Cami nodded. Connor was right. They’d lost focus on that angle in their hunt through the company’s systems. But now, with so many people at work at that time, the only way to get closer was to look at why.

  If they could determine more about the motive, then maybe the missing pieces would fall into place.

  “How do we do it?” Connor asked thoughtfully.

  As she considered that challenge, Cami had an idea. "I'm going to do another image search," she said. "This time, I'm going to see if there's anyone else on this database who's similar in looks. There’s footage of faces here going back a couple of years. Perhaps this killer had a problem with somebody who looked like the victims, and that’s why he or she is looking for replicas to murder. And if so, maybe this software will allow us to find the original person. The original doppelganger if you want to call it that.”

  "I like that idea. Go for it," Connor encouraged.

  The strands were coming together in Cami's mind. She thought she could see how she could do this.

  Using this powerful software, she could search for faces similar to the victims. Once she’d done that, she could look for any links between them and people who worked at Wave Management.

  It was not going to be an easy project. Not at all. It was going to take a long time.

  How could she shorten it? Cami was already gathering her resources, opening tabs on her own laptop, getting her phone ready, and logging into the facial recognition program on Wave Management’s computer.

  She could run all the searches simultaneously if she set them up right. Her laptop had the capacity for that. It was a top spec, programming and gaming machine, lightning fast. And she could make sure she narrowed the search parameters as closely as she dared. Boston, for a start. She guessed that their doppelganger would have had to have been in Boston and had some contact or interaction with the killer.

  "I'm going ahead with it," she said. "For the next few minutes, I'm going to need to focus."

  Understanding what this meant, Connor said nothing in reply. He just moved to the door.

  Cami worked like lightning, racing through the parameters, moving from group to group, searching for the right faces, looking for the close similarities that might bring them to the truth.

  And then the results started streaming in.

  “I’ve got something here,” she said, feeling triumphant.

  "What's that?" he asked, turning away from the door and back to her.

  "This Wave Management software has found four other women in the Boston area with almost identical looks.”

  It was fascinating. All of them could be sisters. She stared from one to the other, feeling amazed that strangers could have such similar bone structure and coloring.

  “Even if we don’t find the original person among them, I’m going to get the police to go round to these women and warn them,” Connor said. “Who are they?”

  “I’m finding out now,” Cami said.

  “Okay, I can’t get a current ID on the fourth face. I’m not getting any names that match up to it,” she said. It seemed to have disappeared totally. Perhaps the person had moved away before the software had been able to allocate names.

  But she had more luck with the others. “I’ve got an ID for the first and second face here,” she said, hope flaring. “And for the third one.”

  “Any link to Wave Management for any of them?”

  “I’m looking to see if I can find one. I’ll start with the first.”

  Cami went into Paula Dewald’s social media, scanning friends and the connections between friends, looking for any link to anyone who worked at Wave Management.

  As Cami delved into the research, she felt a cold shiver trickle down her spine.

  “I’ve got something here,” she said. “There is a link! Connor, come and look at this!”

  In a moment, Connor was next to Cami, leaning over her shoulder and looking at what she’d found. She could see he was as enthused as she felt.

  “Paula Dewald dated Mikey Becker. They were engaged, but then it didn’t go well. It looks like they had a massive, messy breakup, and I see here that he had some kind of a breakdown afterward.”

  “And Mikey Becker is?”

  “He’s the brother of Nadia Becker. And Nadia is a night security guard, right here at Wave Management!” Cami felt triumphant. “Nadia was mad about all of this. She’s posted reams of threatening and defamatory comments about Paula.”

  To complete her theory, she turned to the staff login details. “Yup. She was on site when that camera was turned.”

  “Well, then!” Connor said thoughtfully.

  Nadia worked nights. She would have been able to spend a lot of uninterrupted time in the computer room, searching for replicas to Paula. And, of course, as a night worker, she had all day to track down similar looking victims.

  Cami felt sure they were looking at the killer’s profile.

  CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

  "She was mad as hell about her brother being dumped," Cami said to Connor, following the backstory as she scrolled through Nadia’s social media. "He took it very hard, and I think he might have been unstable already. He's still receiving treatment. I see from her comments that he even attempted suicide. He was not in a good place, and this caught him at a very bad time."

  "That's a strong motive," Connor said. "And I like your logic behind the search."

  "It's also a very personal motive,” Cami said.

  She knew how deep sibling love could run. After all, Jenna never left her mind. She could see why this might have triggered a breaking point for a psychopathic killer to begin their spree.

  Nadia had been on the night shift during the time when the cameras were switched. She had the access to the computers. She had the motive.

  “Where does she live?” Connor asked. “You got an address there, or do you want me to look it up?”

  "She lives at number eight Central Drive," Cami said. Anxiety was now surging within her. Where would Nadia be? Would she be at home, asleep, just like Cami hoped? Or would she be out, tracking another victim? That was a terrifying thought.

