Page 18 of Go Under

Marcus frowned at Donna’s body. “Jeez. I don’t even open my door for the pizza guy anymore.”

“They were both older,” Kate said. “Maybe they came from a time when people still opened doors for their neighbors.”

“Maybe,” Marcus said, not entirely convinced. “I’m still leaning to the killer knowing them.” He thrust his chin at Kate’s phone. “Got anything from the cipher?”

Kate showed him. He skimmed it, then frowned. “Okay, same format as last time. The Bible verse, the jab at you, and then the reason they killed this woman. No other Bible verses, no reference to the Lawgiver, nothing theological beyond the commandment.”

He handed her the phone and crossed his arms. Kate watched his jaw work as he wrestled with a question he was clearly reluctant to ask. “Kate, I hate to go back to it, but are we sure this isn’t a copycat?”

Kate frowned at Donna Frick’s body. The style of her execution matched the Commandment Killings in spirit, even if they had their own flavor. The cipher followed the Lawgiver’s format, but the lack of exposition and the limited reference to the Bible was a sharp departure from other Commandment Killing ciphers save for the objects Cox had used during the eighth commandment spree.

Reluctantly, she admitted, “No. I’m not sure.”

Marcus’s jaw continued to work. “The references to you are the part sticking in my head. There’s nothing here that necessarily references you, but the false healing part leads back to daughter of the false healer. Neither of our victims were doctors, so…” He sighed. “I guess what I’m saying is that I’m not sure it is a copycat.”

Darnell returned. His grim face told them he brought bad news. “Just got off the phone with the courthouse. Donna Frick was not a witness in the Daniel Avery case. They still won’t tell me who was, but they confirmed it wasn’t Donna Frick.”

Marcus and Kate shared a look. “Did she know the Avery family at all?” Kate asked.

“Or the family of the victim in the murder trial?” Marcus added.

“I’ll check.”

He didn’t seem too hopeful.

“Damn it,” Marcus said, shaking his head. “It’s so much easier when the victims are actually connected to each other.”

He put his hands on top of his head and began pacing again. Darnell watched him for a moment, his scowl deepening the lines in his forehead, then turned to Kate. “The cipher isn’t telling you anything?”

Kate hesitated a moment, but the cat was already out of the bag, and they needed to work with Darnell. “I believe the killer is leaving messages for me in each cipher.”

Darnell didn’t seem surprised. “Why you?”

Kate took a deep breath and released it slowly. “That’s a long story.”

“What’s the short version?”

Kate met his eyes with a frown. His gaze didn’t budge. “I have two murders in my area of responsibility that you’re telling me both call you out specifically. I am not suggesting that you are in any way culpable in these deaths, but I do have to understand what the pattern is.”

“Fair enough,” Kate replied. “The first cipher references the daughter of the false healer. My father was a renowned medical doctor and stem cell researcher. The second cipher talked about people who offer poison and call it healing.”

Darnell raised an eyebrow. “I see. Any reason why they would hate your father?”

“No,” Kate replied. “I’ve done exhaustive research into my father’s past and the circumstances surrounding his death. I can’t find any evidence that he ever provided false healing. In fact, I find overwhelming evidence to the opposite.”

“Any reason why they’d hate you?”

Kate hesitated again. She really didn’t want to go into her history with Cox right now. It was bad enough that she was the obsession of a crazed serial killer. She didn’t want that gaining any more traction in the Bureau. Too many people wanted her fired anyway.

The Wilmington detective spared her the need to answer Darnell’s question when he returned to inform them, “I just got a call from the hospital. Donna’s sister is ready to talk.”

Marcus, who had paced his way into the living room, called back. “Good. Let’s see what she has to say.”

Kate nodded at the cop. “You can bring CSI in.”

The detective nodded. “Sure thing.”

The three FBI agents left the home and headed for the hospital where the sister of their latest victim could hopefully shed light on her sister’s past.