"Thank you," Alison said."I don't think there will be any connection between the victims, but we look at that also, just to be thorough."
"I can handle that," Hartley said.
"I’d like to get in contact with Dr.Cowan when we can," Alison said."If he was the lead profiler on the case and it was because of him that the case went on longer than it should have, there’ll be some guilt.I know I feel that way about the Riverside Strangler case, and I was only part of it for a couple of hours.If he were investigated, maybe he would take it personally.Maybe he did sabotage the case for some reason.I want us to get in a room with him and see where his mind is at."
"I’ll talk to my contact in Boston and see where he’s at now," Wolfe said."I’d be ticked off if I were blamed for a serial killer killing two people when we could have stopped him.Could be a great double-bluff."
"And it draws attention to other failures," Alison commented."In his eyes, anyway.This could be a way for him to deal with the guilt.We need to talk with him."
Detective Wolfe placed the file he was holding back onto the messy pile atop the desk, then stood up and straightened his jacket.He brushed himself down.
"I’ll get a hold of Dr.Cowan now, and we can pay him a visit as soon as we are able."Wolfe strode from the room.
"This isn’t like anything I’ve dealt with before," Hartley admitted.
Alison nodded."Me neither.Serial killers, yes, but not someone who’s crossing state lines, and never someone who’s targeting law enforcement like this.A drive to kill multiple people like the killer has been driven by something, so let’s see if there is a connection between the victims, the original killers, and any family members of each.Someone is pointing out law enforcement failures, and there has to be a reason for that."
"It won't be a problem getting a task force together for this," Hartley admitted."I’ll open a line of communication with the FBI over in Boston and make sure we’re coordinating with them on this."She looked at the wall."Two victims in different states.It’s more likely that the next murderer is in a completely different state, isn’t it?"
"That seems to be the pattern," Alison admitted."Get the word out as best you can to agencies across the country.We’re looking for any murderers or trial killers where the investigation fell short in some way.So far, we have a profiler who was inept at his job and some DNA that wasn’t preserved for future use.We’re in the hands of the killer.They are the one who deems what’s important or not.We don't know what we’re looking for."
Hartley took a deep breath, then let out a long sigh.She brought her fist up to her lips."It could happen anywhere at any time.How do we catch someone with no connection to the victims, or the original murderers, at any location, any given person, or anything else?"
"We find the motivation," Alison answered immediately."There’s a motivation here somewhere, and we only need to find it.That’s how we get them."
Another sigh came from Hartley.
Alison couldn’t read her mind, but there was a weariness to the sigh.She was pregnant, and this was a case that could drag on and drag them across the country.Alison wanted to assure the special agent that they would catch this killer, but with them highlighting two failed cases, could she make that assurance?
This was different from what she had encountered before.Investigations had not been perfect in the past, and it would be nearly impossible to tell whether the current investigation had been perfect until it was an investigation of the past.The only hope was that when they looked back on the investigation from sometime in the future, they thought about the killer they had put behind bars.
"Okay," Hartley said, pushing her shoulders back."Excuse the lack of enthusiasm.It's not you or the case, but the emotions from this little one bring me"—she placed her hands on her stomach—"I'm on the case, and I'm a hundred percent invested."
"I know you are," Alison said.She wouldn’t know that until she had worked with the special agent some more, but it was pointless to say that.
"Can I get you set up before I make some calls?"Hartley asked.
"A desk where I can work, but I don't need anything else," Alison replied."I’ll take a look at the files and see if there’s any pattern or connection between them that stands out, and then I’ll go to my hotel to get checked in.The next twelve to twenty-four hours are going to be spent sifting through the information we have at hand, and if Detective Wolfe makes contact with Dr.Cowan, it’s unlikely we have a chance to speak to him until tomorrow.I really hope we put a stop to this immediately, but something tells me we need to rest when we have the chance."
"I’ll show you to your desk," Hartley said.
They left Hartley’s office and almost bumped into Detective Wolfe on the way out.
"Sorry," he said, grabbing Alison’s shoulders to stop her from hitting the wall behind."We’re on for tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"Hartley asked.
"Dr.Cowan," Wolfe replied."He didn't sound happy when I called him, but he’s willing to talk to us.We leave for Boston first thing in the morning."
CHAPTER FIVE
Alison paced her hotel room, the phone to her ear, as it began to ring.The room was nicer than she expected, not that she expected to be put up in a dingy motel or a complete dive, but she was aware of spending and budgets and how less and less money was being given to law enforcement in general.
The queen bed was comfortable (she had flopped down onto it after kicking her shoes off on entering the room), and the table in the room was spacious (something she was glad for as retiring to her hotel room was either to rest or to do some more work, and there was lots of room to spread out files).
"Hey," Derek answered.
"Hey," Alison answered with a sigh.
