Marcus raised an eyebrow.“Oh yeah?”
Kate looked at him, eyes flashing.“I’m not saying Cox isn’t involved or that this isn’t a commandment killer.I just think it’s also personal.”
“Also, personal.Got it.So, this tale of woe inspired the killer to murder these victims after brutally cutting out their genitals while they were still living.”
“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”
Marcus thought of the anger in Cheryl’s face when she confronted them in the field office and shivered.Thank God Cheryl wasn’tthatkind of crazy.
He remembered that she got her information from one of Cox’s disciples and shivered again.He didn’t believe in murder, but sometimes he wondered if it would be that evil for him to take justice in his own hands when it came to Cox.
“Marcus?Are you listening?”
He blinked.“Yeah, sorry.Woman scorned.Go ahead.”
She glared at him.“I wassaying, let me float an idea for you.The Carltons host a party.At that party is a certain person.We don’t know if it’s a man or a woman, so we’ll say Person A.”
“Person A.Got it.”
“Person A is married to Person B.Person B is not at this party.Person B would never sully their marriage vows by attending such a den of vice and sin.”
“Of course not.”Kate frowned, and Marcus said, “Not being sarcastic.Sorry, I’ll shut up.”
“Anyway,” Kate continued, “Person A meets Person C at this party, probably at the Carltons’ behest.A and C hit it off.A goes to Dr.Hammond with a problem.A loves B but really wants to screw C.How can he deal with this?”
“Dr.Hammond offers her famous solution of just screw C and B can deal with it.”
Marcus broke his commitment to silence by saying that, but Kate didn't scold him."Yep.So, A screws C.Discovers they like C better than B.Decides to divorce B.B doesn't want a divorce, but since Florida is a no-fault state, it doesn't matter.A gets a divorce and keeps boffing C, but now with a clean conscience."
Marcus put the pieces together.“Then A decides that they and C would make a better couple than them and B.”
“And who plans their wedding?”Kate asked.
“Diane Walker.”
“Exactly.”She beamed.
“So that’s how we find our killer,” Marcus said.“We go through the list of every wedding Diane Walker planned and find the names that shows up in all three places: the Carltons’ list, Dr.Hammond’s medical files, and Diane Walker’s client history.”
“Double exactly.”
Marcus surprised himself by grinning.Apparently, he wasn’t completely immune to excitement at finding a good lead.“All right.Let’s call Rivera and start looking for a name.”
“Hell yes!”
Kate threw herself into Marcus’s arms and kissed him hard.The kiss was brief and despite being on the lips, almost chaste.There was no lasciviousness in it.She was just excited and wanted to share that excitement with Marcus.
Still, they both flinched away an instant later as though they’d kissed a live wire and not a human being.Kate flamed red and blurted, “I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right,” Marcus said.Then, before the embarrassment could set in, “Come on.Let’s get to the office and get this done.We’ve still got half the day.We could have the killer in custody by nightfall.”
“From your mouth to God’s ears,” Kate said.“The real God, not the wolf in sheep’s clothing Cox prays to.”
Marcus drove them to the field office.They remained silent on the ride, but despite the uncertainty of their personal future, Marcus’s mind remained focused on the summit of the hill right in front of them.
The latest commandment killer had been found out.All that remained was finding the author of the brutal story they were telling and robbing them of their pen before they could ink the next chapter in the blood of another innocent.
