Speech pressure.
Anger under control.
Everything lines up.
I sit back slowly.
Well.
That was easier than expected.
I type the name into my report.
The evidence stack writes itself from there.
Case closed.
At exactly 7:30 p.m., I hit save.
A burst of excitement shoots through me so fast I can’t stop myself.
“Yes!”
The shout echoes through the empty lab.
I grin at the screen, grabbing my phone.
First thing I do is text Samantha.
Me:Solved it.
Three dots appear almost instantly.
Samantha:You’re still there, aren’t you?
I ignore that part.
Instead, I open a new email and attach the report.
My fingers move quickly across the keyboard.
Subject: Linguistic Attribution Report – Case File Attached
I include the analysis summary, the matched syntactic patterns, and the identified sender.
Then I hit send.
The email disappears into the client’s inbox.
I lean back in my chair, stretching my arms over my head.
The lab is silent again.
But now it feels different.
Victory quiet.
I glance at the clock.
