Miles navigated to Elena's contact and hit Call while Vic placed her own call.She did so on Bluetooth with an earbud, making sure her conversation didn’t crowd out Miles’s call to Elena.Miles placed the call and Elena answered on the second ring.
“Hey, how's the case going?”
“Honestly?It feels impossible right now.”Miles kept his voice low, trying to eliminate as much crosstalk as he could over Vic’s phone call..“We just interviewed another suspect who turned out to be a dead end.Three victims, and we're no closer to catching this guy.”
“I'm sorry.That must be frustrating.”
“It is.But listen, I know I don't have to call you during the day just to check in.I don't want you to think I'm being clingy or anything.”
Elena laughed.“Miles, I'm not your mommy.You don't need my permission to focus on your work.All the stuff we’ve been talking about…we’re working through it.I appreciate the call and the check-in, but please don’t think Ihaveto have it.”
“I know, but after our conversation about communication...”
“I appreciate that you're thinking about it, but I also want you to catch this killer.I saw the story about the bus driver on my news feed this morning.I assumed it was connected to your case.”
Miles felt a mix of relief and concern.“Yeah, that's our third victim.The whole thing is escalating, and we can't seem to get ahead of it.”
“Then stay tough and stick with it.You proved your worth in San Francisco.So go help solve this one, too.
Elena's encouragement surprised him.He'd expected her to be more concerned about his safety or to push him to come home.Instead, she was telling him to keep fighting.
“Thanks.I needed to hear that.”
“Just promise me you'll be careful.And don't forget to eat lunch.”
Miles glanced over at Vic, who was still deep in conversation with someone at the field office.Her posture had changed from casual to alert, and she was looking at the street ahead with a concerned expression.
“I promise.Listen, I should probably go.Vic's on the phone with the office, and it looks like she might have something.”
“Okay.Love you.”
“Love you too.”
Miles ended the call just as Vic finished her own conversation.She looked over to him with a mostly excited expression, but there was a little dread there as well.
“Please tell me you have good news,” Miles said.
"I think we might have our next lead."Vic set her phone down and increased the speed on the sedan even though they were coasting along a fairly busy highway."I just spoke with Agent Mitchum.One of the bureau teams following up on university connections found something interesting."
“What kind of something?”
"A graduate student named Jeremy Walsh—a chemistry PhD candidate at George Washington University.Apparently, he's been posting videos online about what he calls 'negative chemical auras' around people."
“Chemical auras?That’s so New Age it’s almost… well, it’s pretty old.And he seems like a legit threat?”
“Seems that way.Mitchum said Walsh has been documenting these supposed auras using social media.YouTube, Instagram, TikTok.All public posts, and some of them show him getting into confrontations with people he claims are chemically contaminated.”
“Confrontations?”
Vic consulted her notes.“Verbal arguments, mostly.He approaches strangers and tells them they're radiating toxic chemicals.People get upset, obviously.Some of the videos show him getting really agitated when people don't listen to his warnings.”
Miles could see the connection immediately, despite the odd approach.“Someone who believes he can detect chemical contamination in people could be exactly the type to target victims based on their supposed toxic exposure.”
“Right.And as a chemistry graduate student, he'd have access to university labs, advanced equipment, and likely a knowledge of gas handling procedures.”
“Plus the same kind of paranoid mindset we saw in the manifestos.The killer believes he's protecting people from chemical contamination by eliminating the sources.”
“Mitchum said he was going to text me Walsh's address.He lives in an apartment near the GW campus.”
