Sacred Sins Read Online Free PDF

“So, he's smart enough to want to avoid questionable marks. It doesn't appear he kills sporadically, but plans in an orderly, even logical fashion. Their clothing,” she went on. “Was it disturbed, buttons undone, seams torn, shoes kicked off?”
    Ed shook his head, admiring the way she dove into details. “No, ma'am. All three were neat as a pin.”
    “And the murder weapon, the amice?”
    “Folded across the chest.”
    “A tidy psychotic,” Ben put in.
    Tess merely lifted a brow. “You're quick to diagnose, Detective Paris. But rather than
tidy
, I'd use the word
reverent
.”
    By holding up a single finger, Harris stopped Ben's retort. “Could you explain that, Doctor?”
    “I can't give you a thorough profile without some more study, Captain, but I think I can give you a general outline. The killer's obviously deeply religious, and I'd guess trained traditionally.”
    “So you're going for the priest angle?”
    Again she turned to Ben. “The man may have been in a religious order at one time, or simply have a fascination, even a fear of the authority of the Church. His use of the amice is a symbol, to himself, to us, even to his victims. It might be used in a rebellious way, but I'd rule that out by the notes. Since all three victims were of the same age group, it tends to indicate that they represent some important female figure in his life. A mother, a wife, lover, sister. Someone who was or is intimate on an emotional level. My feeling is this figure failed him in some way, through the Church.”
    “A sin?” Ben blew out a stream of smoke.
    He might've been a clod, she mused, but he wasn't stupid. “The definition of a sin varies,” she said coolly. “But yes, a sin in his eyes, probably a sexual one.”
    He hated the calm, impersonal analysis. “So he's punishing her through other women?”
    She heard the derision in his voice, and closed the folder. “No, he's saving them.”
    Ben opened his mouth again, then shut it. It made a horrible kind of sense.
    “That's the one aspect I find absolutely clear,” Tess said as she turned back to Harris. “It's in the notes, all of them. The man's put himself in the role of savior.
    From the lack of violence, I'd say he has no wish to punish. If it were revenge, he'd be brutal, cruel, and he'd want them to be aware of what was going to happen to them. Instead, he kills them as quickly as possible, then tidies their clothes, crosses the amice in a gesture of reverence, and leaves a note stating that they're saved.”
    Taking off her glasses, she twirled them by the eyepiece. “He doesn't rape them. More than likely he's impotent with women, but more important, a sexual assault would be a sin. Possibly, probably, he derives some sort of sexual release from the killing, but more a spiritual one.”
    “A religious fanatic,” Harris mused.
    “Inwardly,” Tess told him. “Outwardly he probably functions normally for long periods of times. The murders are spaced weeks apart, so it would appear he has a level of control. He could very well hold down a normal job, socialize, attend church.”
    “Church.” Ben rose and paced to the window.
    “Regularly, I'd think. It's his focal point. If this man isn't a priest, he takes on the aspects of one during the murders. In his mind, he's ministering.”
    “Absolution,” Ben murmured. “The last rites.”
    Intrigued, Tess narrowed her eyes. “Exactly.”
    Not knowing much about the Church, Ed turned to another topic. “A schizophrenic?”
    Tess frowned down at her glasses as she shook her head. “Schizophrenia, manic depression, split personality. Labels are too easily applied and tend to generalize.”
    She didn't notice that Ben turned back and stared at her. She pushed her glasses back in their case and dropped them in her purse. “Every psychiatric disorder is a highly individual problem, and each problem can only be understood and dealt with by uncovering its dynamic sources.”
    “I'd rather work with