“That’s just a guess, I suppose, but the blade was kept very sharp.The flesh is separated almost like sushi.No tears at all.”
All three of them grimaced at that analogy.Whitaker reached for a cigarette, found his pocket empty, and let his hand fall.
“I see.Thank you, doctor.Anything else we should know?”
“Well… I’m debating whether to say this or not, but I’ll just give you the information and let you guys be the detectives.This killer perfectly located the heart’s left ventricle.It’s actually really hard to do that.In general, unless you have good martial arts training or medical training, it’s difficult to stab someone in the heart.There are a lot of ribs and other organs in the way.The killer bypassed the ribs, but they still had to find an angle to not just pierce the heart but find the thickest and most powerful part of it and open it up to cause death within seconds.Itcouldhave been an accident.If you’re right-handed, and you, say, grab someone’s shoulder and thrust under their ribcage with apugio, there’s at least a solid shot you’ll find the heart, but for both murders to be so perfect, I’m going for the killer knew exactly where to put the blade.”
Kate nodded.“Thank you, doctor.I appreciate it.”
“Sure thing.”He paused for a second, then said, “Hey, I mean… This isn’treallya bad thing, right?Killing killers?”
Kate blinked.“Excuse me?”
“Never mind.Yeah, stupid thing to say.”
He hung up, leaving the law enforcement officers to process what he’d said.Marcus scoffed.“Vigilantism is in fashion, I guess.”
“This is what I was worried about with the Donald Pierce killing,” Kate said.“Cox might not need disciples to continue his work.He’s inspiring others.Making them think that he could be right and these people deserve to die.”
“The who killing?”Whitaker asked.
“Guy got caught by his wife getting head from another woman,” Marcus said.“Wife went berserk and stabbed him to death.Wrote, ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery’ on the kitchen wall with his blood.”
“Damn,” Whitaker said.“Hell, hath no fury, I guess.”He scratched the top of his head.“Not to be contrary, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that Cox is inspiring people, does it?I mean, I can see a woman being upset to see that.As for Hammond and Santos?I’m not advocating it, but people aren’t very happy when killers get away with murder.It could be Cox, but it could also just be people.Cox doesn’t have a monopoly on the world’s evil.”
“I agree,” Marcus said, a little too firmly.
Kate pressed her lips together and decided to let the argument go for now.Besides, the ME hadn’t killed anyone, and he’d given them some very good leads on their killer.He might privately think Hammond and Santos got what was coming to them, but that wasn’t the same as cheering on the vigilante responsible.
Still, he’d thought it important enough to say something to them out loud.It just bothered her.People should want justice, but not this way.Not the way Cox wanted justice.It was just wrong, and it made her mad to know that there were some people, probably a lot of people, who saw Cox’s killings and those of his disciples as justified.
“What about the ciphers?”Marcus asked Kate.“Did you get anything from those?”
Kate shook her thoughts off and replied, “It started the same as the first scene.Thou shalt not kill followed by an explanation that the killer was delivering God’s justice.There was another rant, briefer this time, about how the ‘magistrates’ had been corrupted by Satan into perverting God’s holy will and allowing murderers to walk free.The ending was… different.”
“How so?”
“It was another Bible verse, but it wasn’t about justifying their actions anymore.
“What was it about?”
Kate got to her feet and crossed her arms.She paced the room, replaying the words she’d read in her mind.“The killer quoted pieces of Matthew 26: 38 and 39.Another translation yet again; American Standard Version this time.The passage is Jesus’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane.He asks His Father for release.”
“Release?”
“Yes.He doesn’t want to take the sins of the world on Himself and die on the cross.He asks God the Father to take that responsibility away, but then says He’s willing to do it if it’s what’s required of Him.”
“What does the verse say?”
“I’ll just quote the parts the killer put into the cipher.‘Mysoul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass away from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.’
“Oh yeah, I know that prayer,” Whitaker said.“I hear it all the time in church.The pastor always points out how Jesus was willing to do whatever God willed.”
“That’s an important point, but I don’t think it’sthemost important point.I think the key here islet this cup pass from me.”
“Why do you say that?”Marcus asked.
“I think our killer believes that she’s damning her soul.”
