“You think it was more than the restaurant owner’s death, and then the cop’s?” he asked.
He wasn’t sure what he thought, but he was damn good at smelling a mess, and this was definitely that.
“Here’s what I think,” he said. “I think that whoever perpetrated all of this, knew what was going on tied to Jaden Mendin. It looks like he’s victim zero—where this all started.”
Ethan was with him so far.
His partner kept talking.
“He or she likely watched Jaden, and kicked this off by taking his life. Then, it was dominoes. The first kill kicked off the second, and the third.”
That definitely made sense.
Gene held up his fingers, ticking it all off.
“Next, we know that this killer pointedly is trying to make this look like Voodoo, but not doing it correctly. That tells me they have no clue how to be a nutjob who is religiously motivated. The walls here say it all. Not one blood smear or jumble of symbols.”
Again, Ethan followed.
“So, in order to hide the crime, this person picked the scapegoat—the woman who left working there who just so happens to own a place calledDark Spirits.”
Ethan listened.
“This feels like a distraction, and you’re one hundred percent right. This isn’t a religious killing. There’s no way this is Voodoo. By now, we would have found something that was more indicative. All we have are the greasy symbols drawn on the victim.”
Yeah, it didn’t fit.
Not.
At.
All.
Gene went there.
“So why is this all going down around Jaden Mendin? I think this is a distraction to tie us up on chaos—or whoever was going to work this. Everyone said the Feds here weren’t reallygo-getters or masterminds. The ME said it. In Corbin’s notes, he took when dealing with the homicide captain, he said it. They are incompetent, and this killer likely assumed one of them might handle the case.”
Ethan’s eyes went huge.
“Oh, Gene. That’s genius.”
The big man grinned.
“Not bad for a Mid-West boy who grew up on a farm, huh?” he asked.
Ethan winked at him.
“I do like a farm boy,” he said, but then refocused. “We’re both onto this. It’s off so bad that it’s not connecting,” he said. “In my head, when I have a puzzle, one-by-one, the pieces fall into place. This feels like someone created a crime that’s not there to cover up a crime that is there.”
Gene pondered it.
“I don’t think it’s going to be in any of their old case files, EJ. I feel like this is cut and dry. We’re thinking too hard about it. This isn’t a mastermind. This is all going to be about Jaden Medin. I’d bet my badge on it.”
Blackhawk considered it.
“Then what do you want to do?” he asked.
Gene knew.
