Atlas Missing - Part 6

"Why did she go to Houston?" Jaci asked suddenly.

"I have a #theorem," I said. "She must know someone there, or it has special meaning to her."

"That's a theory. A theorem has been proven," Jaci countered.

I grinned. "Well, let's find the proof to make it a theorem."

***

'We can't really do much until we land,' Jaci said.

'Your #logic is faulty. LaShonda Marcus was on that reality TV show, Ravens' Claws, about the wives and girlfriends of the players. There's a lot of information online about her. We can use that as a starting point.'

***

'Good thinking,' Jaci agreed as I typed.'

'We can lock her up this time #iff she doesn't escape,' I said emphasizing the extra "f" in that word but it flew over her head. I only knew it because of my teacher's lessons about math, and biology, because we had chemistry.

***

Jaci looked at me blankly for a moment and then said, 'Maybe she went to Houston because of the cult's #topology. They're all still part of the cult, regardless of where they fled to. Maybe she's taken a killer under her wing.'

'Definitely a disturbing possibility.'

***

'The implications of this are #manifold,' Jaci said. 'She could be starting her own cult, recruiting new members, or training other members in improving their craft.'

'One thing is clear. Whatever she went there to do, she's also back to her old tricks, killing people.'

***

'This is all I have,' Jaci said once I'd gone through everything. The evidence, the reports, and the new profile the FBI had done up.

'Was anything else missing from the bodies?' I asked.

'Like what?'

'She likes taking bones. Maybe there's a #torus bone missing.'

***

'No other bones missing,' Jaci told me. 'But there was a leaf in one body's mouth. According to a forensic botanist it belongs to the #genus Quercus.'

'An oak leaf? That's new. The atlas bone was definitely missing though?'

She nodded. 'It was.'

'She's training, then.'

***

I put the laptop away as the plane changed its #vector to land in Houston. 40 minutes later we walked into the arrivals area with our bags in hand and I got my first look at SSA Hannah Derricks. She was gorgeous, tawny-hued with a hint of epicanthal fold. I was smitten.

***

'Special Agents Thibodeaux and Foxx?' Derricks asked as we approached her.

'That's us,' Jaci answered while I tried to untie my tongue.

'I'm SSA Hannah Derricks from the Houston #field office. We found another body while you were on the way, so we'll go directly there.'

***

Derricks took us to a third floor apartment in a #complex in the Sunnyside neighborhood where the police were already swarming. A body lay face down in the living room.

'The atlas bone is missing and there's an oak leaf in her mouth,' Derricks said. 'You have a theory?'

***