Chapter Five

The full moon glimmered in the night sky, hanging low and heavy over the serene lake. The reflection danced on the water"s surface while a cool breeze rustled through the trees. It was as if nature had paused and taken a deep breath, which was the exact peaceful ambiance that Sylvie had needed this evening. She relished the sound of crickets and the flashing lights of the lightning bugs.

Life was a beautiful thing.

Sylvie reached for the hot cup of tea that she had made before settling comfortably in one of the loungers on the back deck of the rental house. She had dimmed the glowing screen to make it easier to read the pages of text that hopefully held some answers to the list of questions regarding the case. She lightly blew on the surface of her favorite beverage while scanning the statements taken from family members and friends of the victims.

The testimonies taken had detailed the lives cut brutally short, but nothing in the depictions gave any indication that someone new might have entered the lives of the deceased. Brook's initial profile suggested that the unsub monitored his victims for months. If the unsub hadn't inserted himself into their lives, someone should have noticed a stranger keeping such close tabs on these particular women.

The soft shush of the sliding glass door cut through the numerous conversations of the crickets. They didn't seem bothered by the noise, either.

Bit stepped over the threshold with a throw blanket in his hand. His grey knitted hat, crafted by his sister, covered most of his blonde hair. He recently had a trim, but the strands still hung well below his ears. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose so that he couldn't miss the judgment in her eyes.

"I'm fine, Bit."

It wasn't that she didn't appreciate the team's concern for her well-being. They were family to her, and she would have acted in the same manner had one of them been stabbed three times in the abdomen. She didn't deny that the attack had been brutal and life-changing, but every time one of them treated her differently was a reminder that she had let her guard down.

"It's getting cold out here," Bit said as he closed the distance between them. He stood there awkwardly but also in an endearing sort of way. "I would have done the same for Boss. Here. Take the blanket."

Sylvie hid a smile as she rested her teacup on the wooden arm of the lounger. She lifted her laptop so that Bit could cover her legs with the blanket. Instantly, the thick material chased away the chill of the night.

"Thank you," Sylvie murmured in appreciation as she resettled the laptop on her thighs. "Anything back on the birth certificates of Mary Two and Three?"

"Not yet, but we should have them within the hour." Bit shifted his stance, which was a telltale sign that he had more to say on the previous topic. "Maybe it's not about you."

"I know," Sylvie responded sincerely as she glanced behind him toward the sliding glass door. Theo was at the kitchen table, though Brook was nowhere to be found. She was probably in the living room fleshing out the profile. "Part of me is glad that it wasn't the other way around."

Sylvie had heard from Arden the truth about her time in the hospital. She had been in the ICU for a while after a cardiac episode while her father had been at home dying from pancreatic cancer. She had thought she had a handle on things preparing for his care, and she had resolutely pushed aside the offers of help. Had she not done so, she wouldn't have missed the fact that the health aid assigned by the agency to take care of her father wasn't in fact the same woman hired by said agency.

Jacob Matthew Walsh had penetrated their lives through someone else, and now there was no denying his reach. He had the ability to truly hurt them, and the taste of death had afforded Sylvie a better understanding of why Brook had closed herself off over the years. Sylvie was in awe of the courage Brook had shown by letting down her emotional barriers.

"It wasn't all bad," Bit said as he attempted to lighten the mood in his usual manner. He didn't do well with serious conversations. "The hospital had great chocolate pudding."

"You also kept stealing my JELL-O cups," Sylvie replied as she reached for her teacup. "Speaking of food, did you save me a slice of pizza?"

"Two slices." Bit took a seat in one of the four chairs next to her that belonged to a large round table. "I've ranked the pizza seven out of the twelve states we've either stayed at or driven through. Tomorrow, I'll order the bacon cheeseburger with fries."

"Only seven out of twelve?" Sylvie scrunched her nose in disappointment. The crust had been coated with what appeared to be a delicious buttery parmesan mixture. "That's disappointing."

"Not as disappointed as Zoey's parents are going to be when they meet me," Bit said as he adjusted his knit hat. He was also jostling his leg to the point that her tea was sloshing against the rim. She quickly took a large enough sip so that she wouldn't spill any liquid on her laptop. "I don't do parents."

"No one does parents," Sylvie responded with a laugh. "Bit, they will love you because you make their daughter happy. I'm sure that is all they care about."

Bit and Sylvie had carefully navigated their relationship since they both came to work for SE Investigations. Quite simply, he was her best friend. They were so close that the lines had blurred, and they had even entertained the trajectory of something more intimate. She loved him…but as a friend who knew her battle scars and still chose to love her back. She cherished the balance they had struck, and he was a consistent presence who never asked for more than she could give.

