Page 24

TWENTY-THREE

After he got home, Adrian changed clothes and made himself a cup of decaf caramel cappuccino. He’d purchased a one-cup coffeemaker for Christmas and had been experimenting with different flavored coffee pods until he found these at a large discount store in Knoxville. They were much better than some of the more expensive types of coffees and cappuccinos. He sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. Jake jumped up next to him and put his head on Adrian’s lap.

“Yeah, you love me until you get the chance to flirt with a couple of pretty women,” he said, stroking Jake’s head. “I can’t believe how fickle you are.”

Jake made a low moaning sound, and Adrian laughed. “Sorry. You’re not getting away with your disloyalty that easy.”

Jake’s head went up and he placed a paw on Adrian’s leg. He sighed dramatically. “Okay, okay. You’re forgiven.”

As if he understood, Jake put his head back down, closed his eyes, and went to sleep. Adrian kept the TV on for a while, but he wasn’t really watching it. As he sipped his cappuccino, he kept going over the case in his mind. He felt uneasy, but he wasn’t sure why. Of course, he was bothered by the murders, but there was something else. Something he couldn’t seem to remember. As he clicked through everything in his mind that he’d seen, and all of the facts they’d accumulated, it was as if there was a voice whispering to him, trying to get him to listen.

His grandmother used to tell him that if he learned to listen to the Holy Spirit, he would always have access to everything he ever needed.

“The Holy Spirit will guide you along your way, boy,” she’d said. “Just learn to listen with your heart.”

Problem was, his heart didn’t seem to be paying much attention lately. Although he had to act confident in front of his officers in their ability to solve these murders, he couldn’t help but wonder if they should contact the FBI—or get Knoxville involved. Were they really up to this? The only reason he was willing to wait was because of Kaely Hunter and Erin Delaney. If his heart was telling him anything, it was that he had some of the best resources available to anyone through the training and talent of these two remarkable women.

He felt himself begin to nod off in front of the TV. As he drifted off, the brilliant green eyes of Erin Delaney seemed to look deeply into his. And it made him smile.

If she didn’t know better, Erin would have been worried that Kaely could actually hear her heart beating. It seemed loud to her, but she knew that wasn’t actually possible. Ever since Kaely had told her about her “process,” she’d wanted to watch it. She would never tell Kaely that she’d tried it herself, but that it hadn’t worked. In fact, she’d felt silly. While working on her book, she’d asked several questions about Kaely’s method, but her responses had been a little strange. At one point she said that there was a spiritual side to her method that Erin wouldn’t understand. Kaely was right. She didn’t understand. Kaely was good about not bringing up God very often in their conversations. Erin had made it clear from the beginning that she wasn’t interested. When Kaely read parts of her novel that contained profanity or graphic violence, Kaely hadn’t said a word. That had surprised her. Erin had wondered if she might back out of the project—tell her she couldn’t lower herself to work with someone who wrote things that went against her Christian principles. Funny thing was, Erin didn’t use profanity when she talked to Kaely on the phone—or now that they were together. It wasn’t that she thought Kaely would judge her. She honestly didn’t want to make her friend uncomfortable. Kaely wasn’t one of those judgmental, critical Christians. Instead, she was sweet and understanding. She’d been a better friend to her than the people she’d worked with for several years. Although she had no intention of asking questions about God, if she ever changed her mind, Kaely would be the person she’d turn to.

Now they were sitting at the kitchen table, Kaely on one side, and Erin in a chair a few feet away. The chair across from Kaely was empty. Kaely had her phone set to record and had left it on the table in front of her . She had Erin’s phone next to her with the crime photos pulled up on the screen. She’d asked Erin not to say anything until she was finished. Why was she so nervous? It was more than excitement. It was as if there was something in the room. A kind of energy. She had no idea what it was—but she was certain it wasn’t her imagination.

“Before I start,” Kaely said, “I need to explain that I used to actually eat dinner with the UNSUB.” Kaely laughed at Erin’s expression. “No, the UNSUB didn’t actually eat. When I originally got the idea of trying to see the person I was profiling, it came about while studying what people eat and why. For example, someone with bad table manners might have been raised in a certain type of home. Those who ate certain foods could also be profiled because of their choices. Eventually, I dropped that part of the profile. I still think looking at what people eat and how they eat can be really helpful. I’ve just moved beyond it.” She stared at Erin for a moment before saying, “As I told you, there’s a spiritual aspect to this. At one point, there were some problems with... well, with the wrong spirits becoming involved. I’ve learned how to take authority over that, but if for any reason, you should become uncomfortable, just leave the room. I’ll understand. But like I said, please don’t say anything. I need to complete the profile. Do you understand?”

Erin nodded and tried to look nonchalant about what was getting ready to happen. She tried to dismiss her feelings, but they wouldn’t be easily vanquished.

Kaely spread out their notes in front of her. Then she closed her eyes and lowered her head. She’d explained to Erin that she always prayed before she started. This was one time when she didn’t seem to be concerned with how Erin would react. She didn’t ask if it was okay. She simply informed her that this was the way it was going to be.

After she lifted her head, she rifled through the notes, clicked through the photos, and then she started to speak. She looked at the chair across from her as if someone was there.

“You’re angry,” she said in a matter-of-fact voice. “You’ve been angry a long time. Ever since you were a child. Something happened to make you this way. You’ve been planning to pay someone back for a while. Not long ago, you started practicing. Practicing for vengeance. Against God. Against the angels.”

