Marcus frowned.“That’s an interesting collection.”
“We thought so too.That’s why we looked into it.Not sure what it has to do with anything, though.Do you have an idea?”
“We’re working on it,” Kate replied.“Thank you.”
She hung up and looked at Marcus.Marcus looked uncertain.“I don’t want to start an argument, but I’m still not seeing Cox in this.Just a serial killer.There’s definitely a message there, and I guess you could call it a cipher since it’s not a clear message, but I don’t see commandment killing.What commandment would they even have broken?”
“Well, the next one on the list is Thou Shalt Not Steal.”
“So these are stolen items?”
“Maybe.”
Marcus pressed his lips together.“I don’t like maybe, Kate.Especially not a maybe that could pull you back into the field.”
“Well, like I said.If this isn’t Cox, then being in the field working closely with armed law enforcement might be the safest place for me.And if itisCox, then he’s killing again.And finding him solves your manhunt as well as these murders.”
Marcus nodded slowly.“All right.Let’s go talk to Winters.”
Another smile spread across Kate’s face at the thought of her and Marcus working together again.
It died by the time she stepped through the door.If this was Cox, then he had increased his body count by half in the past seven weeks.And there was no doubt he was leaving a message.
And no doubt he left that message for Kate and Kate alone.
CHAPTER FIVE
Wednesday, December 2nd
The weather in Dayton was pretty much identical to the weather in Portland at the moment.The temperature hovered just around freezing and wouldn’t warm much as the day progressed.The light dusting of snow was just enough to highlight the color on the two- and three-story colonials that populated the historic Wright Dunbar District.
Marcus wasn't sure what made the district historic, and when Kate asked, their police escort, Detective Carl French, admitted he didn't know."I just like the cobblestone streets.Makes for nice walkin'.Damned pretty in the fall too, what with all the leaves matching the houses and whatnot."
French’s accent was more Georgia than Ohio to Marcus’s ear, but that was another thing he wasn’t particularly interested in.He was more interested in wrapping this up as fast as possible, hopefully with Elijah Cox safely in custody and on his way to Guantanamo or the closest equivalent they could find.
“Here we are,” French said, pulling the police cruiser in front of a square, tan brick house with two stories and an attic that from the outside appeared little more than a crawl space.
“And Mr.Schulz was found here yesterday?”Marcus asked.
“Yes, sir,” French replied with disconcerting geniality.“His coworker called it in.Apparently Mr.Schulz hadn’t missed a day of work in his life.Two in a row was enough to worry her.We already checked her alibi, by the way.She’s clean.”
“The neighbors didn’t notice anything?”Marcus asked.
“Well, they didn’t call us,” French replied.
“Did you talk to them?”
French reddened slightly and looked away.“Well… No.”
Marcus stifled his frustration.“Okay.That’s what I’ll do then.Kate, go ahead and look around inside.See if you can figure out what that bird means.”
“Bird?”French asked.Then his eyes popped open.“Oh, the cardinal.”
“Yes,” Kate said.“Were there other figurines in the house?”
“Nope,” French replied.“No, as a matter of fact, there wasn’t anything decorative at all.Just that bird.Kind of weird, if I’m being honest.”
“I think so too,” Kate replied, unbuckling her seatbelt.“Let’s go see if we can find anything else weird.”
