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“Faith? We’re here.”
Faith stirred and turned to Michael. “Right. Sorry. I was remembering a conversation Gordon and I had once.”
“Oh yeah? What about?”
She smiled softly. “Letting go.”
Michael nodded. Then he solemnly lifted the cup of coffee he’d taken from the hotel and poured a little bit on the ground next to the cruiser. “That’s for you, Gordon.”
Faith burst into laughter. The laughter shocked her as much as it shocked Michael, but it felt good to laugh, even if it didn’t dispel the bleakness of what they were about to do.
“What’s that for?” Michael asked.
“Because you’re cute,” she said, wiping tears from her eyes.
He chuckled, then quipped, “Thanks, but I’m married.”
You have a romantic history with him, correct?
Turk barked impatiently, and Faith pushed those thoughts from her mind. “All right. Time to go do the worst part of our job.”
“Second worst,” Michael corrected. “The worst is interviewing loved ones.” He looked sideways at her. “Which is something I could have kept to myself.”
“It’s okay,” she said.
“Areyouokay?”
“No.” She got out of the car and opened the door for Turk. “Let’s go do our job anyway.”
Michael nodded approvingly, and the three of them walked to the scene. Detective Hilary was already there, directing plainclothes officers to put a cordon up around the strip of path where the crime occurred. When he saw the agents, he lifted a hand in greeting, then looked down at the body on the ground.
This woman was in the same age range as the other two victims. She was also attractive, but once more of a different body type. In her case, she was of medium build with a mop of curly red hair over a round face.
She was also naked. Her legs were spread the same way Samantha Reynard’s were, but her arms were pointed straight above her head with the fingertips touching. Yellow mica powder was scattered haphazardly over her body.
“Lorraine Hayes,” Hilary informed them. “Thirty. Worked at the library. I sent officers to her house, and it looks like her car’s there. She only lives a mile from the library, so I’m thinking she walks to and from work. Did, anyway.”
“Alone?” Michael asked incredulously. “At night?”
“We’ll call her coworkers in the morning,” Hilary said, “but that’s our best guess. This is a relatively safe part of the city. I wouldn’t recommend anyone walk alone anywhere at night, but I also wouldn’t expect this to happen on a public path here.”
“You’ve cleared the guy who called in her body?” Faith asked.
“He’s submitted fingerprints and a DNA sample,” Hilary replied. “Strictly speaking, he’ll remain a person of interest until those samples clear, but he’s definitely not our guy.”
“We haven’t found DNA or fingerprints on the other two victims,” Faith said. “Did we find any on Miss Hayes?”
“No,” Hilary said. “It’s just a formality. He’s not our guy because his neighbors already confirmed that he left his house at nine to walk his dog. I guess the neighbors had a problem with the dog barking all the time, so sometimes he walks her at night to help her sleep. It’s ten o’clock now, and rigor’s already set in, so that means she was killed no later than eight o’clock. He couldn’t have been here. The only reason we’re doing DNA and fingerprints is that my captain’s a pain in the ass.”
He sighed. “Sorry. I’m just pissed at the situation. I shouldn’t be bitching like this.”
“No need to apologize,” Faith said. “I’m not having the best of days myself.”
Hilary shook his head. “You guys have been working on a profile for this guy, right? Can you tell me what the posing and the powder means?”
“We’re pretty sure this guy is trying to obtain immortality,” Michael explained. “He’s trying to complete an alchemical process called the Magnum Opus. This is step three of four.”
Hilary sighed. “Well, at least we know we’re only waiting for one more victim.”
