Pertwee rambled on for ten minutes before Detctive Miller spoke up. “Enough, Pertwee. What makes orchids pertinent to this case? How common are these Pa-fee-oh…”

“Paphiopedilum callosum? Fairly common, sir. Most flower boutiques sell them.” Pertwee clasped his hands behind his back as his gaze fell from Miller’s face to the case file sitting open on his desk.

Albert lifted the top sheet of paper and scanned it over for the hundredth time. “What do orchids have to do with this?” he said, more to himself.

“If I may, sir. Perhaps the orchid is used to symbolize beauty. The figures, by themselves, are grotesque but with the orchid used as a decoration…perhaps in his mind it transforms them into a thing of beauty.”

Miller looked him over for a long minute before visibly exhaling. “That’s absurd. He created those abominations. He obviously thought they were beautiful to begin with. No. The orchids mean something else. Be a good man and call Dr. Fredrick Jillian for me. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”