Her second attempt had been with a prosecutor who'd understood the demands of law enforcement work.For eighteen months, she'd thought they might actually make it work.They'd talked about marriage, about finding a house with enough space for a family.But he had wanted her to transfer to a less dangerous assignment, to consider white-collar crime or financial fraud instead of hunting violent killers.When she'd refused, he'd given her an ultimatum that ended with him packing his belongings and moving back to his ex-wife.
Since then, Vic had focused entirely on her work.It was simpler that way.Cleaner.No emotional complications to distract from the job of catching killers and bringing them to justice.
She padded down the short hallway to her home office, a converted second bedroom that served as her private workspace.Unlike the sparse main room, this space overflowed with the accumulated evidence of thirteen years in law enforcement.Filing cabinets lined two walls, packed with case files and reference materials.A large desk held multiple computer monitors and stacks of documents that defied any organizational system beyond Vic's intuitive understanding of their contents.
Bookshelves contained criminology textbooks, FBI training manuals, and true crime accounts that she'd annotated with margin notes and sticky tabs.A corkboard covered one wall, displaying photographs and timelines from what she considered her most successful cases, alongside newspaper clippings and printouts of relevant statutes.The room felt cramped and cluttered, but it was where Vic did her best thinking.
She settled into her desk chair and opened her laptop, continuing the research she'd started at FBI headquarters.The fluorine killer's manifestos suggested someone with advanced chemistry knowledge and deep-seated beliefs about molecular contamination.But technical expertise alone wasn't enough to identify their suspect.They needed someone with the psychological profile to translate academic theories into deadly action.
She opened up the database and resumed a search she’d initiated earlier, focusing on individuals with both chemistry backgrounds and histories of controversial or unauthorized research.The list was longer than she'd expected, filled with former academics, fired government scientists, and disgraced researchers who'd been marginalized by mainstream institutions.One name had caught her attention and she had flagged it for further study.
Dr.Kevin Lawson, a former EPA scientist who'd been terminated three years ago for conducting unauthorized air quality experiments.According to his personnel file, Lawson had been investigating chemical contamination in urban environments without proper approval from his supervisors.His research had focused on pollution sources that the EPA wasn't officially monitoring, including unlicensed industrial facilities and illegal dumping sites.
Vic clicked through to Lawson's academic background.He had a PhD in Environmental Chemistry from Johns Hopkins University and had spent fifteen years with the EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.Published research on atmospheric pollutants and their impact on human health.The kind of credentials that would provide deep understanding of fluorine compounds and their effects on biological systems.
But it was his termination that made him particularly interesting as a suspect.According to the disciplinary records, Lawson had been conducting experiments in populated areas without informing local authorities or obtaining consent from the people being studied.His supervisors had characterized his behavior as increasingly erratic and paranoid, driven by conspiracy theories about government cover-ups of environmental hazards.
She opened a new browser window and began searching for Lawson's current activities.His official EPA biography had been removed, but traces of his work remained scattered across academic databases and environmental advocacy websites.She found several papers he'd published in fringe journals, articles that mainstream scientific publications had apparently rejected.
The titles alone were revealing: “Molecular Contamination in Urban Transit Systems,” “Chemical Corruption of Educational Environments,” and “Synthetic Toxins in Commercial Food Production.”Each paper detailed specific sources of contamination that aligned perfectly with the fluorine killer's stated targets.Public transportation, schools, businesses that used synthetic chemicals in their operations.It was all rather wide-reaching.
Lawson's social media presence painted an even more disturbing picture.His Facebook page was filled with lengthy posts about chemical contamination in everyday environments.He'd written extensively about pollution from vehicle emissions, synthetic materials in children's toys, and pesticides used in public parks.His language grew increasingly apocalyptic as the posts progressed, describing a world where innocent people were unknowingly poisoned by the chemical byproducts of modern society.
One post from six months ago was particularly noteworthy.A portion of it read:“The fluorine cycle represents nature's ultimate purification system.This element doesn't just neutralize contamination—it transforms corruption into harmless compounds that can't reinfect the molecular structure of living tissue.If humanity understood fluorine's cleansing properties, we could eliminate chemical contamination entirely.”
