Saint flies for the first time to Kansas City, unsettled by the plane, the smoke, and the feeling that she has been pulled far beyond the scale of Monta Clare policing. A car takes Saint to the federal building, where the size and noise of the FBI office immediately show her she is entering a much larger world of crime and investigation.

Saint is brought into the office of Himes, a senior federal official who begins with bureau history and then shifts to Saint herself. Himes makes clear that Saint has not been invited by mistake: he has studied Saint's record, including the Eli Aaron case, her academic ability, and even her private correspondence studies in psychology and behavioral science. When Saint challenges why she is there, Himes says this is not exactly a job offer but an assignment, and he signals that her interest in understanding criminal motives is relevant.

Himes then shows Saint a file on skeletal remains found near Tensleep Creek by Misty Moon Lake. When Saint sees rosary beads in the evidence photograph, she realizes the dead girl is Angela Rossi, tying the discovery back to Eli Aaron and the missing girls Saint has been haunted by. The revelation matters because it proves that the old case is still producing answers and suggests federal resources might help uncover more.

Finally, Himes places bank robbery files in front of Saint. At first the robberies seem too scattered and too minor to justify bringing her in, and Saint does not understand the connection. Himes explains that the same robber used an unusual one-shot flintlock pistol in all six robberies. That detail shocks Saint, because she recognizes it as Patch's distinctive "pirate gun," revealing that the FBI has linked him to the crimes and drawing Saint directly into his trail.