing it in the first place."
                          
I nod slowly and glance between the three boards. 
                          
"It's getting worse, and it's not going to get any better... what are we going to do?"
                          
"That's the problem," he murmurs, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. "We can't do anything."
                          
I sigh. "Eventually its all going to go to shit."
                          
"Agreed." 
                          
We stand in silence, staring at the evidence, when my phone beeps. I pull it out and see a text from Maddox. 
                          
"We have another one," I murmur. 
                          
"What type?" 
                          
"I don't know, I have to go grab it."
                          
"So, what, you just get notifications when a new case comes up?"
                          
I open my mouth and then shut it. Dean is not a proffesional liar, so if Maddox were to ever be caught -or even me- he wouldn't be able to deny Maddie's role. So I lie. 
                          
"Uh, not really how it works but... sure?" 
                          
He chuckles and waves me off, so I rush upstairs to the library to receive the fax. 
                          
Back in the basement I take a deep breath as I pass Dean the papers. 
                          
"A red head real estate Agent in Southern California. Opposite side of the last one."
                          
"Briggs and Locke just left a few hours ago."
                          
"But that body was discovered yesterday. The bureau just hadn't connected the cases. So really, the two could've been killed on the same day, just a few hours in between."
                          
"Or?" Dean prods. 
                          
"Or," I drag, "it's two UNSUBS working together who killed at the exact same time. The only difference between the two was the occupation, which tells us that my Dad is still important in this equation," I look back at the boards, "somehow..." 
                          
"Your dads still in prison though," he says. 
                          
"Yeah, but if we're going with the accomplice theory, this UNSUB was working with both my parents at the time of the original murders. That would mean they would've been around for at least nine years, but I don't remember my parents ever bringing any friends home."
                          
"So if it's two UNSUBS working together right now, it could be your Mom and the accomplice."
                          
"Or, the accomplice and their own apprentice," I suggest. "Honestly, there's so many possibilities it'd be impossible to choose the most plausible," I grouse. 
                          
"Kathy... do you really believe your Mom is innocent in this?" His tone isn't accusatory, it's genuinely questionable. 
                          
"No," I bite my lip. "She's just not directly guilty. She may not be killing now but she was five years ago, and whoever is the UNSUB has crossed paths with her before, and whatever barrier was put on their relationship was most definitely her fault..."
                          
He nods. "Her parents?" 
                          
"Her biological Father is... not in the picture. Her Mom lives in Oregon with her husband, and my Gran has never left the country. As for my dads parents, they're both dead. His dad was an abusive drunk, and his Mom was a druggie. Overdosed when he was twelve, and his siblings did nothing to protect him from his father. I believe they're both in Oregon, but I never had a relationship with either of them."
                          
"Does your Mom have any siblings?"
                          
"Not that I know of," I murmur. "She did mention a sister once upon a time, but she said she died as kid."
                          
"Any idea how?"
                          
"She never directly told me, but I'd assume rape gone wrong, or... however more wrong it can get."
                          
He bites his lip in thought and the simple action brings butterflies to my stomach. 
                          
"Neither of your parents had good relationships with anyone in their family. And if your parents are as untrusting as you say they'd never trust any of them with the knowledge of their game."
                          
"Exactly," I sigh. "It's a pretty dead end..."
                          
"What was your Moms home life like? Do you know?"
                          
"My Gran left when she was twelve, she was escaping the abuse of Julia's dad, but left Julia with him. She didn't get out until she was 18 and pregnant with me, but when that happened she and my Gran reconciled."
                          
"And when she disappeared?"
                          
"Gran was happy to be rid of her. She could tell from the very beginning something was wrong, she just didn't think it was something so big."
                          
"So, nothing there either."
                          
"Yeah..." 
                          
"If not any of them, then who could she have trusted?"
                          
"I have no idea," I sigh. "We'll just have to wait and see if the FBI get any leads."
                          
"That they won't tell us," Dean reminds me. I smile. 
                          
"They won't have too."
                          
He smirks and kisses my temple. "Let's come back to this later, if we don't work on the cold case even a little bit Judd will get suspicious." 
                          
"You're on," I joke. We bring the huge cold case file to a park scene. We both sit on the fake grass and lean against the bench, spreading our resources out in front of us. 
                          
"This'll be tedious," I sigh. 
                          
"That was the whole point," he reminds me. 
                          
I crack my knuckles and stick my chin out. "Alright, ready to crack a cold case?"