Page 25 of Nocere

"Her roommate is a jerk. She's looking for a new place."

"Are you sure that's all?"

"Yes, Ainsley. Alex and I are like sisters."

"Gross. Incest." Ainsley made a gag face and I gave her chair a kick.

"C'mon. Quit it."

She snickered and patted my hand. "Okay. Back to Samirah then."

"How well do you know her?" I asked, glancing from my lunch to her.

"Conveniently. When she's in town, we'll share a meal. Her friendship with Stella over the past few years has brought us closer. She lived about an hour away so only when she is at U.W. did we see her. A few times a year."

"But she's there more now?"

Ainsley nodded. "Apparently took a position with a new company that works largely with U.W. and affiliates."

"What else do you know about her?"

"She's strong-willed, tenacious. A good doctor. And that she likes you," she said, crossing her legs as she leaned back in her chair with the final bite of sandwich between her fingers.

"I don't understand why. She doesn't know me at all."

"She knows you enough. You shared a meal with her, then several hours on the hike. She's seen more of you than you realize, Rosie." Ainsley reached forward and placed her hand on top of mine. "You're sweet and kind. Not to mention beautiful and tiny like a little fairy." She grinned when she said that. "Or so I hear."

"Oh, stop that. You're the same height."

"Maybe so, but I'm not a fairy."

"No. You're a nudge." I scoffed at her and she laughed.

A knock sounded on my door before Stiles appeared, his brows raised so high that they nearly touched his bald head. Behind him, Eve Grant yawned her way into the office. She smirked at Ainsley before offering her an awkward wave.

"Hi, Evie. Ben. What's shakin'?" said Ainsley as she rose from her seat.

"My presence has never been demanded by an analyst before," said Stiles, his brow narrowing when he saw the map on the wall and the piles of paper. "What's going on?"

I stood from behind my desk, and joined them by the map. "I've been working on this all week."

"I can tell," said Stiles, then glanced to Ainsley. "You staying for this, Doc, or what?"

"I'm already here. Might as well." Ainsley hopped up to sit on the desk and Eve mimicked her posture like the two of them enjoyed a show.

"There's an over-abundance of lesbians in my immediate proximity," said Stiles, folding his arms over his chest. "Feels like home."

Ainsley and Eve laughed, but I didn't understand the reference.

"I've gone through your files over the last three years and found a pattern of sexual assaults."

"Go on," urged, Stiles, gesturing to the map.

I climbed onto the chair and pointed to the first pin at the top of the map. "Three years ago. White female, twenties, raped in the middle of the day. She was on her lunch break from work and it happened in the parking lot of an office building. This was the first."

"Okay. I remember that one," said Stiles. "She called emergency services from the lot."

"The next one." I pointed to the second pin. "Similar time of day. White female, early-thirties, assaulted in the middle of the day while waiting for the bus. No one saw."

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