“Forty is the number for trials and tribulations. I believe he spaces his kills forty days apart because he feels tested during that time. That’s when he is supposed to refrain from killing, to hold off on what he wants, like giving up the thing you want most during Lent. It’s been proven that serial killers are addicted to the act. That’s why we have so many repeat offenders. He wants to kill again, but he holds off for forty days, denying himself of what he wants most during his temptation period.”
“Why the seven years between?” Lou asked. “And why seven women murdered each time?”
Angel shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe seven symbolizes his wait is complete? For the seven years between, the best scenario I’ve found is the seven years of plenty, then seven years of famine in the days of Joseph, though that would almost insinuate he should kill for seven years, then go seven without killing.” She studied a page in Bible Mathematics. “Our guy is religious, but he seems to make his own rules, variations of the Biblical facts. Or maybe he was taught a deviation of typical Biblical numerology. Either way, with him starting the killings forty days prior to Easter, always committing an Easter kill and spacing all murders by sevens and forties, I’d say we’ve got ourselves something of a fanatic.”
“A fanatic who thinks we haven’t figured out his system,” Pierce said.
“Right. And if he believes we’re onto him, even if we don’t understand why he’s picked the dates and years he’s selected, he may feel as though his plan has been altered. Maybe he’ll believe things have changed.”
“But if he does think his plan has gone haywire,” Lou countered, “would he stop the cycle, or would he swap to more convenient dates and times?”
“He’s too much of a perfectionist, too intense a planner, to vary from the structure. However, if the women in town know what to watch for, if they’re all aware of what he’s looking for and when, then maybe we’ll eliminate the opportunity to accomplish his goal on the specified date,” Angel continued. “Then, once a date is missed—”
“The cycle will be broken,” Tucker completed. “You’re the profiler. What do you think he’d do, if we were able to prevent tomorrow’s murder?”
“In all honesty, I haven’t dealt with a case like this before, based on Biblical numerology, but given the information we have on our killer, I believe he’d see the series as ended. What good would it do to commit the murder if it weren’t on the specified date?”
“Fine.” Captain Pierce grabbed a pen and a pad of paper from the center of the table. “What do we want in the broadcast?”
“I say we tell them everything,” Angel said. “There’s no better way to find a snake than to remove his rock.”
For over eight hours, the group wrote and submitted their articles and announcements to every form of media available in Bibb County and the surrounding areas. A draining process, but worth it—if they stopped the killer.
Lexie didn’t have to assist Henry in editing footage at the station for tomorrow’s broadcast. He was capable of getting the segment done right on his own. But she didn’t want it right; she wanted it perfect. Moreover, she wanted to verify it depicted the horrendous person they were after. Like before, they taped the footage at the police station, after the remaining task force members verified the content. The group wanted her to cover each and every scrap of detail they had about the killer, his profile, his signature, his MO. And they wanted to make sure the city knew how instrumental the next twenty-four hours would be in their effort to stop the madman’s cycle.
The police department tripled the number of officers on duty, and 911 operators were ready to field any and all incoming calls referring to the killer. Every local radio station and television newscast gave a word-for-word account of the
“Why the seven years between?” Lou asked. “And why seven women murdered each time?”
Angel shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe seven symbolizes his wait is complete? For the seven years between, the best scenario I’ve found is the seven years of plenty, then seven years of famine in the days of Joseph, though that would almost insinuate he should kill for seven years, then go seven without killing.” She studied a page in Bible Mathematics. “Our guy is religious, but he seems to make his own rules, variations of the Biblical facts. Or maybe he was taught a deviation of typical Biblical numerology. Either way, with him starting the killings forty days prior to Easter, always committing an Easter kill and spacing all murders by sevens and forties, I’d say we’ve got ourselves something of a fanatic.”
“A fanatic who thinks we haven’t figured out his system,” Pierce said.
“Right. And if he believes we’re onto him, even if we don’t understand why he’s picked the dates and years he’s selected, he may feel as though his plan has been altered. Maybe he’ll believe things have changed.”
“But if he does think his plan has gone haywire,” Lou countered, “would he stop the cycle, or would he swap to more convenient dates and times?”
“He’s too much of a perfectionist, too intense a planner, to vary from the structure. However, if the women in town know what to watch for, if they’re all aware of what he’s looking for and when, then maybe we’ll eliminate the opportunity to accomplish his goal on the specified date,” Angel continued. “Then, once a date is missed—”
“The cycle will be broken,” Tucker completed. “You’re the profiler. What do you think he’d do, if we were able to prevent tomorrow’s murder?”
“In all honesty, I haven’t dealt with a case like this before, based on Biblical numerology, but given the information we have on our killer, I believe he’d see the series as ended. What good would it do to commit the murder if it weren’t on the specified date?”
“Fine.” Captain Pierce grabbed a pen and a pad of paper from the center of the table. “What do we want in the broadcast?”
“I say we tell them everything,” Angel said. “There’s no better way to find a snake than to remove his rock.”
For over eight hours, the group wrote and submitted their articles and announcements to every form of media available in Bibb County and the surrounding areas. A draining process, but worth it—if they stopped the killer.
Lexie didn’t have to assist Henry in editing footage at the station for tomorrow’s broadcast. He was capable of getting the segment done right on his own. But she didn’t want it right; she wanted it perfect. Moreover, she wanted to verify it depicted the horrendous person they were after. Like before, they taped the footage at the police station, after the remaining task force members verified the content. The group wanted her to cover each and every scrap of detail they had about the killer, his profile, his signature, his MO. And they wanted to make sure the city knew how instrumental the next twenty-four hours would be in their effort to stop the madman’s cycle.
The police department tripled the number of officers on duty, and 911 operators were ready to field any and all incoming calls referring to the killer. Every local radio station and television newscast gave a word-for-word account of the
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