Chris Carter - Gallery of the Dead

Kennedy flicked the filter of his cigarette with his thumb, tipping the ash before looking back at Hunter.

‘What if I told you that Kristine Rivers was with the FBI’s Witness Protection Program and that is why we got involved so fast?’

‘Then I would tell you to get your agents, get the hell out of my office and stop wasting my time.’

‘Why?’

‘Because she wasn’t with the Witness Protection Program, Adrian.’

‘How can you be so sure? The names on the FBI’s WPP are highly classified.’

‘Are you kidding me?’ Hunter sounded half-offended. ‘If Kristine Rivers was part of the WPP she wouldn’t have been relocated to a major city like Detroit, or allowed to enroll into a top university like Wayne State — too much exposure. The risk of her being recognized by a fellow student, a teacher, or even on the streets of Detroit by a stranger would be too great. WPP subjects always get relocated to obscure little towns somewhere in the back of beyond, not to huge metropolises. Plus, neither you nor your agents have a clue who this killer could be. If Kristine Rivers had been murdered because she was with the WPP, you would know where to start looking.’

Kennedy gave Hunter a lifeless smile while nodding.

‘So can we please drop the bullshit now?’ Hunter said. ‘Who was she, Adrian?’

Kennedy gazed at the photograph Hunter was holding. ‘You probably read in the file that her mother’s name is Suzanne Rivers, right?’

Hunter nodded once.

‘What the file doesn’t show is that Kristine’s mother’s maiden name is Suzanne Kennedy. She’s my sister. Kristine was my niece, Robert.’

In finally hearing Kennedy’s revelation about Kristine Rivers’ true identity, Hunter’s face fell. He knew that this time Kennedy had come clean.

‘I’m... so sorry, Adrian. I didn’t mean to...’

Kennedy looked away for an instant.

‘I know you didn’t, Robert. I know you well enough, old buddy.’ One more puff of his cigarette.

‘So why didn’t you tell me from the start? Did you really think you could keep that sort of information hidden from us throughout the investigation?’

‘Of course I didn’t think I’d be able to keep it hidden,’ Kennedy replied. ‘Even if I wanted to, I know you would find out. I just didn’t expect it to be within the hour. I thought I had done a great job up there when those pictures came out.’ He shrugged. ‘Obviously not. But I would’ve told you everything once this initial meeting was over, anyway. Before I fly back to Washington tonight.’

‘Why after the meeting?’ Hunter asked. ‘Why not come clean from the start?’

Three uniformed police officers on their cigarette break exited the PAB and stopped a few feet from Hunter. As they lit up, Kennedy motioned Hunter to walk with him.

‘Because I didn’t want you to get onboard just as a favor to me,’ Kennedy said, once they were out of earshot. ‘I didn’t want you to think that I was using my niece’s murder as a reason to bring you into this investigation.’

He finished his cigarette and stubbed it out against the wall.

‘I wanted you on this case, Robert. I wanted you on this case from day one because you can read these scenarios better than anyone I know, and to be very truthful, there’s no one else inside the FBI or any other law-enforcement agency whose professional ability I trust and respect more than yours.’

Kennedy took a second and his next words came out dusted with emotion. ‘This bastard took my niece. He mutilated her face. He took her eyes. He scalped her. Who the fuck does that? And then he left her body inside a dirty and disgusting shed, amidst junkies’ discarded syringes and used rubbers, but you know what the funny thing is? Despite all my anger and hatred, I’m almost grateful to this bastard for not raping her.’

Out came cigarette number three.

‘I know you didn’t know her, Robert, but she was the sweetest girl you could ever meet. Always smiling. Always positive about everything. Happiness was just part of her.’ A new sadness danced across Kennedy’s face. ‘She was only twenty years old. She had her whole life still in front of her. She had so much to live for and some sick fuck took it away from her. He took her away from us.’

Hunter had never seen Kennedy that emotional.

‘Her family... my sister, they’re all in pieces. Me? I’m in pieces too, but I’m also pissed the fuck off, and I will not stop until this sack of shit is caught. Believe me, I came this close to calling you more than once.’ He indicated with his thumb and index finger. ‘Then, early this morning I got the news that The Surgeon’s possible third victim had been found right here in Los Angeles. I didn’t even have to check. I knew that the LAPD’s UVC Unit would have the case. I knew that you would have the case.’

Hunter leaned back against the wall.

‘With three victims,’ Kennedy proceeded, ‘the carvings he makes into his victims’ backs, the words in Latin and the puzzle that this creep leaves us, I had no doubt that the case itself would intrigue you enough for you to want in, especially when one of the victims was taken inside your own turf. But I wanted to talk to you face to face. I didn’t want to do this over the phone. That’s why I’m here. If you hadn’t agreed to the joint investigation, I would’ve asked to talk to you in private and I would’ve come clean.’

Hunter looked back at Kennedy.

‘Yes, I probably would’ve bagged you for your help. Not that you haven’t already figured this out, but we’ve got nothing, Robert. For the past two months or so, I’ve had practically every agent at my disposal working endless hours in some aspect of this investigation and we haven’t moved an inch. And you already know why, don’t you?’

Hunter said nothing in reply, but Kennedy knew he knew.

‘Yes,’ Kennedy admitted. ‘We threw ourselves head first into a single theory — that Kristine had been no random victim. Her murder just couldn’t have been a coincidence. In my eyes and consequently the eyes of the FBI, there could’ve been only one reason why she was chosen, and that reason was me. I had no doubt of that. After all, I’m the Director of the FBI’s National Center for the Analyses of Violent Crimes and the Behavioral Analysis Unit. By default, I’m responsible for the imprisonment and even the death of hundreds upon hundreds of criminals. The list of people out there who’d love to hurt me as a payback for something they deem me responsible for is probably longer than the Mississippi River. And then there were the carvings on Kristine’s back. Once we finally deciphered them, my certainty that she had been murdered just because she was my niece grew exponentially — “Beauty is in the relationship ”.’

Kennedy allowed those words to propagate through the air for a moment.

‘In my mind,’ he continued, ‘there was no ambiguity to the meaning of that phrase. The killer could only be referring to one kind of relationship — family.’

Kennedy paused again, giving Hunter a second to think about it.

‘The beauty of family, Robert, shattered by the hands of a sick sonofabitch. The way I saw it, the carvings were just the killer’s way of making sure I didn’t miss the real reason my niece lost her life.’

‘But why not just come out and say it?’ Hunter asked. ‘A letter sent to you... an anonymous phone call... even a text message. There were loads of different ways the killer could’ve let you know. Why write the phrase in Latin? Why make it into a puzzle with most of the letters looking like symbols and the words broken out of place?’

‘Why do you think, Robert?’