"He's a damaged person with a mission. I think it’s likely something has happened to break him. He's like a crusader now.And he's convinced he's right because he’s not trying to hide the bodies."
"I agree. You're definitely connecting with his mindset," May said.
"The other thing I've identified is that because of the way he's choosing to kill, it's highly likely that his career is death-adjacent."
"You mean?" May said.
"He works in a profession that is closely associated with death," Kerry said. May heard a quick gulping sound as if she too was needing coffee after a long night and an early morning.
"So, a profession where he deals with a lot of death?" May said.
"Yes. That would draw him to the mindset of dealing out death himself. He'd easily skip into that frame of mind. Because he's already in that industry."
"I think I understand." May considered her words.
"Someone in the medical profession, funeral industry, or spiritual profession would be my first choices."
"We're talking about a priest, a funeral director, or something along those lines?"
"Exactly. I think you need to look into that,” Kerry advised.
"How about a paramedic?" May suggested.
"That could be a possibility also.”
“And why would they have started killing? Are we looking for a triggering event?” May asked.
Kerry sounded approving as she replied, “We are, sis. You’re right on the money there. Based on the speed of these kills, I’d say we’re looking at a recent event. Perhaps about a month ago. Something catastrophic that precipitated a change in who they were. So that’s the timeframe you can go on.”
“That will help us a lot,” May said gratefully.
Kerry continued, sounding serious now. “I'm warning you — this is a very, very dangerous person. You need to be careful. Someone like this is deeply psychotic. He's going to fight; he's going to turn on you. And most likely he's clever enough to cover his tracks. So if you get close, be careful, because he might be waiting. Expecting you. He’s a thinker, for sure. Intelligent."
"This is all very interesting." May sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Thanks so much, Kerry. I really appreciate it. And we'll be careful."
"You and Owen are going to nail this guy," Kerry said. "Go and get him. Killing people who've survived death once is just evil. They should be able to benefit from their second chance."
"I agree," May said.
She cut the call, feeling thoughtful about what she’d learned. Owen had been listening to the conversation, and she looked at him questioningly.
"Someone in a death-adjacent career?" he said. "That narrows down our suspects. A lot. There can't be that many of them in this community, who work with the locals on a regular basis. And who have a size ten shoe."
"Shall we make a list and go through it?" May asked.
Owen scooted over to sit next to her, and they quickly compiled a list of possibilities.
"The funeral home," Owen said.
"The hospice care," May suggested.
"The coroner's office," Owen added.
Quickly, May scribbled down all the suggestions.
“We should start by researching the people who are involved, and also check if they have records. Plus, we need to look for a tragic event in their lives a month or so ago. That's a lot of work." May felt briefly daunted by the job.
"It is. And I don't know if we have a lot of time. But it will be easier to do this back at Fairshore, where we have access to more information."