Kate took another sip of coffee.That fit with the killer’s MO.The killer held the marriage bed sacred, and it was pretty clear that Dr.Hammond didn’t.
“I just can’t get past it,” Jenna blurted.“I mean, I get that people are sexual beings, and ancient humans were polygamous and whatever, but part of being in love with someone isbelongingto them, you know?Heart, soul, and body.She would tell her patients to explore sex with other people, and sometimes you could see in their eyes they didn't want it.Sometimes one partner would get excited, and you could see the hurt in the other's eyes."
She stopped and looked at Kate, wide-eyed.She’d just revealed that she was a little less respectful of doctor-patient confidentiality than she’d said before.
Kate wasn’t here to arrest Jenna for snooping, though.“Were any of those couples angry with Dr.Hammond?”
Jenna shook her head.“No, not that I saw.They just… didn’t work out.A few did, maybe, but most of them ended up divorced soon after.That’s the thing.Sex isn’tjustsex.It’s part of how we express love.If you say you love someone but you let someone else inside of you, it’s hard to prove that you really love someone.”
She brought her coffee abruptly to her lips, maybe to stifle the stream of confession.Kate resisted the urge to let her frustration show.This interview was making for good gossip but nothing new for her case.“Did Dr.Hammond seem distressed lately or worried?Did she mention anyone new in her life?Were there people who publicly condemned her or opposed her?”
Jenna caught Kate’s irritation and deflated.Her voice was thin and reedy when she replied, “No.I’m sorry.I was just in the storage closet practicing what I was going to say.Iwasn’t even mad at her.I just felt bad working for someone advocating for polygamy.”
Kate sighed and got to her feet.“Thank you, Jenna.This helps a lot.”
She didn’t know if that was true or not, but she could hope that something would come of it.It gave her another potential list of suspects, at least.
Maybe Marcus would get lucky.Maybe this Maxwell guy would turn out to be the thread that unraveled the mystery.
As she left the café, however, she found it hard to focus on the case.Their killer murdered people because to them, marriage was sacrosanct, and the victims encouraged people to violate it.
Marcus’s marriage wasn’t sacrosanct.Not to her.She didn’t think of herself as the “other woman,” but that’s what she was, wasn’t she?And she didn’t have the advice of a therapist or adventurous swinger friends to blame.Her choices were her own.
As were the consequences, to herself and those she cared about.
That didn’t have anything to do with the case, and the fact that Kate couldn’t shake it off and focus on the job was bothersome.Would innocent people suffer consequences because of her spat with Marcus?
Maybe it was better if she and Marcus avoided a relationship.This was getting dangerously close to messy, and some of that mess could splatter on people who didn’t deserve it.
And allow a killer to continue their spree.
