CHAPTER 7

1 MONTH LATER

The cliche iPhone ringtone of Officer Hank went off on his desk. It was already late into the night but finding the serial killer was more important than sleep.

Over and over he had gone through the photos of the bodies and the scenes, even clipped evidence on the board, the inscriptions on the heads, the symbols found at the sites but none related, none made sense. He picked up the phone;

"Officer Hank on the line, who's speaking?"

"It's Dr Joseph, the autopsier"

"Are you done with the process? Did you find anything out of the ordinary?"

"Unlike the other bodies, I did"

"Enlighten me"

"I found some strange markings on her rib cage more like a tattoo"

"A tattoo? On the ribs? How's that possible?"

"It's beyond me. It's a mirrored image of the letters IX. I'll fax you an image "

"That's weird"

"There's more, she had sexual intercourse prior to her death and she was or is pregnant"

"Pregnant!? Do you have a list of possible fathers?"

"I do. Is it possible to get a semen sample from Jack, we took a semen sample from the body as it was enclosed in a swollen gland".

"You suspect Jack?"

"Yes he may have found out about the pregnancy and asked her to abort it and she refused so he killed her"

"Hmm, I'll see if that's possible"

"Have a nice evening Officer". Hank ended the call.

This case was getting more complicated by the hour. 'the pregnancy is a good motive to kill but would someone go as far as burning another?

Couldn't he just poison her or gun her down' Officer Hank's wheels and gears were spinning trying to profer answers.

The puzzle was getting larger and the puzzle pieces he had didn't fit yet. He looked down at the pictures of the bodies of the victims.

Earlier on before the autopsy begun, an image of Vivian was taken and sent to him. He examined the photo for the signature of the serial killer.

It was there, the relief 'V' on her forehead. The branded E on Emily's head and the scripted R on Reina's head. They had to be connected.

His blinking fax drew his attention, an image was coming through. He checked it , he saw and image of the tattoo on Vivian's ribs. It was truly a mirrored image; IX XI.

He placed it side by side with the images on his desk. The R, the E , The V and the tattoo. REV IX XI. He punched it in his computer to search for any leads. If it was code, an address , a date , a plate number, anything that could further this case.

His superior was breathing down his neck constantly nagging about his lack of leads. This could be his big lead to break even the case.

He opened the first hit ; " secrets in plain sight" , he quickly read through the article, nothing. There was nothing auspicious about it. The second article caught his eye; REV 9:11 "the bible?" Officer Hank snickered.

He was never a believer , a Stark humanist who believed that everything was achieved by man's effort. He opened it to have a good laugh.

"And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew tongue is Abaddon...".

Suddenly it wasn't so funny anymore. What he was dealing with wasn't normal, the disappearances , the symbols. The serial killer wasn't a person but a demon.