“Chances are it was a removable logo,” said Zander. “Our unsub probably assumes we’ve caught him on camera and seen the logo. I doubt he’s driving around with it on there.”

“But we haven’t ruled out that it’s a city employee,” said another agent.

“So has our guy stupidly let us see him, or is he leading us astray with the logo?” Zander asked.

Duncan nodded. “I want more insight into what his behavior indicates. I’ve asked for a BAU consult, so someone will be here tomorrow. We’ve got two dead men and I really don’t want any more.”

“Has anyone considered why he’s using the bridges?” Ava asked. “Maybe that’s more of a question for the specialist tomorrow, but could the bridges mean something to him? What is the purpose of displaying the men on a bridge?”

Mason sat up straighter. He hadn’t even considered the why of a bridge. He’d just assumed their unsub had an affinity for using them. How did I not ask that question?

“Bridges are associated with power,” said Ray. “Height and grandeur.”

“I wouldn’t call the bridge in Vernonia grand,” said Ava. “But go on.”

“They symbolize a connection, bringing things together, and providing a path,” Ray added.

Mason hid a smile and scanned the other agents in the room as they stared at Ray. Ray didn’t have the type of brain his linebacker body suggested. He was smart and sensitive and into artsy stuff that made Mason want to yawn.

“I dated a girl who did tarot cards. One of the symbols was a bridge.” Ray glanced at the other agents, two of whom immediately started Googling tarot cards on their tablets.

“ ‘A bridge to rise above the difficulties,’ ” read one agent.

“ ‘A sign of divine intervention,’ ” added Zander. He looked up with a stricken expression. “Please don’t tell me our unsub thinks he’s God.”

“ ‘A connection between the harmony and misery in your life; you are at either end of the bridge. Which direction are you walking toward?’ ” read the first agent.

Maybe he’s just fond of bridges.

Mason cleared his throat. “We can’t guess what’s going on in his head. I think we should keep in mind that the bridge might have meaning and not get hung up on it right now.”

“Isn’t there a hanged man in tarot?” Ava asked.

“Yep,” said Zander as he tapped on his tablet. He spent a few seconds reading the explanation. “He hangs upside down by a foot. That’s definitely not our guys. There’s another divine association with the hanged man card, or the card could mean exactly the opposite . . . sheesh. I don’t understand this at all.”

“Stick to your day job,” said Duncan.

“I’m looking to see if something else from these cases refers to a type of card in the deck,” said Zander. “Holy cow. There’s seventy-eight cards.” Zander raised his gaze. “I don’t know if this is something we should be spending time looking at or not.”

“Let’s approach BAU with it. See if they find it credible. If there’s seventy-eight cards, it could be just a coincidence that a bridge and a hanging are both on there,” said the ASAC.

“The symbolism associated with bridges outside of tarot is across the map,” said Ava, studying her laptop. “Personally, I think it’s less important to our unsub compared to the hanging and stripping the bodies of their clothes.”

“Humiliation,” stated Mason. “And the ball gag on the second body upped that ante.”

ASAC Duncan nodded. “I agree it’s very strong, and it adds a personal touch. I know Special Agent Euzent from BAU will bring it up tomorrow. Moving on.” He glanced down at his notes. “Are we getting anywhere on the victims’ vehicles? What about the Explorer that McKenna Drake said Carson Scott drove the evening he picked her up?”

Ray raised a hand. “Turns out it belonged to his parents. They said he borrows it when he has something large to move or goes to the mountains. And no, we haven’t found it. We have BOLOs out on both victims’ vehicles.”

“Do they know why he borrowed the SUV this visit? He wasn’t going to be in town that long,” Ava stated.

“They said he bought a mirror for his place,” Ray replied. “One of those big standing mirrors you lean against a wall. I noticed one in his living room when we were there Monday.”

Mason had no memory of a mirror, but Ray would notice something like that. Mason did remember the two huge flat-screen TVs.

“We haven’t found their clothing and cell phones,” Ray continued. “Requests to their wireless providers revealed that Carson’s phone last pinged a tower near his home Saturday evening, and it’s been silent since then. Aaron King’s wireless carrier lost touch with him near his store on Sunday morning. I need to add these to the timeline in the command center. Can we go take a look at it?”

Mason agreed. The conference room was nice and quiet, but he needed the timeline in front of him to keep track of all the aspects of the case. “The last known ping of both men’s phones could tentatively be used for an idea of when they went missing. No one’s come forward and said they saw Carson Scott after his date with McKenna Drake on Saturday. It’s possible he wasn’t nabbed until sometime on Sunday.”

The agents stood and left their computers on the table to file into the command center. In the large room, a dozen agents occupied phones and computer monitors, processing leads.