The Naturals, #2
Killer Instinct
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Contents
Chapter 40
Overview
After Redding’s interrogation, Sloane deduces he may have two apprentices, explaining contradictory evidence. News breaks: Gary Clarkson is murdered at Colonial with a precise, evidence-free MO. Forensics then match Clark’s DNA to Trina’s nails, revealing Clark as the second, disorganized killer—and that the organized apprentice executed him.
The team reframes the case around two coordinated offenders controlled by Redding, escalating urgency and stakes.
Summary
In the observation room after Redding’s interrogation, Cassie pushes the team to ignore personal barbs and focus on the case. Lia, shaken, says every contradictory answer Redding gave read as true, undermining her deception reads. Sloane proposes an explanation: Redding has two apprentices, allowing him to answer opposing questions truthfully.
Briggs receives a call announcing a new body at Colonial University. The agents leave the team at the house and later report that the victim, Gary Clarkson, was bludgeoned with an iron brand but otherwise killed with Redding-like precision, confidence, and no trace evidence—matching the organized killer’s style.
The team connects Clark and Emerson through Fogle’s class group, considering Derek and Bryce as potential future targets. Simultaneous texts arrive: a DNA match links Clark to the DNA found under Trina Simms’s fingernails.
The conclusion lands hard: Clark is not only a victim but also the disorganized killer who murdered Trina. The organized apprentice, still at large, executed Clark in an evidence-free attack, reinforcing that Redding is directing two distinct offenders.
Who Appears
- Cassie HobbesCenters the team on the case, embraces the two-apprentice theory, and synthesizes how the murders fit.
- Agent BriggsReceives the homicide call, reports details from the scene, and shares the pivotal DNA match.
- SloaneDeduces that Redding has two apprentices, explaining the truthful contradictions and differing MOs.
- LiaStruggles with Redding reading as truthful, then helps link Clark’s obsessions and group connections.
- Agent SterlingBriefs the team on the scene’s organized MO and coordinates updates from forensics.
- MichaelSupports Cassie emotionally and tracks Briggs’s reactions as developments unfold.
- Dean Redding (Dean)Reassures Lia; his father’s manipulation frames the team’s new two-killer perspective.
- Daniel ReddingMaster manipulator whose truthful contradictions now point to two apprentices.
- Gary Clarkson (Clark)Found murdered at Colonial; DNA matches Trina’s killer, revealing him as the disorganized apprentice.
- Agent VanceTransfers Redding back to his cell after the interrogation.