Sacred Sins Read Online Free PDF Page B

specifics myself,” Harris toldher. “But there's a premium on them in this case. Are we dealing with a psychopath?”
    Her expression changed subtly. Impatience, Ben thought, noting the slight line between her brows and a quick movement of her mouth. Then she was professional again. “If you want a general term,
psychopathy
will do. It means mental disorder.”
    Ed stroked his beard. “So he's insane.”
    “
Insanity
is a legal term, Detective.” This was said almost primly as Tess picked up the folder and rose. “Once he's stopped and taken to trial, that'll become an issue. I'll have a profile for you as soon as possible, Captain. It might help if I could see the notes that were left on the bodies, and the murder weapons.”
    Dissatisfied, Harris rose. He wanted more. Though he knew better, he wanted A, B, and C, and the lines connecting each. “Detective Paris'll show you whatever you need to see. Thank you, Dr. Court.”
    She took his hand. “You've little to thank me for at this point. Detective Paris?”
    “Right this way.” With a cursory nod he led her out.
    He said nothing as he took her through the corridors again and to the checkpoint where they signed in to examine the evidence. Tess was silent as well as she studied the notes and the neat, precise printing. They didn't vary, and were exact to the point that they seemed almost like photostats. The man who'd written them, she mused, hadn't been in a rage or in despair. If anything, he'd been at peace. It was peace he sought, and peace, in his twisted way, he sought to give.
    “White for purity,” she murmured after she'd looked at the amices. A symbol perhaps, she mused. But for whom? She turned away from the notes. More than the murder weapons, they chilled her. “It appears he's a man with a mission.”
    Ben remembered the sick frustration he'd felt aftereach murder, but his voice was cool and flat. “You sound sure of yourself, Doctor.”
    “Do I?” Turning back, she gave him a brief survey, mulled things over, then went on impulse. “What time are you off duty, Detective?”
    He tilted his head, not quite certain of his moves. “Ten minutes ago.”
    “Good.” She pulled on her coat. “You can buy me a drink and tell me why you dislike my profession, or just me personally. I give you my word, no tabletop analysis.”
    Something about her challenged him. The cool, elegant looks, the strong, sophisticated voice. Maybe it was the big, soft eyes. He'd think about it later. “No fee?”
    She laughed and stuck her hat in her pocket. “We might have hit the root of the problem.”
    “I need my coat.” As they walked back to the squad room, each of them wondered why they were about to spend part of their evening with someone who so obviously disapproved of who and what they were. But then each of them was determined to come out on top before the evening was over. Ben grabbed his coat and scrawled something in a ledger.
    “Charlie, tell Ed I'm engaged in further consultation with Dr. Court.”
    “You file that requisition?”
    Ben shifted Tess almost like a shield and headed for the door. “File?”
    “Damn it, Ben—”
    “Tomorrow, in triplicate.” He had himself and Tess out of earshot and nearly to the outer door.
    “Don't care much for paperwork?” she said.
    He pushed the door open and saw the rain had turned to a damp drizzle. “It's not the most rewarding part of the job.”
    “What is?”
    He gave her an enigmatic look as he steered her toward his car. “Catching bad guys.”
    Oddly enough, she believed him.
    Ten minutes later they walked into a dimly lit bar where the music came from a jukebox and the drinks weren't watered. It wasn't one of Washington's most distinguished night spots, nor one of its seamiest. It seemed to Tess a place where the regulars knew each other by name and newcomers were accepted gradually.
    Ben sent the bartender a careless wave, exchanged a muffled word with one of the cocktail waitresses, and