The Darkness of Evil (Karen Vail #7)(97)

“What is it?”

Curtis’s voice drew her attention back to the present. She set the tweezers down and unfolded the note.

“What the hell?” Johnson asked. “A blank piece of paper?”

“Maybe,” Curtis said. “I think I told you Jasmine got one of these from Marcks. Turned out it had indented writing.”

Vail brought it over to the window and held it at an angle to the gloomy, glary daylight. “It does say something.” She kept moving it, trying to catch the shadows just right. “Next in line.”

“What?” Curtis said.

“That’s what it says. ‘Next in line.’”

“Is that a reference to his blood lines?” Johnson asked. “A tongue-in-cheek reference to himself?”

Vail thought about it a moment. “Maybe.” He’s never done something like this before. Why start now? Because we know who the killer is and he knows me? Is this note meant for me? Is he telling me I’m next in line?

Her phone trilled. She slipped the note into an evidence bag and pulled out her Samsung. It was Rooney.

“Just found something,” he said. “Where are you?”

“At a new murder scene. Since our cases appear to be related, want to stop by?”

“Text me the address. Might as well tell you what I’ve found in person.”

“Tell me now.”

“It can wait till I get there. You’ve probably got your hands full.”

“Can’t argue with that.” Vail hung up, tapped out the info to Rooney, then faced Curtis and Johnson. “Art Rooney’s on his way. Meantime, I’m gonna take a look around. Maybe I can see this from a new point of view.”

HALF AN HOUR LATER, Rooney walked in and exchanged brief pleasantries with Curtis, Johnson, and Hurdle. “Good to meet you all in person. So where’s our body?”

“Follow me.” Vail led him into the bedroom.

Rooney stepped up to the victim and surveyed her from head to toe. Vail had never seen him at a fresh crime scene. Then again, given his military training, it made sense that he would conduct his business in an organized, systematic fashion.

He finally stepped back and looked over the room. “Okay. Brief me.”

They gave him a summary of what they had had learned and explained their theory of why there was a difference in MO.

Rooney nodded. “Very good. I agree.”

“We’re looking into Aida’s whereabouts after she left work,” Johnson said. “It’s possible she crossed paths with the killer at some point during the day.”

“Could’ve come across her yesterday. Or the day before that. Not saying you shouldn’t do your due diligence. But I’m not sure it’ll bear fruit.”

Johnson acknowledged Rooney’s comment. “Might be right. Might be wrong.”

“And then there’s the issue of this note,” Vail said, “which is new. Has nothing to do with MO.”

“May just be a tweak,” Rooney said, “at us. Not like we haven’t seen that before.”

“Where are we with the homosexual bars?” Curtis asked.

Hurdle frowned. “Let’s go into the living room. I just feel weird discussing this in front of the … victim. I mean, I know she’s dead, but it doesn’t feel right.”

They moved into the elaborately decorated space, where Hummel collectibles were meticulously laid out in a display cabinet whose shelves had been recently dusted.

“We’ve got the two bars under surveillance,” Hurdle said, “and several others in DC and Virginia. Undercovers come and go, mingle, and report back. We’ve given them an old mug shot of Gaines. Waiting on the DMV to send us what they’ve got—which is hopefully more recent. So far no sign of Marcks.” He turned to Vail. “Where are you on your ‘reassessment’?”

“You serious? You think I can snap my fingers and come up with something on the fly?” Not like I’ve never done that before. But he doesn’t know that.

“What reassessment?” Rooney asked.

As Vail explained, Rooney sucked his teeth. “I think that’s smart. You want some help?”

“From you? Hell yes.”

“Let’s talk it through for a minute. Start at the beginning. What do we know about Marcks?”

“Less than ideal childhood. Our knowledge is limited and based on interviews with relatives and neighbors because he refused to talk with us after his arrest. What we were told is that he was sexually abused as a child. My guess is that it stopped as he grew older because he was probably a big teenager and could defend himself and challenge the person who was abusing him. Likely a close relative. Father, maybe his mother. Hard to know unless he tells us. Not something he’s probably shared with anyone. And not something he’d have shared with me even if I’d been successful in sitting down with him.”

“He’s a sexual mutilator,” Rooney said, “if I remember correctly from Tom’s Wednesday briefings.”

“Good memory. He cuts the vics, parallel lines in the abdomen, and then severs the genitalia.”

“The genitalia seems pretty straightforward. What about the lines?”

“Hard to know. Comforting for some reason.” Vail thought a moment. “But why he did it may be less important now than the fact that he needed to do it. Especially since we know who the UNSUB is.”