Page 22 of Deadly Secrets
“I briefly examined the scene and one of the bodies,” Brooke told her, glad to have the case to focus on rather than her inclusion in the group. She knew the backgrounds of most of these people—at least on paper—and felt the same admiration for their work as she did for Victor Dupé. “I’d like to see the rest of your notes—any interviews, photos, etc.”
“I’ll be happy to go over the killer’s profile with you once you’re settled,” Nadia offered.
Brooke smiled. “Thank you.”
The man at the computer pulled the earbuds from his ears, stood and stretched. “Chatter on the dark web is all over the place,” he said to Roman as he shuffled toward them. “A lot of it in favor of The Rev’s tactics.”
He stopped a few feet back and shoved his hands in his pocket. His hair hung down past his ears in waves, a few locks brushing his jaw as he tipped his head to nod at her. “Doctor.”
“This is Shane Chandler,” Roman said. “He’s a freelancer, like you, only his specialty is hacking.”
“Ethicalhacking,” Shane qualified. “And I was a CIA analyst.”
“For all of three months,” Polly added under her breath.
Brooke smiled. “Nice to meet you. All of you.”
“Orion and Chelsea are in El Cajun, working undercover on one of our other cases,” Polly told her. “If you stick around for awhile, you’ll get to meet them too.”
She didn’t plan on doing that, but it was nice to feel so included. Cooper and his group had done the same.
Three large windows faced the buildings across the street, letting in tons of sunlight, but she bet they were coated with reflective film and the whole room was protected from prying ears by invisible soundproofing. “This is quite a place you have here.” Near the meditation table, a cushy couch looked like a nice place to take a nap. “I’m not used to this.”
“We work a lot of long hours,” Roman said. “We try to accommodate everyone and keep our sanity at the same time.”
“There’s a full kitchen and bath, complete with a tub and shower,” Polly added. “We recognize all faiths, backgrounds, and cultures. Our casa is your casa.”
“No offense, but it feels more like a day spa than an office,” Brooke observed.
“Shall we get started?” Roman said, holding out a hand toward a large conference room table.
Regardless of whether The Reverend was the same killer as the man from her childhood, he needed to be stopped. “Ready whenever you are.Boss,” she added.
The corner of his mouth quirked. “Everyone, gather your things,” he said to the others. Then to her, he asked, “Can I get you anything? Coffee, soda, water?”
“Water, please.”
He deposited her at the conference table and went to get the requested beverage. Polly plunked down a laptop, a Diet Coke, a stack of folders, and a handful of colored pens and highlighters on the table as she took the seat next to Brooke. Slipping a blue folder from the stack, she slid it in front of her. “The basic facts of each crime, date, time, number of victims, etc. Just to get you started.”
Brooke thanked her as Roman returned, the others filing in as well, each with their tablets or laptops. Roman handed her the water and took the seat at the front of the table.
“Do you want me to start with the killer’s profile?” Nadia asked.
Roman shook his head, leaning back in his chair. “Dr. Heaton’s going to start us off. Tell us about the sigils, Brooke. Tell us how we catch this guy.”
She liked that he was ready to jump right in, but felt the weight of everyone’s stares. “As I’m sure you all know, sigils are basically symbols, and the Latin term the word is derived from means seal. The general public often assumes they’re only associated with the occult and various other subcultures and religions, but pretty much any symbol can be considered one. Runes, moon phases, glyphs, sacred geometry, basic alchemy signs, petroglyphs, the zodiac…”—she pointed to the picture on the far wall—“the yin/yang symbol. They’re all sigils of one sort or another. Those who use them for magical purposes believe they represent a signature of a demon, or that they can be created and charged with an intention to grant the creator his desire.”
Roman kicked back in the chair. “In The Reverend’s case, you believe the ones he’s using have religious connotations, correct?”
“Yes.”
“And the moon phases?”
“The moonismentioned in the Bible, so I guess it’s not out of the question that he’s associating the pictures as part of his ritual, but I believe he may be denoting the start of the Biblical apocalypse.” Brooke wished she had her own laptop where she had an extensive database of sigils and religious symbols stored, but it was still in her car at the university. “Both modern and antiquated religions believed sigils could be used to summon demons, but also angels. He may be using them as his seal or as a way to call on a particular angel. There are thousands of universally accepted designs, but I doubt you’ll find The Reverend’s signature in the sigil bible.”
“There’s a bible?” Polly asked.
“Grimoires often list pages and pages of them. The Lesser Key of Solomon lists the sigils of 72 princes of hell. Heck, there are even apps these days where you can enter your intention and it will generate one for you. I have a database of all I’ve collected over the years. I can give you access to that if you’d like.”
