Jennifer leaned back against the sofa, her white oxford-cloth shirt loosely untucked. Jade caught himself staring down at the line of tan flesh that led to the curve of her breasts. He blinked hard and focused on what she was saying.
'Leah blocked out a lot of what he said to her. It was so close to the trauma I didn't want to push her. Evidently, he lectured them. She said it was like her teacher at school. I guess he raved about the law, parents, and teachers.'
Jade heard Allander's voice inside his head: He must be spoken to if he's not going to be protected. He had spoken to the kids, just as Jade had thought. 'All forms of authority, huh?' he said.
'And hierarchy,' Travers added. 'I think he's still trying to get in touch with what he's all about. The children were just passive observers. Leah said it was as if he didn't really notice they were there at all.'
'His game right now is power. He's testing us, testing himself. He didn't find the kids threatening. They weren't a challenge. Too young. I say he kills anyone who's gone through puberty.'
They sat for a moment in silence.
'Well, how does that help us?' Travers asked.
'The more we understand him, the closer it brings us to him.'
'At the scene, it sounded like you thought he was next to invincible.'
'Not invincible. Just intelligent. I hate to see criminals simplified. It's dismissive.'
'So where do we start?'
'With his weaknesses.'
'It sounded like you didn't think he had any.'
'No. That's not true. You can see his fear in his anger. He went after the parents. Why? You can argue that these were murders of opportunity. He didn't plan how he was going to kill them; he picked up the weapons right at the site. This was especially true of the woman. Totally spontaneous. I bet she scared him. But!' He held up a finger. 'Look what he does with the bodies afterward. He studies them. He defaces them. He poses them.'
'He's sadistic.'
'Sure, but he puts out the eyes after death. It's more about possession. He's working through an advanced sexual fantasy here, one that's taken him years to develop. He does have a weakness-he's scared of the woman.'
'How do you know?'
'The man he kills to get in. But then he's alone in the bedroom with a woman. What does he do? He kills her right away. As quickly as he can. With the hammer. His concern is to render her motionless as quickly as possible. He could have kept her alive and played with her.'
Travers looked at him, her unease showing. It must be harder as a woman, Jade thought. It was her choice, though. He couldn't work with her on this if he had to temper his language.
'I bet they don't find any semen in her,' he said. He picked up his cup, tilted it back, and shook it. A piece of ice slid into his mouth and he crunched it loudly.
Travers looked impressed. 'I just got off the phone with forensics,' she said. 'They didn't.'
'No rape. He can't do it. Wishes he could, though. He has a lot of sexual insecurity. Just wants her unconscious.'
'But he did show remorse,' Travers said. 'The posing of the bodies.'
'I don't think so. Remorseful killers usually cover the faces.'
'But not always.'
'But not always,' Jade agreed. 'I just don't think it fits. I think the positioning of the bodies mocks what he perceives to be the parents' hypocrisy. He left them as he sees them: blind to the truth, but going through the motions as if everything's all right.'
'Let's talk about Allander's parents.'
'No serial killer's profile is complete without them.'
'Abusive, neglecting, violent?'
'Kind, normal, healthy,' Jade said.
'That's a first.'
'Literally.'
'What gives? Does it all have to do with his molester?'
'Honestly?'
'Honestly.'
Jade crunched another piece of ice and spat it back out into the cup. 'I think he's just fucked.'
'That's your professional opinion?'
Jade nodded. 'I think he was fucked before that even happened. I think the problem was already there; the molester just brought it to life.'
He glanced at his watch. 'I'm heading up to Ressler to interview the prison shrink.'
Travers was quiet.
'I guess you can come,' he said. 'Just try not to talk too much.'
'Won't be hard with you around.'
Chapter 31
The Ressler Institute's main building was mostly experimentation labs and classrooms. The doctors themselves enjoyed a small cluster of offices a few blocks away. It looked almost like a park; thin walkways threaded around open quads filled with lush vegetation. Beside the complex, a small brook made its way over a bed of gray rocks pushed into the soil.
A thick wooden directory stuck out of the pavement beside the parking lot. Jade ran his finger down it until he saw the listing he wanted: 'Dr. Kim Tai Yung. Ph. D. A-18.'
'Looks like we're here,' Travers said as Jade strode up the narrow walkway and barged into the waiting room. He was a practiced barger, Travers thought as she followed him in, realizing she actually admired him for it.
He walked past several children reading Highlights for Kids and Dr. Seuss, and banged on the glass partition separating the receptionist from the waiting room.
The woman slid the glass over and peered out angrily.
'I need to see Dr. Yung. Now,' Jade said, flashing his badge.
'Do you have any idea what his schedule is like this week?'
'Do you have any idea how little I care?'
Her head reared back. 'Well, he's in with a patient. You can't just-'
'I can just whatever I want. And I suggest-'
'I'm sorry, ma'am,' Travers said, sidestepping Jade as she pulled him back by his elbow. 'We're FBI, you see, and we're in the middle of an intense manhunt. I realize that the doctor must have a tight schedule, but we really need to see him as soon as possible.'
'Immediately,' Jade added.
The receptionist glared at Jade, then turned a smile to Travers. 'I'll let him know you're here.'
'Thank you,' Travers said.
The kids in the waiting room stared uneasily at them. After a minute, a young East Asian man led a small boy who had been crying out into the waiting room, where a concerned mother folded him in her arms. Jade rolled his eyes.
'Hey, pal,' Jade said to him. 'We need to get in now to see the doctor.'
The Asian man wore a pair of corduroys and a pin-striped shirt with no tie, unbuttoned at the top. A pair of silver-framed glasses perched neatly on his nose. His hair was slightly disheveled, but it didn't look messy. Jade calculated the man to be in his early twenties.
The man chuckled softly. 'And everyone's schedules should bow to your needs?' he asked. 'The doctor spends weeks working with children to get them to the point of catharsis. The point which you so gracelessly interrupted.'
