They had spent the night in the grimy motel Mitra had detested and gotten up early to get a head start, making it into town by late morning. Linda had invited them in and offered them sweet tea and some lemon bars, which Haris accepted enthusiastically. She had gone over the murder that had happened five days ago now, but it was just as Haris described. A ritualistic murder of a young woman outside of Jackson. The body was found on the train tracks with the throat and wrists slit; something she couldn’t have done herself. The police had found little signs of struggle and no suspects whatsoever.
When it was clear that Linda wouldn’t have any other helpful information, Mitra took the opportunity to drill the woman with questions about being Ummanu in plain sight, what her life was like, or
