Sarah sat across the dimly lit room, her mind already racing as Maya carefully laid out every piece of information she had found on Laura Smith. The room was silent except for the low hum of the air conditioning, adding a tense edge to the atmosphere. Sarah tapped her fingers lightly on the table, her eyes narrowing as Maya finished her briefing.
"So, Laura Smith…" Sarah murmured, thinking out loud as she connected the dots. "An orphan with a tragic past. Parents died a long time ago, brother murdered. And now she's somehow tied to one of our key victims—Mark, from that sexual harassment case and among all this hassle seen with the personnel of our station who is unexpectedly the husband of the lead case officer… nice…" She let out a sigh, her frustration mounting as she pondered the peculiarities of Laura's background.
Maya nodded, glancing at her notes before continuing. "Yes, and it seems there's no real suspicion on her apart from this connection with Mark and more suspiciously with John. But there's something unsettling about her. She's been working with Vivian for four years, she has admired Vivian for way too long and has been heads over heels for her ever since they met at Laura's alma mater."
"Right," Sarah said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "Vivian… of course. A powerful woman in business, known for dominating a field typically run by men. No wonder Laura was drawn to her. But this whole thing doesn't sit well with me, whoever she liked Vivian it is not enough for her to change the course of her profession is it?"
Sarah stood up, pacing slowly around the room. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We need to look deeper. Laura has a double degree—biochemistry and business administration. Biochemistry, Maya. She was an ace researcher in that field. That's no small thing. And now, she's somehow tied to a string of murders with clear signs of chemical manipulation. Doesn't that seem like more than a coincidence?"
Maya raised an eyebrow. "It does. Especially considering that the killer seems to have an intimate knowledge of toxicology. The way these victims were killed, the precise doses of chemicals… it's all too professional."
Sarah stopped pacing and leaned on the table, her voice lowering as if she were piecing together the mystery in real time. "Maya, check every detail on her connection to these victims. We know about Mark, but what about the others? Was Laura connected to them in any way? Did she work with them? Did they cross paths? I don't care how small or insignificant it seems—nothing is too small to ignore right now."
Maya scribbled a note and nodded. "I'll look into it, see if there's any overlap."
"And one more thing," Sarah said, her tone growing sharper. "I need to know everything about her brother. Who was he? Why was he murdered? Was his death random, or was it tied to something deeper? And most importantly, who was the killer? I want a full report on that case. Something doesn't feel right about Laura's history—she's lost too many people close to her. There's a pattern here, Maya, and I want to know if that pattern leads us to the killer."
Maya hesitated for a moment before speaking, her voice cautious. "Do you think Laura could be… involved? I mean, she doesn't exactly have a criminal record. The only thing we have is her involvement in the sexual harassment case with Mark and your hus… well i mean to say It's thin."
Sarah's gaze darkened as she connected another dot, she was not listening to Maya. "And one more thing… Laura switched careers. Why would someone ace in biochemistry suddenly abandon it for business administration? It's not like biochemistry is a dead-end field. She was a rising star, a researcher with promise. And then she suddenly veers into the business world?"
Maya nodded, picking up on Sarah's line of thinking. "That is odd. Maybe she was tired of the lab work, or maybe she saw more opportunity in business owing to the fact that she was greatly inspired by Vivian?"
"Maybe," Sarah said, unconvinced. "Or maybe she had a reason to leave. Or someone gave her a reason. We can't ignore the possibility that something—perhaps someone—pushed her out of biochemistry. But here's the kicker: If she still has ties to her biochemistry roots, that makes her a prime suspect. This entire serial killing case revolves around chemical abuse, Maya. Someone who knows their way around lethal chemicals is orchestrating these murders, and now we have a person with expertise in that field right under our noses. And also don't forget that it was Laura who helped us get Vivian. It was her testomoney against Vivian that was the nail in the coffin in her arrest. Now, one thing is confirm she is not really Vivian's fan… so recheck everything "
Maya took in a deep breath, the implications weighing heavily in the room. "I'll dig more into her past," she said quietly.
Sarah nodded sharply. "Good. Don't overlook any detail.
Maya scribbled furiously, her pen flying across the page as Sarah's mind raced ahead. "Also," Sarah added, her voice low, "check into her research during her time in biochemistry. What exactly was she studying? What projects was she involved in? If her expertise lies in certain chemicals, we could be looking at our link to the murder weapon. And we can't ignore the possibility that Laura may have been experimenting with these substances long before the killings began."
Maya looked up, her face serious. " she might have been planning this for a long time"
Maya closed her notebook and stood up, As she turned to leave, Sarah stopped her with one last thought. "Maya, also look into her personal life. Not just her professional connections. Find out if she's been seeing anyone and with John Blake, any other relationships, any old flames that might have a reason to come back now. We're dealing with someone smart, yes, but also someone with a lot of pain in her past. People like Laura don't just forget their losses—they find ways to fill those voids. And that might be the key to understanding why she's doing this if she is behind this all."
And now, as the pieces of the puzzle began to take shape, Laura Smith was starting to look like a much bigger piece than Sarah had originally thought.