Trent might have been on to something when he’d brought up geography, but it didn’t help Amanda to think their killer was in his right mind. And there was that taunting note…
“The killer left me a message,” she said.
Brandon’s gaze flicked to Becky, then back to Amanda. Becky’s eyes were on Amanda as well, her mouth agape.
“What do you mean, a message?” he asked.
Amanda got to her feet and walked around the back of the chair, then stood there bracing herself on it. “I found a note at Lindsey’s grave.” She glanced at Becky. “It was addressed to me.”
“You never said anything to me about that.” Becky sounded almost wounded.
“I’ve been busy.” Truth was, she didn’t want to go around sharing that news with everyone—not even her best friend.
Brandon inched forward on the couch. “What did it say?”
“That we’re on the same team, and to be thankful that my angel—Lindsey—would always stay innocent.”
“Huh. He definitely wants acknowledgment and credit for his murders.”
“That thought had occurred to me.”
“This note could tell us that he lacked approval and acceptance in his own life. Possibly childhood abuse or neglect. The note could be seen as a cry for attention and approval, but don’t dismiss that there’s definitely a threat enclosed. See, as long as he considers you an ally and you’re not hindering his actions, he’s fine with you. Do you have any idea what put you on his radar to begin with?”
“I have my thoughts… The first girl was branded, as I told you. I was in the local news back in January for rescuing fifteen girls from a sex trafficker. Still not sure how that puts us on the same team. I helped them. He killed one.”
“Yeah, it’s hard to know where his head’s at exactly. But it would seem apparent he justifies his actions, even sees them as necessary to achieve his end goal, whatever that turns out to be. I still say there may be some connection in his personal history that will intersect with human trafficking. Possibly just sexual abuse. And it is possible that he saw that article you mentioned, and it served as a trigger for him. He could have been drawn to you, figuring you’d understand him. Hence the note.”
Her legs buckled, but she retained her composure as far as they would see. It was one thing for her to consider that possibility and another to hear it coming back at her. But how could her doing a good thing have potentially set a psychopath on a killing spree?
“He could also idolize you in a way,” Brandon said. “But don’t miss the message that he’s giving you. He wants you to know that he can get to you.” His face went very somber. “He’s demonstrating a very volatile and fragile psyche, Amanda. You should watch your back.”
“Wow. So happy I stopped by.” She laughed stiffly, trying to make light of what Brandon had said, but her attempt fell heavy in the room. “Maybe we’re just getting ahead of ourselves. The killing could stop here.”
Brandon locked eye contact with her. “I hope so, but I don’t think it will until you stop him.”
She gripped tighter on the back of the chair, then flailed her arms. “I’m open to any suggestions. I’ve never hunted a serial killer before.”
“Well, serial killers don’t become such overnight. There are contributing factors.”
“Like childhood abuse, which you’ve mentioned.” Amanda kicked that back with a smile. She really wanted to make light of this conversation because honestly it was scaring the shit out of her. This guy had been at her daughter’s grave. He knew that he could reach Amanda there. What else did he know? Where she lived?
Becky smiled awkwardly, as if to support Amanda.
“Not always. That was just one possibility I mentioned. He could have been affected by something else during his childhood or teenage years. This could have made him feel invisible, something that greatly hurt him. He could have witnessed something or had a loved one who wounded him by becoming a prostitute, maybe even a victim of sex trafficking.”
“That would be crazy if that’s the case. These girls don’t exactly sign up for it.”
Brandon angled his head. “What we call crazy, serial killers justify in their minds. They’re not wired like the rest of us.”
“Not disputing that.” She sat back down.
“You might want to look up previous cases that involved some of the parameters from these two cases. It doesn’t have to be all of them. Say, young women who were victims of arson and/or strangulation, and so on. I could have my go-to analyst run a search in ViCAP for you.”
Amanda was familiar with the FBI’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Program. It was a database that housed unsolved crimes, but any searches needed to be handled through the FBI. “I’d have to get something like that approved by my sergeant.”
“If you end up deciding you want to go ahead, let me know. But you could very well find your killer by looking at closed cases too. He may have served time and recently gotten out. I would recommend getting a media ban in place. Sounds like this guy wants the spotlight, and you’d be further ahead not to shine it on him.”
At least she’d sort of done something right. She had sent Diana Wesson away in her PWC News van.
“More importantly, and I can’t stress this enough—” Brandon let those words hang for a minute, his voice sullen, before continuing “—really watch your back with this one.”
Goosebumps pricked her flesh. They were after a monster and had no idea which closet to find him in.
Twenty-Four
It was midnight, the
