Page 31 of Shattered Sanctuary

“Yeah. After they went out of print, I published them myself. They’re only available online as ebooks.”

“Have they been selling?” Kaely asked.

“No, not really. I haven’t done anything to promote them in a long time.”

Kaely frowned. “I don’t understand. With the sales ofDark Matters, I’d think they should be selling like hot cakes.”

Erin smiled. “I published them under a different name. I didn’t want my college friends to make fun of me.”

Kaely’s mouth dropped open. “Erin, don’t you realize that a lot of people would buy those books if they knew you wrote them?”

“I’m not sure how good they are.”

Kaely shook her head. “Oh, my dear friend. You have such a natural talent. I’m certain they’re wonderful.”

“Well, I’m not so sure of that.”

“Why don’t you let me read them? If they’re good, I’m sure your publisher would be thrilled to release them under your real name. You could make a lot of money.”

Erin shook her head. “I have a lot of money, and it hasn’t made me happy. Until I’ve decided what I want to do with my life, I’d like to keep those books a secret.”

“Okay, if that’s what you want,” Kaely said. “But it won’t hurt to let me read them, will it? You should know me well enough by now to be confident that I’ll be honest with you.”

Erin hesitated. She wasn’t sure if she wanted anyone to read her other books. But if she had to pick the one person she trusted the most, it would be Kaely.

“All right. They’re under the name A.J. Waide.”

“Did you make that up?” Kaely asked.

Erin shook her head. “No, it was my mother’s maiden name.”

“Well, let’s go through the rest of these photos. Then I need to finish that profile. To be honest, I’m tired. It’s been a long day. I want to give Adrian my best, so I need to get to work as soon as possible.”

Kaely brought up the photos of the other bodies. After Chloe, there was Terri and then Annie. Erin and Kaely looked them over carefully. Erin didn’t see anything she hadn’t noticed earlier. The other bodies weren’t wearing white dresses or blue ribbons, although it’s possible the ribbon had disintegrated on the oldest one.

“Why didn’t he remove the jewelry?” Erin said. “Don’t serial killers like to collect trophies?”

Kaely nodded. “Many do, but not all of them. We might ask Dr. Gibson if they’re missing any hair.”

“You mean, maybe the killer cut some of it off and kept it?”

“Yeah.”

“I didn’t notice anything like that on Chloe,” Erin said.

“Me either.” Kaely sighed. “This guy really is different. He isn’t offended by jewelry, makeup, or fancy shoes. He dresses them in virginal white dresses, but he adds a blue ribbon.”

Kaely spoke slowly. Erin realized she wasn’t asking a question. She was thinking, repeating information they’d already discussed. Erin stayed quiet. Finally, Kaely straightened up and looked at Erin. “The white dress has nothing to do with purity. He thinks angels wear white. He’s angry with them. You said something about it earlier. I think you’re right. He blames the angels for something.”

“But he thinks angels wear makeup, jewelry and fancy shoes?”

Kaely shook her head. “No. I think he’s killing for someone who wore those things—or wanted to.”

“It’s hard to believe this guy is angry at angels. That’s so...twisted.”

“Of course it is,” Kaely said. “Serial killers aren’t rational people. If you can’t understand that they aren’t mentally sound, you can’t figure them out at all. That’s why the study of psychopathy is so important.”

“So, he’s a psychopath? Because he’s organized and carefully plans his kills, right? A sociopath is more impulsive. Erratic.”

---