invulnerability rises as, in actuality, the psychopath is making more and more mistakes. Disassembling. Becoming vulnerable to discovery.”
“So because he has gotten away with his actions for four years, he thinks he is clear and is so untouchable that he sends another note to tweak us?”
“Exactly, but that is only one factor. Another is pride, authorship. This big trial on the Dollmaker has begun and he wants to steal some of the attention. You must understand, he craves attention for his acts. After all, it was the follower, not Church who sent the letters earlier. So being prideful and feeling above the reach of the police-I guess, godlike is the way to describe his sense of himself-he writes the note this week.”
“Catch me if you can.”
“Yes, one of the oldest games around… And lastly, he might have sent the note because he is still angry with you.”
“Me?”
Bosch was surprised. He had never considered this.
“Yes, you took Church away. You ruined his perfect cover. I don’t imagine the note and its mention in the press has helped your court case any, has it?”
“No. It might sink me.”
“Yes, so maybe this is the follower’s way of repaying you. His revenge.”
Bosch thought about all of this for a moment. He could almost feel the adrenaline surging through his body. It was after midnight but he wasn’t the least bit tired. He had a focus now. He was no longer lost in the void.
“You think there are more out there, don’t you?” he asked.
“You mean women in concrete, or similar confinement? Yes, unfortunately, I do. Four years is a long time. Many others are out there, I’m afraid.”
“How do I find him?”
“I’m not sure. My work has usually come at the end. After they’re caught. After they’re dead.”
Bosch nodded, closed the binders and put them under his arm.
“There is one thing, though,” Locke said. “Look at his pool of victims. Who are they? How does he get to them? The three who are dead and the survivor, they all were in the porno industry, you said.”
Bosch put the binders back down on the table. He lit another cigarette.
“Yes, they all did outcall work, too,” he said.
“Yes. So while Church was the opportunistic killer, taking victims of any size, age or race, the follower was more specific in his tastes.”
Bosch recalled the porno victims quickly.
“Right, the follower’s victims were white, young, blonde and large-breasted.”
“That is a clear pattern. Did these women advertise their outcall services in the adult-related media?”
“I know two of them did, and the survivor. The latest victim did outcall but I’m not sure how she advertised.”
“Did the three who did advertise include photographs of themselves in the copy?”
Bosch could specifically remember only Holly Lere’s ad, and it did not include her photo. Just her stage name, a phone drop and a guarantee of lewd pleasure.
“I don’t think so. The one I remember didn’t. But her porno name was in the ad. So anyone familiar with her work in video would know her physical appearance and attributes.”
“Very good. We are already creating a profile of the follower. He is someone who uses adult videos to choose the women for his erotic program. He then contacts them through ads in the adult media by seeing either their names or photos in the advertisements. Have I helped you, Detective Bosch?”
“Absolutely. Thanks for the time. And keep this under your hat. I’m not sure we want to go public with this yet.”
Bosch picked up the binders again and headed toward the door but Locke stopped him.
“We haven’t finished, you know.”
Bosch turned around.
“How do you mean?” he asked, though he knew.
“You haven’t spoken about the aspect of this that is most troubling. The question of how our follower learned the killer’s routine. The task force did not divulge every detail of the Dollmaker’s program to the media. Not back then. Details were held back so the loonies who confessed would not know exactly what to confess to. It was a safeguard. The task force could quickly eliminate the bogus confessions.”
“So?”
“So the question is, how did the follower know?”
“I don’t-”
“Yes, you do. The book Mr. Bremmer wrote made those details available to the world. That, of course, could account for the concrete blonde… But not, as I am sure you have realized, for victims seven and eleven.”
Locke was right. It was what Bosch had realized earlier. He avoided thinking about it because he dreaded the implications.
Locke said, “The answer is that the follower was somehow privy to the details. The details are what triggered his action. You have to remember that what we are dealing with here is someone who very likely was already in the midst of some great internal struggle when he stumbled onto an erotic program that matched his own needs. This man already had problems, whether they had manifested in his committing crimes or not. He was a sick puppy, Harry, and he saw the Dollmaker’s erotic mold and realized, That’s me. That’s what I want, what I need for fulfillment. He then adopted the Dollmaker’s program and acted on it, to the very last detail. The question is, how did he stumble onto it? And the answer is, he was given access.”
For a moment they just looked at each other, then Bosch spoke.
“You’re talking about a cop. Someone on the task force. That can’t be. I was there. We all wanted this guy to go down. Nobody was… getting off on this, man.”
“Possibly a member of the task force, Harry, only possibly. But remember, the circle of those who knew about the program was much larger than just the task force. You have medical examiners, investigators, beat cops, photographers, reporters, paramedics, the passersby who found the bodies-many people who had access to details the follower obviously knew about.”
Bosch tried to pull together a quick profile in his mind. Locke read him.
“It would have to be someone in or around the investigation, Harry. Not necessarily a vital part or a continuous part. But someone who intersected with the investigation at a point that would allow him to gain knowledge of the full program. More than what was publicly known at the time.”
Bosch said nothing until Locke prompted him.
“What else, Harry? Narrow it down.”
“Left-handed.”
“Possibly but not necessarily. Church was left-handed. The follower may only have used the left hand to make the perfect copy of Church’s crimes.”
“That’s right but then there are the notes. Suspicious docs said they believed it was a left- handed writer. They weren’t one hundred percent. They never are.”
“Okay, then, possibly left-handed. What else?”
Bosch thought for a moment.
“Maybe a smoker. There was a package found in the concrete. Kaminski, the victim, didn’t smoke.”
“Okay, that’s good. These are the things you need to think about to narrow it down. It’s in the details, Harry, I’m sure of it.”
A cool wind came down the hillside and in through the French doors and chilled Bosch. It was time to go, to be alone with this.
“Thanks again,” he said as he started once more for the door.
