Page 16

FIFTEEN

“Have you encountered an UNSUB like this before?” Erin asked Kaely before she took another bite of her salmon.

She shook her head. “I’ve encountered killers who practiced first. More than once. But changing his MO as much as he has? No, not really. Not like this.”

“Do you think he’s perfected his method of killing?”

Kaely sighed. “Yes, but one thing to remember. Many times, it’s that very mindset that makes it easier to catch them.”

Erin frowned. “How do you mean?”

“It actually makes them more predictable. If we’re right, and he’s figured out how to kill the way he feels compelled to, we can begin to predict his next movements. It helps us to understand his signature. The thing that drives him.”

“And if we’re wrong?”

Kaely shrugged. “Then things will become much harder. Let’s hope he sticks to his plan.” She sighed and shook her head. “I know how cold that sounds, but hopefully you understand what I mean.”

“He’s only started, hasn’t he?”

“Yeah,” Kaely said. “I’m afraid that’s true.”

Erin frowned. “Care to share your prediction for his next attempt?”

Kaely was quiet for a moment. “You know, I don’t think our UNSUB will move too far out of the area. The forest is huge. It’s easier for him to stay here—in a place where he can hide so easily. I also suspect that this area is important to him. I think he started killing here.”

“Will he stab her?”

“Sure. He’s worked hard to perfect his method of killing. He enjoys the kill. He may want to throw us off, but I don’t think he’ll be able to end a life without experiencing it up close and personal. That way he can watch the life drain from her eyes.” She frowned. “The angel will be there.”

“Do you have enough to write a profile?” Erin asked.

“After we go through these photos, I can give it a try. I’ve written them with less to go on.”

As they ate, Erin clicked through the photos. From time to time, Kaely would ask her to stop, and she would write something in her notebook. When viewing the first body, a thought popped into Erin’s mind.

“Why the angel?” she asked Kaely. “Is it a religious symbol? Maybe the killer is a religious nut?”

Kaely was quiet for a moment as she considered Erin’s question. “I do believe there’s some kind of religious significance to the placement of the angel—and the white dress. But this guy doesn’t love religion. He hates it.”

“Why do you say that?”

“If this woman were a prostitute, then yes, he could be trying to punish her for her supposed sins. But from looking at her, I see what you saw. Good teeth. Excellent grooming. Perfect hair.” She held up her hand when Erin started to say something. “Yes, I know. There are some high-dollar prostitutes who would pay this kind of attention to their hair, teeth, and nails. But here? Really? It just doesn’t work. I could be wrong. She may be a lady-of-the-night on vacation. But my gut tells me this isn’t the case. I have no idea who the other bodies belong to, but I’m going to guess that they’ll match missing person reports from this area. And they won’t be prostitutes either. Remember, he was trying to kill them in a certain way. If he’d succeeded, he would have left them on display instead of covering them up. As far as the woman from this morning—the white dress, the angel statue... I feel like he’s focusing on angels. He’s actually trying to kill angels. The real reason for the white dress. He thinks angels wear white.”

“But why would anyone hate angels?” Erin asked, confused. “Even if they existed, why would anyone want to...kill them?”

Kaely smiled at her. “Well, many people do believe angels exist. This guy believes it. He wouldn’t show so much anger toward something he didn’t believe was real. That tells me he’s had some kind of religious upbringing, and he specifically blames angels for something he thinks they did. My guess is a parent who focused a lot of his or her religious beliefs on angels.”

“People do that?”

Kaely nodded. “Angels appear in several different religions. Christianity, Judaism, and even Islam.”

“Islam?” Erin was surprised.

Kaely nodded. “Add an obsession or some kind of mental problems associated with the concept of angels. It’s a perfect storm for someone with anger issues to strike out against beings they can’t see.”

“Kind of like aliens?”

Kaely smiled. “Careful. I believe in angels. However, I don’t worship them, and I certainly don’t blame them for anything that’s gone wrong in my life. There are a lot of erroneous beliefs out there about angels—and God. Like someone saying God took someone away. As if God suddenly decided to give someone a dreaded disease as a way to bring them to heaven.”

