"Okay, got it. Thank you, Doctor," Liam said through the phone before he hung up and turned to look at me. "That was the medical examiner."

"And what does he have to say?" I asked, pushing him to continue.

"Well, she indeed had a miscarriage only a few weeks ago," he replied. "Our murder weapon was definitely a hard object. They say the first blow was the fatal one. It caused severe brain lacerations and hemorrhage, just like you suggested earlier. The unsub inflicted the rest of the injuries postmortem."

I watched as he made a face as if it had bothered him to admit that I was right. I rolled my eyes at his reaction. "Was there anything else?"

"Well, apparently our guy took his sweet time cleaning the scene, as there were no fingerprints found anywhere. However, they found debris of a blue fabric under her nails, which they believe belongs to the unsub. Unfortunately, no DNA was found, though," he said while maintaining his gaze on the road.

I nodded, even though I wasn't sure he saw me. I moved my head to focus on the outside of my window, and it was dead silence for the rest of the ride. Thoughts trundled in my brain like a through train, with no intention of stopping. Thoughts about my first day at the FBI, the case, and whether my partnership with Liam was going to work out or not.

"This is the address that Mr. Clark gave us." Liam's voice finally put that train of thought to a stop.

He parked the car in front of a two-floor house. We both got out of the car and walked toward the house. Liam rang the doorbell. A man who appeared to be in his mid-forties opened the door. His neatly styled hair was a mix of salt and pepper, and he looked between us with dark eyes full of skepticism.

"Mr. Nick Walden?" Liam began.

"Yes?" he answered in measured tones.

We both got our badges and showed them to him. Skepticism was shortly replaced with an expression that screamed nervousness.

"We're with the FBI. We would like to ask you a few questions," Liam told him.

He looked at us with eyes clouded with evident stress and worry for a few moments before he sighed and gestured to the inside of the house. We got in, and he led us to the living room.

"Sir, did you happen to hear that Allison Clark was found dead today?" Liam spoke up once we were all seated.

His eyes widened in obvious shock, but he covered it quickly. He swallowed hard before he spoke. "Oh god, h—how did that happen? What about Henry? Is he okay?"

"Yes. Mr. Clark is fine," Liam answered in a calm tone.

"Good." He let out a breath of relief that I could tell was fake. He looked at us with a hint of seriousness in his eyes. "But wait, what does that have to do with me?"

"Sir, we found out about the relationship you had with Mrs. Clark," I spoke for the first time since we got here, not intending to sugarcoat anything. I made sure to keep eye contact with him and watch for his reaction.

He seemed taken aback for a couple of seconds, then his expression turned into pure anger as his face gained a few shades of red. "This is bullshit. I don't know what you are talking about!" he chided while shaking his head.

"Well, did you know she used to keep a diary?" Liam asked in a challenging tone.

The man's eyes widened in realization.

"She aborted your baby a few weeks ago," Liam continued, not giving him the chance to tell any more lies. "We called the clinic where she had the abortion and they told us she wasn't alone. They said that her husband was by her side the whole time, but the description didn't match Mr. Clark—it matches you. Besides, they heard her calling you Nicky."

I held myself from grinning. He was good.

The man turned a few shades paler and started sweating. "I can't believe that she wrote about what we had between us in her stupid diary." He scoffed. "Yes, Alisson and I had an affair. She surprised me with the baby thing, saying that she wanted to keep it and leave Henry so we could be together." 

He sighed. "But I just couldn't do that. I felt guilty, okay? Henry is my best friend, and I already have a family. I love my wife and my son, and I wasn't willing to give them up at any cost. I was planning to end the relationship as soon as possible and I made sure she knew that, so she decided to have an abortion."

My respect for the man sitting in front of me was decreasing with every word that left his mouth. An honorable man, indeed. I cleared my throat and fixed my gaze on him. "Sir, where were you today between 8 and 10 AM?"