Kaely frowned as she looked at the chair. “You’re in your late twenties, early thirties. Maybe even your late thirties. You’re nice looking, but not so handsome that you are considered unattainable by your victims.”

Although they hadn’t discussed this before, Erin realized immediately that this was true. Chloe had obviously been attracted to him at some point. Either before she went to meet him or after she arrived at her destination. She didn’t have defensive wounds, so she’d apparently gotten in the car with him. Yet Erin understood that if he was exceptionally good-looking, it wouldn’t work in his favor. If he was just nice looking, he could attract almost anyone regardless of age.

Kaely glanced down at the papers on the table again. “You don’t like women, although your anger isn’t really directed at them. They’re only a means to an end.” She paused. “The most important thing isn’t the woman—it’s the figurine you force them to hold.” She paused again for a moment. “You’re uncomfortable touching them. You have no physical attraction to them. You want to kill them in a certain way. You practiced it several times before you killed Chloe. However, what you did to the first three wasn’t perfect, so you buried them. But you got it right with Chloe. That’s why you displayed her. She was perfection.” She frowned and stared at the chair again.

Erin gulped. She’d never experienced anything like this before.

“I don’t see any connection between the women,” Kaely continued. “We’re not going to find you that way, are we? You’re not actually killing them . You’re killing because of someone else.” She was quiet for a moment. “Okay, let’s move on. You don’t mind the makeup, their shoes, or their jewelry. Why? Is it because you’re uncomfortable with touching them that way?” She stopped again. “No, that’s not it.” She shook her head. “You don’t know anything about angels. If you did, you’d know that as far as we know, they’re all male. That tells me you don’t read the Bible. My guess is that if anyone ever tried to get you to go to church or read the Bible, you rejected it.” Suddenly she smiled. “That’s it, isn’t it? Someone tried to force the Bible on you, but you didn’t want anything to do with it. You hated them for trying to make you into what they wanted you to be. Did you kill them too?” Pause. “I think you did. What was it that set you off? What did they do to you? And how do the angels tie into it? Did they blame the angels for something? Did they tell you the angels...” She stopped, gazing at the empty chair as if she could actually see someone there. Her expression relaxed and she smiled. “They told you the angels took someone away that you loved, didn’t they? Like your mother, maybe? And that’s why you dress these women up as angels and put that figurine in their hands. You think you’re paying the angels back for what they took from you. You don’t remove their makeup, jewelry, or their shoes because the only thing you believe about angels is that they are female and wear white robes.” She stopped suddenly and a look of surprise changed her expression. “No, that’s not it. You don’t take off their makeup, jewelry, or their shoes because your mother wore makeup, liked jewelry and high heels. You can’t remove them because it would betray her in some way. My guess is whoever told you that the angels took her away also believed your mother shouldn’t wear those things. That’s it, isn’t it?” She quickly clicked through the photos. Even though she didn’t say what she was looking for, instinctively, Erin knew. Although they couldn’t tell if the other women were wearing makeup, she wanted to know if they were wearing high heels or jewelry. Kaely didn’t say anything, but she nodded. “Two of these women wore heels. One didn’t. Two of them are still wearing jewelry.”

Kaely sighed and leaned back in her chair. Then she stared at the chair across from her and frowned. “You’re very dangerous, aren’t you? The women are picked at random. You’ll go after anyone who is available. Anyone who dresses the way you want. Like I said, I can’t profile you by studying the women. They’re only the vessel for your angel figurine, the white dress, and the blue ribbon that you add. My guess is that you might have been willing to add shoes and jewelry to the corpses, but that could leave evidence behind. We could find out where those things were purchased. But tracking down blue ribbon is nearly impossible.”

Erin wished she had her notebook so she could write down what Kaely was saying, but it was on the table, and Erin didn’t want to disturb her process.

“So, you live in this area. You’re in your late twenties to late thirties, you’re nice looking...” Kaely almost whispered this. She was repeating the observations she’d already made. She seemed frustrated. Was she going to stop? As Kaely rubbed her forehead, Erin wanted to ask her, but again, she knew she had to stay silent.

“You have a good job,” Kaely said suddenly. “One that makes you seem appealing to the women you killed. Or... one that made you seem safe.”

A thought popped into Erin’s head that made her feel sick to her stomach. A job that made the victims feel safe? Like someone in law enforcement? No, it couldn’t be. She pushed the thought out of her mind. Her research had shown her that many serial killers posed as police officers. But surely no one on the Sanctuary police force could do these terrible things, right?

She heard Kaely speaking but missed part of it.

“I can see you now,” she was saying. “Young, attractive, strong, and working a job that demands respect.”

Erin was startled when Kaely stared at the chair and smiled as if she actually saw someone sitting there. Did she?

“Women are not afraid of you because of the job you have,” Kaely continued. “You live in Sanctuary, and you have a past. My guess is that your mother is dead, and you blame the angels for her passing. Someone told you this when you were young, and now, you’re visiting vengeance on God. You may be focused on angels, but your real hatred is for Him. We’re going to find you, you know. We’ve narrowed down the search, and you will make a mistake. In fact, you may have done so already. We’re coming for you.”

There was a silence as Kaely continued to stare at the empty chair. Then she smiled again. And for just a few seconds, Erin was convinced she saw a figure in the chair herself. She put her hand over her mouth to keep from crying out. It was impossible. Had to be her imagination. But a brief glimpse of a man sitting in that chair rocked her to her core.