Noah had several files sitting open in front of him when Kaely walked into the conference room. “Sorry I’m late,” she said. “Had to stop by Solomon’s office.”
“I saw the paper,” Noah said. “What did he say?”
Kaely dropped down into the chair next to Noah. “He was very supportive, but when I went into his office he was talking on the phone to Reinhardt. He’s not happy about the situation.”
“I hate to say something dismissive like ‘don’t worry about it,’ but we need to find this creep—not get distracted by some dumb newspaper reporter.” Noah pushed away the file in front of him. “Just what is it with that guy, Kaely? What does he want?”
Kaely ran her hand through her hair, hoping her curls weren’t totally out of control. “He wants to write a book about my father. There have been a few, but not by anyone who really knew him. I mean, he didn’t get close to people. Me, my mom, my brother, Richard and his wife, Bella, who died not long after my father was arrested, were the only people in his life. He was an usher in our church, but he didn’t spend time with those people. Not outside of church functions, I mean.”
“So Jerry Acosta thinks making your life miserable will encourage you to give him what he needs for his book? That’s nuts.”
“People are really interested in serial killers. The book would probably sell a lot of copies. Make Acosta rich.”
“Maybe so,” Noah said. “Sorry about him.”
Kaely offered him a small smile. “Not your fault. You don’t need to apologize.”
“I know. I just hate that you have to deal with this now. We have enough on our plates.”
“We need to make some progress.” She reached into a stack of papers in the middle of the table and pulled one out. “I suggest we go over the poem again. See if we can figure out where this guy will strike next.”
“I’ve been busy on the leads we have,” Noah said. “I looked up Edmonds’ girlfriend, wondering what she was up to now.”
“And?”
“She’s actually married. To someone else, of course. They moved to California a couple of months ago. She’s a teacher in Los Angeles, and she hasn’t missed any work lately.”
“So she’s out.”
“I’ve sent information about the family in Virginia to the Richmond office. I asked an agent there to check them out.” He turned the screen of his laptop toward her. “I’ve also been looking online at lake references.”
“Wow,” she said. “That’s a lot of lakes.”
“Too many.” Noah rubbed his hands together. “It could be Lake Street or Lake Park or . . .”
“Well, there has to be swimming,” Kaely said. “I mean, if he’s being literal at all . . .”
“Yeah, you’re right.” He picked up a pen lying on the table and began to tap it on the table. Finally, he said, “Let’s go over the killers who dumped their victims in water. Who pops to mind first?”
“The Green River Killer—Gary Ridgway—started by throwing bodies in the river, and Wayne Williams ended up tossing victims in water to hide evidence.” She thought for a moment. “There’s Joel David Rifkin. He used the East River in New York as a dumping site.”
Noah looked at her through narrowed eyes. “Should it bother me that you can pull that kind of information up so easily?”
“Not really. Just part of the job.”
Noah looked away from her and cleared his throat.
“What?” Kaely asked. “It’s obvious something’s bothering you. Spit it out.”
“Because I cleared my throat?”
“Shows you’re lying or you’re uncomfortable with what you’re getting ready to say.”
“Well, I’m not lying,” Noah said, “so I guess it’s the latter choice. I’m afraid it’s my second question, but I don’t think we have time for it.”
“We can take a couple of minutes,” she said. “Why don’t you toss it at me, and I’ll answer it if I can.”
“You’re a Christian, right?” Noah blurted out.
“Yes, I am.”
He swiveled around and stared directly at her, an odd look on his face. “How can you see this kind of evil”—he waved his hand toward the files spread out on the table, all the pictures of destruction and death lying in front of them—“and know all the stuff you do . . . I mean, how can you believe in a good and just God when you know this happens?”
Kaely put her head down for a moment before replying. When she looked up, she said, “Some other time I’ll tell you how I found God, but that will have to wait. As far as how I can do this, someone has to, Noah. Why do you think it has to be nonbelievers?” She shook her head. “Those who know God should be the ones to confront the darkness, to chase evil. We have the weapons. Those who don’t know Him have only themselves. And trust me, it’s not enough. Not if you want to make it out in one piece.”
