Bartram saw to the excavator operators while Ella slowly walked the grid.Now that the picture was becoming clear, her sorrow for the victim began to manifest as a ball of revulsion.She envisioned his last moments: the terror, the hope, the despair.It was a psychological torment far beyond physical pain.‘Maybe, but something is missing here.’
‘Like what?’Ripley asked, but was then interrupted by her ringing cell.She held up a finger and then stepped aside to take the call, thus leaving Ella alone with her contemplations.She tried to see the world through the eyes of this unknown assailant, and when applied the psychopath filter, she couldn’t help but spot the anomalies.
What nagged at her first was the lack of dirt shoveled onto the coffin.A mission-oriented offender like this, especially one reenacting ancient torture techniques, would seal the coffin with earth to maximize the victim’s terror.He would have a very specific fantasy he would want to address, and wouldn’t go to these kinds of lengths only tonotaddress every single need.He would engineer the reality as close to the fantasy as possible.
This unsub had left the coffin unsealed.Was it a mistake, or a conscious choice?
The second anomaly was victimology.This man, whoever he was, seemed similar in age to Julia Dawson, but that seemed to be the only characteristic they had in common.If not for the timescale and the proximity to the first scene, Ella would think these murders were the work of two different unsubs.
Ella took a moment to sort through the details.The unsealed coffin, the seemingly unrelated victims, and the staged scenes.Yet, as Ella stood there, enveloped by the quiet of the woods, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was missing a crucial element that would tie these disparate strands together.
What did the unsub see in these victims?Was it random selection, or was there a deeper rationale behind the choices?
As Ella continued to ponder, Ripley returned.‘That was Doctor Sanchez.She’s got the toxicology report from Julia Dawson.’
‘She find anything?’
‘Yeah.She found traces of GHB in her system.’
The comment hit Ella like a tsunami, crashing into her and sending her theories down an unexpected path.GHB, or gamma-hydroxybutyric, was a date rape drug that could sedate someone within ten minutes of it entering their system.‘But why?Why go through the trouble of drugging them?If he's trying to torture his victims then drugging them just makes them less responsive.’
‘Sanchez said there was only a mild trace in Julia’s system.Maybe not enough to completely knock her out.’
'So the killer had access to them before the abduction,' Ella said.
'Which means they trusted him.Or didn't see him as a threat.'
‘We need to find out who this man is,’ Ella said as she turned her attention back to the victim.‘See if he has any connection to Julia Dawson.’
She crouched again and started going through the man's pockets.Jacket first, but both sides came up empty.Pants pockets next.Nothing.No phone, no wallet, no keys.Lastly, she dug her hands beneath him and reached into his rear pockets.Her fingers brushed against something.Carefully, she raised the victim and removed the contents.
‘Got something?’Ripley asked.
Ella presented her findings.
A pile of business cards.
‘Looks like our killer missed something.’She stood up and rifled through them, all the same.The details said:Thomas Barker, Production Manager, Kreative Solutions.‘Thomas Barker.We got him.’
Ripley took the cards off her partner, retrieved an evidence bag from her pocket and dropped the cards inside.Before she zipped them up, she said, ‘Wait a minute.The one at the back is different.’
Ella got back to her feet.‘Different?’
Ripley pulled it back out.She peeled the last card off the pack and turned it over.
Not a business card.
A church membership card.
‘St.Augustine's Episcopal Church,’ Ella said.‘Good spot.’
Ella took the anomaly card, looked it over.Plain white, silver text.Certificate of Church Membership.If we walk into the light, we have fellowship with one another.
'Religious,' Ripley said.
‘I need to look into Thomas Barker’s life.He’s married judging by his ring, so we need to speak with his wife.Then dig into every aspect of his life, see if there's any connection to Julia Dawson.’
‘You want to go now or wait for me?I’m on orders to watch the scene until forensics arrive.’
