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Gabe nodded. "Yes. If there are only two possibilities in that birth month, then it has to be Lucas. Doesn’t it?"
As they were walking back to the car, Cora's phone rang. She picked it up, feeling expectant, because it was Brady calling, and that meant she'd know if Lucas had returned to France, and if so, when.
But Brady sounded disappointed.
"Your suspect is still in Germany," he said.
"Are you sure?" Cora asked incredulously.
"Confirmed. He hasn't come back to France. He’s had regular credit card transactions in Munich. Ongoing."
“But –” Cora began. He could have sneaked back over the border, couldn’t he? There were other ways he could have ended up back in France. But Brady was ahead of her.
"I knew you'd want more confirmation, so I looked him up. He's on social media. He's working as a marketing assistant in Munich. He updates his profile periodically. The last time was yesterday, and he was busy organizing an event that was scheduled for today. So his time’s accounted for recently.”
"Thanks, I appreciate that, and it rules him out," Cora said briefly, hanging up and frowning as she absorbed this bombshell.
They'd had two suspects just a few minutes ago. Now, they had none.
"What do you make of this?" she asked Gabe in frustration.
He shook his head. "Maybe the amulet has some other meaning. Maybe it's not the birth month. It was a great idea, but it could be just a gift or a family treasure or something. And in that case, I guess we've got to relook at who he is and find him some other way."
Cora nodded. "Maybe we have to go back to what these victims have in common," she said.
"You think that'll help us?" Gabe asked.
"Yes. There must be a reason why he's picking them out of so many others. We haven't looked closely enough at who they are. If we can work out what they share, then we might just find that their commonality points to who he is."
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
It was now a matter of urgency to pin down the commonality between the victims.
"So, we need to do some intensive research," Cora said to Gabe. They were back in their hotel room after a visit to the local doctor, where Gabe's wound had been cleaned and three stitches inserted.
Tiny though their bedroom was, it had fast wifi, and the bed was a comfortable place to sit. Side by side, their shoes kicked off, leaning back against the headboard with laptops on their legs, she and Gabe went to work.
Now, what could they find in common between the three who'd been murdered?
"We've got Heidi le Roux, we've got Serena Cheron and Tony Inkley. Three, out of probably thirty who've been promoted during this time?" Cora said. "Same ceremony, same protocols. But these three were killed."
Gabe nodded in agreement. "I suggest we start with the victim's backgrounds, see if there's any overlap there."
Working on background research was a time-consuming process, and Cora hoped that it produced what they needed. Seeing as how they had some of Heidi's background already in the dossier that Stefan had provided, it now remained to research the other two.
Quickly, she compiled a list. It included the date when they arrived in France - if they were foreigners. The date when they were accepted at the foundation. She made a note of their approximate height, their age and took a look at their features. All of them were attractive, that she noticed. But she was sure that a lot of others who joined the foundation were, too.
"They're all blond?" Gabe suggested. He was checking the social media profiles of the victims.
"Would you say so?" Cora asked, frowning at the screen. "To me, it looks as if Tony Inkley has brown hair."
"Yeah, you're right," Gabe said. "He bleached it up a few months ago, but it's darker again in the most recent photo. He had a few comments here from friends that blond suits his eyes better, but he said it was too hard to maintain."
"Blond suits your eyes," Cora quipped, appreciating a lighter moment before returning to her intensive research.
All social media profiles had been set aside when the three joined the foundation. Cora guessed it was no longer allowed. There were no more updates, but the profiles hadn't been removed. They were still visible online.
"They all liked dancing," Gabe said. "They're all only children."
