"Saved by the bell," Alison said."I talk too much when I’m nervous."
"Yeah?"Derek asked with a smile."I hadn’t noticed."
Alison kissed Derek."That’ll be Dad."
"Go and sit, and I’ll let him in," Derek said.
Alison couldn’t sit when Derek went to the door.She looked out past the darkness to the city of Oakland beyond, lit up brightly, ain’t the cloudy, dark sky.Howard Mills was out there somewhere.Perhaps not hiding in the bushes by her home, and he had long left the city of Oakland, but he was out there somewhere.
Are you hiding?Running?Planning one last hurrah like Sarah Hartman?
There was no rhyme or reason to it anymore.They had built the profile of a killer, and it had led them to Howard Mills.Sarah Hartman had killed quickly for revenge, for punishment.Alison understood that.Mills’s kills were five years apart.That was harder to understand.What drove him to act decisively but so slowly?Did that same instant drive him now?What would he do?
"Two visitors," Derek said when she returned from the front door to open the security gate.
Alison turned and saw her father first, then went to him and hugged him.
"Any news?"he asked.He showed no emotion in his voice, but Alison knew he had pushed that emotion down a long time ago.
"Not yet," Alison said."Soon."
Derek had been telling her that they would find Mills soon, and it had done nothing to dampen her frustration, but she still did the same thing to her father.Not so long ago, he’d wanted to leave the past in the past and hadn’t helped Alison with any investigating.More recently, he’d been the one who’d gone out with Derek and found Howard Mills.
The second visitor, the one who’d followed her father into the room, was Detective Moore.After Alison had hugged her father, she went to Moore and hugged her, too.
"How are you—" Moore started."Do you know what, I’m not even going to ask.Still, if there’s anything I can do, you only have to ask."
"Thank you."
James Payne went to the kitchen, and Detective Moore entered the living room, looking around and then whistling when she looked out the large front window.
"That’s a great view," Moore said."Quite the place you have up here."
"For now," Alison said."I’m thinking of moving."
"Oy, yeah?Where to?"Moore asked.
"I’m not sure yet.We’ll figure it out.Did you come to give an update on thecae?"
"Yeah, I thought I should drop by and let you know what’s happening," Moore said.She was at the large window and turned to face Alison and Derek."Dr.Connor is taking a leave of absence from his psychiatric firm, citing extreme trauma after almost being killed, which I can understand, but at the same time…well, I don’t know.Trauma hits all of us differently.He’s been through a lot."
"Yeah, he has," Alison agreed."How about Sarah?"
"She’s being assessed, but that’ll take some time.They’ll need to decide whether she’s fit tested trial.Or if she’ll even face a trial.She’s offered a full confession, and she wants to go to prison, but they’re not accepting that just yet.I don't know where she’ll end up, or where she should end up."
The doorbell rang again, and Derek quickly got up to see who was there.
"I’m popular tonight," Alison said.
"You’re popular every night from what I hear," Moore said."Wait, that sounds wrong."
Alison laughed.
"I mean that you’re always popular," Moore corrected."She would have killed a lot more, you know?"
"Sarah," Alison said.
"Yeah," Moore confirmed."She had at least two dozen targets, and she had the names of two jury members.I don't know where she got them.Perhaps someone connected to the case before she killed them.They’re all safe thanks to you."