  "Before we go, I'm going to ask the police to warn the other two possible victims," Connor said. "Let's get that done now. If they are safe and preferably guarded, then it means that at the very least, we'll slow this killer down. Are you sure you can’t get an ID on the fourth one?”

  “I can’t find anything,” she said. Cami gave him the names of the other two, and Connor got hold of his office and called in the names, one by one.

  As he spoke to someone she didn’t know, it made her feel a deep pain to know that two weeks ago, Ethan would have been his right-hand man and the person he called. Now, he was dealing with someone else, and Cami hadn't even registered what this man's name was. Whoever he was, he wasn't Ethan. How could he ever fill that space? Maybe he was not even permanent, she guessed. He might just be helping out temporarily when Connor was out on cases.

  Connor cut the call and pocketed his phone. "Right," he said. "The local police are going to locate those women and stay with them for as long as possible. Resources permitting. It can't be forever. We need to make progress today." His voice was intense.

  "Let's go," Cami said, feeling the adrenaline flooding her veins. Quickly, she packed up her laptop and phone. They went outside, and Connor drove quickly down the street, peeling off from the commercial area of town where Wave Management's offices were located and heading into the suburbs, toward Central Drive.

  Cami was shocked to realize it was already late afternoon and getting dark. Where had the time gone? All that analysis in the offices had taken far longer than she'd thought. The thought of solving this case today was suddenly less of a certainty and more of a slim possibility.

  "The security guards' shift starts soon," Cami remembered. "The night shift is seven p.m. to seven a.m. That's a couple of hours away."

  But where would Nadia be? Shopping? At the gym? What was she likely to be doing now, with the upside-down schedule of working nights? She wasn't due at work for a while.

  “I need to check her schedule. Perhaps she’s got a routine.”

  Cami went searching, this time focusing on Nadia’s activities and destinations, looking for where she spent her non-work hours just in case they needed it.

  The streets were dark, and the neighborhood was quiet. They drove in silence, both of them tense and alert, until they reached Central Drive. Connor drove slowly, looking for the address.

  "There it is," Cami said, pointing at the house. It was a small, two-story house, with a porch light on.

  Connor parked the car a few houses down, and they both got out, walking quickly but silently up the driveway.

  Beyond the porch, the house was silent and dark. They could see no movement inside. There was a carport next to the house, but no car was under the covered shelter.

  Connor rang the doorbell, and they waited and listened, but Cami didn't feel surprised when nobody came to the door. This house was dark, and the missing car told them that she was elsewhere.

  "What now?" Cami asked, feeling a chill of fear run through her.

  "She's not here. So, where is she?"

  Connor looked at Cami expectantly in a way that told her he had the utmost confidence that she was going to figure out this unsolvable problem.

  “I’m going to see now. I started a search while we were on the way,” she said.

  "While you look her up, I'm going to see if they can give me a location on her cellphone," Connor emphasized.

  “Wait! You probably don’t need to.” Cami felt a flash of relief as she checked her phone. “She's a fan of Karma Hot Yoga. It’s a yoga center a couple of miles from here. She’s mentioned here that she does classes most afternoons at four or five p.m. She seems to be a regular. At any rate, she’s talked about it a lot.”

  "I'm still waiting for the cell triangulation, so let's go to the yoga center if that's the only check-in," Connor said. "And let's take a look at her. We need to see who we're searching for."

  Cami pulled up a photo of Nadia. She looked to be of average height and a slim build, with a wayward mane of red hair that would make her easy to spot. She had a pretty, oval face and pale blue eyes.

  They got in the car again and headed straight there.

  The yoga center was in a strip mall a couple of blocks down the hill. The mall contained a mix of restaurants, bars, convenience stores, and a couple of clothing boutiques.

  Karma Hot Yoga was in between a coffee shop and a restaurant. The lighting outside was warm and inviting. The frosted glass doors were closed.

  Connor pushed them open, and Cami followed him inside. This was where she would be, surely?

  It was where she had to be. There was no time for any mistakes or any delays. This case was now in crisis.

  Inside the hot yoga studio, a rush of hot, humid, incense-scented air greeted them. Music with a strong background beat was playing. Warm, orange lights were flashing in the ceiling, giving the place a strangely disco feel. And a group of sweaty, smiling women were filing out, laughing, and talking.

  "It's such an addictive workout," one was saying.

  "Definitely my new must-have," another agreed breathlessly.

  "I don't see her," Cami muttered. This suspect was nowhere among the group. She looked again, more carefully this time, scrutinizing all the faces for the one she knew had to be here.

  But it wasn't. This was impossible! Nadia had mentioned hot yoga so many times on her social media that Cami was sure that it was her afternoon ritual. And she wasn't there?

  "I guess we need to find out why not," Connor muttered in a tone of voice that told Cami nothing that happened on this case had the capacity to surprise him anymore.

  Connor walked up to the instructor—a slim, smiling woman—who was just finishing up saying goodbye to one of her clients.

  "We're looking for Nadia Becker," he said. "I'm FBI, and it's in connection with a case. We need information from her."

