Page 30 of So Wicked

“What are you going to do?” Slade asked.

“I’m going to figure out what this crime scene means.”

He blinked. “Is that not what we’re doing?”

"I mean, I'm going to figure out what these rituals all mean: the stone circle, the sunflowers, the honey, the wine. There's a reason for all of them."

“Ah. All right. So we’re splitting up?”

“Yes. This killer’s moving very fast, and now that the media’s on the trail, there’s a strong chance that it’s going to be harder for us to work without being harassed and interrupted. We don’t have any suspects right now, but we have multiple avenues to follow to look for a new lead. I think we’re better served turning over every rock until we find that lead.”

“Sounds good to me. I’ll give you a ride back to the station.”

She smiled drily. “Well, since I don’t have my car, I kind of need you to give me a ride.”

“I can do without the attitude, thank you,” he quipped. “Unless you want to walk home.”

She grinned. “You remind me of my partner.”

“He sounds like a very handsome and intelligent man.”

“He is. Sometimes.”

The brief moment of levity faded by the time the three of them were in the car on their way back to the station. The killer was maintaining his breakneck pace, and with the media wolves sniffing the air, there was a danger that Faith could be discovered and forced to leave the case in the hands of Slade and his overwhelmed team at Carmel P.D.

Or the Indianapolis Field Office.

That thought brought Faith up short. The Indianapolis Field Office would probably be assigned to this case anyway. Threekills in four days definitely fit the criteria for stepping in and taking over. If one of their agents recognized Faith, then her goose was double-cooked.

All the more reason for them to work fast.

***

Faith sipped her coffee and scanned the article on Celtic burial rituals. Turk was napping next to her bed. Considering the hour, Faith should be sleeping too, but she couldn’t sleep until she had answers.

The killer had chosen very specific items to bury his victims in. Well, not bury but lay to rest. The circle of stones, the jars of honey and wine, and the sunflowers over the eyes were all well thought out, and each element was present with each victim.

The honey and wine was the Celtic component. Several Celtic cultures used to lay their dead to rest with a jar of honey and a jar of wine. Sources seemed to differ on whether that was for the deceased soul’s consumption or an offering to some angel or spirit meant to grant them a place in the afterlife.

The stones could be a Celtic ritual too, or some other culture from the British Isles The Irish and Scottish were known to bury their dead in cairns or sometimes simple piles of stone stacked over the deceased’s body. This was supposed to prevent the dead from rising and wandering the Earth.

The sunflowers were an anomaly. Many cultures were known to incorporate flowers in their funerals and burial rituals, but specifically sunflowers placed over the eyes wasn’t something that seemed to belong to any culture.

So what was the symbolism?

Faith leaned back in her chair and crossed her arm. The victims were laid to rest in the middle of a ring of stones, but they weren’t covered. That could just be a time issue.The ritual was already complex enough to be time-consuming, which wasn’t compatible with the idea of getting away with the murders. Or it could mean that the souls were meant to be freed rather than trapped. The honey and wine could be a traditional offering.

Or maybe it was a peace offering. An apology of sorts was made on behalf of the victims by the killer. That could explain why the victims were buried in pet cemeteries. Maybe the killer was forcing the victims to atone for their crimes and then showing the spirits of the animals that they had atoned and so their souls could be pardoned. That fit with her hypothesis that these killings were absolution.

But the sunflowers didn’t make sense. Unless the killer wasn’t as sophisticated as Faith thought they were and was just making up some reason for the stones, honey and wine too. They might just be using sunflowers for the shock value.

Or maybe to symbolize the victims waking into a new life. The sun was an ancient symbol of life and creation, and to many cultures, the sunrise was a symbol of rebirth. Maybe the victims were slain to leave their old life behind, then atonement was made on their behalf so they could be reborn into a new one in harmony with all living things.

Then why kill Dr. Summers? Faith had looked her up, and there really was no hint of wrongdoing that she could find.

She sighed and rubbed her eyes. She was grabbing at straws here. The “aha” she hoped to find wasn’t here. Not yet. She needed to know who knew all of these victims before she could determine the reason for Dr. Summers’ death.

“So to solve the case, I need to solve the case,” she said drily.

---