“He might have been the thief, yes,” Dr. Reeves said, “but someone who mutters to himself like that, more likely suffers from schizophrenia and would be unable to be the killer we’re seeking.” He thought for a moment. “It doesn’t mean the thief didn’t take something from the serial killer, though.”
“But what would the serial killer have worth taking?” Alain queried.
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“The hair.”
I looked at Dr. Reeves who was exchanging a glance with his husband.
SA Prince nodded. “His trophies.”
I sat forward as something dawned on me. “My mother kept a locket of my baby sister’s blonde hair in her Bible.” I pointed to the bag with the Bible in it, feeling my hands shaking. “Is it in there?”
Lincoln donned gloves and pulled out the Bible to show me. I shook harder as he gently rifled through the pages, stopping at the small pocket at the back. The hair was gone. “Oh, my God!” I looked up at the others. “It’s gone. My sister’s hair is gone!”
“Ah, fuck me,” Patsy said, reaching up to scrub both hands over his face. “That could be it. The thief nicked the serial killers trophies and then went searchin’ for the guy who took ‘em.” Helooked at me. “When he found the hair in yer Bible, it must have been a boon for him. He took the hair to add to his other collection of trophies, includin’ hair he stole from the serial killer.”
“That would follow, Patsy,” Candy said. “If he had only a general description of the thief, he might have tortured the first guy who looked like him for information.”
“How so?”
“If the man by the latrines convinced the serial killer he didn’t steal his trophies, he might have tortured him to get an idea of who else the thief could be.”
“So, let me get this straight,” Snow said. “Someone steals the serial’s trophies and he’s frantically trying to get them back. He’s heard about this thief, so he goes on the hunt for him. He kills the first guy but not until he’s extracted information from him about who else the thief could be.”
“That might be the way of it,” Patsy said. “So, armed with a list of people who might be the thief, he goes lookin’ for the next one, then kills him either before—or after—tossin’ his place, and then moves on to our tent because someone saw him lurkin’ around there.”
“You think it was the serial killer and not the thief at our tent this morning?” I asked, feeling sick dread.
Patsy shrugged. “Someone was outside this mornin’. Assumin’ the two victims were already dead, I have a feelin’ our uninvited guest was the serial killer. I hate to say it but if those Hispanic men hadn’t walked by—and I hadn’t woken up—it might very well have been us killed last night. If we’re right, the killer clearly needs his trophies back.”
I clapped a hand over my mouth. Dread coursed through my body, but Patsy reached over to take my hand.
“I told ya, I won’t let anythin’ happen to ya, Wes.”
I stared into his pretty eyes, but when I realized the bus had grown silent, I blushed.
“I have a question and it may be stupid,” Napoleon said.
“What is it, Agent Smith?” Snow asked.
“Why would the serial killer move on to Wes and Patsy’s tent after killin’ the first two men? Neither of them looks like the thief.”
“No, but if we’re right and he’s searching for his trophies to the point of killing to get them back, I think the guy is going to check out any leads,” Candy said. “Don’t forget, if Patsy and Wes caught the guy outside their tent, someone else might have also seen him milling around or as Wes suggested, the killer himself might have been stalking the thief and seen him there. Assuming Patsy and Wes are right about how quickly rumors spread around the camp, the killer might have overheard someone talking about the guy lurking around their tent.” He turned to look at Dr. Reeves. “Don’t serial killers have an above average level of intelligence?”
The doctor nodded. “Most of them, yes, that’s true.”
“Well, we all know that to be a halfway decent criminal, you must stay one step ahead of the police, or in our case, the FBI. Wouldn’t it then follow that a serial killer desperately searching for his lost trophies would chase any idle gossip about the thief he’s hunting? We’ve already speculated that he probably overheard gossip about the thief in social settings within the camp. If I were him, I’d check out any lead.”
“All of this is speculation,” Snow said.
“Maybe, but Candy makes great points,” Dr. Reeves said. He smiled when he looked at Candy. “You should be a profiler, Captain Sorensen.”
Patsy’s furrowed brow only heightened my anxiety. “I guess that means we could be a target then.”
“Yes, I’m guessin’ it does, luv.”
“We’re not going to let anything happen to you two,” Candy declared with finality.
