Page 20 of A Song for the Dead

Listening to the reasoning between Jenna and Kane intrigued Norrell. Her part was usually long reports, and it wasn’t often she became involved in the why a person was murdered. She looked from one to the other. “I would imagine the other recordings are much the same.”

“I figure he follows the same pattern.” Wolfe looked from Jenna to Kane. “What I’m seeing here is a slight variation. I’d say, if they fought back, he killed them fast. If they screamed, he covered their mouths.” He straightened. “Moving to the Freya case, I analyzed the swabs taken from the shower recess and found slight traces of her blood, no hair or anything else. So, we are correct to assume he took a shower. There were no imprints of bloody footprints, or indication he might have dropped bloody clothes to undress. I figure he murdered her naked and used the towels to step on during the attack. He likely bundled the bloody towels in with the body and took the wet towels he’d used with him. Then he wrapped the victim in the bed linen, dressed and left with the body.”

“Yeah, we know he dragged the body from the bathroom into the bedroom.” Jenna folded her arms over her chest. “The same drag marks are in all the cold case crime scene images as well. He knows his way around the house, which makes me believe he knows his victims or has been inside before. The entire thing is so slick. He breaks in, starts a recording, and is so confident he strips naked, sets up the bed linen for the body, and then murders his victim.”

“He’s cold and calculated.” Kane stared into space. “He believes he can’t be caught. If this is ritualistic, he could believe someone or something is watching over him. This is Jo’s field of expertise, I’m only guessing. I’ve never read about anyone like this before.”

Norrell exchanged a glance with Wolfe. They had so much work ahead of them, detailing each specific damage to the bones of six victims. The detective part of who and why was Jenna and Kane’s job. She smiled at them. “Is there anything else you need? I’ll keep working on the remains. Shane has the jewelry I discovered, and as soon as we can check out the other dental records, he’ll be in touch.”

“Okay, thanks.” Jenna straightened and walked out of the door with Kane close behind.

Norrell smiled at Wolfe. “They are intense. So different on duty to off duty.”

“Professional, yeah.” Wolfe moved to her side. “Great people. I’d trust them with my life. Kane would take a bullet for all of us. He’s that kind of guy. Right now, it’s a rush against time. We know what’s coming and, trust me, they’ll do everything they can to stop it happening.”

TWENTY-SIX

Finding it difficult to juggle so many cases, Jenna pushed both hands through her hair and sighed. “I’ve found Sadie Bonner. She went missing from Blackwater seven years ago. I’ve sent a request to the local sheriff to give us everything he has on the case. I’ve put him in contact with Norrell, so the moment she confirms ID he can inform the next of kin. I did get some useful information. She worked in a pharmacy at the counter, so was in contact with plenty of people from all walks of life. So, her job didn’t help narrow down her recent contacts prior to her disappearance. She went missing from a blood-spattered house on her parent’s regular Saturday date night. If it’s the same guy, he must spend all his free time stalking his victims.”

“People who are creatures of habit make the easiest targets for crime.” Kane sighed. “Those who walk their dog at six each night or always buy groceries on a Wednesday or whatever.” He ran a hand through his sleek black hair and shrugged. “It doesn’t take too much time, to set up a camera. With the technology we have now, a criminal doesn’t even need to leave home.”

Jenna’s phone chimed. It was Wolfe. “We’ve only been back at the office a few minutes. Do you have a breakthrough?”

“Yeah, of sorts.”Wolfe paused a beat.“The pillowcase you found has Freya’s blood on it. It just came through as a match. I found nothing else of interest, apart from some saliva and a few hairs. The saliva is the victim’s. The hair matches the color profile, but there are no roots to use as a match.”

“This guy is in town and close by.” Kane shook his head slowly. “If Duke hadn’t caught Freya’s scent, we’d have never found the pillowcase before the garbage was collected.” He glanced at Jenna. “I called the owner of the landfill and asked him to check the contents of all the dumpsters from along Main as they come in. He said he’ll give it priority and get his crew on it when they arrive in the morning. So we’ll see if the Halloween Slasher has changed his method of disposal.”

Jenna held up a hand. “Jump on your laptop, Shane. The call from Jo and Carter is coming through.”

