Robert Walker - Grave Instinct

“ Looks like some kind of religious cross or other icon. But in this context… What does it mean?” asked Combs.

“ I'm not sure.”

The boat captain, Abrams, had reappeared and was studying the sign on the pad. “The upright line like the number one represents upright man, the horizontal line crossing it represents the horizon, while the circle atop the vertical and horizontal represents God.”

“ Was this symbol found on the other two victims?” asked Combs.

“ Unless they missed it… I mean it was nowhere on the protocols. Maybe it was missed.”

“ The sign wasn't on the other two,” said J.T. “I read the reports, too.”

“ Can you go back, take another look?” asked Combs.

“ Both of them have since been buried,” J. T explained.

Jessica sighed heavily and shook her head. “I'm certain the attending M.E. would have seen it if it was there.”

“ What do you think it means?”

“ Who can say? Perhaps that he's doing this out of some holy crusade only he understands.”

“ Son of a bitch is so twisted he thinks God approves of what he's doing?” Combs had to move away. She went toward the front of the boat and stared across the river at the teeming city coming to life, morning rush hour in full swing now, an army of cars passing over the 295 overpass. Jessica joined her there.

You OK, Sheriff?”

“ No… are you?”

“ No… not really. Hell of a number this guy did on her.” On the outside, Jessica knew she presented the picture of calm, but inside she shivered each time she looked back at the corpse's head.

Combs lit up a cigarette and offered one to Jessica, who waved off. They both fell silent a moment, each with her own thoughts until Combs said, “You think you've seen it all, then something like this comes along. Blows your mind.”

“ Yeah… I know… I know the feeling.” After a moment, Jessica added, “Agent Cutter wants to set up a joint task force-state, county, city and federal involvement.”

“ I already told Cutter fine. I have no jurisdictional ego battles in my department. Whatever works… whatever gets us this… this creature.”

“ Murder still gets the chair in Florida, right?” asked Jessica, the wind coming off the river playing havoc with her auburn hair.

“ It's too good for this guy, but it's the best we can do. What he really ought to face-”

“ I know,” concurred Jessica.

“- is the kind of torture he put his victims through. God, can you imagine having your head cut open while you're alive?”

“ And under no anesthesia,” Jessica added. “As for the parents, they don't need to know the details until and unless they insist.”

Combs nodded and took another long pull on her cigarette. Jessica returned to the body to finish her preliminary examination. Everyone had fallen silent. Jessica spoke to J.T. “Imagine Amanda Manning when she was filled with life and love, J.T., filled with tenderness, pity, heartache, sorrow, contentment, jealousy, frustration, shame, despair, pride, triumph, hatred, rage, accomplishment.”

“ Anima,” said J.T., summing it up. “Her anima was taken along with her organ. I know.”

“ All her noisy, boisterous, excitable, passionate, determined, anxious self-stolen in one night of horror.”

“ Now it's all gone,” added Combs, standing nearby.

J.T. had been sketching out the scene on a pad to indicate precisely where the body was in relation to objects around it. He sadly noted that since they were on a boat, there really were no fixed objects unless the boat was tied down permanently.

“ Do your best with what we've got, J.T.”

Jessica took scrapings from beneath the victim's nails. Combs asked, “Do you think that Amanda ripped some skin or blood from her assailant?”

“ I wouldn't count on it, but only time and tests will tell,” Jessica replied. “You can wave in those ambulance attendants now, if you will, Sheriff.”

Evening, the following day

Jessica found her room at the Ocean View Inn on Jacksonville Beach perfect not because of the spectacular view of the Atlantic, but because it had a bed. Exhausted, she kicked off her shoes and fell into the bed's soft comforter fully clothed, wanting only to lay there a moment and relax and rest her eyes.

Jessica had found the stiff, proper Agent Henry Cutter to be a man of his word, determined to rid Jacksonville and the state of Florida of this ghoulish fiend the press had been calling Skull-digger. Cutter had spent the day debriefing his command and putting them on the street in pursuit of leads. Such activity went on as Jessica spent the day doing a thorough autopsy of Amanda “Mandy” Manning to confirm what she expected to find. She and J.T. believed beyond any doubt it was the work of the same man who had struck in Richmond and in Winston-Salem. Her report to Cutter and the FDLE read that Amanda had not been sexually abused, in keeping with previous victims. Their final judgment: trauma by bone saw to the cranium, causing hemorrhagic shock and eventual death. While the autopsy earlier that day went as smoothly as could be expected, given the extent and nature of the crime, Jessica had to make the difficult call of violating young Amanda Manning once again-and at the head-because Jessica wanted the portion of the back wall of the interior skull carrying the only message left for them by the killer. She wanted it removed and preserved for study under the largest microscope she could find. There might well be clues within the clue, she had told Combs, Cutter and the others.

Cutter balked at the idea, saying a high-resolution photograph would do just as well. Combs agreed and said, “The girl's been violated enough.”

“ No, it's too important. It needs microscopic analysis,” Jessica countered. “It could save lives.”

“ You're talking about mutilating what's left of the skull, Dr. Coran, and for what?” asked Cutter. “An artifact that may well prove useless in the investigation?”

“ Take it up with Chief Santiva. I'm taking the 'artifact,' as you call it.”

“ To add to your collection?” Combs asked, her eyes narrowed.

“ What the hell does that mean?” Jessica stood eye to eye with the sheriff.

“ We're not backwoods people here, Dr. Coran. We know your reputation for taking on the weirdest cases in recent history. In fact, such cases have built your reputation.”

“ Listen, Sheriff Combs, you asked me in on the case, remember?”

“ As a courtesy and only because you had an APB out on this guy's MO,” Combs shot back.

“ I'm taking the bone fragment.”

“ Not before I have a chance to talk to Santiva,” replied Cutter, intervening. “I'm the special agent in charge here, Dr. Coran.” It was their first argument, and it didn't bode well. Cutter and Combs stormed out.

“ Lotta emotion flying, Jessica,” said J.T. “So… I guess we wait until we hear back from Cutter? Meanwhile, somebody's got to explain the delay to the parents. They want the body released ASAP.”

Jessica didn't hesitate. “I'll need your assistance, John, and get us a couple of attendants to turn Amanda facedown.”

“ Are you sure, Jess?”

“ It's too important to bury with her, especially if it has already been buried with two other victims.” She went to the phone, contacted Santiva and informed him of the disagreement, telling him, “You've got to stand with me on this one, Eriq, no matter what arguments Cutter or Combs may feed you.”

Eriq proved more curious about the mark inside the cranial cavity than in the disagreement about how to proceed with it. “Why haven't we seen it before? What did you say it looks like?”