So the task force kept eliminating possibilities until, finally, someone raised a new angle.

Could this be a crime of passion? Someone with a grudge against me?

Chief Finch turned to me. "Deborah, think carefully. Is there someone like that in your life?"

"Someone who pursued you and was rejected—someone who might be operating in the shadows, killing each of your boyfriends one by one. It's a real possibility."

I racked my brain, thinking hard for what felt like forever. Then my head snapped up.

"Actually... there might be."

Everyone's eyes settled on me, their expressions unreadable.

I had no choice but to lay it all out.

"There was a colleague I knew from work. His name was Oscar Parsons. He pursued me for a while, but he was a heavy smoker, and I just wasn't interested, so I turned him down."

"After that, he threatened me several times—sometimes to my face, sometimes behind my back."

"He said that when he set his sights on a woman, he'd have her no matter the cost."

"I told him I had a boyfriend. He just looked at me and said we wouldn't last."

The further I went, the more goosebumps crawled across my skin.

I was on the verge of tears. I looked up at Chief Finch, desperate.

"Chief Finch, do you think it could be him?"

"But how would he even know every time I started dating someone? And how did he manage to kill each of my boyfriends without fail? How is that even possible?"

Chief Finch's brow furrowed, his expression thoughtful. "We can't confirm he's the killer just yet. He's a person of interest, that's all."

"To test this theory, we'll need to investigate further."

The task force proposed having Justin pose as my boyfriend and visit my family's home.

"Me?"

"Him?"

Justin and I said it at the exact same time.

I looked at his handsome face, written all over with reluctance, and my own brow creased.

"Can't you send someone else?"

Chief Finch smiled faintly. "He's the only one on the task force close to your age. Anyone else wouldn't be convincing."

Fine.

So Justin followed the task force's plan and posed as my boyfriend, coming to my family's home for a visit.

I recreated the scene exactly as it had been the day Richard came over.

My mom wiped her tears away too, forcing a smile just like last time as she minced the filling and folded the dumplings.

While we waited for them to cook, I grabbed a glass of juice from the fridge and handed it to Justin.