AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Case shook his head. “No, I didn’t. I just came in andfound him like that.”
Morgan could tell he was telling the truth. She turned toDerik and saw and look of understanding in his eyes as well. They were bothquite certain Lee Case had nothing to do with the murder.
“How long have you been working with him?” Morgan asked.
“About three years.”
“And did he have any enemies? Maybe even people he wasscared of?”
Lee shook his head. “No…nothing like that.”
“When you arrived this morning, was the door opened orclosed?”
“It was closed, but unlocked. And I knew then thatsomething was wrong. Mr. Rhyman always makes sure to lock his doors. He’sactually a bit compulsive about it.”
As Morgan considered this, Derik turned to the officers. “We’llneed to take a closer look around the rest of the building. Check for any signsof forced entry or anything else that might give us a lead.”
Morgan’s mind was already racing, trying to piecetogether the clues. The number 6 on the paper was simple enough. It was thekiller’s card…a way for him to make certain they knew this was his responsibility…thathe had done this. He’d left similar scraps for Victims 1, 2, and 4.
And she’d studied the Seven Signs enough during theoriginal case to understand the significance of Rhyman being blind. In theBible, in the Book of John to be exact, Jesus had healed a man who had beenblind from birth. In the back of her mind, Morgan felt foolish for notexpecting this—the murder of a blind man. But in her mind, she’d always assumedthe killer would have taken the victim’s eyes or stabbed them in their eyes…somethinglike that.
But he’d been very literal this time. He was getting tothe end of his work now. He wasn’t messing around.
“Cross, you good?” Derik asked.
She nodded. “You go on with the officers. I want to lookthe body over. Maybe look around the place. Mr. Case…maybe you should head outwith them, too.”
As Lee got to his feet, Derik eyed her skeptically butsaid nothing. He stepped forward and escorted Lee Case around the body. Derikthen led Lee and the officers out through the door. He closed it slowly on hisway out, leaving Morgan alone with the body.
She wouldn’t dare turn it over or touch the body untilforensics arrived. She knew better than that from the trouble that had gonedown ten years ago…the trouble that had landed her in jail for a decade. Soinstead, she did a slow scan of the living room and kitchen.
The apartment was tidy, maybe even a little too tidy,with everything in its place. There was no sign of a struggle or disruption. Nooverturned furniture or broken items. It was as if someone had just walked in,killed the victim, and walked out.
Morgan took a closer look at the scrap of paper with thenumber 6 on it. She knew that they’d find no fingerprints on it, just like theother scraps from ten years ago. Samson was careful. He’d thought things out.And now, ten years later, he seemed to not have missed a step.
She continued her search, moving toward the door that ledto the bedroom. As she stepped inside, she paused for a moment, taking in theroom. It was just as neat as the rest of the apartment, with the bed made upand the sheets neatly tucked in.
But something caught her eye…something that seemedstrange in the bedroom of a blind man.
A well-used keyboard sat in the corner. Sitting on astand with a small bench in front of it, the keyboard was a bulky thing, thesort used for electronic artists rather than students that were just learning.To the right, on a small bookshelf, were a few books. She knelt down andstudied them, finding with no surprise that they were all in Braille. Stuffedin among some of the books were two flyers.
She plucked them both out and saw that they were handoutsfrom Heron Methodist Church. It was apparently a very small church because thehandout was only one page…front and back. She scanned it and found VictorRhyman’s name on it. He was listed as “organ and music.”
She considered this for a moment. She knew that a few ofthe earlier victims had been heavily involved in church. But that had been tenyears ago. Certainly finding connections and links between the victims nowwould be difficult…if not damn near impossible.
She set the handouts on the floor and stared at thekeyboard. She imagined Rhyman sitting on the bench, learning songs for churchdespite his disadvantage. Something about it, and knowing that he was currentlylying dead in a pool of his own blood out in the kitchen, made her feel helpless.It made her feel defeated and lost.
It reminded her of what she’d nearly done that firstnight back at her house. It made her think of the pills, of an easy way out, of…
A knock on the door broke the image apart. She exited thebedroom and made her way across the living room, then sidestepped the body inthe kitchen to answer the front door. There were two forensics members on theother side. One was a man and the other a woman, both in their late twenties.
Morgan stepped back to let them work, and then steppedout of the apartment. She took a deep breath of fresh air out in the hallway,trying to clear her mind. She pulled out her phone and dialed Derik.
It started to ring, and she thought of the pills again.She thought of a warm bath and a razor.
Jesus, shethought.What is this? What’s wrong with me…?
She thought the answer was clear. She’d been in prisonfor ten years and within just two days of being released she was back on thevery same case that had put her there.
