Page 36 of The Truth You Told

COOLERTHANBEINGCOOL:

ICEICEBABY:There’s more. Rumor is that’s where he met Shay

COOLERTHANBEINGCOOL:

OFICEANDMEN: Are you saying the Alphabet Man was following Kilkenny from day one?

ICEICEBABY:I’m saying coincidences don’t exist in serial killer cases. Melissa’s body was never found, so we don’t know if there would have been tattoos on it

COOLERTHANBEINGCOOL:But there was no letter with her name ...

ICEICEBABY:Don’t call me a tin-hatter here, but ... I think sometimes he just killed because he was mad

OFICEANDMEN: wut?

ICEICEBABY:We know the first vic wasn’t planned. He got upset about something in Houston when he was interviewing down there, remember? Sidney Stewart, the first vic, just worked at a random gas station between Houston and Dallas, where he had been living. The letter he sent about her wasn’t dated ... the sheriff’s department didn’t record when they received it ... so maybe he sent it after and made it look like it was all part of his signature ... What if his first killing—and others like Melissa—was just him throwing a tantrum?

COOLERTHANBEINGCOOL:gross

ICEICEBABY:I mean yeah, I know, I’m not making light of it ... But what if he trailed Callum to the bar and then saw him andShay being all flirty flirty heart eyes and it set him off? Maybe he became obsessed with her that night and the timing to kill her just didn’t feel right until years later? But he took it out on Melissa?

COOLERTHANBEINGCOOL:OR what if his crazy brain picked Melissa as a vic but didn’t want her linked back to him in any way because he picked her up from the bar K was at? Im not a shrink, does that make sense? That he could kill her and not go through with his whole schtick?

ICEICEBABY:Seems possible! Maybe this new doc will dive deep on that ... but I’m not hopeful ...

OFICEANDMEN: me neither ... hey did anyone ever figure out what set him off in houston? Could be interesting. That first kill seems like a pretty big deal from what I’ve read (not a shrink, just an aficionado)

ICEICEBABY:I know some people think it’s because he was interviewing for a social worker job, and it brought up memories of histraumatic past

OFICEANDMEN:you don’t sound convinced

ICEICEBABY:He was a social worker in Dallas. What could he have experienced during the interview process that would have been worse than what he already saw in his day-to-day life?

OFICEANDMEN:OK vanilla ice, color me intrigued. What do you think happened?

COOLERTHANBEINGCOOL:

ICEICEBABY:I don’t think it was somethingthat triggered him—I think it was someone

COOLERTHANBEINGCOOL:duhn duhn duhnnnnnnnnnn

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Raisa

Now

FBI Special Agent in Charge Xander Pierce was waiting for Raisa and Kilkenny in the parking lot of the prison just outside Houston. As she’d remembered, he was lean and tall and handsome.

He and Kilkenny hugged like old friends. Considering they’d spent five years hunting down a serial killer together, she probably should have expected the greeting.

“You look old as shit,” Pierce said, still gripping Kilkenny with one hand and slapping his shoulder with the other.

“Back at you.” Kilkenny grinned. It was all very Male Bonding 101. “Thanks for coming out.”

“Of course.” Pierce glanced at the concrete walls behind him. “He’s lying, though. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, I know,” Kilkenny agreed, despite the fact that they both had doubts about that. “I just ... I need to make sure. I would regret it the rest of my life if I didn’t.”

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