Chapter 20
Finally, Annie found an expert in symbols, which was more difficult than she had thought since she lived so close to the University of Virginia. The language department transferred her to the classics department; the classics department transferred her to the anthropology department. She wanted to scream.
Eureka, she found a professor in German linguistics.
“Thanks for the fax,” the professor said.
“Certainly. I’m looking for information about those runes,” she told him. “If that is, indeed, what they are. I have a friend who says they are, but she doesn’t seem certain.”
“Oh yes. They definitely look like runes. These neo-pagans have attached themselves and their beliefs onto them. In some cases, they are making things up. In very rare cases, they know what they are doing . . . well, as much as they can know.”
Cookie had made a similar statement.
“What would you think if you saw one of these rune symbols painted on a house?”
The professor was silent for a moment. “I’d think it was some crazy teenagers being ridiculous, which is sort of dangerous enough. Or I’d think that someone who kind of knows the rune system was warning the person who owns the house.” He paused. “With this one particular symbol, maybe . . . troublemaker? Or trouble ahead? Depending on the interpretation.”
“Anything there about red hair?” Annie asked.
He laughed. “No, I don’t think so. I can have a friend look at them. A friend who is an expert in runes. I know enough about them, but they are really not my specialty. Why do you ask?”
“Two young women have been murdered in our community. They both had red hair. I wonder if that’s of some significance. You know, there’s all these strange sorts of beliefs about redheads.”
“If you’re dealing with these New Agers, I wouldn’t think red hair would mean a thing. But other groups . . .”
“What other groups?”
“I think I remember reading that the Nazis wanted to stop redheads from breeding. Then there are several biblical characters often portrayed with red hair. Though, who knows what they really looked like.”
“Which characters?”
“Judas for one. Mary Magdalene for another . . . maybe even Adam.”
“Whoa,” Annie said.
“Whoa, indeed,” the professor said. “I really need to get going. But I’ll have my friend contact you.”
“Thanks,” Annie said before hanging up the phone.
Mary Magdalene. Judas. Adam. An interesting group of characters. But how did they relate to her story and the murders, if at all?
She wasn’t sure Adam related at all. But Mary Magdalene and Judas? Lust. Betrayal. She sat back in her chair. Interesting. But both of these young women were innocents. Or at least that was what everybody thought.