In Death 06 - Vengeance in Death

laws of society, he is one of the most non-violent personalities I've encountered."
    "He's given me a few bruises," Eve muttered under her breath.
    "You disturb his need for order," Mira said, not without sympathy. "But the fact is, true violence is abhorrent to him. It offends his very rigid sense of order and place. And it's wasteful. He finds waste repellent. Again, I believe, because he saw far too much of it throughout his life. As I said, it will take a bit of time to review the tests, but I would say at this point it's my opinion that someone of his personality structure is unlikely to have committed the crimes you're investigating."
    For the first time in hours, Eve's stomach unknotted. "This knocks him down the list. Way down. I appreciate you dealing with this so quickly."
    "I'm always happy to do a friend a favor, but after reading your data on this investigation, it's a bit more than that. Eve, you're dealing with a very dangerous, very canny, very determined and thorough killer. One who has had years to prepare, and be prepared. One who is both focused and unstable, and who has a massive and unstable ego. A sociopath with a holy mission, a sadist with skill. I'm afraid for you."
    "I'm closing in on him."
    "I hope you are, because I believe he's also closing in on you. Roarke may be his main target, but you stand between. He wants Roarke to bleed, and he wants him to suffer. Roarke's death puts an end to the mission, and the mission is his life. But you, you're his connection, his competitor, his audience. He has a black-and-white view of women. Chaste or whore."
    Eve let out a short laugh. "Well, I can figure where I stand."
    "No." Disturbed, Mira shook her head. "It's more complicated with you. He admires you. You challenge him. And you anger him. I don't believe he's able to slip you into either mold and that only makes him more focused on you."
    Her eyes glinted. "I want him focused on me."
    Mira held her hands up a moment to give herself time to gather her thoughts. "I need further study, but in a nutshell, his faith, his religion is catalyst -- or excuse, if you prefer. He leaves the token -- faith and luck -- at every murder. He leaves the image of Mary as a symbol of her female power and her vulnerability. She's his real god."
    "I don't follow you."
    "The Mother. The Virgin. The pure and the loving. But an authority figure nonetheless. She is the witness to his acts, the audience to his mission. At this point, I'd have to say it's a woman who formed him. A strong and vital female figure of authority and love. He needs her approval, her guidance. He needs to please her. He needs her praise."
    "His mother," Eve murmured. "Do you think she's behind it all?"
    "It's possible. Or just as possible that he sees his current behavior as a kind of homage to her. Mother, sister, aunt, wife. A wife is unlikely," she added with a faint shake of her head. "He's probably sexually repressed. Impotent. His god is a vengeful one, who permits no carnal pleasures. If he's using the statue to symbolize his own mother, he would view his conception as a miracle -- immaculate -- and see himself as invulnerable."
    "He said he was an angel. The angel of vengeance."
    "Yes, a soldier of his god, beyond the power of mortals. There is his ego again. What I am sure of is that there is a woman -- or was a woman -- whom he seeks to appease, and one he views as pure."
    For one sickening moment, Eve saw the image of Marlena in her mind. Golden hair, innocent eyes, and a snowy white dress. Pure, she thought. Virginal.
    Wouldn't Summerset always see his martyred daughter exactly that way?
    "It could be a child," she said quietly. "A lost child."
    "Marlena?" The compassion was ripe in the word. "It's very unlikely, Eve. Does he mourn for her? Of course he does, and always will. But she isn't a symbol to him. For Summerset, Marlena is his child, and one he didn't protect. For your killer, this female figure is the protector -- and the punisher. And you are another strong female figure of authority. He's drawn to you, wants your admiration. And he may, at some point, be compelled to destroy you."
    "I hope you're right." Eve rose. "Because this is a game I want to finish face-to-face."
    Eve convinced herself she was prepared for Whitney. But she hadn't been prepared to face both him and the chief of police and security. Tibble, his dark face unreadable, his hands clasped militarily behind his back, stood at the window in Whitney's office.