"I was at work. I didn't leave until 5 PM. You can make sure of my alibi there," he answered, crossing his hands as he looked between us in annoyance. "Look, I wanted to end the relationship, but I would never hurt her."

Liam nodded. "During the time you spent with Mrs. Clark, did you notice anything unusual about her behavior, or if she had any enemies or people threatening her?"

The man was about to reply to Liam's question, but he got interrupted by the front door opening, followed by a teenage boy stepping inside. He was wearing a blue baseball jacket and had a baseball kit with him.

"Dad, I'm home—" He stopped in his tracks when he noticed us. "W—What's going on?"

"Nothing that needs your concern," Mr. Walden quickly told him. "Go to your room, Justin."

I could see that the boy's bottom lip was quivering. He was also sweating, and his hands were shaking. I knew that some people usually got edgy with the presence of law enforcement, and he was just a kid after all. But my gut feeling told me that something was off. He concentrated his gaze on Liam and me for a couple of seconds, hazel eyes full of unmasked fear, then he headed upstairs.

Liam and I shared a look, and I knew he was having suspicions as well.

"If you have any other questions, please hurry before my wife arrives," Mr. Walden demanded.

"Mr. Walden, does your son know anything about the affair you had with Mrs. Clark?" Liam asked.

The man's dark eyes filled with fury. "Of course, not. My son has nothing to do with this!"

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Walden," Liam told him. "We're done here for today." He made sure to emphasize the fact that things weren't over. "This is my card. Please call me if you remember anything else."

Liam handed him the card, and then we left the house and got inside the car. We sat there idly without bringing the car to life and it was dead silence for a couple of minutes.

"Did you notice what happened in there?" Liam asked. "Something was just too fishy."

"Sadly, I did." I sighed and looked at him. "The kid was wearing a blue jacket and baseball bats can turn into very brutal weapons."

Liam sighed. "He might have known about the relationship and got mad. We need to check him out."

"Our list of suspects keeps getting bigger," I mused. "Walden had a motive, as well as Clark himself. He might've known about his wife's pregnancy earlier than he lets on."

Liam nodded, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hand. He then looked at me with blue eyes that were worn out from exhaustion. "A few months ago, there was a stalker in town. A young, sick man who used to keep track of middle-aged women who lived in upper-class neighborhoods. He used to break into their houses and steal some of their personal belongings, and that was it. 

"But things eventually went from bad to worse when he started creating fantasies about those women. He hit a breaking point and slaughtered a woman because she was seeing someone, and he thought she was cheating on him. And his violent urges didn't stop there; he also hurt and incapacitated many other women. 

"The case was widely publicized, and it terrorized everyone for a while. Then, we finally managed to catch the guy, and they placed him in a mental institution.

"The M.O. here is very similar. The local PD thought it might be the handiwork of a copycat, and that's why they called us on this case pretty quickly. But I'm starting to doubt that it's anywhere close to that scenario here."

"I read about that case, and I thought it was brilliant work. The guy's profile was dead on, and you guys set up the perfect ambush to catch him." I fixed my position to face Liam and looked at him with an amused look. "You were the case's agent, weren't you? The whole thing was your idea."

I watched as his eyes lit up with pride, and his lips titled up in a slight smile. It was all the confirmation I needed.

I chuckled, shaking my head. "So you may turn out to be as good as I heard, after all."

"Oh, not really." He shook his head before looking at me with a mischievous smile. "I'm better."

I scoffed, narrowing my eyes at him. "You know what? I take that back."

He let out a small laugh that I felt was genuine, and that was a first, but it only lasted for a little while before he changed the subject. "I think we should really call it a day. What do you think?"

The second those words left his mouth, an involuntary yawn escaped my lips. It was like I didn't realize how exhausted I was until he mentioned it.

Liam grinned. "I guess that's a yes." He inserted his key into the ignition. "Anyway, I have a feeling that another long day is waiting for us tomorrow."

I agreed with all my heart as we finally hit the road.

We first went back to the bureau and asked our technical analysts to look into the kid. After that, we both went home to get our deserved rest...