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CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Phoenix

“Why’d it rhyme?” JJ wondered aloud a short time later after I’d had a chance to calm down.

He’d said he wanted me back and he’d kill until I returned to him, but for some reason, in the recesses of my mind I’d thought maybe they’d catch him, especially when we’d found Jaron’s associates.

Now, I knew he’d never stop until I returned.

His obsession likely had nothing to do with me personally but with the fact that I was his property, his rebirth, and with me leaving I’d messed up his pattern.

“It’s weird, right?” Mason agreed.

“We can ask Aziza—I called her, and she’ll be here soon.” Noel sat beside me on the love seat that had been pushed against the wall.

“Did he speak in rhymes, ever?” I looked up at where Matt was sitting on the corner of one of the desks and shook my head.

“Do you think someone else is working with him?” Mason motioned to Matt. “It happened with you.”

Matt sighed. “That was very different. Nicole was married to James and a victim all the same. I feel like she was trying to stay alive, and in her mind she loved him.” Matt glanced at me and I smiled softly. I knew a little about what happened to him.

“My stalker was my landlord and we thought his wife was his partner in it all, and yeah, she helped him, but she likely had no choice as it turned out he’d abducted her many years earlier and brainwashed her.

” He frowned. “In the end she killed herself because she’d thought she’d failed him. It was terribly sad.”

“Oh my God, that’s horrible.” My heart hurt just thinking about it.

“It was, is…but I really don’t think that’s the case here. He brainwashes his victims to think horribly about themselves, likely to keep them complacent and stay with him because he’s the only one tolerating them, but it’s not to have them team up with him.”

“In a way, the Zaffys are working for him.” Shep walked into the room, carrying a tray with cookies and a pitcher of milk. Gabe followed, holding glasses.

“I think it may be time to visit the Zaffys.” Angel reached over and snagged a cookie.

“You don’t think the FBI is watching them like a hawk?” Nick poured himself and Matt a glass of milk.

Angel’s grin was full-on mischief. “Oh Nick, you and Noel have all the toys. I’m sure we can find out how much surveillance they’re under and organize accordingly.”

“Can you never smile again, please?” Noel grimaced. “It’s unsettling.”

That earned a chuckle from me.

“We should focus on Jaron. I think of all the Zaffys, he’s the one who likely knows more than the others. Hank would be a close second.” JJ chomped on a cookie and when I went to grab my own, Noel took two and handed them to me.

“Thanks.”

He smiled and turned to JJ. “I agree. Nick and I can get drones in the air to their addresses and the funeral home; that way we don’t need to split up and go check them out.”

“Be careful. If you think the FBI won’t see those, you’re crazy,” Mason said.

“It’s the only way. We can use whatever street cameras we can find, but there’s no guarantee they’ll work.” Nick wiped his mouth. “I’ll get started on all the locations they’d be at now, and we can get drones up tonight when it’s dark. Harder to spot them at night.”

Aziza arrived half an hour later and read what Adonis had written. Noel had been sensible enough to jot it down when Carmichael had told us.

“His first letter was short, sharp, and violent. This one is more poetic.” She hummed. “But I don’t think it was written by someone else.”

“How do you know that?” Hazel asked.

“Katherine Lewis and Jason Highland were placed at the same location, yet arranged differently. Like night and day, black and white, anger and happiness…rebirth and death. There’s a beauty to that for him; it makes sense.

He’s upset because Phoenix isn’t with him, but he had just completed part of his pattern, and Jason was the release of his anger.

It was art to him, and with that a letter worthy of the masterpiece. ”

“That’s some fucked-up shit right there.” I seconded Angel’s response.

“It is.” She gave her attention to Noel.

“I read everything you sent me on Amo Cormac. Rich, influential, has some power, and if I had to diagnose him based on everything we know, I’d say he has NPD, narcissistic personality disorder, and psychopathy.

” The moment Angel opened his mouth, she held up a hand.

“Hold on, Angel. I know what you’re going to say.

Yes, the diagnoses have similarities. But they aren’t completely the same.

While some of the traits overlap, like the grandiosity and lack of empathy for others, psychopathy has a broader range of manipulative and antisocial behaviors.

He’d fall into both of those categories. ”

“So is that why he wears the mask?” I wondered.

“There are possibilities, but I’d only be assuming at this point.”

“By all means assume. I feel like the more we know, the more we can understand him, and to understand him is how we defeat him.” Shep sat in one of the desk chairs and yanked JJ onto his lap.

“He could have BDD, body dysmorphic disorder, which is an excessive preoccupation with perceived flaws in appearance.”

“Like he doesn’t have any flaws, but when he looks in the mirror he sees them?” I asked.

“Yes, which could be the reason he is so angry with beautiful people.”

“Hold on.” Angel held up a hand. “You said he was following Adonis, the cycle he had, and that Adonis was beautiful.”

Aziza was patient with us, even as brash as Angel was. “Yes, but Adonis was killed by a wild boar. His perfection rearranged.”

“Oh.” Angel frowned. “So he’d still be following the cycle of Adonis, but this persona is manifested because of the narcissism, psychopathy, and BDD?”

“It could, but narcissism and BDD do sort of cancel each other out as well.” She stared at the note again. I imagined it was hard to diagnose someone you couldn’t talk to.

“Could it be a personality disorder?” Hazel tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I had a friend in college who had this thing where she was Emily most of the time but on occasion she’d slip and become her brother, Peter, who’d died. She was on meds and mostly was fine.”

Aziza hummed. “Possibly, but then that would mean we were dealing with Amo and Adonis and with how much activity Adonis has been having, it would make me wonder how suppressed Amo is. I just don’t know.”

“I’m sticking to your original assessment,” Four said from in the corner. He was scrolling on his phone, not even looking up. “I think he’s disfigured. It’s why you can’t find a photo of him online, either. He likely has someone who goes to events for him.”

“With all his money, he can’t get plastic surgery?” Gabe blew a raspberry. “Bullshit.”

“Unless.” Noel stood and raised a finger. “What if he had plastic surgery and it was botched? It doesn’t matter how much money you have—botched is botched.”

Aziza nodded. “True, he could be resentful of beautiful people who never needed to have plastic surgery and the mess-up put him over the edge.”

“Except these murders haven’t been going on for years, which would mean it happened not too long ago…why no pictures of him before it?” Mason asked.

“Yeah, you’re assuming he hasn’t been getting surgeries for years and that there haven’t been murders.

” Four put his phone down and faced us. “He has cafés all over the world, you said. Start fishing about deaths in any of those areas. Also, if he thought he was hideous and needed plastic surgery to begin with, that would be why he avoided the camera.” Four chuckled.

“A man desperate for affection and attention, chasing the spotlight, trying to be worthy of it only to end as a mangled version of himself? Sad.”

“When did you become so fucking insightful…and talkative?” Angel grimaced.

“Once Four started talking, started healing, I realized he was quite brilliant. It was a lovely surprise.” Aziza smiled at Four, who scooped up his phone and went back to scrolling.

“Wouldn’t his employees see his face? I’m sure he wasn’t walking around with a doll mask on all day.” Matt raised a good point.

Aziza nodded. “Perhaps. It’s worth asking the employees what he looks like. I can speak with Carmichael.”

“You do that; it may get us a description.” Noel sounded hopeful, so I tried to be too.