Page 30 of Girl, Accused

Ella leaned in for a closer look. Goosebumps prickled her forearms.

2017: Property damage. Charges dropped.

2018: Felony arson. Church gymnasium.

2018-2023: Mansfield Correctional. Released on good behavior.

‘Church burning. Seems this guy’s got a love-hate thing going on with religion. He got an address?’

Ripley scrolled through the file. ‘Right here. Apartment 332, West Hollows Way.’

Ella grabbed her phone and threw the address in. 'Map says it's ten miles from here. Are we ready to visit this guy?'

Ripley snatched a paper clip from the desk and began straightening it methodically between her fingers. It was the habitual fingerwork of a woman whose mind moved faster than conversation allowed.

‘So we’ve got someone that a psychologist claims is psychotic, although we apparently shouldn’t put too much stock in that.’

‘A broken clock is right twice a day.’

'True. He's obviously been inside Summers' office, so he knows there's a fireplace there. He's got a criminal history, including an offense with fire. Summers doesn't seem to be too thrilled with him as a client either, and he can probably sense that. Then there's the religious thing.'

Ella paused. She caught on something in Ripley’s citation. ‘Wait a minute. Religious thing.’

The paper clip had transformed into a perfect straight line. Ripley tested its point against her thumb, then threw it aside and grabbed her jacket. ‘What about it?’

‘The arson. Church gymnasium.’

‘Yeah. Mansfield Correctional, 2018 to 2023.’

‘Does it say why he burned it down?’ Ella leaned closer, her thigh muscles tensing with the effort not to jump to conclusions.

Ripley clicked through to the original police report. ‘Says here he thought the gym was a drugs den.’

A voltage surge crackled through Ella’s veins. Some of the layers peeled away and she suddenly had a slightly clearer picture of this psychopath’s world view. Cheating, betrayal,adultery.

‘So we know our killer’s got a strong sense of right and wrong. He killed Chester Grant because he couldn’t control his libido, so you could say Grant committed a sin in this killer’s eyes. The sin of lust.’ Ella slapped her hand on the table. ‘Of course. How did I miss this?’

‘Miss what?’

Ella jumped up and jabbed one of the crime scene photos on her war board. ‘Dr. Summers. The P on her forehead. It’s a sin.’

‘Come again?’

‘Summers thought she was smarter than everyone. Thought she was better. Ego. Vanity. The P on her forehead meanspride.’

Understanding dawned on Ripley’s face. ‘What, you don’t think he’s-‘

‘I do think. Lust. Pride. It’s two of the seven deadly sins.’

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The seven deadly sins hadn't been on Ella's radar since she'd stopped believing in God around age twelve, but now they were all she could think about. It was the kind of revelation that should have come sooner, but Ella told herself she was just distracted by the fact that someone back in D.C. was using her DNA to frame her for murder. Pride goeth before a fall - or, in Dr. Summers' case, before a blade across the throat.

Ripley's rental car cut through Granville's twilight streets as they headed for Jeremy Caldwell’s apartment. The GPS said they were two miles out.

‘So if I'm right, we've got Lust and Pride checked off his list,’ Ella said. ‘That leaves Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Envy, and Wrath.’

Ripley kept her eyes locked on the road. ‘So five more victims if he's working through the full set.’

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