Special Agent in charge, Sung Dong-il sat against the edge of the secretary desk on the coference room’s north end and gazed at them with brown, glassy eyes, hands folded up by his chin.

Krystal leaned against the wall, arms crossed, fixated on the enlarged photograph of the Bride Killer’s note on the screen.

Two other agents, Min Hyuk and Song Ho, lounched in chairs, their focus was also on the note.

“Aish” Dong-il said to Min Ho’s left. “So this is it. We have a certified wacko. A freaking lunatic from some funny barn who is out there drilling holes in women to make a point” He looked around with a bemused look.

Krystal shot her sunbae a sharp look. “I wouldn’t put it like-“

“Spare me the psycho-babble.” Dong-il stood and shoved his hands into his pockets. “if this isn’t certified crazy, I don’t know what is.”

“Sunbae, most pattern killers are mentally stable,” Krystal said, calmly. “They are well educated, financially stable, often good looking, seemingly well-adjusted people. Unlike mass murderers, whose delusions feed beliefs of supremacy, serial killers act for personal gain or revenge. They do so in a calculated, thoughtful way. Hardly your freaking lunatic.”

“Yah, read that!” Dong-il frowned and jabbed his finger out in the direction of the screen. “Any idiot can see that this religious nutcase slobbers on himself. You’re saying you see something different?”

Krystal’s face reddened, but she didn’t point out the man’s blunder in essentially calling himself an idiot. She looked at the screen.

The note was written in black lettering, with a fine ballpoint pen. The two-by-three-inch piece of white paper had been cut using a straightedge, then was folded several times before being rolled and inserted into the hole in Min Hee’s heel, at least several days after it had been written.

Min Ho read through the poem again.

The Beauty Eden is Lost

Where intelligence does centered

I came to her and she smashed the Serpent head

I searched and find the seventh and beautiful

She will rest in my Serpent’s hole

And I will live again

“He IS a lunatic, don’t understand the bull he is saying!”

Min Ho regarded the man. “Maybe not to you..”

“Kure? Well, please…” He opened a palm of invitation. “Fill us in.”

Krystal shifted her gaze to the dark window, struggling to hide her frustration.

“I think Krystal’s assessment is right,” Min Ho explained. “We’re dealing with a highly intelligent individual who knows exactly what he’s doing within the context of his own world.”

“Just because he knows how to drill holes and clean up after himself doesn’t mean he’s not barking mad.”

“Ani,” Krystal interjected, “but even if he is suffering from psychosis, it doesn’t mean he’s an animal.”

“I see motivation and intention,” Min Ho continued, nodding at the note on the screen. “But it would be a significant mistake not to assume the killer knew exactly what he was writing and why he was writing it.”

“You’re saying he’s broadcasting his next move,” Dong-il said, glancing back at the note. “How so?”

“Assume with me that this was written by a scholar; a poet with the intelligence. And written for our benefit. What do you think he is trying to tell us?”

“The beauty of Eden is lost,” Krystal read. “The fall of innocence.”

Dong-il closed his eyes momentarily in a show of impatience. “Fine. Something less obvious.”

Min Ho nodded at Krystal. She exchanged an inquisitive look with him, nodded her appreciation, and looked up at the screen.

“His reference to eden and serphent tells us that he is probably a Christian, or a western. The story of adam and eve, I’m guessing we all know. Eve was tempted to eat the fruit by the serphent in the garden of eden. Anyway, what he’s saying is that where once beauty, innocence, and intelligence were found, this Eden, this garden, it’s now lost. The serpent – read evil or the devil – is responsible. Not sure about the third line – ‘I came to her and she smashed the Serpent’s head’ – doesn’t make sense to me. He tried to tempt her but 'she' the woman refused maybe?”

She glanced at Min Ho for reassurance.

“Motivation,” he said. “He, the serpent, destroyed beauty but was wounded in the process by Eve. He’s upset. Go on.”

Krystal nodded. “We can go with that. The last three lines seem straightforward. He’s after a replacement for the beautiful one who fell, Eve in this case, so he can live a