“You don’t believe that?”

Kaely’s eyes widened. “No. God is a good God. A loving Father. He doesn’t visit death and disease on His children.”

“But in the Old Testament...”

Kaely smiled at Erin. “What people call the Old Testament is a collection of writings during a time before Christ. Things were different then. Not sure where some of the bad things came from. If you read Job, you’ll see that the evil he went through actually came from Satan. Still, some of the writings make it sound as if God doled out judgment. I won’t argue that with you. The important thing is that when Jesus came, things changed. We see who God really is in the form of His Son, Jesus. He brought healing, love, and forgiveness. This is what we live under now.”

“Aren’t there also fallen angels?”

Kaely nodded. “There’s not a lot about them in the Bible. It talks about how they were thrown out of heaven for conspiring with Lucifer, an angel that God loved and anointed. There’s a passage that says they’re actually in chains, awaiting the day of judgment. Some people believe they’re the demons that roam the earth. I don’t know. To be honest, I try to focus on my relationship with God. I don’t concentrate on demons or fallen angels, but believe it or not, we faced the idea of angels several times when I was at the FBI. Criminals... serial killers... who were brought up to believe that their god or angels wanted them to kill. Maybe our guy is coming at it from the other side. I have to wonder if he blames the angels for taking away someone he loves. Now he wants to hurt them. I can’t think of any other reason for painting tears on the figurines. I haven’t seen anything like this before.”

Erin thought about what she’d said. “But if he believes angels are evil and that they did something that hurt him... why is he taking it out on women?”

“I realize it doesn’t make any sense. This killer is clearly delusional. I think in his mind, if he can’t strike back at an angel, he can put a woman in a white dress and kill her. I wonder if he thinks he’s challenging the angels by ending lives they hadn’t planned to take.” Kaely sighed. “Even the most organized and intelligent serial killers have a hard time with reality. We saw that a lot. Like you said, if the angels are evil, why would they care if he hurts people? It’s not logical, but rage never is. Hate never is.”

“Well, it’s nuts, but it fits the statues. Unless he’s really angry at people who make angel figurines.” She smiled at Kaely who laughed lightly.

“Now that would be an interesting twist. I never thought of that.”

Just then, Erin’s phone rang. She picked it up. “I think it’s Chief Nightengale.” She’d given him her phone number this morning after finding the first body in the woods.

Sure enough, when she answered, it was the chief. Erin motioned to Kaely for something to write with. Kaely flipped over to a new page in her notebook and then pushed it, and a pen, over to where Erin could reach it. She quickly wrote down what the chief said. When he said good-bye, she disconnected the call.

“Well, the ME says we were right about everything. The first girl they found this morning was stabbed in the heart and the body was moved to where it was found. He’s still working on the other bodies, but the woman this morning and the buried body killed most recently have both been identified. The name of the woman missing from the resort is Chloe Banner. And the newest body that was uncovered this afternoon is a missing person, reported six weeks ago. Terri Rupp. She was supposed to be visiting a friend about ten miles from Sanctuary. Her car was found a few miles away, abandoned.”

“Well, at least their families will have closure,” Kaely said. “Although, I’ve never thought closure was everything it’s cracked up to be.”

“I agree.” Erin stood up. “Let me take our plates into the kitchen. Then we’ll talk a little more about the photos.” She paused for a moment before saying, “I’m hoping you’ll do your... thing. You know, your way of profiling. The one you told me about?”

“Maybe not tonight. I want to go through what we have first. And, I’d like to know more about these victims. After I get that information, I’ll show it to you. Just remember that this really isn’t the way FBI behavioral analysts do their job. It’s a procedure I came up with on my own.”

“I understand. I’m just really interested in seeing...” Erin stopped talking when she heard a noise coming from outside. It wasn’t loud, but it was clear enough.

It was the sound of a woman sobbing.