“Unless he’s lying about being the Peeping Tom.”
“You think he is?”
“Don’t know,” Dix said.
“So, say it’s the truth. Why would someone take that step?”
“There’s no way to know, as was the case with your panty checker,” Dix said. “We have no idea what all of this means to him.”
“Peeping Tom work is so much less dangerous,” Jesse said. “And if you are caught, the consequences are much less severe.”
“Maybe that’s the charm of home invasion,” Dix said.
“The risk?”
“It seems from his letter that he wants to be caught,” Dix said.
“So we just sit around and wait until he catches himself?” Jesse said.
“He also doesn’t want to be caught,” Dix said.
“Conflicted,” Jesse said.
Dix smiled and nodded.
“And obsessive,” Jesse said.
Dix smiled and nodded again.
“If we knew why,” Jesse said.
“Probably wouldn’t do you much good,” Dix said. “A lot of obsessions are rooted in long-ago events that the obsessed aren’t even aware of.”
Jesse nodded.
“I mean, pretty much every guy I know would look at a nude woman if he could,” Jesse said.
Dix nodded.
“Wouldn’t you?”
Dix smiled.
“I’m behind the desk,” Dix said. “You’re in front of it.”
“Which means I don’t get to know anything about you?” Jesse said.
“You know several things,” Dix said.
“I know you used to be a cop and you used to be a drunk,” Jesse said.
“And you also know that I have a Ph.D. from Chicago, and an M.D. from Harvard.”
“How would I know that?” Jesse said.
“And you a trained detective,” Dix said.
He pointed to the diplomas framed on his wall.
“Okay,” Jesse said. “But you know what I’m saying. Most men are interested in female nudity.”
“Most straight men,” Dix said.
Jesse nodded.
“But most men don’t do what this guy does,” he said.
“Because they are not driven by his need,” Dix said.
“So what the fuck is his need?” Jesse said.
“There may be a clue,” Dix said. “In the letter he speaks of a need to see.”
“ ‘I need to see,’ ” Jesse quoted. “ ‘I need to know their secret.’ ”
“You didn’t miss it,” Dix said.
“What’s the secret?” Jesse said.
“We have no way to know,” Dix said.
“How about a guess?” Jesse said. “Anything is better than nothing.”
Dix paused and didn’t speak for a moment.
“There was a famous British aesthete,” Dix said, “who, on his wedding night, was so traumatized by the sight of his bride’s pubic hair that he could not consummate the marriage.”
“He was a virgin?” Jesse said.
“Apparently,” Dix said.
“That had to be a while ago,” Jesse said.
“Long time, yes,” Dix said. “It is difficult, in our time, to reach marriage age without being aware that women have pubic hair.”
“But,” Jesse said. “If it was a kid discovering that . . .”
