Page 91 of Girl Betrayed

“Well, if there’s anyone who can get it done, it’s you.”

The sentiment and pressure of her statement churned in his gut. “Tell Wade I called.”

“I will. I …” she paused. “Your mother …” she paused again, unable to find the words.

“Tell it to me straight, Jenks.”

“I don’t think she has much time left.”

Jake swallowed hard. “Roger that,” was all he could manage.

“Take care of yourself, Jake.”

“You, too.”

Jake hung up the phone and pulled the yellow Post-it note from his pocket. He’d waited long enough.

78

Dana stoodat the smart board and gazed at the less than tasteful photo of a Grim Reaper. BAU Agent Walsh had taken liberties and added the photo to the box Dana labeledReaperin her preliminary sketch.

Ignoring the tactless art, she focused on the row of seven boxes beneath. The first three were filled with morgue photos of each victim: Norton Hayes, Cash Holloway, Kylie Marx. The remaining four boxes contained only question marks.

“Based on the theory of the Seven Sleepers,” she began.

“We’re familiar with the legend,” Agent Garcia interrupted. “Seven men sought refuge from religious persecution by hiding in a cave. They fell into a deep slumber and miraculously

woke centuries later.”

“Correct,” Dana answered. “I believe we’re dealing with an individual who is trying to recreate his own Seven Sleepers.”

“To what end?” Hartwell asked.

“In our line of work, there’s not always a rational explanation for irrational behavior,” Agent Richter warned.

“In this case, I agree,” Dana interjected. “I believe the Reaper is acting on the deluded notion that if he can complete sevenmurders with seven blessed blades, he’ll be able to resurrect his victims, just as the Seven Sleepers were resurrected.”

“The pattern so far has produced one victim every 24 hours,” Agent Davis added. “Do we expect the pattern to continue or accelerate?”

“There’s no indication that the pattern will deviate,” Dana answered.

“The Unsub is detail driven,” Richter added. “Numbers, patterns, repetition. It all matters.”

“Agreed,” Dana replied. “If the pattern continues, we can assume the D.C. Reaper has seven days to complete his seven harvests. That means we have four days to stop four more murders.”

“Great,” Hartwell grumbled. “Is this scythe-wielding psycho picking off people at random or do you have a guess at his targets?”

“His victims aren’t random,” Dana replied. “So far, all three victims were patients at Passages Rehab Center, treated by Dr. Dvita. I believe we should focus our efforts there.”

“How many patients does he have?” Richter asked.

Walsh was on it, furiously typing away on his laptop. Specializing in analysis and algorithms, Dana had no doubt in the BAU agent’s ability. In a matter of seconds, the smart board displayed a list of patients. There were hundreds.

Dana frowned. “Rule out deceased and reference only patients who were at Passages during the fire.”

Walsh keyed in the parameters and the list shrunk. Eleven names stared back at them, but only one made Dana’s heart sink.

She knew Claire’s name would be there but seeing it on the murder board made it feel like a foregone conclusion.

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