They made their way over to the white-tarped door, and Detective Moore pushed it aside slightly to look in before pulling it wider to allow Alison to enter.
Alison found exactly what she had imagined would be there.Jennifer Hayes lay face up on the desk, her legs hanging over one side from the knee down, and her head near the other side, except the orientation was wrong.
Alison entered and looked at the door behind before sliding the desk again.The victim was placed at right angles to them, and Alison was sure the body had beenplaced.If the attacker was hiding in the room, the most obvious place was behind the door.Jennifer entered, turned to see the killer, and was pushed back onto the desk and stabbed.That would have left the victim with legs pointing to the door.
And it was not only the body that had been moved, but the objects on the desk.They were on the floor, but they weren’t scattered.The items from the desk had been removed by the killer and placed carefully.Perhaps so as not to make a noise.
Alison stepped closer to take a better look.
The knife handle stood straight up from the chest; Jennifer’s blouse was soaked in blood.Her eyes were open, and she stared lifelessly up at the ceiling.
Why did you reposition the body?For us to see it better?Are you evolving how you do things?Perhaps the body fell from the desk when you stabbed her, and you wanted her to really be seen.Why is that?Do you want the body seen, or the report?Do you really believe your two victims were guilty, or do you just hope that?
Alison turned to the detective."How about the report?Was that on top of the body?"
"No," Moore replied."They found it at her desk.Your report, side by side with the killers, looks the same as before.Your report is amended with a red pen, and then the killer’s report is beside it."
"I’d like to read the report," Alison said."Maybe out in the main office somewhere when I’m done here."
"Yeah, I’ll have it for you when you’re ready."
Alison took some time to walk around the desk and the body.She paid particular attention to the fingernails, half-expecting to find something there, but it was another subconscious bias, now that they were waiting for the results to come back from the Katrina Sands autopsy.
Both of the victim's hands were clean, and the red nail polish was the color of blood.Alison stopped walking and looked at the knife in the chest, and then at the woman’s blouse.There weren’t any other cuts in the fabric.This wasn’t a crime of passion where she was stabbed over and over.It was as clean as it could be.One stab to the chest, and it ended the woman’s life.
It’s not about the act of killing, and the killer doesn’t need to punish them for what they might have done.They only need to kill them to draw attention to the real message: my wrong decision.
Alison looked at the face.The woman had her eyes open, and her lips parted slightly, but she looked at peace in her death.Alison took a step back.Jennifer had been stabbed, then placed on the desk as if it were an altar.She hadn’t been altered in any way.The killer disregarded the body once the act was complete.
Alison turned and left the small office.The older woman who had been talking with the officer was now gone, and Detective Moore stood over by a desk on the other side of the large room.
"What do we know about the victim?"Alison asked."I remember her vaguely, but she’s not someone who stuck in my mind as firmly as Thomas.It was a financial crime, right?"
"Yeah, not as troubled a past as Thomas.She had some financial fraud that was brushed under the carpet by one company she worked for, but not the next.She spent three years in prison and—"
"But was released after two, right?"Alison finished, remembering.
"Yeah," Moore said with a sardonic smile."Ironically, from what Melody told us, Jennifer was doing the bookkeeping for the company.Melody trusted her implicitly and never had a problem with her."
"Look into it," Alison said."Have someone go over the books and check them out.I want to know if the killer might have seen a crime or if they are killing the victims for no reason other than to get to me."
"Is that what this is?"Moore asked."Is that the killer’s goal?"
"I don't know," Alison replied, dejectedly.She had a hunch from what she had seen so far that the two victims hadn’t committed any crimes since they were released, which meant that the killer had murdered two innocent people, regardless of what they had done in the past."They want to get my attention, I know that."
"Yeah, well, they have it," Moore said, shaking her head.
That annoyed Alison, but she had nothing to say that would make the situation better.She already felt guilty that she was the reason for so many people’s deaths.
"I know," Alison admitted."This is my fault."
"It’s not your fault," Moore scoffed."Are we here for a pity party now?"
Alison chuckled nervously in response, a little surprised by the detective’s reaction.
"I’m not blaming you," Moore said."Goodness knows this is not your fault, and our killer is obviously insane.My only concern is whether they really want to reach you.Does the killer mean to come after you?"
Alison was silent.That was exactly what had happened with Nathan Cross.There was every chance it was happening again, and she would be the killer’s grand finale.
