Garrett moved automatically, weapon out and positioning himself between the door and Claire. “Who is it?”
“Vivi,” came the reply.
He popped open the door. The doctor had been up all night. Her hair was pulled back, exhaustion in her eyes, but something else too.
Fear.
“I need to show you both something,” she said.
Claire was already out of bed and standing next to him. “What is it?”
Vivi entered. “I’ve been working on the Trident profile since we parted. Cross-referencing the Countdown Killer’s behavior patterns with historical case data.” She pulled up her analysis. “The way he targets survivors. The way he references their original trauma. The specific details he knows.”
“And?” Garrett asked.
“He knows too much.” Vivi’s voice was tight. “Details about the victim’s orginial attacks. Details about Lily Harper’s murder that weren’t in public case files.”
Claire went pale. “I’ve been over those case files and didn’t pick up anything like that.”
“Not about Lily. About you.” Vivi met Claire’s eyes. “About what happened between you that night. Outside of the facts you shared with law enforcement and your family that were never reported to the public, things only you and the killer would know.”
Garrett’s blood went cold.
“My interviews were all sealed,” Claire said. “None of it was made public.”
Vivi only nodded, staring at Claire, as if she could will her to understand.
And then Claire did. “You’re saying the Countdown Killer has access to sealed case files?” Claire asked. “Myfiles.”
“Or he was there,” Garrett said. “He was a witness. That’s how he knew about the bracelet.”
Claire stumbled back several feet. “No, there was no one there. There were no witnesses besides me and Lily.”
“And the killer, Collin Brands,” Vivi added.
Claire was shaking. “But he’s dead.”
Vivi was quiet for a long moment. “I think the Countdown Killer didn’t just study Lily’s case.” She glanced between them. “I think he knew Brands. He may have even worked with him, learned from him.” She paused, focusing on Claire. “You were highly traumatized that night. You suffered from a concussion. He might have been there, Claire, and you just don’t remember.”
All the color drained from her face. “You’re saying the Countdown Killer was there the night Lily died?”
“I’m saying he knows things only someone there could know.” Vivi pulled up more data. “In one note, he mentions you slipped and fell. In another, that you lost your shoe when you ran.” Her eyes met Claire’s. “He was either there, or Brands shared those details with him before he died.”
Claire’s voice shook. “So the Countdown Killer has been watching me for fifteen years?”
Garrett forced himself to stay calm. “Why wait till now to target her, Doc?”
“Because something has triggered him. It might even be the fifteenth anniversary.”
Claire pinched her eyes shut. “Of course. The anniversary of Lily’s death is in three days.” She opened her eyes and locked on to Garrett’s. His stomach was a rolling ball of centipedes. He’d been marking off the days, but it hadn’t clicked for him either until right now. “That’s what all of this has been building up to, and I didn’t even see it. What kind of agent am I?”
He couldn’t stop himself. He reached out and squeezed her arm. “He’s been playing a game with you. It’s time for us to turn the tables on him.”
She moved closer, staring up into his eyes. “How?”
He forced a grim smile. “Thought you’d never ask.”
CHAPTERSIX
