Good Morning, Killer

“We are fortunate the victim was taken to a rape treatment center where the evidence was collected in a correct and timely manner and the victim was given compassionate care,” added Rick. “We all know horror stories of mishandling of evidence. For reference, see the sexual assault victim questionnaire put out by the NCAVC.” Rick, I noted, was a bit of a professor.

“Ana’s going to profile the suspect, then we’ll talk about assignments based on new evidence. She’s been up day and night on this case so I think we owe her our thanks.”

Desultory applause.

I stood, notes in hand.

“We’re looking at a power-assertive serial rapist. A man whose issues revolve around being seen as masculine. He wants people looking at him. He takes care of his body. He’s finicky about it. He doesn’t like dirt. These attacks are out of anger.

“I characterize him as a serial rapist because even if we didn’t have these hits on VICAP, which may connect him to assaults in Washington, DC, Florida and Texas, statistically there is a good possibility he has raped before. His MO shows there was a definite routine to this attack. He uses a con approach to gain trust. He dresses the part, not like a tourist. He can maybe convince a child he’s a big-deal photographer, but this guy’s just blowing smoke. Once he has the victim under his control, he has no feeling or concern for her. She becomes something nonliving, a doll, as Juliana described.” The faces were interested. Kelsey Owen was taking notes.

“Our friend Ray has elaborate fantasies of domination, which he acts out like a script. Everything has to go according to this preconceived plan. Clearly, the kidnapping and rape were well thought out. He had the van outfitted for the crime. He had his rape kit, the handcuffs and wire. He buzzed his hair. I believe he was stalking the victim, creating chance encounters, waiting for the right time. The probability is high that when we catch this guy we will find a cache of pornography or detective magazines that reinforce his fantasies. As we know, fantasies are perfect, life is not. It’s likely he will do it again and again until, in his mind, he gets it right.

“The man is of average or above-average intelligence, an ‘organized’ offender, as opposed to the disorganized lust killer, who is generally of below-average intelligence, unskilled, anxious during the crime, socially clumsy and so forth. This suspect has been employed in the field of photography, which was confirmed by the lab report. Analysis of fingernail cuts left in the vagina showed traces of grease under the nails similar to that which is used in cameras. You didn’t know cameras take grease, but they do, a very light emulsion. I doubt that he was ever in England, taking pictures of Sting, but he does have professional or semiprofessional experience. I strongly feel the photographs he showed Juliana are those of his other victims, which he took as mementos. Ray has been getting away with it, experimenting and not getting caught. All of that fits into his brazenness. And since he used more force than was necessary to control the victim during the assault — she said she was frightened just by his voice — we can conclude he is deeply compelled to do these crimes. Questions so far?” Jason Ripley raised his hand. “You used the term ‘lust killer.’ Does that mean this guy will escalate to homicide, or that he’s committed homicides in the past?”

“He’s not a lust killer, but it’s very possible that a life stress could trigger him to start killing his victims, or that he goes too far and someone dies.”

“Life stress meaning …?”

“Loss of job, death in the family, anniversary event …”

“Or if he got scared and thought we were onto him?”

“Yes, we are not ready to have this exposed. Eunice?”

“How is the victim?”

“She’s experiencing rape trauma symptoms. Afraid to leave the house. Hypervigilant — overreacts to sudden noises; for example, a leaf blower will trigger a panic attack. The forced oral copulation produced an unconscious reflex where now she can’t swallow. You know the story. This is going to take a while.” “Ana, do you think she escaped, or that he let her go?”

“He could have turned her loose. He’s angry at something that wounded him in the past, right? So I think the message is, You’re going to have to live with this, just like I did. Your life will be like mine. The point is, people, we have a sadistic serial rapist operating in our area.” Rick wanted to know the results of the liaison with law enforcement in Arizona. Just the word “Arizona” made my stomach clench. “What have you got, Detective Berringer?”

“Me?” Andrew shrugged. “Nothing.” He had not taken off the jacket. His heels were stuck out in front of him.

“We’re doing Arizona,” I said quickly. “At the SAC’s request.”

“Oh.”

“They sent us a load of sex offenders. Just starting to sort through the files.”

“If you need help, let us know,” Andrew offered with audacious sarcasm. “I think we’re familiar with the alphabet down in Santa Monica. Are we, Barry?”

Lieutenant Loomis laughed. “Maybe you are.”

I had to bypass Andrew’s resentment and call on Kelsey before Galloway started wondering. She was waving both arms like she had to stop a train.

“Just so you know,” she informed us breathlessly, ‘‘‘lust killer’ is a dated term.”

There it was again. Dated.

“How would you describe it?”

“This man is homicidal,” she said, “due to a sadistic personality disorder.”

“My way is shorter.”

Got a laugh.

“Besides that,” Kelsey insisted, “I have to disagree with a lot of what you said.”

“What Ana has presented here,” said Rick, “is based on the information we now have. That could change. Even though there are over six hundred pages in Rapid Start—”

“I know,” Kelsey said, “I’ve read them all.”

Andrew was giving me the “what an asshole” look.

But Galloway was lowering his reading glasses. “I’m curious to hear what Kelsey has to say.”

My blood pressure hit the red zone.

“First of all,” she began primly, “the offender is not a power-assertive rapist.”

“He’s not.”

“Definitely not.”

People were turning in their seats to watch her with a mix of skepticism and bemusement. Most were ready for the meeting to end.

“He has a sadistic personality disorder, which means the purpose of his infliction of cruelty is not to become sexually aroused, but to cause physical and psychological pain—”

“I’m sorry,” I interrupted, “but sadistic rapists often do need to inflict pain in order to become aroused. Sex and torture of the victim are fused for them.”

“This attack,” she countered, “seems to fit the profile of a sadistic rape. It was calculated. He bound and humiliated her—”

“Yes, out of rage.”

“No.” Kelsey lifted her chin. “It was punishment. It was about pain. The more it went on, the more powerful he felt. As a trained psychologist, I need to say that we’re talking two fundamentally different personality structures.” “Believe me, I’m aware—”

“Well it makes a significant difference as to what he will do next.”

I had to take a breath. I had to take two. I was really, really holding back from taking her apart. But the words that came flying at me—“respect,” “experience,” “snotty little upstart”—had nothing to do with the argument at hand. We were discussing anger, after all, and I had once pulled a phone out of the wall and thrown it across the bull pen. Things did not end well.

“Maybe Kelsey can explain what she means by ‘sadistic personality disorder,’” suggested Rick. “Many of us are unfamiliar with the concept.”

Rick long ago had earned his supervisor spurs.

Now she had license to go on for another five minutes. To me it was everything wrong with specialists coming into the Bureau as a second career. They each think their area of expertise is what’s going to crack the