Page 53 of Silent Ritual

“Right. She had that book—the one Hawthorne wrote—because she was trying to prove him wrong about astrology.”

“You think we got it wrong with Hawthorne?”

Sheila shook her head impatiently. “I’m suggesting that maybe there is a connection between the victims. Maybe the killer is targeting these women because they attacked his beliefs—astrology, the occult, that sort of thing.”

Finn leaned back, considering the idea. “If that’s true, where did they all interact with him?”

“It could’ve been online,” Sheila said. “Or some type of event…” She trailed off, thinking. “Emily was a barista taking night classes at Felder University. Vanessa didn’t attend the university, but she did have a reputation for being outspoken against astrology. Fiona was connected to the university, too—showed her paintings there. And Natasha…”

Finn’s phone went off. “Yeah?” he said, holding it to his ear. He was silent for a few moments as he listened. “Roger that. Thanks, man.”

“What was that about?” Sheila asked.

“That friend of mine I asked to trace the threatening emails sent to Natasha?”

Sheila’s heart leapt. “He found who sent them?”

“Not exactly, no. But he did figure out the computer they were sent from. It’s a public computer, so it could’ve been sent by anyone…but guess where it’s located.”

Sheila’s throat tightened. “Felder University.”

***

“It feels like we’re going in circles,” Finn said as they pulled into the university parking lot. “We already talked with Jenkins, we already investigated her group. You think the killer is one of the group members we haven't identified?"

Sheila, scanning a group of students passing along the sidewalk, shook her head. “Whoever this guy is, he’s a lone wolf—secretive, solitary. I doubt he'd join a group like that.”

She turned sharply to Finn. “Remember when we got into that altercation with Jenkins' group?"

"When they nearly killed us? Yeah, I think I remember that."

"One of the men outside the room said something about being spied on before. He thought someone had been keeping tabs on them, and he assumed it was us."

Finn arched an eyebrow. "So?"

"So what if it was actually the killer watching them? I’m sure he would’ve enjoyed seeing their rituals, their devotion to beliefs he himself espoused. Maybe that’s why he didn’t kill Stark—he recognized him as a true believer.”

“Even if you're right, we’re still not narrowing it down much,” Finn said, rubbing his forehead.

"Actually, we are. If he's been spying on Jenkins and her people, then he's got to be here with some frequency. He's either a full-time student or someone on the faculty."

“Maybe he teaches a class on ritualistic killings," Finn said dryly.

“I doubt he’d teach anything remotely related to what he's doing,” she murmured. “It seems too personal to him, too private. He wouldn’t be able to handle any criticism from students. But he might be teaching a similar discipline—anthropology, comparative religion, philosophy...something that would give him access to Jenkins and her group without getting noticed."

Finn frowned at her. "That's a big assumption."

Sheila shrugged. "It's a start. Let's get the list of faculty members and see if anything stands out." She pulled out her phone to do some searching and was surprised to see a text from Star: I'm bored. can i join you guys

No, Sheila wrote back immediately. Stay put. Watch a movie or something.

Sighing, she went back to her search. She looked up Felder University’s website, then navigated to their faculty page.

"Here," she said, turning her phone to Finn so he could see. "Four professors in the philosophy department, three in anthropology, and a handful more scattered across disciplines like history of religion, cultural studies..."

"Does anyone stand out?" Finn asked, squinting at the list.

Sheila scrolled through the names again, her eyes scanning the list for anything that seemed relevant to their investigation. "Nothing obvious," she admitted with a grimace. "But there has to be a way to narrow down the list. That building where Jenkins’ group was meeting—who would have access to it?”

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