Ann Marie spoke up.
“Well, the M.E. agrees with me that the body was frozen for someperiod of time before it was buried.”
Wightman commented, “So if the body was frozen, that reallyaffects what he can tell us about when this victim died.”
Ann Marie nodded and added, “Maybe he can get a better timetablewhen he conducts an autopsy. But I doubt that he’ll ever be able to figure outexactly when she was killed. Maybe she died shortly after she disappeared. Ormaybe it was quite a while after that. Maybe she was held captive for a while.”
Riley felt weird hearing the girl talk like a forensics expert.
What other surprises does she have in store? she wondered.
Wightman sighed and said, “All I know is, I’m worried sick aboutwhatever’s going to happen next. The new note says the Goatman will ‘feast andsing again on the hallowed eve.’ Obviously, that means Halloween. Which is theday after tomorrow.”
Riley’s head was buzzing with questions. She said to the sheriff,“Do you have any idea what ‘Goatman’ refers to?”
The sheriff’s lips twisted into a grimace.
“As a matter of fact, I do,” he said. “The Goatman is a Marylandurban legend. According to the most common version, a mad scientist who wasexperimenting on goats accidentally turned himself into a hybrid creature—halfman, half goat. He’s said to roam the countryside, hungry for human blood.”
The sheriff drummed his fingers on the table and added, “TheGoatman legend actually isn’t even indigenous to this part of Maryland. He’ssaid to prowl near Beltsville along Fletchertown Road. But stories like thisget around. I’ve heard of Goatman ‘sightings’ elsewhere in the state.”
The whole thing was starting to make some weird, sick kind ofsense to Riley. She thought back to the corpse at the crime scene.
She said, “The body was marked with hooved footprints, like thoseof a goat.”
Ann Marie added, “And the fatal wound did look like it came fromanimal’s horn. But goats are vegetarian, aren’t they? And they’re actually kindof cute.”
“It’s just a legend,” Wightman grunted, “I don’t assume any ofus believe Allison was gored by a goat which then trampled her—much less thatshe was killed by some kind of half-man, half-goat. But whoever did killher wanted things to look that way.”
Riley nodded and said, “And he would love it if the publicstarted to believe the Goatman was real—and ‘hungry,’ as the note says. Arethese notes public knowledge?”
Wightman shook his head.
“The only people who know about them are me and the guys who didthe digging. Even after we got the first one, I swore the guys to secrecy. Backthen, I didn’t want to give the bastard who sent the note the public attentionhe obviously wanted.”
“That was a good call,” Riley said. “Try to keep things that way.I assume that word has already gotten out that Allison Hillis was murdered. Butwe’ve got to keep the details secret for as long as we can. This whole ‘Goatman’element could make the case a lot harder to solve if it takes hold with thepublic. Things could turn into a real circus.”
Riley thought quietly for a moment, staring at both of the notes.
She felt sure of only one thing—that Wightman had been right tocall in the BAU. They might or might not be dealing with a serial killer. Butthey were definitely dealing with a unique kind of psychopath.
Then Riley asked Wightman, “Does the phrase ‘Goat Song’ meananything to you?”
Wightman shrugged. “Just part of the story, I guess. I’ve neverheard about it, myself. But you know how it is with these urban legends. Thereare all kinds of variants and differences. Maybe the Goatman is supposed tosing in some versions.”
Riley knew that he might be right. Even so, she felt a prickle ofsuspicion that the phrase had some kind of significance they’d better notoverlook.
Wightman said, “What scares me right now is the reference to ‘thehallowed eve.’ Do you think the killer might try to abduct somebody else thenight after tomorrow?”
“I don’t know,” Riley said. “And I don’t want to start a panic byputting out some kind of warning just yet. If we hunker down and do our jobs,we might catch the killer before then.”
“What do we do next?” Wightman asked.
Riley paused and thought for another moment. Then she asked, “DoesAllison Hillis’s family live here in Winneway?”
Sheriff Wightman nodded.
Riley said, “I’d like to pay them a visit and ask them some questions.”
Wightman sighed and said, “Agent Paige, I don’t know if that’s agood idea right now.”
“Why not?” Riley asked.
“As you can imagine, this has been an ordeal for Allison’sparents ever since she first disappeared. They never stopped hoping theirdaughter would turn up alive and safe. I sent a couple of my people over totheir house this morning to tell them about the body we’d found.”
“How did they take it?” Riley asked.
“Allison’s father, Brady, wasn’t at home. He’s in London onbusiness. But my guys talked to her mother, Lauren. They told me she’s in adeep state of denial. She keeps saying the body isn’t her daughter, it must besomebody else dressed in the costume she was wearing that night.”
Wightman shrugged again. “There’s not a doubt in my mind that thebody is Allison’s. But I can’t prove that yet. We could take Lauren to themorgue and see if she can identify the body—although I’m not sure she can,given the condition of the remains. I’d rather wait until Tyler can confirm thegirl’s identity with a DNA test. Then maybe Lauren will accept the truth.Meanwhile, I’d rather not bother her.”
Riley squinted with thought.
She said, “Sheriff Wightman, I appreciate your concern. But Iwant to get moving as soon as possible, and as far as I’m concerned, my firstorder of business is to talk to the mother. I’d like to go over to their houseright now.”
Wightman nodded reluctantly.
“I’ll call Lauren and tell her
