chubby, balding criminologist O'Malley had assigned to do the forensic work for the task force, seemed uninterested in Lake. He was riveted on Mark Klien, who went to the front of the room and stood before a wall covered with victim information.
'I hope what I have to say is of some use to you,' Klien said, talking without notes. 'One disadvantage a small department like Hunter's Point has in these cases is its inexperience with crimes of this type.
Although even larger departments are usually at a loss, since serial killers, for all the suffering they cause and all the publicity they receive, are, fortunately, rare birds. Now that the FBI has established the Violent Crime Apprehension Program in Quantico, small departments, like yours, can forward a description of your case to VICAP and learn if any similar murders have taken place in other parts of the country.
VICAP uses a computer program to list violent crimes and their descriptions throughout the country and can hook you up with other police agencies where similar crimes may have occurred, so you can coordinate your investigation.
'What I want to do today is give you a profile of the serial killer in order to dispel any stereotypes you may have and list some common factors you can look for. The FBI has identified two separate categories: the disorganized A-social and the organized nonsocial. Let's discuss the latter type first. The organized nonsocial is a sexual psychopath and, like any psychopath, he is unable to empathize, to feel pity or caring for others. His victims are simply objects he uses as he wishes to serve his own perverted needs. Venting his anger is one of these needs, whether through mutilation or debasing the victim. The Boston Strangler, for example, placed his victims in a position so that the first sight anyone had of them as they entered the room was to see them with their legs spread apart. Another killer mailed the foot of his victim to her parents in order to expand the pain and misery he had already caused.'
'Excuse me, Dr. Klien,' Wayne Turner said. 'Is it possible that our killer is leaving the notes to torment the husbands?'
'That's a good possibility. The cruelty in torturing a victim's loved ones, and thereby creating more victims, would be very attractive to a sexual psychopath, since he is unaffected by any moral code and has no sense of remorse. He is capable of any act. Preserving body parts and eating them is not unusual, and having sex with the corpse of a victim is even less rare. Lucas decapitated one of his victims and had oral sex with the head for a week until the odor became so extreme he had to dispose of it.'
'is that the type of crazy bastard we're dealing with here?' Grimsbo asked.
'Not 'crazy,' Detective. In spite of the extremes of their behavior, these people are not legally insane. They are well aware of what is morally and legally right and wrong. The terrifying thing is that they do not learn from their experiences, so neither treatment nor imprisonment is likely to — alter their behavior. In fact, because of the compulsiveness associated with these sexual acts, it is most likely that they will kill again.'
'What does the black rose mean?' Nancy asked.
'I don't know, but fantasy and compulsion are very much a part of these killer's fantasy. Prior to the killing, they fantasize about it in great detail, planning very specifically what they will do. This increases their level of excitement or tension so that ultimately their act is one of compulsion. When the murder is completed there is a sense of relief until the tension builds up again, starting the cycle anew. Son of Sam talked of the great relief he felt — after each killing, but he also demonstrated his faulty judgment when he said he did not know why his victims struggled so much, since he was only going to kill them, not rape them.
'Since fantasy is so much involved in their behavior, these killers often take a specific body part or item of clothing with them. They use it to relive the act. This heavy use of fantasy also results in the crimes being very well planned. The Hillside Strangler not only brought a weapon, he brought plastic bags to help him dispose of the bodies.
This could account for the absence of forensic evidence at your crime scenes. I would guess that your killer is very knowledgeable in the area of police investigation. Am I correct that an analysis of the notes and the roses have yielded no clues, and that the crime scenes haven't turned up so much as a fiber or hair that's been of use?'
'That's pretty much true,' answered Glen Michaels.
'We did get a print from the Lake note, but it turned out to be the wife's. All the other notes were spotless and there was nothing unusual about the paper or the ink. So far, the lab hasn't picked up a thing we can use.'
'I'm not surprised,' Klien said. 'There is a peculiar interest among these men with police and police work.
Some of them have even been involved on the fringes of law enforcement.
Bundy attended FBI lectures and Bianchi was in security work and in the police reserve. That means they may be aware of the steps they must take to avoid detection. Their interest in police work may — also lie in a need to know how close the police are to catching them.
'Let's talk about the victims. Usually they're accidental, in that the killer simply drives around until he fixes on someone. Prostitutes make easy victims, because they'll get in a car or even allow themselves to be tied up.
The victim is generally not from the killer's home turf and is usually a stranger, which makes apprehension much more difficult.'
'Do you see that as being true in our case?' Nancy asked. 'I mean, these women all fit a pattern. They're married to professionals, they don't have regular jobs, and except for Mrs. Lake they were all childless.
They're — also from the same town. Doesn't that show advance planning?
That he's looking for a particular victim who fits into his fantasy, rather than grabbing women at random?'
'You're right. These victims don't seem to fit the usual pattern of random selection. It's pretty clear that your killer is stalking a particular type of woman in a particular area, which suggests he may live in Hunter's Point.'
'What I don't understand is how he gets to them,' Wayne Turner said.
'We're dealing with educated women. They live in upscale neighborhoods where the residents are suspicious of strangers. Yet there's no sign of a struggle at any home but the Lakes', and, even there, the crime scene was relatively undisturbed.' Klien smiled. 'You've brought us to one of the major misconceptions about serial killers, Detective Turner. In the movies they're portrayed as monsters, but in real life they fit into the community and do not look suspicious.
Typically, they're bright, personable, even good-looking men. Bundy, the Bandit, the Hillside Strangler, Cortez-they're — all respectable-looking men. So our killer is probably someone these women would let into their home without fear.'
'Didn't you say there were two types of serial killers?' Grimsbo asked.
'Yes. There's — also the disorganized A-social killer, but in this case we're not dealing with someone who fits that category. That's unfortunate, because they're easier to catch. They're psychotic loners who relate quite poorly to others and don't have the charm or ability to melt into the community. Their acts are impulsive and the weapon is usually whatever is at hand. The body is often mangled or blood-smeared and they frequently get blood — all over themselves. The crime scenes can be very gruesome.
They're also not mobile, like the organized nonsocials.
Their homicides often take place close to their homes and they often return to the scene of the crime, not to check up on the investigation, but to further mutilate the body or relive the killing. Rarely do they penetrate the body sexually. They usually masturbate on it or in the immediate area, which can be helpful, now that we have workable DNA testing. But your boy is much too clever to be a disorganized A-social.'
'Why haven't we found the bodies?' Turner asked.
'He's obviously hiding them, like the Green River Killer. Chief O'Malley tells me there's a lot of farmland and forest in this area. Someday a biker is going to stumble on a mass grave and you'll have your bodies.'
'What will they look like, Dr. Klien?' Nancy asked.
'It won't be pretty. We're dealing with a sexual sadist. If he has his victim isolated and he has time… You see, these men are expressing their rage toward their women victims. The mutilation and murder increases their sexual stimulation. In some instances, where the killer is usually impotent, the violence makes sex possible. The fantasy and the torture are the foreplay, Detective. The killing is the penetration.
Some of these men ejaculate automatically at the moment they kill.'
'Jesus,' Grimsbo muttered. 'And you say these guys aren't crazy.'
'I said they weren't crazy, but I didn't say they were human.
Personally, I see the man you're looking for as less than human.
