CHAPTER ONE
Present day
Alison Payne stood in her kitchen as the coffee pot was slowly filled.
The aroma coming from the dark liquid made her mouth water, and she smiled in anticipation.
She opened the cupboard above the coffee machine and took out three cups, placing them to the right of the coffee pot.
Then, from the cupboard to the left of that one, she took the bag of sugar and poured it into a small ceramic bowl.
She had never had need of a sugar bowl. The only time she brought out sugar for coffee was when her father visited. She placed the bag back in the cupboard and grabbed the small container of cream from the fridge. Just as she set it down, the panel by the front door buzzed.
Alison made her way through and tapped the screen to view the gate camera. Derek looked back at her when the camera activated, and beyond him, in the passenger seat of his car, was her father.
Alison pressed the button to unlock and open the electronic gate, then opened her front door, leaving it an inch open so they could enter when they parked.
She smiled as she walked back to the kitchen.
There was a lot in her life not to smile about, but not this.
She was in love with Derek and thinking of a future with him, and it was the closest she’d been to her father in some time.
And the fact that Derek and her father were working together was the icing on the cake.
Alison went back to the kitchen to unwrap the pastries she’d brought.
Derek had assured her that they were making progress, and her heart beat a little quicker each time she thought about that, but they had made progress on her sister’s case before, and it had resulted in a dead end.
Hope could be dangerous, and it was adept at sapping her motivation.
She heard the door closing as she took the pastries to the breakfast bar. The kitchen table had more space, but there were multiple files spread over the surface.
"Hey," Derek said when he entered the kitchen. He went straight to her and kissed her on the cheek.
"Hey," Alison said, smiling.
Derek went straight to the coffee maker after and poured out three cups of coffee, while Alison went to greet her father and hug him.
"It’s good to see you again, Dad," she said. "You’re making a habit of this."
"About time, right?" James suggested. "A good habit to form. You’re never too old."
"How’s Rex?" Alison asked.
"He’s…yeah, doing okay," James replied.
Alison left it at that. Her father’s face had tightened, his jaw strained, his eyes narrowed.
Rex had been her father’s faithful companion when he was an officer.
They had retired together. James had recently turned seventy-two, and Rex was far older than that in dog years.
Rex had begun to slow down of late, and multiple visits to the vet had not stopped it.
"I should get back to him by the afternoon," James commented.
Alison put her arm around her father’s shoulders. "Come and get some coffee."
Derek was one step ahead of her and had moved the coffee, cream, sugar, and pastries to the breakfast bar. Alison and James joined him there.
"So?" Alison asked, saying the word slowly.
"We’re going through the suspects systematically," Derek said. "We’ve had multiple profilers and pattern recognition experts look at the five murders, and they all agree they could be connected. That doesn’t mean they are, but we haven’t been able to prove they aren’t.
We work under both assumptions. Your sister could be the first victim of a serial killer, or we could be looking at multiple killers. "
Emma Payne had been killed twenty-two years ago, left in a park, and posed in her swimming gear. Emma had been jogging on her way home after swim practice, and she hadn’t made it home.
There were four additional murders over the last twenty years, all of them with a five-year gap, except for the last murder, where there had been a gap of seven years. That could be proof that it was not connected, or the killer had been unable to work to their timeline.
Alison often became frustrated with the inconsistencies. She also wanted it to be a serial killer. The most recent murder was only a month ago. If the killer was still active, that meant they could still be caught.
"They do fit together," James admitted. "I’ve looked over all five cases, and I can see the patterns.
Five young women, all killed while out alone, often running.
All five were suffocated or strangled. The killer was never caught in any of the cases.
Going against that is that not all of the women were posed postmortem, like…
Emma. And no suspect can be connected to the five murders, let alone any two of them.
The same person was not interviewed for more than one murder. "
"And there is nothing to connect the five women, except that they were young women," Derek added.
"Okay," Alison said, picking up the plate of pastries and offering them to Derek and James. "This is hopefully one of those bad-news, good-news situations. You’ve hit me with the bad news, so how about some good news?"
James raised his eyebrows at Derek as he brought the cup to his lips.
"We have footage of what looks like a work van with a logo on the side that is possibly the same van spotted near two of the crime scenes shortly before the two most recent murders," Derek explained.
