“And what is the truth of God?”Kate asked.
His eyes flashed again.His voice deepened, seeming to echo across the small apartment.“Thou shalt not kill.Whosoever taketh a life shall surely be put to death.I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hurt me.”
“You’re big on punishment, aren’t you?”Marcus said.
“I’m big on justice, Agent Reid.”
“So, did you provide it?Were you God’s instrument of justice against Michelle Santos and Derek Hammond?”
Whitmore smiled thinly.“I stand by the statements I made in the blog.The killer who rid the world of the stains that were Maricela Santos and Derek Hammond was doing the Lord’s work.As am I.But God has seen fit to call me for a different purpose.Related, but different.”
“And what purpose is that?”Kate asked.
“Advocacy.”
When he didn’t expand on that after a few seconds, Kate pressed, “Care to expand on that?”
Emotion crossed his eyes a third time, but this was a positive emotion: eagerness, even pride.
“Justice For Julia.Advocating for Victims of Miscarriages of Justice.It’s my website.Well, hers.”
He glanced at his sister, and grief came to his face.But there was no anger behind that grief.There was only love.For the first time, Kate began to doubt her assumptions about this man.
“And what does Justice for Julia do?”
He grinned.A second later, he seemed to remember himself.He wiped the smile from his face and adopted the façade of calm again.“We conduct independent investigations into cases where killers escape justice.We raise funding for further legal action and to provide relief for the families of our victims.Ourrealvictims.We tell their stories.”
“And from time to time, you use the Bible to justify vigilantism,” Marcus added.
“The Bible justifies the death of those who kill,” Whitmore replied.“You may choose not to believe God’s word, but it remains inviolate just the same.”
“Right.So can you tell us where you were the previous two evenings?”
“Certainly.I was here at home working on my advocacy website.It’s how I spend all of my free time.”
“Can anyone verify that you were here?”
The first sign of fear came to his eyes, quickly suppressed.“I’m afraid not.I live alone.I’m afraid God’s calling precludes personal relationships.”
“Hmm.Well, that presents a problem, doesn’t it, Mr.Whitmore?”
“It seems so.Should I seek the services of a lawyer?”
Marcus looked at Kate.Rather than answer him directly, she said, “You served six months in jail for assaulting the man who killed your sister.”
His left eye twitched.“Yes.”
“If given the chance, would you kill him?”
He swallowed.“Yes.”
She lifted her hands and gave him an apologetic smile.“Okay, I’ll admit that was a cheap shot.I guess my real question is what would prevent you from providing Michael Parker and the Santana family the same closure you desire?”
The room was silent for several minutes.James Whitmore no longer looked much like Elijah Cox.His fake poise now seemed paper thin.Behind it was a scared, grieving, angry man who couldn’t understand why God would have taken his sweet, beautiful sister from him and not ensure that the demon responsible was brought to justice.It was funny how tragedy always drove people into God’s arms or away.She wondered what made the difference.Maybe if she knew the answer to that, she would understand Cox a little better.
Whitmore finally took a breath and smiled.This one looked a lot less confident than his previous ones.“As I said, God has called me to a different purpose.Were I to face the murderer of my sister, I would be too weak to remember God’s will.I believe that is why He’s ensured that our paths haven’t crossed since I left jail.As for Hammond and Santana, I believed that God would provide his own justice.I was right.”
Another, briefer silence followed.Marcus broke it this time.“You like knives, James?”
