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 said.

‘The truth is that I’m not sure. This killer’s displayed some classic disturbed behavior like most serial killers. Some of the things he does are textbook perfect, too perfect, as if he wants us to believe he’s a typical serial killer.’ Hunter pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes for a few seconds. ‘Sometimes I think we are dealing with a religious freak, sometimes I think he’s some sort of a crime genius fucking with us, pulling the right strings to send us in the wrong direction. Playing a game where only he knows the rules, and he can change them any time he feels like it.’ Hunter took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds. ‘Whoever he is, he’s very intelligent, very clever, very methodical and as cold as ice. He never panics. But what we need to do now is concentrate on the new victim, maybe she’ll be the one that’ll lead us to him.’

Garcia nodded. ‘First we need to fax her photograph to as many model and acting agencies as we can. Having the victim’s identity would be a great start…’

‘Sure, we’ll do that, but there’s something I’d like for us to check first.’

‘And what’s that?’

‘Remember what Doctor Winston said about the victim?’

‘Which part?’

‘The gym rat part.’

Garcia raised his eyebrows. ‘Good thinking.’

‘The problem is, there’re over a thousand gyms scattered around this city.’

‘For real?’ Garcia asked surprised.

‘Yes, this is LA, the city where to get even a waiter’s job you need to look your best. Fitness is big business here.’

‘In a country where the obesity rate is off the charts?’

‘As I’ve said, this is LA, the city of the fit and beautiful.’ Hunter smiled as he flexed his bicep mockingly.

‘Yeah, in your dreams.’

‘We should check out some of the bigger, more famous gyms,’ Hunter paused for a moment. ‘The doctor said she liked to use expensive stuff right? So she obviously spent money on herself.’

‘And I bet that with a body like that she liked to be noticed,’ Garcia cut in.

‘I agree.’

‘So if you wanted to show off your body, which gym would you go to? Since you are the expert.’

‘Well, Gold’s Gym is our best bet, there are two branches in Hollywood where we’ll find a lot of famous and “in” people, and then there’s the Arnold Schwarzenegger famous Gold’s Gym in Venice Beach.’

‘I think we should check them out.’

‘Grab that computer image, we’re gonna go visit the big boys.’

As Hunter reached their office door his cell phone rang. ‘Yes, Detective Hunter speaking.’

‘Hello, Robert, did you miss me?’ the robotic voice asked.

Fifteen

Garcia was still walking towards the stairs when he realized Hunter wasn’t with him. He stopped and looked back. Hunter was standing in front of their new office holding his cell phone to his right ear. By the look on his face Garcia could tell something wasn’t right.

‘Robert, what’s wrong?’

Hunter didn’t reply. He instinctively shook his head – just a slight movement, but enough for Garcia to figure out what was happening.

‘Damn!’ Garcia said under his breath and quickly moved to Hunter’s side tilting his head towards the phone trying to listen in.

‘I trust you have seen my latest work?’

Hunter’s mind went blank, his heart speeding like a racing bike.

‘Aren’t you gonna answer me, Robert?’

It had been almost two years since Hunter had heard that robotic voice. ‘What was there to miss?’ he replied with a calm voice.

Laughter – ‘Well, maybe the thrill, the adventure. I give purpose to your job.’

‘To tell you the truth, I was hoping you were gone.’

Another laugh. ‘Oh, c’mon Robert! I know you didn’t really believe the guy you caught was me.’

Hunter stepped back into his office, Garcia still with him. ‘So he was just another one of your victims?’

‘I didn’t kill him.’

‘You framed him, which is basically the same thing.’

‘In truth I did you a favor. He was just another dirty sack o’ shit… a pedophile.’

Despite his hatred, Hunter knew that the longer he kept the killer talking, the more chances he had of forcing a mistake, a slip of the tongue.

‘So you decided to come out of retirement?’

The laughter was more enthusiastic this time. ‘I guess you could say that.’

‘Why now?’

‘Patience. All will be revealed in good time, Robert. Anyway, I’d love to chat for longer, but you know I can’t. I just wanted to make sure you knew the games have started again, but don’t worry, I’ll be calling you again soon enough.’

Before Hunter had a chance to say anything else the line went dead. ‘Shit!’

‘What did he say?’ Garcia asked before Hunter could return his phone to his pocket.

‘Not much.’

‘So there’s no doubt anymore, it’s him, it’s the Crucifix Killer.’

With frustration in his eyes Hunter could only manage a slight nod.

‘We’d better tell the captain.’

Hunter registered a certain excitement in Garcia’s voice. ‘I’ll call him from the car; we need to go check those gyms – you drive.’

Hunter’s conversation with Captain Bolter was quick. He told him about checking out a few gyms and about the killer’s phone call. The captain had cogitated the idea of placing a listening device in Hunter’s cell phone, but they’d tried it before with no luck. The caller had used a tracer scrambler device that bounced the call through twenty locations around the globe. For now, there was nothing anyone could do.