Page 23 of The Girl He Claimed

"But there's somethingdifferent about them," Paige said slowly. "I can't quite put myfinger on it. It's like... they're both playing a game, but with differentrules. Adam has always targeted more women than men, mostly indoors, mostlybecause they've made him angry in some way. The Exsanguination Killer hastargeted at least as many men as women, probably more. She likes to killoutdoors, and her victims... well, there's never been a pattern that I couldfind. Maybe they're people who've angered her, or maybe she just fixates onsomeone."

"So they're different,"Christopher said.

"Which again invites thequestion of how they can work together," Paige went on. "Two highcontrol killers who need things their own way. Why haven't they killed oneanother? Or at least gone separate ways. This isn't how serial killerteamswork."

Christopher looked at Paige withinterest, and she couldn't work out whether that was because he wanted to hearmore or he was just glad that she was focusing on work.

"How do they work, then?"he asked.

"Usually, where twopsychopaths are able to work together at all," Paige said, "there's amore dominant partner and a junior one. The dominant one determines the methodused, and the junior partner helps to carry it out, only deviating if they growtowards greater independence. A controlled, organized partner plans what'sgoing to happen and the other is along for the ride."

"But that's not what'shappening here," Christopher guessed.

Paige shook her head. "Here,we have two already established killers, each with their own method, each morethan capable of planning a kill for themselves, suddenly deciding to team up,each keeping their own methods."

Paige struggled to put it intowords.

"There's something differentabout the way they're working together," Paige said, her voice growingtense. "It's almost like they're... showing off for each other. Likethey're trying to prove something."

Christopher looked at her for along moment, then nodded. "I see what you mean," he said."You're right; it's almost like they're competing with each other."

Paige found herself thinking lessof competition and more of the elaborate mating dances of some animals. Thisfelt like the same kind of thing, almost like a kind of courtship between thetwo, each trying to prove that they were worthy of the other.

Paige nodded, feeling her heartpounding in her chest. "Yes. And that's what scares me the most. Ifthey're working together, then they're even more dangerous than they werebefore. It might affect their patterns, making them more unpredictable."

Christopher put a hand on hershoulder, his touch grounding her. "Even if they're less predictable,you're still able to understand them better than anyone else. I have to believethat will be enough to catch them."

Paige looked up at him, feeling theweight of his words. They would do everything in their power to catch thekillers. But would it be enough?

"I... I want to check thefiles. My guess is that the evidence from last night will have been uploaded tothe FBI's systems by now."

Christopher looked worried again."Are you sure that's a good idea, Paige?"

Paige took a deep breath, feelingthe determination rush through her veins. She knew that he would be worriedabout her looking at images of the crime scenes again, and the truth was thatPaige didn't want to look, but if Paige didn't look at the files, she wouldn'tbe able to get justice for the Thorntons, for all the people the two killershad murdered.

"I have to try," shesaid. "I need to find something that will help us catch them. I can't justsit around and wait for something to happen."

"All right," Christophersaid.

Paige went over to her laptop, loggedinto the FBI's systems, looking for the files relating to the case. It tookeverything she had to be able to open them, but she still managed to forceherself to do it.

Paige couldn't look at the crimescene photographs, though. She simply couldn't. Instead, she found herselffocusing on the evidence reports, trying to read them as dispassionately as shecould.

"They didn't find any printsor DNA at the scene that might be the Exsanguination Killer's," Paigesaid. "Adam doesn't seem to have bothered taking precautions though."

"He wants us to know it'shim," Christopher said. "To taunt us."

Paige nodded. "He knows thatwe know who he is. As for the rest of it, the rope they used is standardhardware store bought rope. There's a list of items found at the scene, butthey mostly look like things belonging to the Thorntons."

Except for one thing. One thingthat was labeled as probably belonging to Haley Thornton, since it had beenfound near her body, but which Paige didn't recognize as hers.

An enameled butterfly hair clip.The sight of it made Paige's heart beat faster.

"Christopher, look here,"Paige said, pointing to the mention of it.

"What is it?"

"This hair clip. I don't thinkHaley owned one like that. I think... I think the Exsanguination Killer musthave dropped it."

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