"The other fifteen?"James asked without looking up.
"Voicemail.We'll try again tomorrow."Isla moved to the next section of the board."Restaurant staff.Bella Ristorante employed twelve people before the shutdown.We've interviewed all of them.No connection to either victim, no suspicious behavior, no one who fits the profile of our killer."
"The renovation site?"
"The Shoreline Diner renovation is being handled by Lakeside Construction.Crew of eight men, all with solid alibis for both nights in question."Isla capped the marker and tossed it onto the table."The foreman has worked with most of them for years.Says they're like family."
James finally looked up from his screen."What about the overlap angle?Any connection between the victims beyond the yoga studio?"
"Nothing."The word came out flat, hard, carrying the weight of a day spent chasing shadows."Monica Hayes owned a hair salon.Amanda Pierce taught special education.They lived on opposite sides of town, banked at different institutions, and shopped at different grocery stores.Their social media accounts show no mutual friends, no shared events, no evidence they ever met."
"Except for Serenity Yoga."
"Except for Serenity Yoga."Isla walked to the window and stared out at the parking lot, at the gray February sky pressing down like a lid."Which might mean everything or nothing.Half the women in their demographic take yoga somewhere.It could be the hunting ground, or it could be a coincidence."
"Your instinct says hunting ground."
"My instinct says hunting ground," she agreed."But instinct isn't evidence.”
James closed his laptop and leaned back in his chair, the springs creaking softly under his weight."Fritz verified Cross’s alibi for Monday night.Gas station footage shows him at the Mobil on Central Avenue at 9:47 PM.His car's GPS confirms he went straight home after that."
"So he's clear for Amanda Pierce."
"He's clear for Amanda Pierce.Monica Hayes is harder to pin down—we still don't have a precise time of death—but if he was teaching a class when she was killed..."James spread his hands."The timeline doesn't work."
Isla turned from the window, her arms crossed against the chill that seemed to seep through the glass despite the building's heating."So we're back to the mystery man.The one Cross described seeing in the parking lot—late thirties, average build, baseball cap.The one who was watching the women leave class."
"A description that matches approximately half the male population of Minnesota."
"I know."She walked back to the whiteboard and stared at the section labeled UNKNOWN SUBJECT.The space beneath it was nearly empty—just a few lines about the gray sedan, the baseball cap, the unremarkable features that made him impossible to identify."He's careful.He doesn't leave evidence, doesn't establish connections that can be traced.He spots his victims somewhere—maybe the yoga studio, maybe somewhere else—and then he watches them.Learns their patterns.Waits for the perfect moment."
"And the freezers?"James asked."Why the freezers?"
It was the question that had been gnawing at Isla all day.The posing she understood—or thought she understood.The careful arrangement of the bodies, the folded hands and closed eyes, suggested someone who cared about how his victims looked in death.Someone who wanted them to appear peaceful.At rest.
But the freezers were different.The freezers were deliberate in a way that felt almost clinical.
"Preservation," she said slowly, thinking out loud."The cold keeps them...intact.Stops decomposition.If he cares about how they look—"
"Then he wouldn't want them to decay."
"Exactly.But it's more than that."Isla picked up the marker again, uncapping it, using the motion to focus her thoughts."He knows which restaurants are closed.He knows which ones have working freezers.That's not casual knowledge—that takes research, or access."
"We've been looking at health inspectors, restaurant supply companies, and commercial refrigeration services."James pulled up a file on his laptop.Twenty-three names that had access to information about both locations.We've cleared eighteen of them—solid alibis, no connection to the victims, wrong demographic entirely."
"And the other five?"
"Still working on them.But so far, nothing that jumps out."He scrolled through the list."Two are women over sixty.One is a twenty-two-year-old college student working part-time for a delivery service.One is currently in Florida visiting his grandchildren—we verified with the airline."
"And the fifth?"
"Steve Jones.Forty-one, works for a commercial refrigeration company.He's done service calls at both Bella Ristorante and the Shoreline Diner in the past year."James's voice carried a note of cautious interest."He's got no alibi for Monday night—says he was home alone, watching television."
Isla felt a flicker of something that might have been hope."Physical description?"
"Average height, brown hair, medium build."James looked up at her."He fits the general description Cross gave us."
"So does everyone else we've looked at."But Isla was already moving toward her desk, reaching for her coat."Still, it's the first real lead we've had all day.Can you pull his employment history, see if there's any connection to the yoga studio or to either victim?"
