She glanced at the phone screen, the caller’s name jumping up and down with her footsteps. O’Donnell.
“Hello?” she answered, breathing hard.
“Zoe? Is this a good time?” O’Donnell’s voice came through Zoe’s Bluetooth earphones.
“Yeah.”
“What’s that noise? It sounds like wind.”
“I’m running.”
“I can call later.”
“It’s okay—what is it?”
“I wanted to tell you that Terrence Finch tried to kill himself. He managed to palm and hide some of his pills and took them all at once. He’s now on suicide watch.”
Zoe slowed down, gasping for breath. “Did he say why? Or leave a note?”
“He had nothing to write with, and he didn’t bother saying why. But the guards and the nurses that have been taking care of him said that for the last few days he kept begging them for blood. Specifically, he wanted Rhea Deleon’s blood.”
“Maybe he finally realized she was dead,” Zoe said. “And with her, his hopes of ever getting another sip of her blood.”
“Could be. His lawyer says they’re pleading not guilty due to insanity.”
“Because the rules of legal insanity don’t apply to him?” O’Donnell suggested.
“Because the rules of legal insanity . . . yeah, exactly. He knew his actions were harmful. There was premeditation and planning.”
“Yeah, the state attorney already told me. He said they’ll try to claim that the M’Naghten rule applies, but it won’t fly.”
“Right.” Zoe wiped the sweat off her forehead. “He is insane, O’Donnell. He’s suffering from delusions and hallucinations. He’s medicated for schizophrenia. He should be in a hospital. But he’ll go to prison.”
“Well, it’s up to the court to decide. The state attorney is after blood.” There was a pause. “No pun intended.”
Zoe exhaled, staring at the sunlight filtering through the tree branches. It was late afternoon; the sun was setting. She needed to go back home. “What about Glover?”
“The doctor estimates that he has maybe four months. There’s a chance he’ll die before his trial ends.”
Just like he’d predicted. Did he blame her for his so-called death sentence? Probably. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
“A couple of BAU agents showed up here yesterday,” O’Donnell said. “They want to interview Glover. Weren’t you supposed to do that?”
“I decided not to,” Zoe said. She began walking back.
“Why not?”
“I doubt I could be objective.”
“Still, it could give you closure.”
“I don’t need closure,” Zoe said, annoyed. “And this interview should be done professionally. We need to know how, exactly how, Glover overcame his urges in the long stretches of times between murders. And it’s important we understand the details about his childhood; it’s still unclear if he was abused by his parents. The letters he sent me, were they part of his sexual fantasy, or did they fulfill a different need? And I want to know more about the function of the—”
“Okay, okay. I’m just saying if you talk to him, you could do a much better job. Those BAU agents look like a couple of dumb nitwits.”
“They are not dumb nitwits. They’re very capable.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Well, one is pretty capable; the other is, perhaps, a nitwit,” Zoe conceded. “Still, I briefed them, and as long as they stick to my briefing, they’ll do a good job. I . . . I can’t do it.”
“Because he hurt your sister?”
“That too.” She was about to end there, but the truth spilled out. “And when I look at him, I’m just a little kid again.”
“I guess that makes sense,” O’Donnell said after a moment.
Zoe crossed the road, approaching her apartment. “Any news about you? Are they transferring you out of Violent Crimes?”
“I don’t know.” O’Donnell sighed. “Maybe. I still don’t have a partner, and you can’t be without a partner in Violent Crimes for long. But seeing as I was the detective who arrested Glover, I guess that buys me some time. My husband isn’t thrilled.”
“What do you feel about it?”
There were a few seconds of silence. “This is what I do best,” O’Donnell said. “I like doing it. Even with all that shit with Manny and the department.”
“I get that.”
“What about you? Any new cases?”
“No. Just a few ongoing things.” She stopped by the entrance to the building and exhaled. “I might transfer out of BAU. I’ve been offered a position.”
“Really? What position?”
“They want me to take charge of the profiler training in the FBI Academy. I’d be working with new agent trainees, and I’ll also be in charge of any agent assigned to the BAU.”