Crime did pay, in this case.
“This solves another issue. We don’t know why he took this to Jesus. We assumed it was because I’m Catholic, but I’m not a strict Catholic. Here I am, sleeping with four men. I’m fucking around and getting laid a lot. He’s a pervert on a good day. The church thing will have nothing to do with me. The cross is me. Jesus is off that cross because I broke it off. I decide not to be religious in the streets, but a freak in the sheets.”
They all stared at her.
It was coming together.
“I know why he’s suddenly rattling off verses and playing in a church,” she stated.
Then, she went there.
“Like with Ben Franklin,” she said, touching the money, “We have the people across the street from the church. The minister and his wife. If he bought an ME, he absolutely bought a minister and his wife. Think about it. They didn’t have to dig anyone up. He likely delivered the bones and just asked for them to set it up. If they did it for him, and kept their mouths closed, they’d be filthy fucking rich!”
Chris blinked.
“Oh, boy.”
She was aware.
They assumed, and it bit them in the ass. Knowing he was hiring people to do the dirty work…that made the picture much clearer for her.
Bless Gene for figuring out that one-hundred-dollar bill clue, because now, she was onto him.
“He set it all up. That’s why nothing we do is catching onto his plan. He found an ME who would break the rules, and on top of that, he’s worked hand-in-hand with the FBI.”
Well, shit.
This made it easier, but harder at the same time, and they all knew it.
“I don’t like this,” Chris stated.
She didn’t either.
“How much money do you think a city ME makes?” she asked.
He considered it.
“I know how much we pay our MEs, and it’s likely comparable. Doctors in public practices make more.”
She agreed.
“So, he found a twisted, broken ME who didn’t mind killing, and he let him apprentice under him. The master died, so the apprentice became the master and went out to continue the game. If he dies, there is someone to pick up and continue. He doesn’t have kids, so he created his next helper.”
Jesus.
H.
Christ.
This dude was playing a game years ahead in his mind, prepping for the worst-case scenario. If they didn’t catch all the cuckoos, there would be someone left to pick it up when this asshole was gone.
“That’s insane,” Gene said, “but crazy people do crazy things. We’ve all learned that over the years.”
That they did.
Elizabeth wasn’t done.
“Also, because he’s got people helping him, he’s prepared himself for getting caught—if that were to happen. When this goes to court, he’s going to have set this up so that it looks like I’m full of shit, and a jury will agree that I’m wrong. He’s going to prove he wasn’t the one doing it to destroy my reputation. That’s his other goal. Kill me or destroy what I’ve built for a very long time. If he goes to court and walks, my career is going to be a laughingstock of all of the country. The mighty Elizabeth will fall.”
