The Naturals, #2
Killer Instinct
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Contents
Chapter 28
Overview
Cassie and Lia debrief the confrontation between Agent Sterling and the director, parsing its implications for Dean. They conclude the director believes Dean aided his father, while Sterling plans to bring Dean into the visitor-log review. Cassie recognizes the cost of secrecy among the Naturals. A key reveal ties “Nightshade” to victim Scarlett Hawkins.
Summary
In the quiet after Agent Sterling and the director leave, Cassie and Lia analyze what they overheard. Cassie reflects on each Natural’s unstable home life, realizing that despite her own losses, she is comparatively fortunate. The director’s habit of calling Dean “the boy” signals that he sees Dean as an instrument tied to Daniel Redding, not as a person.
Lia confirms the director truly believes Dean helped his father, though the details remain unclear. Cassie pushes back, noting Dean was a child when the murders began and remembering Dean’s admission that Daniel forced him to watch. The discussion reframes the stakes: institutional suspicion still shadows Dean.
Cassie asks if Sterling will follow through on involving Dean with the visitor logs. Lia says yes, suggesting Sterling now accepts she must support, not shield, him. Cassie recognizes that keeping Dean in the dark—by Sterling, Briggs, and even their friends—feels like betrayal from his perspective.
As Lia departs, she flags the most significant new thread: the “Nightshade” case and its cost. Cassie recalls Sterling’s guilt over a lost colleague, and Lia identifies the victim by name—Scarlett Hawkins—giving the shadowy case a concrete, personal anchor.
Who Appears
- Cassie HobbesNarrator; analyzes Sterling and the director’s clash, worries about betraying Dean, recalls Dean’s trauma, notes Nightshade/Scarlett link.
- Lia ZhangReads intentions, confirms Sterling will involve Dean, asserts the director believes Dean complicit, reveals name Scarlett Hawkins.
- Agent SterlingOffstage; argued with the director, plans to ask Dean about visitor logs; burdened by the Nightshade case.
- The DirectorOffstage; dehumanizes Dean as “the boy,” believes Dean aided Daniel Redding; opposes Sterling.
- Dean ReddingDiscussed; haunted by his father’s crimes, suspected by the director; may review visitor logs.
- Daniel ReddingSerial killer father; forced Dean to watch, central to ongoing investigation dynamics and suspicion.
- Scarlett HawkinsNamed as the victim tied to the Nightshade case that haunts Agent Sterling.