Page 31 of Inferno

He was pretty sure that those pictures up there weren’t meant for him to see.

A fact he was certain of when he stepped back into the room and saw Romeo turning the board around to face the wall. The top edge obscured the bottom of the TV screen hung at the top of the wall. Playing one of those 24/7 news stations, but this one currently had a local feed being broadcast.

Julio stacked the waters on the table where Samantha had her laptop open and sat in front of it speaking with a blonde on the screen. FBI special agent Addie Franklin, the niece of the police commissioner, was at home. Or so he figured, since she had blurred out her background.

“This is going to be a rough one, I can tell you that much,” Addie said.

“I appreciate you taking a look at the letters. There isn’t anyone else in Benson who is trained in behavioral analysis the way you are.” Samantha took one of the waters and shot him a grateful smile.

Julio was too antsy to sit after all the driving they’d done to the jail and back, so he wandered to the windows and looked out through the vertical blinds.

The afternoon sun bounced off the glass windows of the building across the street, creating a glare that made him wince. Below them, traffic streamed in both directions. He didn’t come downtown to headquarters that much. He had once entertained the thought of living in a high-rise and biking to work. Now, he knew that would never fit him.

Did Samantha even know where he lived?

Maybe showing her would be a point on his scorecard.

Through the laptop speakers, Addie said, “I will need to keep studying them to get a truly full picture of the type of guy this is. And I may send one of my agents to you if you need a hand. Don’t hesitate to ask.”

Did that mean she thought this was serious?

“So you think this guy will turn even deadlier than he already is?” Samantha asked.

Julio smiled at the window.

“What you have is some serious pathology,” Addie replied. “There are religious undertones to these letters. Which indicates he likely is someone who had a conservative upbringing.”

Julio made a sound low in his throat.

Addie continued, “But then he’s also delusional and dangerous. It’s almost as if he sees himself as connected to Richard. Maybe bonded in some way? And then in some of these, it almost seems like he thinks heishim.”

Julio turned from the window. Samantha looked at him, and he signed,What does that mean?

To Addie she said, “Any idea what that means?” The corners of her lips curled up slightly.

Romeo wandered back over from tidying, all so Julio didn’t see anything sensitive connected to an Intelligence Division or Major Crimes case.

“Give me some more time with this,” Addie said. “Let me unpack it a little, and I’ll get back to you first thing tomorrow.” In the background of the connection, a baby started to cry. “Good timing.”

“Thank you, Special Agent Franklin.”

“No problem, Detective.” They ended the video call, and Samantha closed her laptop. She let out a breath, smoothing back her hair and tucking it behind her ears. She’d left it down, but he knew she liked to put in a ponytail when it started to irritate her. She had a hair tie on one wrist. Probably for later, just in case.

Romeo pulled out a chair and sat across from her. He glanced at Julio while he did the same. “Let me guess, you have a thing about ‘conservative’ upbringings?”

Right. He’d made that noise in his throat. “I just don’t like people who give other people a bad name. The last thing the world needs is criminals who are crazy religious when faith is supposed to make you a better person. It’s not supposed to justify your psychosis.”

“Hmm.” Romeo reached for a bottled water. “You might have a point.”

Julio said, “Seems to me like it doesn’t depend on the values themselves. It depends on the nature of the person instilling it in you. A narcissist and a nun might believe the same things, but they will teach the lesson in two very different ways.”

Samantha studied him. “It’s not the sword. It’s the one who wields it.”

Romeo said, “What was it like having two deaf parents? If it’s okay for me to ask.”

Julio nodded. “From my earliest memories, I can recall having to interpret the world for them. Relaying communication back and forth between them and the hearing world. Like a bridge between the two.”

“Might not be too different from a child of immigrants brought up in a different country than the culture their parents belong to.”

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