As the conference call opened up on her screen, she smiled at the faces. Jo, Carter, and Bobby Kalo popped up, as did Wolfe and Kane. “Thanks for coming at such short notice.” Jenna gave them a rundown on the evidence to date and handed it over to Wolfe to give his and Norrell’s findings.

When Wolfe had finished, she looked at Bobby Kalo. “Bobby, did you discover any other sets of three murders during the seven years between the last body, Lydia Ellis from Louan, and the current bloodbath we found at Freya Richardson’s apartment?”

“Too many, and they’re spread all over the country.” Kalo frowned. “Chicago had four sets of three; six went missing never to be found in Washington; there was nine over three years in Colorado. Same thing in most of them, a bloody crime scene and no body. He could be responsible for all of them or none of them.” He shrugged. “Without a body, we have no proof. There have been sets of three bodies dumped all over, some on remote beaches in sand dunes. Bodies have been found in barrels in landfills but nothing specifically has been linked to the Halloween Slasher.”

Amazed, Jenna turned to Jo. “After listening to the tapes, Dave is convinced these killings are ritualistic. The killer has a fixation on Halloween. Have you had any more thoughts on the case?”

“I haven’t stopped running different possibilities through my mind.” Jo tucked a lock of hair behind one ear. “I can see from the crime scenes and listening to the two recordings unearthed to date that he follows the same pattern.” She glanced at her notes. “Shane, do you see familiarities between the injuries?”

“Yeah, I do.” Wolfe cleared his throat. “Although we’ve only listened to two of the recordings, it’s as if the killer is following a well-rehearsed pattern of strikes. I’ve examined the first three cold case victims and, apart from defensive wounds, they are the same. Yeah, he is reliving the same murder over and over.”

“The showering prior to murder is a part of his ritual.” Jo stared down the camera. “He needs them naked and clean. This is typical in ritualistic murders. Cleanliness has so many reasons, mainly to wash away sins. Often sacrificed people were bathed in milk to make them more pleasing to the gods.”

“Breaking into a house while the victim is in the shower is genius. No one would hear him. He’d have the jump on them.” Carter looked casual leaning back in his chair, twisting a pen in his fingers. “I did research on the three lots of three. So many rituals from past and present, not just religious but bad juju as well. They range from making it rain to extending life with all stops in between. We can’t pin this down to one exact ritual. We figure he’s taken parts from many, and used all the bits he considers meet his criteria.” He scratched his cheek. “Over to Jo. She has an idea on his angle.”

“Yeah, I do. Let me see.” Jo’s hair spilled over her face as she studied her notes and then she lifted her chin. “He’s in control. If this is ritualistic, he only kills three times each year. I’d say he spends the rest of the year finding suitable women to murder. I do believe he continued during the seven-year break.”

“Seven years ago, you had a weather event.” Kalo waved a red lollipop in one hand and smiled. “Mudslides all over, it rained for months. His killing spree would have been interrupted that Halloween. Maybe he moved away and got a job in another county or state?”

Impressed, Jenna nodded. “Thanks, Bobby. Jo, what else have you discovered?”

“Not discovered, I have reason to believe these murders at this time of year are self-serving.” She twirled a coffee cup in her fingers. “As in he needs an excuse to kill, so in his mind he’s used old rituals to validate his kills. Maybe he has a disease, but I doubt it. The sacrifice, if you like, of a woman just out of the shower tells me he’s cleansing himself, making himself new again. The Halloween timing would validate that as well because we might look at Halloween as when the barrier between life and death opens and ghouls come through. We make jack-o’-lanterns to scare them away, while others believe it is a time for new beginnings and welcome the spirits as guides for the future.”

“The thing is”—Carter leaned forward in his chair—“Halloween doesn’t mean sacrifice, so this guy has his rituals screwed up, and although Kalo and I have been trying to match up what he’s doing, we can’t give you a positive answer.”

Glad of the information, Jenna nodded. “That’s okay.”

“I figure threes are symbolic of a circle of life.” Kane stared into the camera with intensity. “Rituals and cleansing. I see it this way: he needs to kill. Like Jo said, he needs an excuse, so maybe he’s worried about how long he can go before killing again. Maybe he was out of control at one time and came close to being apprehended. We know by his MO he is smart and understands all about leaving behind evidence.” He opened his hands wide. “I figure he thought things through, maybe he searched for something to help him. They don’t think logically like we do. They validate things or events in their minds. We couldn’t come close to understanding the way of it.”

---