Viper - Michael Morley [91]
Like a clock face.
Of course. It all seemed so obvious now.
So simple.
Jack hurried back and interrupted Sylvia and Sorrentino. ‘I think our killer’s been burying the bodies in a circle. Look back at the poles on the graves of what you’ve called Victims One, Two and Three. You can see the start of an arc, like the circumference of a clock.’
Soft rain fell as their gaze moved over the site. The curve soon became apparent. Sylvia was the first to grasp the full significance. ‘If you’re right – if he has buried them following the numbers on a clock face – then it would be logical that his first victim was buried as due north as he could guess at.’
Jack looked again at the steel poles jutting out of the ground. ‘Which is nowhere near where you found Francesca, the area you’ve marked as Victim One.’
‘That fits with our science,’ added Sorrentino. ‘Timewise she looks like at least the third victim in the sequence that we’ve already identified. If we discover more bodies – earlier victims – then chronologically she moves further down.’
Jack nodded. He could already tell that Francesca’s burial site wasn’t due north, nor was Victim Three.
Sylvia screwed up her face. Paced restlessly between the poles. ‘If we’re to hit on any other graves we have to get the curve right, follow exactly the same arc that our killer had in his mind when he returned to the scene and buried each victim. Bernardo, what about a radar sweep?’
The Great Lion flicked a paw dismissively through the air. ‘I hate radar. With electronics you find only what you think you are looking for. As a consequence you miss so much more. Let’s think of it as a last resort.’
Sylvia let it slide. Sorrentino was in charge of the excavation and his record spoke for itself. ‘Let me get this right,’ she said. ‘Victims Two and Three are found to the left of Victim One, and they were both buried earlier. So if we keep going west, then we should keep finding earlier victims until we hit north?’
‘That’s if my theory is right,’ said Jack. ‘And it presumes that he buried his first victim as due north as he could guess at.’
Sorrentino nodded. ‘Due north representing twelve o’clock?’
‘Exactly.’
They looked across the land. There was a lot of west to go. Lots of room for more bodies.
‘We need a compass.’ Sylvia looked to Sorrentino. He huffed and strode away from them. Walked the planks between the victims. ‘I admire precision, but sometimes you should also go with instinct.’ He moved almost two metres north-west of the third victim, lifted a spade and sliced it into the muddy ground. ‘We’ve already photographed the hell out of this site, so we should get on with it and see if your theory holds up.’
Jack and Sylvia watched as Sorrentino worked away.
She produced a small, telescopic umbrella from her coat and held it over them as the anthropologist slowly toiled in the freshly falling rain. ‘I forgot to ask, any news from your friend Howie? He come up with anything on Creed?’
‘A little,’ said Jack. ‘I left a message on Pietro’s phone. Howie showed Creed’s mug around some diners and bars. Seems he kept pretty much to himself, but it appears he may have visited a street girl.’
‘Any ID on her?’
‘Afraid not. It also seems he was logged on to our Virtual Academy. He named someone in the carabinieri for accreditation.’
Sylvia frowned. She knew enough about the VA to understand it had restricted access. ‘You know the name of who vouched for him?’
‘Nope, but it was probably faked.’
‘The more things develop, the less I like Creed.’ Sylvia fought more hair from her face and vowed to get it cut. ‘Still not sure he stands up as a serious suspect for serial murder, though.’
‘You’re right to feel that way. But I think Creed is partly a monster of your own making.