Page 34 of The Girl He Wanted

"Beta,alpha,andnu—in that order," Paige said. "I briefly thought this might be about working his way through the alphabet, butnudoesn't fit with that, and the first two are in the wrong order."

"Have you thought of asking yourself the question 'why Greek?'" Professor Thornton asked. It was a little like being back in one of his tutorials, with him asking questions to prompt Paige to think in new directions.

Paige paused, considering his words. "No, I hadn't thought of that. Why Greek?"

She turned the question back on the professor, hoping that he would have an answer.

"Perhaps it's a clue to the killer's identity," Professor Thornton said. "Is there anyone in your investigation with an interest or background in Greek culture or language?"

Paige's mind raced through the potential suspects they had already considered. None of them fit that profile. But then, maybe they had missed something. Maybe there was someone else entirely to find.

Or maybe there was another possibility. Paige had a distant memory of something she'd read once, something that might be relevant.

"Thanks, Professor. I need to go now. I have an idea."

She hoped that it would be one that blew all of this wide open.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Paige hurried back through to the office Detective Johnson had provided, determined to tell Christopher what she had come up with. She had the details on her phone, ready to show him, because she knew that with something this strange, he would need to see the confirmation to be able to believe it.

"Christopher, I think I might have a lead," Paige said, holding up her phone. "It's something to do with the Greek letters."

Christopher raised an eyebrow in question, but he also shook his head, gesturing towards his phone.

"Paige, I'm on a call with Agent Sauer. Hold on, I'll put him on speaker. You’re going to want to hear this."

Sauer's voice came through loud and clear then. Paige was a little frustrated to have to hold back from telling Christopher her theory, but she knew that this must be important if Sauer was calling. She listened intently as Sauer started to talk.

"I know it's late," Sauer said. "I know you must both be winding down your investigation for the day."

"Not yet, sir," Christopher said. "We're still trying to make progress here."

"Well, then, I guess you could use at least one piece of good news: we just arrested Anne Dawson for the Exsanguination Killer murders."

Paige felt her heart stop for a second before starting to race again in her chest, too fast now. They had her. The woman who had killed her father and Christopher's wife. The thought that she was in custody after Paige had spent so many years searching for her was … almost too much for her.

"We're sure it's her?" Paige asked. She needed to be certain. She needed there to be no doubt.

"She attacked our agents with a knife as soon as they went to question her. There's also a lot of writing in her apartment that clearly states how much she wants to kill again. We'll need to question her and try to find more to tie her to the scenes for a conviction, but I'm confident we have the right person."

"That's great news, sir," Christopher said, his voice calm and professional. Under it, though, Paige could hear the welling of emotion that Christopher was trying to contain.

Paige felt almost as much. They had finally caught the Exsanguination Killer. The one who had taken away everything from Christopher and Paige. The one who had caused them so much pain and grief.

Paige's mind was racing with thoughts and emotions. Relief, anger, sadness; it was all there, mixed together in a jumble of feelings that she couldn't quite sort out.

"Yes, it is," Sauer said. "I'll send over the details later, and I'll let you know once we get more, but I wanted to let you both know as soon as possible. We can close this case now."

Christopher and Paige exchanged a look. It was more than a relief to know that the Exsanguination Killer was no longer a threat, that she was under arrest. It was the closing of a chapter in Paige’s life that had gone on since she was fourteen, that had fundamentally changed who she was.

A part of Paige wanted to be there when they questioned her, to look her in the eye and ask her why she'd done all of this.

Another part of her knew that she didn't have that option. She and Christopher were FBI agents. They had a job to do here, and a killer to catch. She felt relief that Dawson was back behind bars but, even as she felt that relief, her mind couldn't help but turn back to the present case. There was still a killer out there, still someone who needed to be caught.

“How are you feeling about all this?" Paige asked Christopher as he hung up the phone.

“I’m … not sure,” Christopher said, his voice strained. "It's just a lot to process."

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