“But then how do I narrow things down? I need to interview every single one of these people? There are about seventy of them. That’ll take way more time than we have. This guy’s taken two lives in three days, and I don’t like that kind of momentum.”
“That’s what it takes sometimes. There’s not always a shortcut available. Sometimes you have to spend weeks talking to people. It sucks, but it’s part of the job.”
That meant that unless another person of interest reared their head, she and Paige had a lot of work to do.
“Okay, I’ll do that. Are you still getting out of the hospital in the next few days?” Ella asked.
“Probably not. That attacker reinjured me. I’ll probably be here a little longer.”
“Goddammit,” Ella said, then felt her phone vibrating in her hand. She checked the screen. An unknown number was calling her. “Ripley, I got a call coming through. Could be the PD. Can I call you back?”
“Sure.”
Ella hung up and accepted the other call. “Hello?”
“Agent Dark, it’s Chief Reed. Sorry for disturbing you so early.”
The tone was eerily familiar. Ripley used the same one when she delivered bad news. For that reason, Ella already guessed what the chief was about to say.
“There’s another victim, isn’t there?” she asked.
“Yes there is. Meadow Heights on Abbeyville Road. How soon can you get here?”
“Thirty minutes,” she said. “What are we looking at?
“Uhh, this one’s a little different,” the chief said.