The Crucifix Killer - Chris Carter [36]
‘Exactly. This person could be a community leader, a politician, even a priest doing good deeds today; tomorrow he could be slashing someone’s throat.’
‘But that’s the textbook definition of schizophrenia.’
‘No, it isn’t,’ Hunter corrected Garcia. ‘That’s a mistake most people make. Contrary to popular belief, people with schizophrenia do not have split personalities. Schizophrenics suffer from problems with their thought processes. These lead to hallucinations, delusions, disordered thinking, and unusual speech or behavior. They usually aren’t dangerous people either. What you’re thinking of is dissociative identity disorder, also known as DID. People with DID display multiple distinct identities or personalities.’
‘Thank you, professor Hunter,’ Garcia said, putting on a silly child’s voice.
‘But I don’t believe our killer suffers from DID.’
‘And why not?’ Garcia asked intrigued.
‘DID sufferers have no control of when one personality takes over the previous one. Our killer is fully aware of what he’s doing. It pleases him. He ain’t struggling with himself.’
That thought silenced Garcia for a few seconds. ‘How about a religious meaning? It looks like a religious symbol to me.’
‘Well, that’s where it gets even more complicated,’ Hunter replied massaging his closed eyes for an instant. ‘There are two main theories according to scholars. One is that the double-crucifix was the first-ever symbol of the anti-Christ.’
‘What? I thought that was supposed to be an inverted cross.’
‘That’s the symbol as we know it today. It’s believed the double-crucifix was first used by some of the early prophets when they prophesied about the end of time, when an evil being would come to end the world.’
Garcia shot Hunter an incredulous look. ‘Hold on, you ain’t gonna start talking about someone with 666 marked on his head and little horns, are you?’
‘It wouldn’t surprise me,’ Hunter said, shifting his eyes back to the photographs. ‘Anyway,’ he continued, ‘when they prophesied about such an evil being, they said he would bring with him the symbol of pure evil. A symbol that would mean God in reverse.’
Garcia’s eyes went back to the photographs before widening in surprise. ‘I’ll be damned. Two crosses touching each other,’ he said finally understanding it. ‘One right side up and the other upside down?’
‘Bingo. The symbol of Jesus opposed by the same symbol of Jesus. The anti-Christ.’
‘So we really could be dealing with a religious fanatic here?’
‘An anti-religious fanatic,’ Hunter corrected him.
A few silent seconds followed. ‘And what’s the second?’ Garcia asked.
‘Excuse me?’
‘You said there were two theories concerning religious meanings; what’s the second one?’
‘Get ready for this. The killer could believe he’s the Second Coming.’
‘What? Are you joking?’
‘I wish. Some scholars believe the early double-crucifix is not one cross right side up and another upside down, but one cross over another, meaning the second son of God. The Second Coming.’
‘But these are two totally opposite theories. One says he’s the anti-Christ and the other says he’s the second Christ.’
‘That’s true, but remember these are only theories based on what the double-crucifix symbol could mean according to history and academics. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they apply to our guy. For all we know, he could’ve just picked that symbol because he liked the look of it.’
‘Is the double-crucifix used by any religious groups or cults?’
‘The morphed design, with both crossbars closer to the top of the vertical line, has been used by several groups over the years, religious and not. It’s even part of the American Lung Association’s logo.’
‘And the old design. The one our killer uses?’
‘You’d have to go back over one hundred years to find anything. And nothing that could be relevant to the case.’
‘What’s your gut feeling on this?’
‘Gut feelings don’t matter in this case, as I’ve found out.’
‘C’mon, humor me. From what I’ve heard, you have a kick ass intuition,’ Garcia