Page 54 of Rookie Days

“How did you have time to confirm the details of Jackson’s running routine already?” she asked.

“She wears—wore, the same running watch I do. So it was easy, I just checked her workout history. The watch recorded her heart rate as everything was happening. You can clearly see the change in rhythm from when she was running to when she was grabbed.”

Looking at the graph, Ellie had been able to confirm that the ME was correct in his assessment. Mary-Ann Jackson had been awake and aware during her rape and eventual killing. Theheartrate recording spoke of brutality, pain, and terror. Ellie did not say that out loud. It had been enough for her to see it, and understand. Quinn would know. She continued.

“Actual time of death was confirmed at 17:52. Either the perpetrator didn’t know that she had on a fitness watch or he didn’t care about leaving that info behind. Probably didn’t care, uh?”

“I would agree, yes.”

“She wore the same model shoes as me, too. Down to the same color, which is weird, but—”

“Breathe,” Quinn murmured.

It occurred to Ellie that she must sound a bit frantic. Hyper, definitely. And Quinn was paying close attention, not only to the details that she shared but also to her personal state. Ellie took a deep breath to ground herself, let it out again sharply. “I’m okay, Lieutenant.”

“Yes.” Quinn nodded in reassurance. “I can see that. But it’s still good to breathe, Detective.”

Ellie flashed her a brief smile.

“I’m excited. Well… Excited isn’t the word, but you know what I mean.”

“Sure, I do. It’s a thrill, catching scent of a killer you’ve been tracking for a while. How about next of kin?”

“Jackson listed a sister in Florida on her employment file. I got her number and spoke to her earlier. The two women were close.”

Ellie left it at that, keen not to go back to the emotions of the call. Quinn moved on accordingly.

“What next?” she asked.

“I’m going to dig. Find out what else the two victims had in common other than their occupation, place of work, and killer. If I can put my finger on that one thing, I’ll crack the case.”

“Yes, you will,” Quinn approved with burning eyes.

“I think we should alert medical personnel at the hospital as well. Female nurses and doctors.” As Ellie thought of Janet, she tightened her fists unconsciously. “They should be made aware of the situation so that they can take appropriate precautions.”

It sounded like such a no-brainer that Quinn’s answer came as a total shock.

“An official alert from Lewiston P.D. at this stage is bound to create a full-on panic, and not just at the hospital,” she stated, and met Ellie’s flabbergasted gaze straight-on. “That’s why we will not be issuing one.”

chapter 18

Hard to believe this sort of nonsense was coming out the mouth of Quinn Wesley… Ellie curled a snarling lip in reaction.

“Yeah, but—”

“Wait.” Quinn raised her hand and fired a warning glance at the same time. “The directive comes from Wilson, so I’m just telling you how it is. The staff at the hospital are bound to put two and two together anyway.”

“Right. Well. What if they don’t? This is total bull—”

“Also,” Quinn growled, “andunofficially,I will have a word with a trusted insider who can make sure that everyone is made aware of the situation.”

Ellie stared, baffled for a moment before it dawned on her what she actually meant.

“Ah.” Now she grinned. “Roger that, Lieutenant. Got it.”

“In your own time, rookie,” Quinn answered wryly. Ellie nodded, grin still on. Fair enough, she deserved the jibe on this one. “Keeping quiet is a good strategy to adopt anyway,” Quinn added. “We don’t want to tip the killer too early and force him underground.”

“He’s got to know we’ll pick up on the connection between the two victims though, right?” Ellie shrugged. “It’s not rocket science after all.”

---