The Naturals, #1
The Naturals
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Contents
Chapter 28
Overview
The hair in Cassie’s black box is confirmed as belonging to the latest victim, proving the UNSUB deliberately contacted Cassie. Cassie and Dean profile the killer’s fixation on Cassie, while Michael’s fear turns into a violent confrontation with Dean, exposing tensions inside the Naturals team.
Briggs locks down the house, assigns protection, and refuses to let Cassie act as bait despite Cassie’s willingness to use herself to catch the killer. Locke gives Cassie a limited investigative task, and the untraceable package leaves everyone facing the possibility that the UNSUB may already have been close enough to watch Cassie.
Summary
Two days after Cassie receives the black box, lab results confirm that the hair inside matches the UNSUB’s newest victim. In Briggs’s study, Cassie, Lia, Locke, Briggs, Michael, and Dean discuss what the gift means while Sloane is absent. Cassie privately spirals through the killer’s possible motives, wondering whether the victim’s suffering was incidental and whether the real point was Cassie or Cassie’s missing mother.
Cassie asks whether Cassie is in danger, and Locke turns the question back on Cassie. Cassie concludes that the UNSUB wants to kill Cassie, but not yet. Cassie profiles the killer aloud: the UNSUB murders red-haired women who stand in for someone else, but Cassie has become different because the UNSUB wants Cassie to think about him and views the hair as a meaningful gift.
Dean supports Cassie’s interpretation by entering the killer’s mindset and explaining that the UNSUB needs danger, thrill, and challenge after killing for a long time. Michael reacts with anger, accusing Dean and Cassie of treating the threat like a game. Michael grabs Dean, Briggs pulls Michael away, and Dean briefly pins Michael in return before Locke intervenes. Dean releases Michael, shaken by how close Dean came to losing control.
Cassie redirects the room by asking what happens next. Briggs orders Cassie and Dean off the case, assigns Agents Starmans, Vance, and Brooks to watch the house, and says no one will leave and Cassie will never be alone. Cassie argues that Briggs should use her as bait and set a trap, but Michael, Dean, and Briggs reject the idea immediately.
Locke nearly appears to agree with Cassie but decides that staying in the house gives them the best chance of controlling the situation. Locke explains that the UNSUB’s break from pattern may help because emotional escalation can produce mistakes. Locke gives Cassie a safer task: make a list of everyone Cassie has met, spoken to, or been seen by since arriving.
Cassie remembers the unnamed man who interrupted Cassie’s reading by the Potomac and wonders whether that encounter matters. Lia notes that the mailed package does not prove the UNSUB is local, but Dean says the killer would want to see Cassie. Locke confirms the package cannot be traced because the UNSUB used a busy post office, cash, a fake return address, and no cameras, leaving the team unable to rule anything out.
Who Appears
- CassieProfiles the UNSUB’s fixation on her and wants to be used as bait.
- DeanConfirms Cassie’s profile by entering the killer’s mindset and clashes violently with Michael.
- MichaelAngrily fears for Cassie and attacks Dean for treating the threat like a game.
- Agent LockeGuides Cassie’s profiling, rejects immediate bait tactics, and assigns Cassie a contact list.
- Agent BriggsOrders Cassie and Dean off the case and places the house under protective lockdown.
- LiaAttends the briefing, needles Locke, and notes the package may not mean the UNSUB is local.
- UNSUBUnidentified serial killer whose gift proves a deliberate, escalating fixation on Cassie.