"Okay, let's start." Jenn stood at the end of the conference table. She opened her file and started going through everything she had noted on her report yesterday. She explained to them about the crime scene and the seventh victim, not forgetting to add some of her opinions as to the killer's unexpected change in his killing pattern.

"In the first six murders, the serial killer didn't exactly leave any clue about his motive in committing those murders. But this time, he readily left a note and a scent behind, broke his time pattern, and killed a brunette instead of a redhead. Also, our killer has never been violent towards any of the victims before this, but this time, there was a fresh bruise on the victim's cheek, suggesting that it might have been the killer who'd hit her. From what I see, something's changed to make the killer desperate. The note could be a warning that his real target has appeared, the scent and the change in his choice of target are clues to his final target."

"How do we know that this Gina Lee isn't his real target?" Ray asked, confused. "How do we even know it's to be his final target after this murder?"

Jenn sighed, reminding herself to be patient with Ray. "Gina Lee has been around since the beginning of this series of murder. He wouldn't have to break his pattern in such desperation to kill her if she was his real target." She paused to see if Ray could follow.

Then she continued, "Next, I said that the killer's going after his final target because the note which he'd left us has his motive clearly stated for us, that is, revenge. If he planned to continue murdering innocent girls even after he's gotten his revenge, then I don't think that it would be wise of him to reveal his motive for the world to see.

"So what we need to focus on right now is finding out who his last target is as soon as possible. Based on the last seven victims, I suppose we can safely assume that his target will be a girl in her early twenties with auburn hair dyed black recently, plus she is somehow connected to a specific smell which is a mixture of peppermint and vanilla scents. It could be the perfume she wears, or her preference of fragrance, or something else." She turned to J. Lee. "You'll be in charge of narrowing down the list for the last target."

"Okay, no problem." J. Lee nodded as she scribbled down something on her notepad.

"Now, I'd like to discuss our list of suspects. Since there is a break in pattern in the latest case we've received, we might be able to narrow down our pool of suspects. Nick Jefferson has been taken off the list after Agent Turner interrogated him yesterday. So are the guys he was drinking with: Henry Winters, Jack Giller, Thomas Sawyer, and Mike Furley. Their alibis checked out." She turned to the board and crossed out their names.

"According to them, the party was held quite spontaneously by Nick Jefferson and Jack Giller, so supposedly not many people knew about it. Their words: 'It wasn't a big event. It was more of a gathering than anything else.' From this, we can safely say that only the people who were invited to the party are to be listed as suspects."

She turned to Ray and handed him two profiles. "Do you know these two guys?"

Ray took a brief look at the papers he was given and nodded. "Yes. They're James and Paul. You know them too. They used to be in VCS too."

"Yes, I remember." She nodded once. "Just checking if you still remember them."

J. Lee raised her hand. "VCS?"

Jenn let out a laugh. "It was an association called the Voluntary Community Service. VCS closed down a couple of years ago."

J. Lee nodded in comprehension and gestured for her to proceed with the discussion. Jenn then conveyed to them Agent Turner's updates about James Hendricks, Paul Tanner, and Tom Gallner.

"So now James Hendricks and Paul Tanner will be added to the list as prime suspects." She handed the suspects' profiles to Ben and J. Lee as she continued explaining. "We're informed that they were not at the party on the night of Gina Lee's murder, though they were invited. But of course, one of our top suspects is still Tom Gallner, who was seen leaving Nick Jefferson's house before the party. Jefferson told us that Tom Gallner was at his house to borrow a book, but looking at the timeline, we have reasons to suspect that he could have been there to gather information about the time of the party so that he could plan Gina Lee's murder."

At this, Ray shifted uncomfortably in his seat, pursing his lips into a thin line. Jenn's sharp eyes caught this. "Ray, I know that Tom is one of your closest friends. But we have to take into account every person who could possibly have hypnotised you. You know these three suspects, but Tom is the one you trust most, which makes him mostly likely to be the killer."

Ray tried to defend his opinion of Tom. "But he has no grudge against anyone."

"That we cannot be sure. But as long as there is a possibility of his hypnotising you, we can't take him off the suspect list," she said calmly.

Ray laughed in disbelief. "You really think that Tom has it in him to hypnotise someone?"

Jenn shook her head. "No," she admitted. "But Tom is a smart guy. He picks things up pretty fast if I remembered correctly. And you have been spending a lot of time with him during the past few years, haven't you?"

"And with Isabella and Nick too," he argued. "I've spent plenty of time with my parents too."

"You want to bring your parents into this?" Jenn raised an eyebrow at him.

"What? No, of course not. I'm just trying to make a point here." Ray sighed in resignation, leaning back against his chair. "It doesn't feel right that I am to suspect my best friend of murder."

Jenn breathed in deeply before saying, "Do you want to sit this one out?"

Ray stared at his entwined hands on his lap. "Sure." He sullenly stood up and dragged himself out of the room.

"Do you want me to go with him?" J. Lee offered.

Jenn shook her head. "We'll trust him to be on his own right now. He needs the space anyway. Let's proceed with the discussion."

