Lacy receives an anonymous call and meets a mysterious woman at a coffee shop who claims a sitting judge is a serial killer.

Jeri Crosby reveals her identity and describes how her father was strangled with a distinctive rope knot by an angry former student.

After researching the clues Jeri provided, Lacy identifies the suspected serial killer judge as Ross Bannick.

Lacy presents Jeri's case to supervisor Cleo, who refuses to investigate and says the matter will be referred to police.

The BJC board summons Lacy and offers her the interim director position after her supervisor unexpectedly resigns.

Lacy accepts the interim director role, gaining the authority she needs to officially investigate Bannick.

Jeri files a formal complaint under the alias Betty Roe, officially launching the BJC's investigation of Judge Bannick.

Jeri sends Bannick anonymous taunting letters revealing he is under investigation and that his crimes are known.

Bannick visits the Verno evidence warehouse and uses custom spyware to discover the BJC has opened a case against him.

Sheriff Black tells Lacy that a partial, apparently altered fingerprint was found on the phones Bannick mailed after the Verno murders.

Bannick lures ambulance chaser Mal Schnetzer to a rented Houston trailer and kills him with his signature baton and rope.

A newspaper article connects multiple murders with the same method, revealing to Bannick that someone has documented all his crimes.

Bannick tracks Jeri to a motel, knocks her unconscious with ether, and takes her to a remote cabin to interrogate her.

Bannick attacks Lacy at the motel doorway but Gunther tackles him; Bannick escapes and finds his cabin surrounded by police.

Bannick checks into a Texas drug rehabilitation facility, burns his fingerprints off with acid, and dies from an oxycodone overdose.

The story begins when a mysterious woman persuades Lacy Stoltz to look into a sitting judge she believes is a serial killer. After her supervisor blocks the investigation, Lacy's sudden promotion as interim BJC director gives her the authority to take the case forward. As Lacy and her team build their evidence, the killer discovers he is being hunted and begins tracking the woman who has pursued him for two decades. Bannick kidnaps Jeri Crosby and attempts to eliminate Lacy, but an unexpected intervention thwarts him at the critical moment. Cornered and exposed, Bannick retreats to a Texas facility where he destroys all physical evidence of his identity and takes his own life on his own terms. The story closes with the killer dead and justice incomplete, but a final discovery at least links Bannick to one of his murders.

The key events driving Bannick's exposure and downfall.

Jeri takes Lacy to the grave of scoutmaster Thad Leawood, Bannick's earliest known victim, in Brookleaf Cemetery.

Bannick murders house painter Lanny Verno at a job site and then kills Verno's boss Dunwoody when he arrives unexpectedly.

Sheriff Dale Black arrives at the Verno-Dunwoody murder scene and later discovers the victims' phones were mailed to his own daughter.

Lacy and her boyfriend Allie spend a weekend away together, discussing both the Bannick case and their stalled relationship.

Allie admits he has been saving money to buy Lacy an engagement ring but was unsure she would accept.

Jeri hires private investigator Rollie Tabor, who locates the Verno arrest report and finds the complainant's name blacked out.

Tabor tracks down Officer Ozment, who confirms the redacted complainant in the Verno file is lawyer Ross Bannick.

Lacy and Darren visit Harrison County Sheriff Napier to confirm the Verno-Dunwoody murders match Bannick's established killing method.

Lacy and Darren fly to Marathon, Florida to investigate the Perry Kronke murder scene and confirm the method matches Bannick's.

Bannick phones Officer Ozment directly, learns a private detective had been asking questions, and obtains the rental car plate number.

Bannick sends Rollie Tabor a fake job inquiry email and uses the attachment to plant spyware in Tabor's files.

Bannick tells his court secretary he has been diagnosed with cancer and takes a leave of absence from his judicial duties.

Bannick plants a GPS tracking device on Jeri's car while she is at the university where she teaches.

Lacy and the FBI form a joint task force while Bannick secretly observes their meeting from a hotel across the street.

Jeri locates the truck Bannick drove on the night of the Verno murder and FBI technicians find matching fingerprints inside.

This pool follows the evidence trail that Lacy and Jeri assemble against Bannick, beginning with an early visit to the grave of his first known victim. A flashback reveals how Bannick committed his most recent killings and how one small error — mailing the victims' phones — put investigators on his trail. Jeri's private investigator uncovers the altered court file that links Bannick to one of his victims, while Bannick counters by identifying the investigator, planting surveillance on Jeri, and quietly watching the FBI task force form around him. Amid the investigation, Lacy's personal relationship with Allie reaches a crossroads, adding emotional weight to the unfolding danger. The pool closes with Jeri's discovery of the physical evidence that finally gives the FBI a provable connection to at least one of Bannick's murders.

The investigation's key discoveries and the threads connecting them.

Jeri tells Lacy that each of Bannick's victims had previously crossed and enraged him, revealing a deliberate pattern of revenge.

After the Verno killing, Bannick drives past the active crime scene and nods to an officer on the perimeter — something he has never done before.

After the BJC declines to investigate, Jeri challenges Lacy with a direct question: whether she personally would pursue the case if it were her decision.

Lacy's investigation team discovers Bannick purchased and quietly sold a gray pickup matching the vehicle spotted near the Verno murder scene.

Bannick discovers that the cold case file for victim Eileen Nickleberry was recently accessed by someone posing as a reporter.

Bannick debates fleeing to a country with no extradition treaty but decides to stay, certain no evidence can ever convict him.

Bannick links Jeri Crosby to her father Alfred Burke and to Rollie Tabor's city, confirming her as the woman who has been hunting him.

Jeri travels to Detroit to visit her daughter Denise and reveals for the first time that authorities are now investigating her father's killer.

Lacy and Allie meet with retired FBI Behavioral Analyst Mr. Gray, who confirms the killer profile and urges bringing the Bureau into the case.

An unencrypted police email mentioning a partial thumbprint is accidentally sent in the clear and immediately intercepted by Bannick's spyware.

Bannick conducts a thorough cleaning spree through his home and courthouse office, wiping every surface to remove all fingerprints.

Bannick holds Jeri at gunpoint in the remote cabin and forces her to telephone Lacy, luring her into a trap at the motel.

Two teenagers on ATVs break into the cabin, discover Jeri unconscious, and call police, inadvertently saving her life.

The FBI searches Bannick's home and office after his disappearance but finds no evidence linking him to any of the murders.

Lacy tells Allie they are getting married, that they will both quit their jobs, and that they are starting an entirely new life together.

This pool traces the critical moments of insight and decision that shape the hunt on both sides. Early revelations establish Bannick's pattern of revenge and signal that his behavior is beginning to escalate — he is becoming reckless in ways he has never shown before. Both hunter and hunted make crucial discoveries: Bannick gradually identifies the woman pursuing him while Lacy's team uncovers the physical evidence that may eventually prove his guilt. A retired FBI analyst confirms the killer's profile and urges escalation, while an intercepted police email tells Bannick exactly how close investigators have come. The confrontation at the cabin is the story's emotional climax, followed by Bannick's disappearance and the FBI's fruitless search of his property. The pool closes with Lacy's decision to leave her old life entirely behind, proposing to Allie and stepping into an open future.