Page 33 of The Girl He Wanted

"Agent King, how many victims does that make now? Are they all connected? Do you have any leads?"

Paige ignored them as best as she could, focusing on getting into the station as quickly as possible. Christopher used his greater size to push them aside, creating a clear path for Paige to step through.

"Agent Marriott, how does it feel to be stuck here in Winterly when you could be out there hunting the man who killed your wife?"

Paige saw the anger that crossed Christopher's face, and she knew in that moment that he would round on the reporter, shout at him, maybe even lash out physically. There was a level of pain in Christopher's expression that Paige knew had been the whole point of the question, just trying to get him to react.

Paige pushed Christopher back towards the police department before any of that could happen. She wasn't going to let him end his career because some reporter was trying to get a rise out of him.

"Don't react," Paige whispered to him. "However hard it is, don't react."

It was only once they were safely inside the police station that Paige dared to breathe easy again.

"They shouldn't have done that," Paige said, still seeing the anger on Christopher's face. "Are you going to be ok?"

“It's fine," Christopher said gruffly. "I'm used to asshole reporters."

Paige knew that wasn't true. No one ever got used to the constant barrage of cameras and microphones, the constant scrutiny and judgement from the press.

And this wasn't a normal situation. This wasn’t just a reporter piling on pressure, asking questions about when they would solve the case or why the FBI had been called in at all. The reporter out there had tried to use the fact of Jennifer's murder at the hands of the Exsanguination Killer against Christopher.

"We need to focus," Paige said, trying to steer the conversation back to the case. "We can't let them distract us from finding this killer."

"I know that, Paige," Christopher said. He sighed. "I can handle this. You don’t need to worry about me.”

Paige couldn’t help worrying about him though. Couldn’t help thinking about him at almost every step of this.

“What do you need me to do?" Christopher asked.

"You try to focus on the victims. Try to find a reason the killer would have targeted these three, rather than someone else."

"And what will you be doing?" Christopher asked.

Paige considered her options. "I need to make a phone call."

Paige needed some good advice on this case, and she'd always gotten her best advice from her friend and mentor, Professor Thornton. He'd been her supervisor when she'd been doing her doctorate, and he was a brilliant academic, specializing in understanding the criminal mind. If anyone could help Paige to understand this killer, it was him.

Paige went off to a desk in a quiet corner of the department to make the call.

Paige dialed Professor Thornton's number and waited for him to answer. She fidgeted with her pen, tapping it against the desk, waiting for him to pick up.

"Paige?" Thornton's voice came through the phone. "Is everything okay?"

"Actually, no," Paige said, feeling a tightness in her chest. "I'm working a case, and I'm stuck. I was hoping you could help me."

"Of course," Thornton said. There was no hesitation, no sense that Paige was intruding. "What do you need?"

Paige began to lay out the details of the case for Thornton, telling him about the three victims, the lack of evidence. The presence of the Greek letters.

"I see," Thornton said thoughtfully. "That's a difficult one. I think the question you need to ask yourself is what are the most distinctive features of the case?"

"The fact that he leaves bodies in high places and the use of the Greek letters," Paige said instantly. She already knew that, though.

"You have to think like him," the professor replied. "You have to imagine yourself in his place, seeing the world through his eyes. What motivates him to set up the murders in this particular way? It's an approach you already know, Paige. You've been looking into the why of murders long before you were an FBI agent."

That was true. She'd spent most of her doctorate interviewing the notorious serial killer Adam Riker, trying to understand what made him who he was. Paige thought about those interviews then. Adam had been very particular about his methods. They'd been almost a part of his personality.

"Tell me more about the Greek letters," Professor Thornton said.

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