Chapter 2

No one said a word on the way back.

At the Carmoria State Bureau of Investigation, I caught them talking outside the restroom.

"So three months of planning... just handed to the FPD again?"

"Cap used to be a legend. Since I joined CSBI, we haven't cracked a single case."

"And pulling us back like that? Kinda sus. Maybe the rumors are true—she's not all there anymore..."

Their doubts echoed in my head.

I bit my lip, hard, and sank into my chair, mind spinning.

Jenna and I both trained under Alan—sure, our styles were similar. But matching thoughts down to the tiniest detail?

Then there were Alan's weird accusations in my last life...

I clenched my fist and hit up a contact at the Florenze PD, pretending I just wanted to study their case files.

The second I opened the first page, ice ran down my spine.

On Jenna's suspect board was a name I'd flagged weeks ago—a random guy I spotted during solo fieldwork. No one else even knew about him. Not my team. No one.

How did she flag him too?

Shaking, I flipped through more. Then yanked open my drawer and pulled out my notebook.

Page by page, I compared.

Same direction. Same suspects. Even the rough sketches I'd scribbled of the scene—identical.

Why?

I forced myself to breathe and replayed everything in my head. Did I miss something?

Didn't get far—Chief Doyle stormed in.

"Captain Mercer, 813's hit again. Get your team to the scene. Now!"

No time to think. Lives came first. I shoved the notebook aside and booked it with the team.

At the scene, I crouched next to the body. Danny was off to the side, eyeing the bloodstains—then started looking around, twitchy.

I shot him a look. He scratched his head, awkward.

"I just... wondered if FPD was showing up."

He didn't need to finish. I got it.

Ever since Jenna joined Florenze PD, we hadn't solved a single case solo. The weight was brutal.

But this time? We wrapped up without a single sign of her.

Even I felt it—relief.

Finally, we'd gotten there first.

After work, I turned down the team's offer to walk home together. I stayed behind, spreading the case files across my desk.

Instinctively, I reached for my usual notebook—then froze.

Whatever Jenna was pulling, I wasn't giving her more ammo.

Instead, I grabbed some crumpled scraps from a coworker's desk and started scribbling on those.

By dawn, one of my teammates walked in and jumped.

I looked dead tired, but my eyes were on fire.

"I found the flaw the killer left in yesterday's case."

The room lit up. I broke it down during the drive to the suspect's place.

"It's the knife. The angle, the serration—it doesn't match the others..."

But the second I stepped outside the Bureau, my phone blew up.

I checked it—and froze.

[Rising Star Detective Blake Solves Another Cold Case—813 Serial Killer in Custody!]

She was in the photo, holding an evidence bag.

Inside was the serrated knife I'd just flagged this morning.