Lauren had been the hardest to kill. He considered her to be intellectually on a par with himself; not a chance woman unlucky enough to be in the right place at the wrong time nor a casual acquaintance sucked into his scheme. He’d first met her at a garden party hosted by Anna just before Lauren had taken up her position at the college. She was new to Jericho and had the imprint of the Arizonan sun on her skin. The attraction had been immediate, but there had been plenty of reasons for keeping their relationship quiet and Lauren had gone along with the silence. Enjoyed it, even. She’d not been your typical archaeologist. She liked to switch off after work and talk about a new movie or an art exhibition in Boston she intended to visit when she could grab some time off. He had, however, seriously underestimated her talent for spotting what was off. Lauren had noticed what all the algorithms of visiting experts had not. A pattern, or at least the beginnings of one.
With further deaths, the shape would have been easier to identify, which meant Lauren had to become part of the design. It had taken a while to tease out what she had discovered, but once she had confided in him, the revelations poured from her. She had been easy to lure to the river. A romantic spot, Suncook was well-lit in the evening. The lights of the church had been on and into the air came the odd note of music. Organ or choir practice, he wasn’t sure, but Lauren hadn’t been on her guard.
Once overpowered, he dragged her into the water and held her by her coat until she drowned. The stones came later. The glittering pebbles had their own meaning and, he suspected, it wouldn’t take Carla long until she spotted what others hadn’t. Time was no longer on his side and plans needed to be put into action.