Gathering their food—since by now, neither of them was going to eat—Jem said, “So why’s he killing them?”
“Manual strangulation isn’t fast.But it’s not prolonged, either.In fact, compared to other serial murderers, Rydel seems to kill quickly, and once it’s over—” Tean stopped.He shook his head.“I’m way out of my depths here.”
But Jem thought he knew.Not because he’d read any books—not if you didn’t countDick and Jane Eat a Dick.But because he’d seen the dead man.And sometimes, things just made sense.“You’re thinking about his T-shirt.”
Tean raised his head.“Yes.It’s strange, isn’t it?”
“He’d pulled it over that guy’s face.Why cover his face after he’s dead?”
“There’s a lot of shame in victims of childhood sexual assault.A lot of self-blame.Powerlessness.I don’t know if he feels anything about killing these men, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s still carrying around those feelings from childhood.”
“Especially if heisgay,” Jem said.“If somebody did that stuff to you, and then later, you were attracted to men, that could fuck with your head.”
He didn’t say anything about Decker, but he could see the moment it landed for Tean.
But all Tean said was “Yes.I think it could.”
“So, what now?Is there some way to track him down with this information?”
“I’m not sure.”A weary half-smile crossed Tean’s face.“I was mostly trying to process what Tess told us.”
“God, there’s not enough time in the world to process all of that.”
“I think the next step would be to try to figure out what name Rydel might be using.Zeb might know.Or we could go back to that farmhouse and see if any documents were left around.”
“What about a database or something?Because I donotwant to go back to that farmhouse.”
“Any information about an adoption would still be protected,” Tean said.“And that’s assuming it was ever official.It sounds like Rydel’s uncle or stepfather or whatever he was took the boy in.Especially in small towns like this, he could get away with whatever explanation sounded most likely.”
“Shit.So the sister-in-trouble story might not be true?”
“I don’t know.I’m just saying I doubt anyone looked into it too closely.”Tean sighed.“And if Zeb doesn’t know the last name, the police will have to see if they can get it through the proper channels.”
“Assuming it was official.Assuming Rydel wasn’t just some random kid.”
Tean gave another shake of his head, but it felt like surrender more than disagreement.“And if that’s the case, we’re back where we started.”
“Hold on, I’m going to be right back.”Jem got out of the Subaru.The wind shrieked in his ear and whipped through his hair as he jogged across the Burger King parking lot.He shoved the takeout bag into the trash can and then turned back toward the car.
Between one step and the next, the idea hit him, and he said, “Oh shit.”
“Kazen,” he said as he got back in the car.
“What about Kazen?”
“Tess said Rydel was always coming up with excuses for why he wasn’t around.”
“Right.”
“She said he lost his wallet.”Jem started the car and headed out of the parking lot.“And you know who else lost his wallet?Brennon.The night he was murdered.”
“Right,” Tean said slowly.“I guess that makes sense.We don’t have any reason to assume Brennon lost his wallet before then.”
“And it was probably a park or a trail or something.A spot where guys hook up and cruise.Because that’s the kind of place Rydel wanted to meet up with Daniel a few nights later.”
“Okay, but—” Tean stopped.“Jem, that’s brilliant.”
Jem grinned at him.“I bet you anything the little bitch is back home by now.”