Vic screenshotted the post and continued scrolling through Lawson's timeline.His obsession with chemical purity was evident in every entry, growing more intense and paranoid over the three years since his termination from the EPA.He'd become convinced that government agencies were deliberately ignoring contamination sources to protect corporate interests.His posts suggested someone who'd lost faith in official channels and might be prepared to take direct action.
She cross-referenced Lawson's address with the locations of the fluorine attacks.He lived in a rented house in Northeast D.C., within easy driving distance of both Roosevelt Elementary and Petals & Stems.His academic background would provide the knowledge necessary to construct sophisticated gas dispersal systems.In addition, his environmental research had given him detailed understanding of ventilation systems and air quality monitoring.
But even more importantly, his writings demonstrated the exact philosophical framework that drove the fluorine killer's actions.The belief that chemical contamination was everywhere, that innocent people were being poisoned by synthetic materials, that drastic purification was necessary to save humanity from molecular corruption.
Vic pulled up Lawson's current employment records through the federal database.He'd been unemployed since his termination from the EPA, living on savings and occasional consulting work for environmental advocacy groups.The financial stress of unemployment combined with his existing paranoia about chemical contamination could have pushed him toward increasingly extreme actions.She printed out the most relevant documents, the papers whirring out of her cheap printer—a dinosaur of a thing she’d had since the academy.Lawson's background, his writings about fluorine purification, his proximity to the crime scenes, his access to the chemicals and knowledge required for the attacks.Everything pointed to him as their most viable suspect.
Her phone showed 4:23 AM as she finished compiling it all.Miles would be asleep beside Elena, resting up for the continuation of the case tomorrow…or, rather,today.Vic hesitated, her finger hovering over his contact information.The information about Lawson was significant, but it could wait until the day began.Miles deserved a few uninterrupted hours with his fiancée.
But the urgency of the case overrode her consideration for his personal life.If Lawson was their killer, he might be planning another attack even as she sat in her cluttered office.Every hour they delayed could mean another innocent life lost to fluorine purification.
She typed out a brief text: “Found potential suspect.Dr.Kevin Lawson, former EPA scientist fired for unauthorized air quality experiments.Lives in NE DC, extensive writings about fluorine purification.Can discuss details in AM.”
Vic sent the message and immediately regretted it.The timestamp would show Miles that she'd been working at 4:30 in the morning, unable to sleep while he was home with the woman he loved.It highlighted the fundamental difference between their lives—he had someone waiting for him and concerned for him.All she had was work.
No response came from Miles, which was exactly what she'd expected.She closed her laptop and gathered the printed documents, organizing them into a folder she could take to the office in a few hours.The research on Lawson represented their best lead yet, but it would require careful investigation to determine whether his writings reflected genuine intent to commit murder or simply the paranoid theories of a disgraced scientist.
Vic returned to her bedroom and climbed back under the covers, though she didn't expect sleep to come any easier than it had before.Her mind was still processing the implications of Lawson's background and the connections to their killer's methodology.She closed her eyes and tried to quiet her thoughts, but the case continued churning through her consciousness like a relentless machine.
The apartment was quiet except for the distant hum of traffic and the occasional sound of footsteps in the hallway outside.Other people living their lives, sleeping peacefully or lying awake with normal concerns that had nothing to do with fluorine gas attacks and periodic table murders.
She both envied and pitied them.Perhaps it was the pity that softened her edges and allowed her to finally fall into something resembling sleep.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Northeast D.C.had not yet come fully awake, but Miles felt more alive and alert than he had had in the past three weeks.He sat in the passenger seat of Vic’s sedan as she navigated through residential neighborhoods toward Dr.Kevin Lawson's address.Miles was reviewing the research she'd compiled during her sleepless night and had to admit that Lawson was nearly a perfect match for the profile they had built.The printed documents painted a picture of a brilliant scientist whose career had been destroyed by his own paranoia and unauthorized experiments.
“Sorry about the early text,” Vic said, turning onto a tree-lined street where modest row houses sat behind small front yards.“I couldn't sleep and kept digging into potential suspects.”
“Don't apologize.This Lawson lead looks promising.”Miles glanced up from the papers.“His writings about fluorine purification are eerily similar to our killer's manifestos.Besides, once I’m out, I’mout.A little buzzing from my phone won’t stir me.”
“How did Elena handle you leaving early this morning?”
