Eva lowered her eyes to the victim. She could see several perforations in her abdomen and legs. Between her thighs, the genitals were a mess of red meat.
She winced.
It has started again. You can deny it all you want, but you know it.
It’s more than a series of murders. It’s a ritual.
But what kind of ritual?
Why such brutality?
“When did she die?” Eva asked to get her mind off those thoughts.
“Probably early this morning, around one,” the pathologist said.
“Okay,” Deveraux said. “Our man lost his cool. He must have been on a high after what he did to the Meyer kid. He came over here to slaughter her lover. At least, we have a link between the two victims. He must have known them both.”
“I agree,” Eva said. “But it doesn’t explain his motive.”
She took a step back and studied the table and the armchairs around it.
Feast scarlet? What the hell could that mean?
And you, what were you doing in here, Audrey Desiderio, so long after business hours?
Were you waiting for someone?
Were you expecting Barbara Meyer to meet you here?
Of course you were.
She examined the armchairs with great care. Sat in the one at the far end. There was a glass on the floor, lost in the soft carpeting, as well as a bottle of whisky, lying on its side, against the wall.
She shut her eyes. The victim was sitting here, yes, before the killer showed up.
Why?
Who are you?
Opening her eyes, she gazed at the window on the wall in front of her and its mysterious inscription-now feast scarlet.
Did the killer sit in this place, too?
Oh yes, he did. To take a look at his work. So very peacefully.
Eva looked around the room. All the other walls were lined with magazine covers, every one featuring young, pouty models. A huge mirror, now broken, hung on the left wall. That was no surprise. Eva got up and walked over to the mirror. She studied her own reflection in the fragments. Multiple, repeating perspectives of a white-haired woman in dark glasses.
You don’t like the way you look? Is that it?
That’s the reason you rip their faces off? To take their beauty away? Or just their humanity?
Or is there something we’re missing?
Something less… ordinary?
She turned around to study the circle of blood around the boardroom table.
So, what’s the meaning of your ritual?
You’ve made me run in circles for a whole year.
Leroy crouched behind one of the armchairs to take photos.
“To put it mildly, the man likes to play with blood.”
“He has been covered with it,” the pathologist confirmed. “A hell of a bloodbath. Do you think it’s a message he left for us? To test us?”
“You betcha,” Deveraux asserted, hands on his hips. “He wants to prove that he’s smarter than we are. But trust me, honey, this won’t last.”
“I don’t think he did any of this thinking about us,” Eva said.
“Yeah, right,” Deveraux said. “All this fucking setup, the moronic message, who’s that for? The pigeons?”
“What he’s doing has a meaning, yes. But it has meaning for himself only,” Eva insisted. “That’s what’s important for him, the ritual. He intends to accomplish something very specific. He’ll complete it at any cost. We just have to figure out what it’s about before he strikes again.”
Deveraux gave her an exasperated look.
“Words, and more words. You’re good at talking up a storm, aren’t you. To me, there’s nothing complicated to understand here. We’re dealing with a nutcase. The man wanted to shed blood, and he found a way to get inside the building. I tend to think it’s a Goth freak. That’s the kind of people Barbara Meyer hung out with, right? Some of those kids actually worship death and the devil and shit. One of them just took it a bit too far, that’s all.”
“Will you shut the fuck up, Jean-Luc?” Eva snapped.
Deveraux shot her a murderous look.
“Of course. I forgot you’re all-knowing, right? Then, honey, go solve it for us. Just try not to kill anybody, for once.”
Eva tensed.
“First of all, I’m not your honey. If it hurts to call me by my name, you can use my rank, Jean-Luc. That’s inspector.”
“Oh yeah? Then how about Inspector Honey?” he sniggered.
Leroy landed a hand on his colleague’s shoulder.
“I’m getting tired of it too, Jean-Luc. We’re supposed to be a team, so leave Eva alone, will you? We’re here to work together.”
“A team, you tell me?” Deveraux barked. “I’d actually like to do my job properly here, without having to listen to the nonsense that keeps coming out of this one’s mouth.”
“Okay,” Eva said. “I’ve taken enough shit already. You guys can interview the personnel yourselves. I’m done here.”
“There you go,” Deveraux went on. “On top of everything else, you just abandon your post. The chief will love that, I’m sure.”
Eva left the room before she exploded.
21
Officer Leroy ran after her in the hallway and grabbed her arm.
“Leave me alone, Erwan,” she said, yanking herself free.
Her colleague backed off, trying a calmer approach.
“Eva, listen to me. I’m really sorry about his behavior. He’s an asshole, really. I don’t understand why the boss stuck him with us again.”
Eva leaned against the wall. Her hands were trembling, but her face remained impassive. She knew full well why.
“It’s not a big deal,” she said. “I’m getting used to it.”
“All men aren’t like that, you know.”
“Deep down? I think most are-with one or two exceptions,” Eva said.
Erwan Leroy still gave her a smile.
“You’re letting us do the interviews then? You sure you don’t want to take care of that?”
The inspector straightened her glasses and looked around. The Chick offices were set up like a little maze: a series of corridors connecting rooms that seemed identical at first glance. A bit farther on, by the elevators, was the reception area. She could see some of their colleagues talking to the cleaning crew. The rest of the team must have been busy gathering contact info for the magazine staff in order to start the interviews as soon as possible.
She shrugged.
“All they’re going to tell us is that their boss was harder with them than she needed to be, that she worked way too much, stayed late at the office, had morals that were loose enough to cause people to talk behind her back.” She studied the hallway where they stood, thinking. “Nobody was left in the building last night. Still, our man took the elevator or used the staircase. In both instances, you need a magnetic ID. Each use is registered and time stamped.”
“I’ve already asked about that,” Erwan told her. “No one used an ID before the cleaning crew this morning.”
“Then it’s Desiderio who let him in. Jean-Luc is a moron, but he’s right about one thing. The victim knew her killer. Just like Meyer knew him. Maybe we’ll luck out tracking down their mutual acquaintances.”
“You think our man came here to shut Desiderio up so she couldn’t identify him?”
Eva took a moment to think.
“That’s quite possible, actually. But still, there are too many details that don’t add up. All that’s certain is, he’ll do it again.”
She pushed herself off the wall and began walking.
Leroy followed.
“But then,” he insisted, “What are we focusing on, exactly?”