Page 96 of Blood Moon

“Right.”

“Well, of course I’m staying on. Even if I were missing an elaborate funeral, Max would be furious if I went back for it. He practically ordered me to stay and see this through, with or without the moon aspect. The last assignment he gave me was to get the story, get… get his Emmy.”

John was more relieved than he let on. “Okay then, there’s a lot to talk about that you don’t know yet.”

They ate a quick breakfast of cereal and fresh fruit, then sat at their computers, where he informed her of his conversation with Victor Wallace.

“I wasn’t snooping into your emails, I swear. It just popped up as I was shutting down. I saw his name.”

“What did he want?”

He reached for a notepad and pen. After writing down all the names, and bringing her attention to the double letters, he told her what the professor had hypothesized. “He confessed to being no expert, but he gave me a crash course.”

Gauging his expression, she said, “You don’t seem to give it much credence.”

“Do you?”

“Not personally, but devotees would. I had a friend in college who added a silent letter to her name only because it would change her core number to one she thought was more advantageous.”

“People take it that seriously?”

“Yes. People all over the world.”

“Okay. I’m not ready to dismiss anything. I’ll pass this along to the others, too. Maybe numerology will be a bingo for one of them.”

“What else?” she asked. “You said there was a lot to talk about.”

“This is kind of off the wall, but here goes. Last night, a new thought occurred to me. I massaged it for a while, and eventually developed a theory around it, which I ran past Mitch.”

“And?”

“Well, he didn’t laugh at it. At least not out loud. He was working and had to end the call on the run, so I’m not sure he fully digested it.”

“John,what?”

“All of us—you, me, the other detectives—have been looking for a common trait among the victims. Can’t find one. Nothing. Nada. So, what if it’s not the victims who have a common trait. What if it’s the perps?”

“Perps plural?”

“Perps plural.”

“How did you arrive at that?”

“The geography was always a hangup for me. I’m not sure why, it just didn’t feel right. If a serial killer is territorial,he usually strikes like a smash-and-grab thief. It’s opportunistic. He sees, he wants, he takes. In and out. Done and done. The victim’s body is usually discovered sooner, and, more often than not, it’s found close to where she—or he—was last seen.”

“Crisis Pointhas documented many kidnap-murder cases,” Beth said, “and they bear out what you just said.”

John pointed to his monitor where the photos of the four girls were on the screen. “These four cases don’t follow that pattern. None of the bodies have been discovered. Percentage-wise, you’d think that at least one would have been.” He braced his hands on his knees and leaned forward. “Just for the hell of it, let’s assume it’s more than one perp.”

“Three copycats since the Jackson case?”

“Possibly.”

“Possibly,” she said, “but I can tell by your expression that you’re thinkingno.”

He dipped his head and looked at the floor for a moment before speaking directly to her. “Understand that this is strictly conjecture on my part, and it will be a hard sell.”

She leaned toward him, focused and interested.

---