That could only mean the sixth commandment,Thou shalt not kill.
There was no doubt about it.This was the Lawgiver’s work.
“This is one of Cox’s disciples,” she told Marcus.“The top row means ‘thou shalt not kill.’I’m not sure what the rest means, but that gives me a good place to start.”
She took her phone out and took pictures of the code.Marcus did the same with the body while Whitaker stood to the side, scowling.
“Detective, you can call CSI to take over,” Kate said when she finished.“Have them put a priority on results from this scene and contact me immediately when they have any information.”
“Yeah, of course,” he said curtly.Then, maybe realizing that being standoffish to the feds wasn’t a great idea, he said in a more pleasant voice, “Look, just do me a favor and don’t let the detectives know I gave you their names.”
“Chicago PD doesn’t trust the feds, huh?”Marcus said.
“We don’t trust anyone but our own,” Whitaker replied.“It’s a problem.”
They got the names along with the name and contact information for Hammond’s maid, Juanita, and his ex-wife, Sarah.Armed with that, they left the property.
"I want to start with the detectives who investigated him for the previous murder," Kate said."Why don't you follow up on that, and I'll work on the cipher?"
“You don’t want to talk to the maid and the ex-wife first?”
“Not yet.This was a commandment killing.That means Hammond was slain for breaking the commandment.We’ll find out why he was killed, and by extension who killed him, by figuring out what went wrong with his first murder trial.”
"So, you think he did it?"Marcus replied."You think the acquittal was bogus."
“I think Cox thinks that,” she replied, “and so does his disciple.”
"Fair enough.I'll go talk to the detectives.Text me the address of the hotel.Please, something nice enough that I don't have to think about bedbugs."
“When have you ever encountered bedbugs, Marcus?’
“Never, and I want to keep the streak going.”
She chuckled.“All right.Bedbug-free accommodations, I promise.”
“You’re a peach.”
Whitaker drove Marcus back to the precinct to talk to the detectives.Kate took the rental car and headed for the hotel.
Kate thought of the long message, neatly inscribed with the tip of the weapon used to kill Derek Hammond.If this was anything like the previous commandment killings, this wasn’t personal to Cox, not with Hammond anyway.This was only his twisted version of divine justice.
Kate suspected this was personal to the killer, though.The violence of the death, the outpouring of the cipher, it all pointed to someone holding their rage in for a long time and finally releasing it.
And if that rage wasn’t contained, it would release again.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Marcus’s phone buzzed as Whitaker drove them to the precinct.Cheryl.He opened it, giving into a brief, intense moment of hope.
Need time to think.Going to Liza’s for a while.The apartment is yours for now if you want it.
He stared at the message for a long moment.Emotions rolled through him on a loop.Grief, fear, rage, confusion, back to grief, then fear, and so on.Think?Think about what?For God’s sake, this wasn’t such a big deal.
Of course it is.You know it is.It’s not just a big deal.It’sthedeal.It’sthereason your marriage isn’t working out.
He replayed the argument in his mind.He and Cheryl were squabbling over something stupid again, and Marcus, exhausted from the Marsh case and the hours of grilling by internal affairs about his part to play in Kate going AWOL, didn’t have the energy to do it.So, he told her.
“I’m too tired to fight about this.Whatever you say is fine.Let’s just let it go.”
