"How far back should I search?"Kim asked, taking a bite of her omelet without looking away from her screen.
"Five to ten years," Miles said between bites of scrambled eggs."Trauma needs time to fester into this kind of obsession.Recent enough to still be fresh, but old enough that the person has had time to develop their delusion."
Vic cut into her pancakes and poured another layer of syrup across the stack."And focus on incidents in the Los Angeles area.The killer knows the city well enough to select launch points and monitor his victims."As she said this, Miles watched as a curious look came across her face.Mies was pretty sure she’d just tumbled upon an idea.
Kim worked through breakfast, occasionally pausing to eat but mostly focused on her search.Miles watched her navigate between databases with impressive speed, building queries and cross-referencing results faster than anyone he'd worked with.She had a system that was almost beautiful in its efficiency.
Less than ten minutes after Miles had suggested the revised profile, Kim stopped typing.
"I think I've got him," she said.“Or, at least, amaybe.”
Miles and Vic both leaned forward.Kim turned her laptop so they could see the screen.
"Terry Sullivan, thirty-six years old.He was a hot air balloon operator who survived a catastrophic accident five years ago.His balloon caught fire during descent and two passengers were killed."
“Jesus…let me see that,” Miles said.Kim turned the laptop to face him, and he read through the incident report.The details were horrific.A propane tank malfunction had caused a fire in the balloon's envelope during what should have been a routine sunset flight.Sullivan had managed to make an emergency landing, but not before two of his four passengers had jumped from the basket in panic.They'd fallen from approximately two hundred feet.Both had died.
"That’s awful," Vic said quietly.
"Sullivan suffered severe burns and psychological trauma," Kim continued, taking the laptop back and pulling up additional records."He's been undergoing treatment for PTSD since the accident.He can't go back up in balloons anymore.According to these records, he says the anxiety he feels over it is too severe."
"But he still works with balloon equipment?"Miles asked.
"He's been working in balloon equipment sales for the past three years," Kim confirmed."Which means he has access to weather balloons, helium tanks, and all the materials needed to create the murder method.I’ll run it in the database but that’s…well, that’s aweirdsearch pattern."
Miles felt the profile clicking into place.A man who had loved balloon flight, who had made it his career, and who had watched people die because they jumped from his balloon in terror.Someone who couldn't experience flight anymore but was surrounded by the equipment every day.Someone who might blame the victims for their own deaths, just as the killer blamed Parker, Thompson, and Anderson for their professional defiance of gravity.
"Does he have any connection to the UCLA study?"Vic asked.
Kim checked her databases again.It took a few minutes before she started shaking her head."No direct connection that I can find.But if he's working in balloon equipment sales, he might have access to customer lists from adventure tourism companies.A lot of the study participants would have professional connections to outdoor recreation businesses."
Miles pulled out his phone to look up Sullivan's current address when it rang in his hand.It was so unexpected that he nearly dropped it right into his plate.The screen showed a number from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
"This is Sterling," he answered, wondering why the hospital might be calling.
"Agent Sterling, this is Dr.Okonkwo.I'm calling about Lisa Anderson."
Miles felt his stomach tighten with worry."Is she okay?"
"Oh yes, she’s fine.In fact, she's out of surgery and doing quite well, actually.Better than we expected given the severity of her injuries.But she asked me to call you.She's remembered something about last night that she thinks might help locate the killer's launch point."
"Can we speak with her?"
"She's still in recovery but is insisting to talk to you.I'll allow a brief conversation if you think it's urgent."
"Yes, and itisurgent," Miles said."We'll send someone over within the hour."
He ended the call and looked at Vic and Kim."Anderson's out of surgery and she's remembered something.We need to talk to her."
"I'll go," Vic said immediately.She had already finished her pancakes and was reaching for her jacket.“Maybe this is where we split up.I’ll go talk to Lisa, and you can speak with this Terry Sullivan character.”
“I may as well go off on my on adventure, too,” Kim said.“It’s after six in the morning now, and I don’t think it’s asking too much of a manager to get access to security footage from the climbing gym where Lisa was attacked," Kim said.
Miles nodded enthusiastically, liking to see this sort of drive and commitment from Kim.And while he wasn’t a huge fan of the entire team splitting up, he knew it was for good reason.They had three solid leads to pursue simultaneously and not a lot of time to get it done.
Kim pulled out her phone and started ordering Ubers."We only have the one rental car and we're going in three different directions.I'm calling us two rides."
They waited impatiently at their table, drinking the last remnants of the strong coffee.Within just a few minutes, the Uber notifications appeared on Kim's phone.She gathered her laptop and bag while Vic left cash on the table to cover breakfast and a generous tip.