  The instructor turned, frowning. "I'm sorry, who?”

  “Nadia Becker. I believe she joins this class most afternoons,” Connor said.

  The instructor looked blankly at them, then she delivered the bombshell.

  “I’m sorry, she doesn’t. In fact, I’ve no idea who you’re talking about."

  CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

  Cami felt horrified, and disbelieving, as Connor turned to stare in puzzlement at her.

  This was their strongest lead, and Nadia had been all over her own social media, talking about this hot yoga. Now, she wasn’t here, and they didn’t know where she was.

  Connor was looking at her with doubt as if he’d trusted her to read the social media correctly, and she hadn’t. Well, how could she when something so unexpected had happened?

  “Was it another branch she went to? Another time?” he muttered.

  She shook her head. “It was this branch and this time that she mentioned.”

  But now Cami thought about it, although she’d been so enthusiastic about mentioning the hot yoga, she hadn’t seen any actual check-ins. In fact, Cami remembered, Nadia didn’t have her location turned on at all.

  So, what if the enthusiasm for yoga was a cleverly crafted alibi to mislead people into thinking she was here, when in fact she was somewhere else? That could be a possibility, Cami thought, with a chill.

  She had a motive. Her brother had been severely hurt by a similar looking woman who’d dumped him, and the debacle had prompted a breakdown. Cami felt very sorry for him. She had a lot of sympathy for people with mental health issues. It was a vulnerability that she personally thought hadn't received nearly enough acknowledgement and understanding in today's world.

  Had rage over her brother's circumstances, and anger at what she perceived to be the cause, made Nadia have a psychotic break and go out killing similar victims? And had she been clever enough to build herself an alibi, hoping the police would see she’d been at yoga and look no further?

  Cami was thinking so.

  “We believe she does yoga here most afternoons, according to her social media," Connor said to the instructor, clearly looking to get to the bottom of this discrepancy, but the instructor was shaking her head.

  "Look, the name might be vaguely familiar. I don’t want to lie and say I’ve never seen her, and then get in trouble for it. She might have come here once or twice, but that would have been months ago."

  "Red headed woman?"

  "Yes, that's ringing a bell now. I remember a redheaded woman, she had a very distinctive appearance with that long, red hair. She came here for one session, but that was back in September sometime. So, I'm sorry, I can't help you. I could ask the other instructors, who work in the mornings and on weekends, but I really can't help you. I do all the afternoon classes myself."

  Cami nodded. There was no yoga in Nadia's life. It was all a lie. She’d never been a regular at this class. She was starting to feel a sense of panic. They’d been misled. Where was this woman, and what was she doing?

  As they were standing here, at a loss to find her, she could be preparing to take another victim.

  "Well, this is nothing if not irregular," Connor muttered. “There’s nothing more we can do here, so let’s find another way.”

  They strode out of the uncomfortably sweltering hot yoga environment, and back into the shiveringly cold and windy outside. There, Connor got on his phone.

  "Have we been able to get a track on that cellphone number?" he asked whoever he was speaking to. She saw his frown deepen and realized there must be a delay. They were not able to triangulate Nadia’s number yet.

  In the meantime, though, what could she do?

  She had Nadia’s phone number. She could work with that.

  "I'm going to see if I can get into her phone," Cami said. She was using her own phone, with the cell number that Nadia had been active on. Her phone was turned on.

  “It’s an iPhone. That makes it easier,” Cami muttered. “My software usually works on iPhones.”

  She set up the program and began communicating with Nadia’s device, which was at least turned on. She could see that her program was able to connect with it. Now, if she could just get far enough into it to find the location, she could activate it.

  "What are you doing?" Connor said, getting off his own phone as he got into the car.

  Cami explained quickly. "Her location is turned off. So, I'm trying to get far enough into her phone to turn it on. If I can do that, then we can see where she is, very easily. But I just have to get into that section of her phone. My program usually works. It can be slow, though."

  If she could just turn on the location, then they could pinpoint her. It would be the quickest way by far. And she'd worked a very clever hack that bypassed the basic phone security. Problem was that it was sometimes slow and didn’t always work on Android systems, but this was an iPhone.

  Cami tapped her fingers on the dashboard, grateful to be huddled in the car and out of the rainy, darkening evening, but impatient that her work around was going at a snail’s pace.

  "Come on, come on," she muttered under her breath. "Come on, you can do it, get in there, get through.”

  And then she felt her phone begin to vibrate. The location of the other phone was now turned on. She'd done it!

  "Okay. I've got it. I got into Nadia’s phone, far enough to turn on the location. So that's activated, and now, we can hopefully see where she is."

  She felt her heart pounding with excitement. This needed to work.

  Her phone buzzed, and Cami looked down. "I've got the address," she said, now triumphant that her software had managed to do its job. She'd been very pleased with this program and its ability to sneak through a phone's defenses. It couldn’t access the whole phone. The structure of the operating system in a phone made that very difficult. But it could usually get to the location, and sometimes, to the texts also.