"I think we're done with the suspect list for now." Ben spoke without raising his eyes from the papers laid out in front of him.

"Yes. We'll leave that aside for now," Jenn agreed. "I have something else to let the both of you know. It's about Ray's condition."

J. Lee arched an eyebrow at this. "What about him?"

Ben lifted his gaze to Jenn, waiting for her to explain further.

"Yesterday when you two were out for groceries, Ray talked to me about our briefing that morning." At this, she noticed a slight change in Ben's expression, but he listened on intently. "During the meeting, he somehow recalled a voice that I think is the voice of the hypnotist." Surprise flickered across her partners' faces. "He couldn't give much description about the voice, but one thing is for sure: our killer is a guy." Jenn paused to see if they had questions. Sure enough, J. Lee raised her hand.

"Is it possible that it's actually a memory?" J. Lee asked. "Or can it be that it was just a figment of his imagination?"

"I've tested him," Jenn replied. "It's a memory."

"How?" Ben wondered aloud. "How can you be sure?"

Jenn considered his question for a moment. "During the meeting, when I was explaining the method used by the killer to end the girls' lives, I somehow managed to replicate the tone the hypnotist used on Ray. Ray fell into a trance state. I noticed this, but I wasn't aware of what actually happened to him. When he told me later in the afternoon, it was only then that I realised what had taken place during the meeting. He was in a trance. So without a doubt, it was a memory."

Ben nodded as he digested her explanation. "Do you think we can have Ray match the voice with audio recordings from the suspects?"

"Negative," J. Lee said. "It will raise the killer's suspicion that we know about Ray being his puppet."

"Don't you think that we've already raised suspicion by keeping Ray here and cutting off his contact with the outside world?" Ben asked.

J. Lee shook her head. "It's been only less than three days ..." Her voice trailed off, and her eyes abruptly snapped to Jenn. "We need to check his phone records, house and cell phone."

Immediately, Jenn's eyes widened in comprehension. "Of course! Great job, J."

"Wait, what?" Ben stared at them in confusion.

Jenn turned to him with a pointed look. "Gina Lee was murdered when Ray was already here with me."

Understanding dawned on his face. "Got it."

"Smart," Jenn muttered wryly with a smirk. Ben merely rolled his eyes at her. A smile touched her lips as she turned back to J. Lee. "Check it out."

"Sure." J. Lee nodded, scribbling on her notepad again. "Anything else?"

"That's all for now," Jenn announced. "Meeting adjourned."

Jenn had ended the briefing as quickly as she could. She was starting to get worried about leaving Ray alone in the living area. As soon as the briefing ended, she left her partners and rushed out of the office, only to find Ray sitting on the couch, staring off into space. Her heart skipped a beat when she noticed that he was holding his cell phone in his hands. Damn it, she shouldn't have allowed him to leave the briefing.

"Ray, were you on the phone with someone just now?" Jenn asked in a wary tone.

Ray blinked a few times before turning to her. He seemed to be coming out of a daze. "Pardon?"

Jenn saw the look on his face. Alarmed, she stepped forward and held out her hand towards him. "Can I have your cell phone, please?"

Ray frowned in response, tightening his grip on the cell phone. "Why?"

"It's just for a moment," she said in an assuring tone. A subject under hypnosis was highly suggestible. If Ray had been speaking to the hypnotist just now, he might be still in a deep trance, which meant he would be easily convinced to give her the phone.

Ray hesitated, looking at his cell phone.

"Trust me, Ray." She moved closer to him. "Just let me have a look at the cell phone."

He took a long hard look at her, but he handed the cell phone over willingly. "What's wrong?"

She ignored his question and viewed his call history. There was a phone call from an unknown phone number about five minutes ago, and it lasted for less than a minute.

"Who was it that you were speaking with on the phone just now?" Jenn asked, keeping her voice as calm as she could manage.

"My mum," Ray replied with a hint of sadness. "She called from Milan, using her spare phone. I guess she lost her phone again."

Jenn silently heaved a sigh of relief. "Why did she call?"

"She was asking for my whereabouts. My mum called the house last night, but no one answered the phone. She called to tell me that she and Dad would be staying overseas for a little longer. I guess they've met up with some old friends again." He spoke in a wistful tone as he stared down at his intertwined hands.

"You miss them, don't you?" Jenn asked softly as she sat down beside him. Behind her, J. Lee went back into the office with Ben.

"I haven't seen them since a month ago. How can I not miss them?" Ray muttered, looking downcast. "The worst thing is that I had to lie to them about my whereabouts."

Jenn handed the cell phone back to him, and he held on to it tightly. Then she said, "I'm sorry that you have to endure all this. It's tough, I know."

He gave her a brief glance before lowering his head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to remind you of your parents."

Jenn smiled solemnly, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Toughen up, okay?" she said, squeezing his shoulder. "At least you know that they'll be back. That counts as something, doesn't it?" Then she gave him a light pat on his back as she stood up. She knew that he would need some space right now to clear his thoughts, so she sighed and went back into the office to join her partners.