“Of course. But if they used cash...”
“I don’t think they would have. Most people I know don’t even use cash to buy a latte anymore. There are always outside possibilities, but let’s go with this. And an athame is too common a purchase here for someone to be worried that they’d be targeted for buying one,” Rocky said. “And truthfully, alone it means nothing. But when things start to add up, it will be another piece of the puzzle—assuming our killer even used an athame. Still, it’s a good guess based on the ritualistic nature of the murders, so it’s a place to start.”
“The population of Essex County is over 760,000,” Jenna said. “Any ideas for narrowing it down?”
“Our killer could live anywhere in the area, but start with the towns most directly associated with the witch trials,” Rocky said. “Salem, Danvers, Andover, Peabody and the rest.”
“You think this could have something to do with those executions?” Sam asked.
Rocky thought about how Mina Lyle had described the woman in the window. A Puritan.
“A hunch,” he said. “Also,” he added, “look for people on your athame list who own a dark SUV. The boy who found Carly Henderson wasn’t sure what kind of car knocked him off the road, but he thinks it was a dark SUV. It might just have been a lousy driver, but it could have been our killer.”
“All right—age ranges?” Jenna asked.
“I’d say anyone who was fifteen and up at the time of Melissa’s murder,” Rocky said.
“That young?” Sam asked, then shook his head ruefully. “Yeah, you’re right—that young. Sad to say.”
Jack left them to speak with his officers, Sam settled in to go back over the missing-persons reports, Jenna started finessing the computer and the other three each took one of the victims’ files and started back over it, looking for any detail that might have been missed before now.
*
With Auntie Mina there in the house to keep it from feeling so empty, Devin found that her work seemed to fly, but Aunt Mina had more for her to do once she got a good look at her herb garden.
Aunt Mina shook her head. “You know, a lot of old wives’ tales are just that, but not all. A lot of what our ancestors thought was good for us really was. The garden needs work.”
“I’ve only been back a few months, Auntie Mina,” Devin reminded her. “But I’ll go out and pull some weeds right now.”
“You will do no such thing! You’ve got to remain inside—and be vigilant,” Aunt Mina said.
Devin had been careful. Very careful. But the two murdered women had been killed in different parts of town, only one of them near her house. And if they were counting the girl who had died thirteen years ago, she’d been killed in Peabody.
“I don’t believe I’m in any danger, Auntie,” Devin said. She couldn’t help but wonder if she was talking to herself. Seriously, how easy was it to imagine her aunt, who had been such a huge part of her life, might be lingering at the cottage that had been her home?
But Rocky had seen her, too.
It was amazing; Rocky had...something special. A sense about such things. It made her feel closer to him, somehow.
She realized that she’d forgotten to call Brent and make reservations for tonight’s tour. She grabbed her phone and was relieved to find out there was still room for them.
He told her to be there by 7:45 p.m., then said casually, “I looked him up, by the way.”
“What?”
“I ran a search on your friend. He is from Peabody, and he was a big shot on the high school football team. Then a girl he knew was murdered and he just quit playing. They say he was headed for the NFL.”
“I guess he didn’t care that much about a pro career.” She had the feeling he had decided that going into law enforcement was more important—especially after losing a friend that way.
“He looks like he still plays. Bet the guy spends half his life in a gym.”
“I don’t know. We’re friends, but—”
“I don’t trust him, Devin,” Brent warned her.
“What? Why would you say that?”
“His friend dies, he goes away. I can trace him through college and then...he disappears. I found some of his classes. You’ve got to hear the titles. Things like ‘Women Who Kill,’ ‘Defining the Psychotic Mind’...the list goes on.”
“He majored in criminology,” Devin said.
“Yeah? Are you sure he didn’t major in being a criminal?”
Devin kept her mouth shut. Rocky hadn’t told the others what he did for a living, and though she didn’t think he was trying to hide it—he wasn’t here undercover or anything—it didn’t seem like it was her place to say anything.
“He’s a good guy, Brent,” she said.
“Don’t be fooled just because you think he’s hot.”
“Brent!”
“Okay, sorry. But friends have to look after friends. And I’m just saying, he leaves after a friend is killed—he comes back and two women are murdered.”