It was clear that Zoey made Bit happy. After nearly losing her own life just three months ago, Sylvie fully grasped just how precious and rare such happiness could be in the grand scheme of things.

"Zoey said the same thing, but did you know that her father is a highly renowned orthopedic?" Bit asked as he subconsciously studied Theo's handiwork on the security camera aimed at the Crestlake Bar Grill. Sylvie figured it wouldn't be long before Bit was adjusting the angle. "That means the family has money, and I was under the impression that Zoey didn't care about material things. Don't get me wrong. I have more money now than I know what to do with, but—"

"That is so not true." Sylvie was mindful not to spill her tea. She took another sip before finishing her side of the discussion. "You own practically every tech gadget ever made. You even bought that robot dog that can fetch your energy drinks from the kitchen."

"Hey, that was a good investment," Bit defended as he finally stood up to get a closer look at the hardware of the security camera. "Speaking of robots, this case reminds me of that movie."

"What movie?"

"You know the one," Bit said as he reached into the right pocket of his jeans. Within seconds, he had his Swiss Army knife opened to adjust one of the screws. "Where a robot is sent back from the future to kill a woman who is destined to be the mother of the man who is the leader of the resistance. The robot takes on a human form, and he only knows the woman's name…not what she looks like. So he starts killing all the women with the same name. Excellent movie, but my point is that this case reminds me of that plot."

Sylvie credited the caffeine from the black tea leaves for her ability to follow along with such an intricate storyline. She took another sip just in case.

"Bit, I'm relatively certain that I can guarantee robots weren't sent from the future to kill off all the Mary Jane Reynolds who reside in the state of Michigan," Sylvie replied wryly as she finally set down her teacup. "I've been scrolling through the statements taken by the local police, focusing on family members of the deceased and close friends of the victims. No one made any claim that there was someone new in their lives. Would you check to see if there were any 911 calls near the victims' residences? Look for any calls about suspicious persons in those areas, including break-ins."

"Sure," Bit said as he nodded more to himself than her over correcting the angle of the security camera to his specifications. He retreated a few steps as he folded his Swiss Army knife to store it back in his pocket. "I can also do the same for—"

The sound of the sliding glass door being opened drew both Sylvie and Bit's attention. Theo leaned out, keeping ahold of the handle.

"Mary Two and Three—they weren"t adopted," Theo disclosed in disappointment. "We're back to square one, at least until Brook finishes her profile."

Sylvie sighed in frustration, but she had no doubt that they would find a dangling thread at some point. As a former federal analyst, she had never been out in the field before taking a position with SE Investigations. Working with Theo had given her insight on what to look for during interviews, and studying Brook's preferred method had afforded Sylvie the ability to understand the importance of profiling. Arden was old school, and Bit's expertise wasn't something that could easily be learned even if one was by his side twenty-four-seven.

Sylvie closed her laptop with a soft click and set it on the chair that Bit had vacated moments before. The night had grown colder, and Bit had been wise to bring her a blanket. She shouldn't have let pride control her response to the kind gesture. What she needed right now was another cup of tea before settling in the living room.

"Big T, have you ever watched the movie where a robot is sent back from the future and…"

Sylvie couldn't help but smile as she stood from the lounger. Bit always made her day brighter. She took her time to hang the blanket over her arm before collecting her laptop, phone, and half-empty teacup, thinking over the lack of information they had to sort through.

The team had their work cut out for them.

The Bureau had reached out to Brook a couple of hours ago and politely requested she put together a press release. They were basically covering their asses, demanding that SE Investigations convey the importance that anyone with the name Mary Jane Reynolds living in the state of Michigan should keep a close eye on her surroundings. Should anything stand out, they were to contact their local police. The FBI had also stressed to Brook that the press release wasn't meant to cause panic, leaving her in a very precarious situation.

With Theo driving to Mount Pleasant in the next couple of days, that still left two crime scenes that hadn't been walked through by someone on the team. Granted, those locations had been released to the families of the victims, but it would still be beneficial to the investigation to get a firsthand examination.

Local police reports sometimes left out details that came into play later, and those detectives hadn't known to look for any connections to other crimes. Given that Lansing was only an hour and a half away from Crestlake, it was less time than it would take Theo to drive to Mount Pleasant.

Sylvie understood that the others were concerned for her health, but she had been cleared for fieldwork by her physician. An expert's opinion held more weight than the concern of friends, and she meant that in the nicest way possible. Maybe, just maybe, taking some time to get her feet back underneath her was exactly what she needed for some normalcy.