“Exactly.Call Poppy.See if she can locate individuals who might be candidates.”
As Kate’s had a few hours ago, Marcus’s grin faded.“That’s a lot of people.And we won’t be able to find all of them.”
Kate sighed.“I know.We’ll have to hope the next intended victim is someone who’s gone public with their repentance, maybe someone running a program for other kleptomaniacs.Have her look for people like that or something similar whoalsolive in a parish where a guest priest visited recently.”
“That’s a lot of moving parts,” Marcus remarked.
“That’s why I want Poppy to handle it.”
Poppy Klamath was the field office's youngest agent.She had assisted Kate and Marcus with the commandment killings on occasion.She was a whiz at research, gifted, unlike anyone else Kate had ever met, at sifting through the sea of information and finding the specific bits Kate needed.
“All right.I’ll get on it.Sure you don’t want us to focus on that too?”
“No.Like you said, there’s a possibility that the next victimwon’tbe in the public eye.I want to see if we can find another angle to follow in case that doesn’t work out.”
“Fair enough.”
The captain announced the descent, and Kate turned her focus to Ruth Osgood.Cox was devious, and like the snake who first perverted God’s will, he was excellent at hiding among the leaves before slipping out to sink his fangs into his unsuspecting targets.He might choose a target who, like Eve, was away from those who would protect her from his venom.
But snakes shed their skin from time to time, and sometimes, those old scales led the way to the reptile despite its best efforts to hide.Hopefully, one of those scales would turn up at Ruth Osgood's house and take away another avenue of escape.
***
Kate entered Ruth Osgood's home and found a scene similar to the others.The house was tidy, save for a layer of dust, and decorated with the quaint furnishings and trinkets one would expect from the home of an older woman.There was no sign of a struggle.Cox had strangled her far too fast for her to raise any alarm.
She walked to the bedroom and found the stone dog on the bed.Its wide painted eyes stared through the curtains covering the bedroom window, diffuse sunlight making its eyes seem wild, frightened.
“Hello,” Marcus said, looking through the window.“Who’s this?”
Kate frowned as she got out of the rental and saw the elderly woman standing on the front porch of Ruth Osgood’s home.She approached the house and called a greeting.
The woman turned around.She looked to be in her eighties with heavily wrinkled skin and curly white hair.She didn’t slouch, but her movements were deliberate and careful, and she squinted at the two agents for a moment before she realized what they were.
Her eyes widened.“Oh wow.The FBI.So it is true.That priest is killing people again.”
Kate and Marcus shared a look, and the woman explained, “I saw it on the news.The FBI’s warning people not to trust priests they don’t recognize.They said that man, the one who burned that church last year, is killing people again.”
Well, at least the public service announcement is doing its job.“I’m afraid so.May I ask… Are you all right?”
The older woman was shaking like a leaf now.Marcus stepped close and put a protective arm around her.Kate wasn’t sure it was a good idea to touch someone without asking first, but the old woman sank gratefully into Marcus’s arms.“It’s just so horrible.Poor Ruth.And to think it could have beenme.”
Kate’s ears perked up.“Are you saying you met the man who killed Ruth Osgood?”
The woman nodded.She took a deep breath and pulled away from Marcus, smiling gratefully for the hug.“I’m sorry.I’ve forgotten my manners.I’m Carlotta Fenwick.I live next-door.”
She extended a hand, which Kate took.Her skin was paper-thin and dry as parchment.Kate amended her earlier estimate.Ms.Fenwick was likely in her nineties.
“May I ask what you were doing on Mrs.Osgood’s porch?”Kate asked.
“Miss Osgood,” Carlotta corrected.“Ruth never married.A pity.She was a beautiful young woman when she was younger.Then again, she had certain habits.”
Kate was pretty sure she knew what those habits were, but she asked anyway.“What habits were those?”
“Well…” Carlotta glanced through the door.“She was prone to thieving, I’m sorry to say.Never anything too exquisite, but I and the others in the neighborhood made sure to lock our valuables away.”
“I see.Is that why you were on her porch?”
“Well…” Carlotta looked through the door again.Then she flipped her hand.“It’s nothing.I only thought that now that she was dead, she might not have need of it anymore.”
