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“Yeah, total horse shit.”
“No, he did sell it to someone, but not an assassin. He interpreted it wrong. Alden said the buyer had told him he was looking fora new job.”
Ripley’s eyebrows jumped up to her hairline. “A new Job. As in, our killer is looking for this Biblical character.”
“Yes! Joanne, David, Gary. He wanted one of them to rise up and prove they could overcome massive hardships. Our killer is playing the part of God, and these victims were all test subjects. He wants to create a Job of his own.”
Ripley muttered something under her breath. “And they all failed, that means he’s not going to stop until someone prevails. But how could we possibly know what other subjects he’s got his eyes on? It’s not like we can monitor every vulnerable person in this town for the next year or whatever.”
Ella was ready to put the finishing touch to her masterpiece. The final piece of information that would help them catch this maniac. She grabbed her laptop, scrolled down to the bottom of the page, and showed her partner.
“Easy,” Ella said. “Boils.”
“Boils?”
“Job’s final trial. God afflicted him with boils, sores all over his body.”
“How does that help us?”
“Given how specific our killer has been, this final trial has to match. We need to check out hospitals, dermatologists, and medical centers in the area, because our last victim will have a skin condition.”
***
“Three,” Ella said as she scoured over the new information at her desk. “Three possible victims.”
They’d called in the help of every available officer – a grand total of five – to check the area for people who suffered from any kind of skin condition. Sores, extreme acne, dermatitis, any condition that was visible that would leave the skin permanently scarred.
There were no hospitals nearby, only three doctors” surgeries and one nursing home. From their calls, they’d identified three locals who suffered from serious skin ailments. Now, Ella had to dig into their lives and see which one fit the offender’s victim profile.
“We need to get all three of these to safety, but me and you need to visit the most probable victim, see if we can catch this guy in the act.”
“Agreed,” Ripley said from across the desk. “Okay, first one is Agnes Palmer. Seventy-two years old. Lives on Pinewood Road which is…” Ripley checked her online map. “Four miles from here. Suffers from a rare condition known as ichthyosis since birth. I think I’m pronouncing that right.”
Ella tried to make it fit. “If she’s had the condition from birth, our killer might not see it in same vein as the others. Also if she’s lived with it for seventy-two years, he would see that as a success.”
“Got it. Next name is Harold Billingham. Sixty-five, lives on Madeley Avenue. Four miles away from here, but close to David Harper’s storage unit. Harold suffers from scleroderma. Started as an allergic reaction twenty years ago and never went away.”
Ella compiled the pieces, trying to imagine this Harold person as a potential victim.
She couldn’t visualize it with any believability. “I don’t know about you, but I can’t see it.”
“Me either. Age variance is too much. And I hate to say, but his condition doesn’t seem to be extreme enough.”
“Agreed. It needs to be a debilitating condition, something that has drastically altered their life. Who’s the last person?”
“Patricia Edwards,” said Ripley. “Forty years old. Lives on Savage Hill, which is….”
Ella got there first. “Not far from Joanne’s house. I saw signs for it.”
“Right. She suffers from something called eepidermolysis bullosa. Chronic condition according to her notes. It doesn’t say how she got it, but she requires daily care. Apparently it’s given way to a bunch of other conditions too. Boils, sores, “
Ella pictured it. Patricia was the right age. This killer would believe she had still had some fight left in her. She found her name on the police database, and as she had no criminal record, all she had were the woman’s basic details. “According to this, she lives alone. No family to speak of. Currently unemployed.”
Ripley bit her lip. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Are you thinking Patricia is the most logical victim of the three?”
“Yup.”
