“Hunting,” Izzy echoes, shuddering. “I don’t know if I agree with the easily overpowering bit, though. I know you think he caught Helen by surprise, but we knew Jen and Alessandra. They both strike me as people who would put up a fight.”
I nod. “That’s true. Although the victims didn’t seem to have any defensive wounds, and when you look at the first kill, you can see it was frenzied but that Helen didn’t seem to fight back. Thatmeans he’s incapacitating them early to keep them compliant. Then with Jen and Alessandra he’s escalated. He’s refined what he’s doing, and the posed scenes have become more elaborate. He could have been in the gallery for hours before we showed up tonight and he still wasn’t finished.” I recall the spectacular crown on Alessandra’s lifeless body, and I start to shake again. I don’t know how I thought I could dissociate this time. “I can’t believe it’s Noah.”
“Here.” Izzy moves closer as she shrugs out of my jacket. “Put this back on. You’re shaking.”
“Thanks.” I put it on, and one side hangs lower than the other, so I reach into the inside pockets. It’s the tarot deck. “Izzy, do you remember what The Four look like?”
“Unfortunately.” She grimaces.
I hand her the top two cards and then shuffle through the deck until I find the Empress. It shows a blond woman sitting on a throne of cushions. She’s wearing a long white dress decorated with red roses, and there are jewels at her throat. She holds a scepter, but the most striking detail is the crown of stars atop her head. It’s so hard not to see Alessandra’s face that I have to avert my eyes as I hand this card over too.
“The final portrait has some kind of light behind her, as if she’s in front of a fire or has a halo. Do you know what card that might be?”
“Could it be the Sun?” Izzy asks, flicking through the deck. I shake my head.
“No, that card didn’t look right.”
“No, not the card the Sun. Like, could the light represent the sun itself?”
“Erm, yeah, I guess. But the sun or moon is present on every other card.”
“Not like this.” She hands me one and I hold it close, the moonlight illuminating a picture of a tall, blond figure in a white robe. “See the headdress?” I nod, looking at the yellow band with a circle at the center. “It’s the sun.”
“Temperance.” I read the title of the card out loud. “What does that mean?”
Izzy shrugs. “I don’t know, but I remember the card because the artist’s note said that the figure is meant to be seen as gender-fluid. I thought that was pretty progressive for the Edwardianera.”
“So it could be male or female?” I ask slowly, plucking the other cards from her hand.
We sit in silence for a few seconds, as I crouch and lay all four cards on the ground.
“The original artist only painted women, from what we know, but this copycat is creating more modern versions. The first three cards all appear to be women, but this one? What if this is where they diverge from his vision?” I tap on Temperance, my voice speeding up as I realize what we’ve just done. “Izzy, we have to go back to the gallery.”
“What?” she squeaks loudly, catching herself and lowering her voice. “No, we have to bang on doors and ask for a phone so we can call the police.”
“You’re right.” I nod, pocketing the cards and climbing to my feet. “Youhave to call the police.Ihave to go back.”
“Why the hell would you do that?” she hisses, following me to the garden gate. I unlock it and we slip out before I pull her into a spontaneous hug.
“Because we were wrong,” I say, letting her go. “Noah’s not the killer. He’s the next victim.”
THIRTY-NINE
“I don’t feel good aboutthis.” Izzy is patrolling the tiny alleyway, making me even more anxious. “Splitting up seems stupid.”
“Stop pacing,” I say. “We have to do two things at once, and this is the best way I can think to do it.”
Izzy pauses and lets out a sigh. “I still think we should stay together.”
“But what if we’re too late? We locked Noah in there with a head injury and a serial killer.” Izzy flinches as I say this. “If he is a victim, then he’s been drugged. I need to at least try to helphim.”
“I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I know.” I pause, because I can’t promise I will come through this unscathed. The killer might have only planned four murders, but I know that when someone this unhinged is hell-bent on finishing something, they’ll do anything to get to the end point. Including dealing with interlopers, like me. “I’ll be careful, I promise. We have a plan, remember?”
“Yeah.” Izzy wraps me in a hug. “I’ll get help and be with you as quick as I can. I love you, Fliss.”
“I love you too,” I mumble into her hair before pulling away. “Now go.”