He got to his feet and looked down at the body, a beatific smile brightening his features.“You are forgiven, my child.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Monday, December 7th
Kate stared at the board on their office wall and willed it to tell her the secret.They’d flown back to Portland after finishing with Ruth Osgood’s scene.Kate had finally come to terms with the fact that no answer was going to magically reveal itself at any of the scenes, so there was no point in remaining in the field.Not until Poppy found a candidate for Cox’s next victim.That was turning out to be more difficult than she anticipated.
No answer revealed itself here.Despite her best efforts, the board remained nothing more than a collection of facts to whom no larger meaning could be attributed so far.
First victim: Paul Delaney, sixty-nine, Knoxville, Tennessee.Object was a silver cufflink in a key bowl placed on a table in his home’s foyer.
Second victim: Ruth Osgood, fifty-eight, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.Object was a stone lawn ornament in the shape of a Dalmatian dog placed on the bed.
Third victim: Jordan Prescott, fifty, Louisville, Kentucky.Object was a pocket watch placed on the kitchen counter.
Fourth victim: Karen de Luca, forty-eight, the youngest of the bunch, from Buffalo, New York.Object was a music box on the living room windowsill.
Fifth victim: Gloria Prentiss, seventy-one, Greenfield, Indiana.Object was a brass thimble placed on the bathroom windowsill.
Sixth victim: Warren Schulz, fifty-three, Dayton, Ohio.Object was a ceramic figurine of a cardinal placed on the coffee table.
Kate stared at the board, but they’d already determined the pattern.No further leap of logic waited to steer them in the right direction.
The door opened, and Marcus stepped into the room.He smiled at Kate and handed her a coffee cup with a flourish.“Double-shot cappuccino with whole milk, and a dusting of brown sugar.”
“I didn’t ask for brown sugar.”
“I did,” Marcus replied.“Trust me, you’ll like it.”
Kate sipped the cappuccino.There was definitely brown sugar on top of the foam.Marcus was looking expectantly at her, though, so she said, “Yeah, it tastes good.Thanks.”
He chuckled.“You hate it.”
“I have no feelings about it one way or another,” she replied, “but since I need caffeine.”She took another sip.
“Did you go home last night?”Marcus asked, looking at the board.
“What are you, my mother?”
He laughed again.“How is she, by the way?”
“My mother?She’s fine.Why?”
He shrugged.“Just wondering.You and I weren’t talking for weeks.I wasn’t sure if some new and momentous event had occurred.”
Kate laughed.“No, nothing new or momentous.”
“Well, tell her I say hi.”
“I will.”
They fell silent, and that quickly grew awkward.Kate didn’t want to slide back into the discomfort of weeks past, so she said, “What’s up?”
“Hmm?Nothing.”
“Something’s up.I can tell.What is it?”
“Nothing’s up.I was just… making small talk.”
