THE GASLIGHT The police arrived at Maya’s apartment at 7:00 AM. She was still awake, sitting at her kitchen table, staring at the photographs from Kaela’s apartment. The dream journal. The business card. Her own reflection in the window. Three knocks. Loud. Official. She opened the door. Detective Leah Park stood in the hallway, her … Read more
THE EMPTY APARTMENT Maya didn’t run. She had spent twenty-two years as a reporter. She had been threatened by politicians, stalked by suspects, screamed at by grieving families. She had learned that running made you look guilty. And she was not guilty. She stood her ground. “Dr. Vance,” she said. “I was just leaving.” “Were … Read more
THE DISAPPEARANCE Two days later, Kaela Morgan vanished. Her cat was found wandering the apartment complex, hungry and confused. Her car was still in the lot. Her purse was still on the kitchen table. Her phone was still on the charger. She had simply… disappeared. Maya learned about it from her source at the police … Read more
THE FOURTH WOMAN The fourth woman’s name was Kaela Morgan. Maya found her through the records of Dr. Marcus Webb—the primary care physician who had referred all three victims to Vance. Webb had been practicing in Barrow Falls for thirty years. He was respected. Retiring soon. And he had a habit of referring certain patients to … Read more
THE SISTER’S PLEA The sister’s name was Rachel Bennett. Maya found her at a coffee shop in Hartford, the day after Clara’s funeral. Rachel was younger than she expected—late twenties, with dark circles under her eyes and a trembling hand that couldn’t quite steady her cup. “You’re the reporter,” Rachel said. “The one who wrote … Read more
THE THERAPIST’S SMILE Dr. Elias Vance’s office was in a restored Victorian house on the edge of the historic district. The waiting room was soft and warm—beige walls, gentle lighting, a fountain that trickled in the corner. It was designed to calm. To soothe. To make you feel safe. Maya felt anything but safe. She … Read more
THE THIRD VICTIM The funeral was small. Maya stood in the back of the chapel, pretending to be a mourner, watching the faces of the people who had come to say goodbye to Clara Bennett. There weren’t many. The sister from Hartford, red-eyed and clutching a tissue. A few coworkers from the call center, uncomfortable … Read more
THE OBITUARY WRITER Maya Cross heard about the third victim at 6:00 AM, when her phone buzzed with a text from her editor. “Third jumper. Mercy Bridge. Need 500 words by 8. Name is Clara Bennett.” She read the text twice. Rolled out of bed. Didn’t look at the empty space beside her where her … Read more
THE BRIDGE AT MIDNIGHT The rain was coming down sideways, driven by a wind that had no business being in Massachusetts in September. Detective Leah Park stood at the edge of the Mercy Bridge, her collar turned up, her hands shoved deep in her pockets, watching the divers search the black water below. Three hours … Read more
Three women are dead. The police say it’s a suicide cluster. The reporter knows better. In the rainy, blue-collar city of Barrow Falls, Massachusetts, three women have jumped from the same bridge in eighteen months. Same time of night. Same method. No witnesses. No notes. No connections between the victims—except one. They all visited Dr. Elias … Read more
