Cause to Kill

“Let’s just say no one is safe, Buck. Every college girl is a target. But Jessica Givens,” she stressed and pointed toward the door, “she knows something. Something important. A piece of information that could solve this whole case. I can’t trust anyone else. I’m on my own here. Can you help me? Just between us. No one else has to know.”

“Shit, ” he whispered. “Sure,” he said. “Sure, if it’s that important, all right,” he cheered, determined, and he gave her what she needed.

“Thank you,” she said. “I hope you realize that you could have just single-handedly helped me catch this killer.”

“Really?”

“Really,” she whispered in her best, seductive voice.

A finger went to her lips.

“Remember, our secret.”

“Definitely,” Buck said. “Just between us.”

Avery quietly backed away and slipped out the door. The second the sunlight hit her face, she dialed the number given.

“Hello?” someone answered.

“Is this Jessica Givens?”

“Yes. Who is this?”

“Hi, Jessica. My name is Avery Black. I’m one of the investigators on the Molly Green case. I understand you already spoke to Talbot Diggins?”

“How did you get this number?”

“Are you the counselor Detective Diggins spoke with about Molly Green?”

“Yes, I am. But this is a private line. I’m with family right now.”

“Molly Green is dead, Ms. Givens. We’re trying to track her killer. This will only take a second. You said the victim was stressed about her job interview process, is that right?”

“That’s right.”

“How was that problem resolved?”

“She received a job offer from an accounting firm about a month ago.”

Accounting firm, Avery thought.

Cindy Jenkins was hired by an accounting firm.

“Do you remember the name?”

“Of course,” Jessica said, “it’s one of the biggest firms in Boston. I was surprised she was hired. Her academic performance wasn’t like some of the other students who applied to the same company. It was Devante. Devante Accounting in Boston financial.”

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

Just after sunset on the Bentley University Campus in Waltham, the killer parked his car in a lot to the north of College Drive and walked south, across the pavement.

An uneasy feeling churned in his stomach.

He was on the hunt for his fourth victim, and yet it was such an unexpected activity.

Months before he began to plan for his first human kill, he was assured by the voice of the All Spirit – who had guided him in each and every phase of the operation – that three was the number of girls needed: three kills to unlock the doors of heaven.

The radical change had come during his drop-off of Molly Green.

As the killer had driven to the predetermined spot for her placement in Belmont, a spot that he was sure would please the All Spirit, an angry voice had screamed in his mind: More. It had to be a mistake, he was sure. The All Spirit had only needed three. More, the voice had repeated – again and again. Worried, sweaty, and unsure of himself, the killer knew the drop-off for Molly Green would have to be changed to account for the shift. In a panic – and he never panicked – he’d scouted Belmont and was lucky enough to find the children’s park with the mural that would at least hark to the future and please his god.

He, however, had not been pleased.

A new girl meant not just one, but more, a seemingly never-ending supply.

He had other interests, other desires. Animals, for one. His passion for collecting animals off the streets. He loved cats, a wounded bat had even made it into his house once, a creature that he had loved and cared for, before it was given immortality.

Botany was another hobby. No time had been allowed in the previous months to augment his mixtures and test them out on live animal subjects. Everything had been for the All Spirit, a god that had become an increasing presence in his life.

More girls…he thought.

More…

His reward for the trinity was supposed to be immortality in human form, and a place in heaven with the other celestial beings. But now, he didn’t feel immortal, in fact, he felt feverish and extremely emotional. This new game, this new plan, it went against his innermost desires, and he began to think cruel thoughts about the All Spirit.

High in the sky, the face of his god frowned, and a booming echo seemed to shake the land itself: More!

Yes, I know, the killer mentally shouted to the sky. More! Don’t you see, I’m here? I’ve been watching her? I know where she is. The plan is set. The placement is set. Everything is under control! he assured the All Spirit. Only he didn’t feel under control.

Unlike the other kills, where he’d been imperious, where he had felt the protection of the All Spirit – to the degree that if he’d killed someone in public, in broad daylight, not a single person would have noticed now, all eyes seemed to gaze on him.

Outside of the parking lot was an expansive grass lawn.

A movie screen had been erected.

It was Saturday Night Movie Night at Bentley, and the classic cinema on display was the black and white masterpiece Casablanca.

Hundreds of individuals and couples and groups of students were splayed out on the lawn to watch the movie. Some of them were on blankets, others in chairs. The boldest among them had brought wine and beer to the event.

He carried with him a blanket and sunglasses.

His target? A senior named Wanda Voles. A reconnaissance mission the night before had informed him of her destination this night. Apparently on the outs with her boyfriend, she’d decided to come to the movie and be alone. Her friends had begged her not to spend a precious Saturday night at such a lame event, but Wanda had been adamant. “Casablanca is like, my favorite movie,” she had told those in attendance.

He picked this night for several reasons. One of the main reasons was that in the back of his mind, he hoped she wouldn’t show up. The thought had been blasphemous and yet undeniable. “I don’t want to do it! I don’t want to do it!” he’d screamed. The All Spirit had refused to listen. Pain had wracked his body in that moment.

Now, he moved along the outskirts of the large crowd. Every so often, he peeked up to see Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman embrace or fight.

Wanda sat on the western edge of the lawn, alone but surrounded by other students.