Page 96 of Girl Betrayed

Dana gave him the rundown.

“Richter’s a good guy. We go way back.”

“He said as much.”

“You can trust him. The others, I’m not familiar with.”

“Really? You’re not all in some big FBI fraternity?”

“Our paths may have crossed on a case or two but it’s not like we sit around trading case files over drinks. We deal with monsters at work. Makes ya not want to take the job home with ya. Know what I mean?”

She did and it sobered the light mood she’d been trying for, so she decided to ask the other question that had been nagging her all day. “How’s Claire?”

“Same.”

Dana hated the state of limbo that had taken over her home.

Her and Jake.

Claire.

This case.

She wanted it all to go back to the way it had been.

Good, familiar, comfortable.

She’d always been confident when it came to navigating her life. When she wasn’t, she had her research in the bowels of theSmithsonian where she could hide from real life for a while. But ever since the Card Killer case, her life had been turned upside down. Putting Vega away was supposed to right things, but it hadn’t. The physical scars may have healed, but returning to the life she’d known before didn’t seem to be an option.

“She needs help,” Dana said. “More than you and I can give her.”

“I know,” Jake replied.

“And if you’re leaving …”

His deep exhale signified that he’d already realized this but was out of ideas.

“She can’t go back to Dvita,” Dana warned. “He’s involved in this Reaper business. I’m not sure how, but I plan to get to the bottom of it. Richter and I are going to St. Ann’s tomorrow to sit in on his group therapy session. If we get lucky, we’ll get a warrant out of it and can access the rest of his patient files from Passages.”

“What else?” Jake asked.

“Honestly? Not much. Hartwell’s giving a press conference at noon, but there’s really not much to go on. The BAU came up with a profile, but he can’t tell all of D.C. that we expect four more murders over the next four days.”

“Suspect pool?” Jake asked.

“If you ask me, it’s Dvita. But the BAU has a big fat question mark at the top of their Grim Reaper board.”

“Targets?”

“Four more if the Seven Sleepers theory holds, but that hinges on Dvita being the Reaper. We narrowed his field of Passages patients down to eleven. But I still think Meredith factors in. And when I suggested that, the target field got flooded with all Dvita’s other patients.”

“What’s Meredith got to do with this?”

“I don’t know yet, but Spector’s proven his hunches are good. Richter and I are going to see her tomorrow after Dvita’s sessions.”

Jake leaned back on the couch and stretched his long arms out, letting one rest on Dana’s shoulders. “I wish I was in this one with you.”

She leaned into him. “Me too.”

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