She frowned. “After I first found God, I joined a church near my condo. Good people. Felt pretty comfortable there. But when they found out what I did, things got awkward. Seems they felt the way you do. Nice Christians don’t chase killers.” She pointed at the files. “Good Christians don’t put this kind of stuff in their minds. I left. Now I go to a church that accepts what I do. In fact, they pray for me. I don’t go as often as I should, but when I do show up, they always make me feel welcome.”
“Have you made friends there?” Noah asked.
Kaely smiled sadly. “How would I relate? I can’t share this life with them. They understand the generality of what I do. But the details? No. I think that’s why most of us don’t have a lot of friends outside the Bureau.”
“But that’s my point. How could God want you to get involved in this kind of depravity? Doesn’t He care about what it does to you?”
“Yes, of course He does. I believe I’m called to do this, Noah. It’s why I’m good at it. And if the day comes where I can’t do it anymore, I’m sure He’ll tell me.” She took a sip of her coffee before continuing. “I’m human. I’ve had nights when all I could do was roll up into a ball and cry. I have nightmares, Noah. Everyone who does this kind of work knows the emotional toll it can take. But I know with God’s help I can get through it. He’s never abandoned me. Never let me down.” She swallowed hard, trying to rein in her emotions. “It’s funny, you know? People asking me how I can believe in God. When you see evil firsthand, you begin to realize there has to be good. There has to be a God.”
“But how can you be sure?” Noah asked.
Kaely stared into her coffee cup, trying to find the right words. “I mean, when you know someone, you know them, right? I know God. Better than I know you. It’s weird. Tell some Christians God speaks to you, and they freak out. Yet the Bible is full of stories of God talking to people.” She shook her head. “There is no one on the face of the earth who could convince me God isn’t real. You see, we’re friends. He answers me when I pray. He talks to me. And best of all, He accepts me just the way I am. That doesn’t mean we’re not working on things. He knows there are places in my life . . . in my mind . . . that need healing. But He does it little by little, when I’m ready. No one knows me the way He does.” She reached over and put her hand on Noah’s arm. “Your wife knew Him too, didn’t she?”
Noah yanked his arm away, and his expression turned dark. “I told you I don’t want to talk about her.”
Kaely pulled her hand back. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. Let’s get back to work, okay?”
He nodded but didn’t say anything.
Kaely stared at the computer screen, looking over Noah’s search results. She frowned as she stared at all the listings. “You know, he should be giving us more clues to find him.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s playing this like a game. Remember the Zodiac Killer?”
Noah nodded. “He used his codes as clues. He liked playing mind games with the police.”
“Right. Besides the poem, are we missing something? Is he trying to give us clues that we’re missing?”
“If he is, I haven’t picked up on them.”
Kaely rested her chin on her closed fist, thinking. “Our only chance to get ahead of him is to pick the right serial killer from the list of possibilities. If we can figure out who our guy is going to emulate, we might have a chance. Slim . . . but a chance.”
“Do you have any ideas?”
Kaely pulled over a legal-sized pad of paper and picked up a pen. “Okay, the first killer he picked was George Anderson.”
Noah nodded. “Why did he pick Anderson?”
Kaely pointed her pen at Noah. “That’s the question we need to ask ourselves. Why Anderson? What was it about this guy that appealed to our killer? If we can understand his choice, we might be able to predict his next move. And that could help us stop him.”
“Okay,” Noah said. “You mentioned three people: Ridgway, Williams, and Rifkin.”
“But all three of them dumped the bodies into rivers. Not lakes.”
Noah took a breath and blew it out quickly in frustration. “So this doesn’t help us at all?”
Something jumped into Kaely’s mind. A memory. She stood to her feet. “I’ve got it,” she said. “I know what’s coming next.”