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.