"It makes sense," James added as he grabbed a pastry from the plate in the center of the table and added it to his side plate. "If we are looking at a serial killer, we’re looking for someone who’s been able to get around the city unnoticed, and when they are around, they can blend in."
"Like a security guard," Derek said. The conversation went back and forth between him and James as if they’d practiced how to present the information to Alison. "We did find quite a few companies that have vans with logos on the side that match the blurry image in the footage, but we’ve narrowed it down to seven security companies, and we’re slowly working our way through them, talking to all of the employees who’ve been around for at least seven years, and likely more than twenty-two. "
James nodded and took a note of his pastry, talking with a full mouth.
"We only have confirmation of the van at the two most recent crime scenes, which means it’s possible the suspect has only worked for the company more recently.
With how they’ve been able to move around the city undetected, however, it’s my opinion we’re looking for someone who’s been with the company for some time. "
"Or someone who’s worked for multiple security companies," Derek added.
"Yes," James agreed with a nod; crumbs fell from his lips. "That would be smart if they moved around and made themselves more anonymous."
Alison took a deep breath, trying to calm her breathing. She pushed a croissant from one side of her plate to the other. "Okay, so we have five murders over a twenty-two-year period, five different women all of the same demographic, and five separate locations. What’s next?"
"Background checks first," James said, "thanks to Derek. Once we have the company's employee list, we conduct background checks to see if anything stands out. We’re looking for anyone who has a record, especially any connection to violent crimes—"
"Although," Derek butted in, "It makes more sense that we’re looking for someone who hasn’t been in trouble with the law or only in minor trouble. If they’ve gone undetected for two decades, it’s unlikely they stand out in any way."
"Yeah, that’s true," James conceded. He picked up his pastry, but he didn’t take a bite, and it hovered over his plate as he spoke. "Once the background checks have been completed for anyone at a company, we go through all of the employees, beginning with the most tenured ones, and interview them."
"So far, we’ve faced no resistance from a company or an individual," Derek said. "If we ever encounter that, it’ll pique my interest."
"Okay," Alison said, unsure what to make of it. She didn't hold out hope, but she didn't think the time was wasted either."
James placed a hand on his daughter’s arm.
"We’ll find him," he told her. "I know I haven’t always thought that, but we will. I believe that. Derek is one of the best at this, and the approach we’re taking will ensure that we leave no stone unturned.
It might take time, but if he’s out there, we’ll find him. "
Alison knew that Derek was the best. He worked for the FBI, and she’d initially been paired with him to profile a killer. That had turned into case after case, and their professional relationship had developed into a friendship, and then they’d fallen in love.
Alison leaned over and kissed her father on the cheek.
When she leaned back the other way, she looked over at Derek and smiled.
He returned the happiness she felt within.
Her sister’s killer was still out there, but she had her father and the man she wanted to spend her life with around her, and it brought her contentment that she’d not felt in some time.
She knew exactly how long: twenty-two years.
That was not to say that she was getting over the death of her sister—she would not get over it until Emma’s killer was behind bars—but life was far better with Derek and James in it. And to see them working together to bring Emma’s killer to justice was more than she’d ever hoped for.
"Excuse me," Alison said when her phone rang.
She left the two men to their coffee, pastries, and strategizing, while she went out into the hallway to answer the call.
"Dr. Payne," she answered.
"Good. Dr. Payne, my name is Special Agent Nicole Hartley with the Philadelphia Office. Is this a good time to talk?"
No, but is any time a good time when I’m thinking about Emma so much?
"Go ahead," Alison told her.
"Do you remember the Riverside Strangler case?" Nicole asked.
Alison grimaced and was glad she wasn’t face-to-face with the agent.
It was the very first case she’d been involved with, and it had ended before it started.
One meeting in a conference room, and they hadn’t invited her back.
She had been young and naive, but she still considered the case a failure.
It didn't matter that her contribution was small; the killer had never been found, and she bore the burden even though there were people who worked the case from the beginning and then far longer than she did.
"Has there been an arrest?" she asked, stepping from side to side in the hallway.
"No, but we’re hoping you can help with that," the special agent said. "We found a body, and it looks like the Riverside Strangler is back."
"Back?" Alison asked. "I’ll come and take a look."
She knew she would refuse if she wanted and concentrate on her sister’s case, but it was a chance for redemption. The Riverside Strangler was her first case. Emma’s case might be her last.
I have a second chance, and I’m not going to blow it this time.