dummy, this guy. She’d have to handle him carefully. She tapped her teeth with her pen and wondered why the Sentinel Times hadn’t run a feature on the study, with a profile of Dr Hill. Maybe they tried and had been knocked back. She’d have to check with her colleagues on Features.
The next two cuttings were from a national tabloid, a two-part series on serial killers that had been timed to coincide with the general release of The Silence of the Lambs. Dr Hill was quoted in both articles, talking in general terms about the work of psychological profilers.
The last two cuttings dealt with one of his most prominent patients, Keith Pond, the so-called Motorway Madman. Pond had abducted five women from motorway service areas, then savagely raped and murdered them. At the time of his trial, only two of the bodies had been found. But after extensive therapy with Dr Hill, Pond had revealed the whereabouts of the other three bodies. Dr Hill had been hailed as a worker of miracles by the bereaved family of one of the victims. One of the two pieces had attempted a profile of Dr Hill, but they had scant information to go on. As usual, the journalist hadn’t let that stand in the way of a good story.
Tony Hill, who has never married, is devoted to his work. A former colleague said, ’Tony’s a workaholic. He’s married to the job.
’He’s totally driven by the desire to understand what makes his patients tick. There’s probably not another psychologist in the country who has his knack of getting inside their twisted minds and working out what makes them do what they do.
‘I sometimes thought he related better to mass murderers than he did to normal punters.’
The reclusive Dr Hill lives alone and is notorious for not mixing socially with colleagues. Apart from studying the minds of serial killers, the only hobby he apparently indulges in is hill-walking. On weekends off, he regularly drives to the Lakes or the Yorkshire Dales and tramps the fells.
Sounds like a real barrel of laughs,’ Penny said aloud, scribbling more notes on her pad. She returned to the main menu, where she selected the fifth option. Again, she entered Tony’s name for a picture search. The data banks revealed there was one stock picture on file. Penny called it up and stared at the face that appeared on her screen. ‘Gotcha!’ she exclaimed. She had only seen him once before, but now she knew who Carol Jordan’s new sidekick was.
Penny leaned back in her seat, savouring her third cigarette, and registered that the newsroom was starting to fill up. One quick phone call, then she could afford the time to treat herself to a fry-up in the canteen. Reaching for the phone, she dialled Kevin Matthews’s home number. He picked up on the second ring. ‘DI Matthews,’ came the sleepy mumble.
‘Hi, Kev, it’s Penny,’ she said, savouring the stunned silence that greeted her announcement. ‘Sorry to bother you at home, but I thought you’d rather answer my questions there than in the office.’
‘Wh-what?’ he stuttered. Then, muffled, ‘Yeah, it’s work. Go back to sleep, love.’
‘How long has Dr Tony Hill been on the team?’
‘How did you hear about that? Shit, that’s supposed to be top secret!’ he exploded, his nervousness transforming itself into anger.
‘Tut, tut. Kev, she’ll never get back to sleep if you yell like that. Never mind how I know, just be grateful you can put your hand on your heart and deny it came from you. How long, Kev?’
He cleared his throat. ‘Just a couple of days.’
‘Was it Brandon’s idea?’
‘That’s right. Look, I really can’t talk about this. It’s supposed to be kept under wraps.’
‘He’s doing a profile, right?’
‘What do you think?’
‘Working with Carol Jordan? Brandon’s blue-eyed girl on this one, is she?’
‘She’s the liaison officer. Look, I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you about this later on, OK?’ Kevin tried to sound menacing, but failed.
Penny smiled and slowly exhaled a mouthful of smoke. ‘Thanks, Kev. I owe you a very special one.’ She replaced the handset, cleared her screen and opened a story file.
‘Exclusive. By Penny Jordan,’ she typed. Never mind breakfast. She had far more interesting stuff to do.
Tony was back in front of his screen by half past eight. Instead of the guilt he’d expected to feel about his erotic encounter, he felt refreshed. Giving himself permission to indulge himself with Angelica had somehow released and relaxed him. Surprising though he found it under the circumstances, he’d actually become aroused as she’d talked him through an outrageous, imaginative sexual encounter. He hadn’t actually managed to sustain his erection as far as orgasm, but because there was no one there to share his failure, it hadn’t seemed to matter. Maybe a few more calls from Angelica would be all he needed to contemplate the reality with something less than abject panic.
But not at work. What he needed now was complete peace. He’d already instructed his secretary to hold all his calls, and he turned off the ringer on his direct line. Nothing and nobody was going to interrupt the flow of his thoughts. His feeling of satisfaction continued as he read through the work he’d done the day before. He was ready now to put himself on the line and commit his conclusions about Handy Andy to paper. Tony poured himself a cup of coffee from his Thermos and took a deep breath.
We are dealing with a serial killer who will certainly kill again unless he is caught. The next killing will take place on the eighth Monday following the death of Damien Connolly unless some trigger accelerates this. What might push him over the edge into extreme escalation could be some catastrophic event that causes him to lose whatever it is he is using to keep the fantasy alive. Since, for example, he is using videos, loss of or damage to his tapes could lead to loss of control. Another possible scenario is that an innocent person is charged with the killings. That would be such an affront to his sense of himself that he might commit his next murder ahead of schedule.
I believe it is likely that he has already selected his next victim and is familiarizing himself with that victim’s movements and lifestyle. The chances are that the chosen victim is a man not known to the gay community. He will be, to all intents and purposes, a straight man living a heterosexual lifestyle.
The fact that his last victim was a police officer is disturbing. It is highly probable that this was choice, not accident or coincidence. The killer is sending a message to the investigation. He is demanding that we take notice of him, that we take him seriously. He is also telling us that he is the best; he can catch us but we can’t catch him. There is a theory that such behaviour is a way of inviting capture, but I do not believe that is what is going on in this case.
It is possible that his next target may also be a police officer, perhaps even one who is working on the investigation. This alone will not be sufficient motive for the killer to choose them; they must also fit the victim criteria that he has drawn up in his own mind in order for the killing to assume its full meaning for him. I would strongly recommend that any officers who fit the victim profile employ extra vigilance at all times, noting any suspicious vehicles parked near their homes, and checking to see whether they are being followed to and from work and social events.
The stalking and preparation serves two main purposes for the killer: it cuts down on the potential surprise elements when he comes to carry out the killing, and it also fuels the fantasy that is the all-important area of the killer’s life.
Our killer is probably a white male, aged between 25 and 35. He is likely to be at least 5ft 10ins tall, well muscled, with considerable upper-body strength. In spite of this, he probably has a poor body image. He may work out in a gym, but if he can afford it, he would prefer to use his own equipment in the privacy of his home. He is right-handed.
He won’t look like a con. He’ll look deeply, deeply average. He will have a demeanour that doesn’t provoke suspicion. He’s the sort of bloke you wouldn’t look at twice, and certainly wouldn’t suspect of being a multiple murderer. He may have tattoos and/or self-inflicted scars, but these are likely to be fairly discreet.
He is familiar with Bradfield, and his knowledge of Temple Fields is clearly current. This implies someone who lives and probably works in the city. I don’t think he’s a casual visitor, nor a former resident who simply comes back here to kill. There is no obvious geographical pattern to the homes or workplaces of his victims, except that they all lived in reasonably close proximity to a tram line. The first victim’s home is most likely to be geographically closest to where the killer lives or works. Looking at the general background and style of the victims, and working on the principle that he’s sticking to the kind of environment he knows and understands, I would suspect that the killer lives in privately owned property rather than rented, a house rather than a flat, in a suburban area of similar
