happened?” Hannah asked, her voice gentle.
“It was a serial killer. The press dubbed him the cyber killer because he always sent his victims an email. The first one was simply a warning. The rest mentioned the names of the previous victims…” he trailed off, images of Bree filling his head.
Hannah reached for his hand, her fingers giving him strength. “So this happened while you were at the FBI?”
“Yeah. I was two years in. But I wasn’t on the case. It had been assigned to someone else. Hell, I didn’t even know the bastard existed until he took my sister. He was a real piece of work. A sadistic son of a bitch that tortured his victims before killing them. I can’t even imagine what it must have been like.”
“And you shouldn’t have to. If nothing else, Bree wouldn’t want that.”
“Yes, but if I’d been better at my job, if I’d done something differently, maybe I could have gotten to her in time.”
“You know as well as I do that once someone’s been abducted the odds are against finding them alive. No matter who is working the case. Besides, I know you, Harrison. And I’m certain that you did everything humanly possible to help your sister. But that’s the hard part. Sometimes no matter how much we try, it still isn’t enough.”
“I know you’re right, but it’s a little more difficult to accept. Bree was always there for me. And yet when sheneeded me most, I let her down. And because of that she died.”
“She died because some sick son of a bitch took her. He’s responsible, Harrison, not you.” She squeezed her hand, her gaze holding his. “You can’t blame yourself for your sister’s death.”
“I wish it was that easy.” He tried for a smile but missed by a mile. “Anyway, it was a long time ago. And I’ve moved on. It’s just this thing with Sara and the video. It’s bringing it back.”
“So did you ever catch the guy?”
“No.” He shook his head. “And not for lack of trying. We really got close a couple of times. But never enough to figure out for certain who he was.”
“So how many victims were there?” Hannah asked.
“There were five altogether. Bree was the third. They were spread in and around Austin, Texas. The killing ritual was the same, and the victims were all twenty-something, brunette, and single. We never found anything else to tie them together. Except for the emails, and we discovered that pretty late in the game.”
“So were the emails sent beforehand?”
“Actually almost simultaneously. That’s why we missed them at first. The women were taken about the same time that the emails arrived. Sort of a cyber-version of ‘gotcha.’ Almost as if he were gloating.”
“You said there were five. I’m no expert on serial killings, but unless they’re stopped, don’t people like that typically keep going?” She was still holding his hand, and although the horror of the dream had faded, he found he had no desire to break the contact.
“It varies. There are a lot of things that play intosomething like that. Sometimes killers fulfill the fantasy and let it go. Sometimes external forces keep them from continuing. And sometimes they change their MO, and so we think they’ve stopped, but in fact they haven’t. Anyway, this guy just dropped off the map after victim number five. And despite our efforts, the trail went cold.”
“And so you left the FBI.”
He was surprised that she’d put it together, but then he should have expected it, he supposed. Hannah was nothing if not astute.
“I’m just following the time line,” she said, by way of explanation, pulling her hand free to hold it up in apology. “And I know you worked for Phoenix, right? John Brighton’s company.”
“Yes. They were doing cutting-edge stuff with computers. Developing tools and databases for law enforcement agencies at all levels. There was a new program, correlating data on serial killers.”
“And you thought maybe you’d be able to use it to
“It was a serial killer. The press dubbed him the cyber killer because he always sent his victims an email. The first one was simply a warning. The rest mentioned the names of the previous victims…” he trailed off, images of Bree filling his head.
Hannah reached for his hand, her fingers giving him strength. “So this happened while you were at the FBI?”
“Yeah. I was two years in. But I wasn’t on the case. It had been assigned to someone else. Hell, I didn’t even know the bastard existed until he took my sister. He was a real piece of work. A sadistic son of a bitch that tortured his victims before killing them. I can’t even imagine what it must have been like.”
“And you shouldn’t have to. If nothing else, Bree wouldn’t want that.”
“Yes, but if I’d been better at my job, if I’d done something differently, maybe I could have gotten to her in time.”
“You know as well as I do that once someone’s been abducted the odds are against finding them alive. No matter who is working the case. Besides, I know you, Harrison. And I’m certain that you did everything humanly possible to help your sister. But that’s the hard part. Sometimes no matter how much we try, it still isn’t enough.”
“I know you’re right, but it’s a little more difficult to accept. Bree was always there for me. And yet when sheneeded me most, I let her down. And because of that she died.”
“She died because some sick son of a bitch took her. He’s responsible, Harrison, not you.” She squeezed her hand, her gaze holding his. “You can’t blame yourself for your sister’s death.”
“I wish it was that easy.” He tried for a smile but missed by a mile. “Anyway, it was a long time ago. And I’ve moved on. It’s just this thing with Sara and the video. It’s bringing it back.”
“So did you ever catch the guy?”
“No.” He shook his head. “And not for lack of trying. We really got close a couple of times. But never enough to figure out for certain who he was.”
“So how many victims were there?” Hannah asked.
“There were five altogether. Bree was the third. They were spread in and around Austin, Texas. The killing ritual was the same, and the victims were all twenty-something, brunette, and single. We never found anything else to tie them together. Except for the emails, and we discovered that pretty late in the game.”
“So were the emails sent beforehand?”
“Actually almost simultaneously. That’s why we missed them at first. The women were taken about the same time that the emails arrived. Sort of a cyber-version of ‘gotcha.’ Almost as if he were gloating.”
“You said there were five. I’m no expert on serial killings, but unless they’re stopped, don’t people like that typically keep going?” She was still holding his hand, and although the horror of the dream had faded, he found he had no desire to break the contact.
“It varies. There are a lot of things that play intosomething like that. Sometimes killers fulfill the fantasy and let it go. Sometimes external forces keep them from continuing. And sometimes they change their MO, and so we think they’ve stopped, but in fact they haven’t. Anyway, this guy just dropped off the map after victim number five. And despite our efforts, the trail went cold.”
“And so you left the FBI.”
He was surprised that she’d put it together, but then he should have expected it, he supposed. Hannah was nothing if not astute.
“I’m just following the time line,” she said, by way of explanation, pulling her hand free to hold it up in apology. “And I know you worked for Phoenix, right? John Brighton’s company.”
“Yes. They were doing cutting-edge stuff with computers. Developing tools and databases for law enforcement agencies at all levels. There was a new program, correlating data on serial killers.”
“And you thought maybe you’d be able to use it to
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