“It’s hard to believe we kept it quiet this long,” remarked Grant.

Silver’s confession laid out in black-and-white newsprint was the last thing Grant would have expected to find at the bottom of his Christmas stocking.

By the time Rachel and Frankel had arrived at the Maida Vale house to show him the story, Grant was already combing through it online for the umpteenth time.

His mobile and email had blown up with its release. Deputy Commander Stebbins had been among the first to contact him and wasn’t pleased to say the least.

“That couldn’t have been a very pleasant conversation,” said Rachel.

Not only did the story make the Yard look like “complete fools” (Stebbins’s words), beaten to the punch by “that thorn Ferguson” (Grant’s words), the fact that Silver was still running amok in London was way beyond the pale.

“At least this takes a lot of guesswork out of things,” Frankel said, holding up the paper. “Silver walked Ferguson step-by-step through each murder and it lines up with everything we know.”

Indeed, the story was a grisly recital of the killings—from lying in wait for Lionel Frey in the British Library’s third-floor WC to ending the lives of Elizabeth Dozier and Jared Fleming in the master bedroom of the mansion in Esher.

At least Ferguson had the good graces to call out Silver on what Grant considered the man’s greatest sin, the one that would haunt the commander for the rest of his days.

Ferguson: But Sergeant Stanford Hawley wasn’t a “transgressor.”

Silver: Not as far as I know.

Ferguson: Yet you showed no compunction taking his life as well.

Silver: If you’re asking me if I regret the act, I can honestly say no.

Ferguson: But you just admitted the man wasn’t guilty of any wrongdoing.

Silver: I have reconciled his death as an unfortunate byproduct . . .

Ferguson: A “byproduct”?

Silver: Of continuing the Lord’s work. I couldn’t allow someone like the sergeant to stand in the way of my mission from God.

Grant felt his blood pressure rise each time he got to that part of the story.

“What’s abundantly clear is that Silver is committing these murders with an interpretation of the Old Testament that suits his particular needs,” said Grant.

“In other words, the man is completely off his rocker,” suggested Frankel.

“Depends on how you look at it,” countered Grant. “Reread the part where Ferguson asks him about the Sixth Commandment.”

Ferguson: But each time you took a life, you were violating one of the Commandments, the sixth. “Thou shalt not kill.” How do you explain that?

Silver: As I quoted from Ezekiel, all previous transgressions will be forgiven because of the righteousness a man has done once he has turned from a life of sin.

Ferguson: One sin pardons the other?

Silver: According to the word of the Lord? Most definitely.