In the kitchen, Kate lifted Michael onto his step stool while she pulled ingredients from the refrigerator. Allen was working late tonight in his home office, working with some client deadline that couldn't wait. It would just be her and Michael for dinner. Usually she enjoyed these evenings, the simple routine of cooking with her son. But tonight her mind kept returning to the case, to the files waiting on her laptop, to the calls she should make and the leads she should follow.
Michael was chattering about something, his words running together in the way toddlers did. Kate made listening noises while she chopped vegetables, her hands moving automatically. The knife work was soothing, repetitive. It freed her mindto think about the case without having to pretend she was fully present. She caught herself mid-thought and stopped, the knife hovering over the cutting board. This was exactly what she'd promised herself she wouldn't do. Be physically here but mentally absent, going through the motions of parenting while her real attention was elsewhere.
Michael had stopped talking and was watching her, his expression uncertain.
"Sorry, buddy. What were you saying?"
"I said can I stir?"
"Yes. But carefully, okay? We don't want to spill."
She handed him a wooden spoon and let him stir the pot on the stove while she supervised, one hand ready to steady him if needed. Michael took the task seriously, his tongue poking out slightly as he concentrated.
Kate watched him and tried to memorize this moment. The way he gripped the spoon with both hands. The stern concentration on his face. The smell of dinner cooking and the warmth of the kitchen around them. This was what mattered. This was what she'd been trying to protect by stepping away from full-time work… and maybe within two or three years,allwork.
But two people were dead. And somewhere out there, the killer was choosing their next victim while she helped her son stir.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Kate found Sloane already at her cubicle when she arrived at the field office the next morning. She had two printed lists on her desk and a cup of coffee in her hand. She looked up when Kate approached, offering a tight smile.
"Morning," Sloane said. "I've been here since seven, going through the files. Scoured them last night, too."
"Find anything interesting?" Kate set her own coffee down on the edge of the desk.
"I made a list of program participants worth talking to." Sloane handed Kate one of the printed pages. "People who went through Second Act but didn't complete it, or completed it but didn't open businesses. I figured they might have different perspectives than the success stories."
Kate scanned the list, then pulled out her phone and opened her own notes from the previous night. She had done the same thing, working through the participant records after Michael had gone to bed. The names on Sloane's list matched two of the ones she had flagged. She smirked, hoping this was a good sign in terms of how their day would go.
"Mariah Layne and Nora Hazlewood," Kate said. "I came up with the same two."
"Really?" Sloane looked genuinely pleased. "That's good. Means we're thinking along the same lines."
Kate sat down in the empty chair beside the cubicle. "What do we know about them?" She, of course, already knew; she’d done a bit of a profile on both women last night. But she wanted to see how Sloane’s mind worked.
Sloane pulled up files on her laptop. "Mariah Layne is fifty-three. She went through the program last spring but dropped out halfway through. According to the records, she cited personalreasons. Nora Hazlewood is fifty-one. She completed the full program last fall but never launched a business."
"The records show they were both referred by Patricia Holmes," Kate added, reading from her phone. "But neither one stuck with it."
"Should we bring them in for interviews?"
"Let's call them first," Kate said. "See if they're willing to talk over the phone. We can always do in-person follow-ups if needed. It’ll save a lot of time if it works out."
Sloane nodded and pulled up Mariah Layne's contact information. "You want to take this one or should I?"
"Go ahead," Kate said. "I'll listen in."
Sloane put the call on speaker and dialed. The phone rang three times before a woman answered on the other end.
"Hello?"
"Hi, is this Ms. Mariah Layne?”
“Yes, it is. Who is this?”
“I’m Agent Erica Sloane with the FBI. I'm calling about the Second Act Success program. I was wondering if you might have a few minutes to talk?"
There was a pause on the other end. "The FBI? Is this about what happened to Patricia and Rachel?"
