He woke in the same spot.He got up and walked to the kitchen counter where he had placed Elena's engagement ring.He'd taken it from the medical examiner.Couldn't bear the thought of it sitting in some evidence locker.He looked to the kitchen windows and saw murky sunlight spilling in.He looked at the clock on the microwave and saw that it was 6:55 in the morning.
He walked through the house again, looking for anything the crime scene team might have missed.In Elena's home office, he found notebooks filled with her neat handwriting.Project notes.Chemical formulas.A reminder to pick up the wedding invitations.He then went to the back door and looked over the entire surface.If the killer had indeed picked their lock, there would be some sign, right?
He wandered around for a while and somehow found himself in the basement.He had intended to start searching the vents for any sign of evidence, but was suddenly frozen in front of a small shelf where Elena had set up his old chemistry set a good a few months back.It was a set his parents had given him for his eleventh birthday.Elena had teased him about keeping it, called it his “museum of nerdiness.”Now it seemed prophetic.Everything in his life had led to this moment, this case, this loss.
The doorbell rang.It was loud and intrusive and it nearly made him scream.He considered just ignoring it, but somehow, the idea of someone being outside of his house while he was going through this, felt like an invasion.And in some sick corner of his broken heart, he wondered if it might be the killer coming to gloat.
As he stormed back up the stairs, he checked his watch and was shocked to see that it had somehow got to be 8:50 AM.He could barely remember anything he’d done since waking from that second dream.
The bell rang again and this time it was followed by three hard knocks.And then, a voice: “Miles?It's Vic.”
He froze.Vic wasn't supposed to be here.They had both decided that it made the most sense for Miles to step away—to willingly stay at home rather than have Hayes actually remove him from the case.But hearing her voice brought a surge of something that might have been hope.He and Vic were far from being friends; really, they were just getting used to working with one another, but the simple familiar ring of her voice brought him around to something like clarity.
He finished his slow trek to the door and opened it.Vic stood on the front step.She looked exhausted, with dark circles shadowing her eyes.She held two coffee cups and a paper bag that smelled like bacon.
“Hayes doesn't know I'm here,” she said.“But I thought I should come by and check on you.”
I’m glad you did.Come on in.”
She handed him one of the coffee cups.“I thought you’d want to know that I found something in Elena's notes.And I’ve already spoken with one of her coworkers about it.”
Miles felt his pulse quicken.He sipped from the coffee and went into the living room.He sat down, gesturing for Vic to do the same.“What kind of something?”he asked.
Vic set the paper bag on the coffee table and started unpacking it.She’d gone by a fast-food place and gotten him breakfast.He instantly grabbed a bacon and cheese biscuit, wolfing it down.
“Elena was working on a new project,” Vic said.“Something that hadn't gotten FDA approval yet.She'd signed NDAs and the whole shebang.”
Miles thought about it as he swallowed down the biscuit and drank more of the coffee.Elena was usually open about her work, at least in general terms.If she'd kept a project secret, it must have been significant.Or maybe shehadtold him and he simply didn’t remember.
“So what do you know about the project?”
“That's the problem.”Vic reached onto the table and grabbed a biscuit of her own.“Her employer is pushing back on my attempts to learn more.They're citing proprietary research, trade secrets, all that corporate bullshit.Which is frustrating because I thought they were going to play ball.They agreed to meet me very early this morning and everything.”
“The nature of the work isn't what's important,” he said, the realization hitting him.He was surprised he could think rationally at all, given how scattered his brain felt at the moment.“It's who knew about it.”
“My thoughts exactly.If we can figure out who knew about Elena's secret project, who had access to information about her work...”
“It could lead us to the killer.”
She nodded.“I was able to get the cyber geeks at the field office to crack the passwords on Elena's work laptop.I didn't think you'd mind.”
Miles shook his head.“Of course not.What did you find?”
“A list of names that appears to be a small research team for the project.”She took a bite of her breakfast, more of a nibble than Miles’s ravenous bites.“Five people total, including Elena.”
She pulled out her phone and showed him the screen.Miles scanned the names, trying to place them from Elena's occasional mentions of coworkers.At first, none of them stood out.Hesort ofrecognized them just from passing conversations around dinnertime or getting ready for bed.But then one name jumped out at him: Daniel Crawford.
“That one,” Miles said, pointing.“ heard Elena mention him before.”
“What did she say?”
Miles tried to remember.Elena's work stories usually blended together in his mind, a stream of office politics and research protocols.So if this name was sticking out in his mind, the story behind it must have been significant.Slowly, it started coming to him, bit by bit.
“She said he was smart, but strange.Quiet.Always seemed to be watching people… nearly to the point of being creepy.”Miles felt a chill as some of the pieces finally started snapping together.“When did he join the project?”
Vic consulted her notes.“About six months ago.But here's the interesting part—he took a sudden leave of absence two weeks ago.”
Two weeks ago.Right around the time the fluorine murders started.And now Vic mentioned it, Mileswaspretty sure Elena had said something about the “quiet, creepy guy” being absent as of late.
