involved. If there were other men. If there was a financial or other motive.”
“Financial is easy to track,” Stein said.
“If not financial, then what? If not for money, why blackmail a congressman?”
“Votes!” Stein slapped his palm on the table. “I’m on it.”
“It’s right up your alley,” Slater said.
“Can I go?”
“I think we’re done here.”
“Agreed,” Hans said. “But I can tell you two things about the killer. First, this isn’t the first time he’s killed. And second, this is not a sexual crime.”
“You’re sure?” Stein asked as he stood at the door, rolling on the balls of his feet. Noah cringed. Hans Vigo was one of the sharpest, most experienced forensic profilers in the FBI. While Hans appreciated thoughtful analysis and disagreement, Stein’s flip comment was inappropriate and disrespectful.
“Yes, Agent Stein, I’m certain,” Hans said.
Stein was properly repentant. “Thank you, Dr. Vigo.” He quickly walked out.
Miriam and Henry followed, both seeming eager to put in another couple of hours even though it was already past dinnertime.
Hans said to Slater, “Why was Lucy Kincaid pulled from the James homicide? She probably could have told you exactly what I just did.”
Noah was about to speak when Slater said, “She doesn’t have the experience to work this case. We can’t have internal bickering over how we deal with witnesses, or worse, having the press call into question anything we do. It’s better that she steers clear. I know she’s a friend of yours, Hans, and I’m sorry, but right or wrong, Josh nixed her and this is his case.”
“I’m not questioning your decisions. I came here to provide a psychological profile of the killer, which I did. I’d also suggest something you already know-if this is blackmail, there’s more than one person involved. There’s nothing in Wendy James’s background that suggests she had the technical skills necessary to create an elaborate system as what you suspect was in apartment seven-ten.”
“We’re already on that angle, Hans. Thank you.”
“Anytime. I’ll let you get back to work.”
“Actually,” Noah said, “if you have a minute, I’ll give you a rundown on the prostitute Nicole Bellows. It’s the case Lucy is working on. She sent me a report.”
“You assigned her to DC?”
“It’s the best way to keep her involved without crossing paths with Stein,” Noah said. He walked over to the printer and pulled the report.
While Hans read it, Slater rose from his chair and stretched. “I’m outta here. I’m already late for the Nationals game, but I should get there by the fourth inning.”
“Good to see you, as always, Matt,” Hans said, shaking his hand, then going back to the report.
“There was a number written on the victim’s hand?” Hans asked. “To where?”
“It was a virtual number. You buy a virtual number from a company to give to people who you don’t want to have your real number. Like an answering service, only when the person dials the number, it gets transferred to whatever phone you want. Popular with doctors, lawyers, CEOs, and not surprisingly, criminals.”
“It would make sense for a prostitute to use such a service,” Hans concurred. “A way for her regular clients to contact her.”
“But the number was written on the victim’s hand, so likely someone gave her the number. DC is working on getting warrants for the phone records to find out who bought the number and where it’s forwarded, but Detective Reid doesn’t expect to have anything until tomorrow afternoon.”
“Do you have a picture of the message the killer left?”
Noah slid a printout over to the psychologist.
Hans studied the message for a long minute. The silence in the room would have been unnerving to most, but Noah found peace in this process. Like his years in the Air Force, his success was based on gathering information, analyzing, and acting.
“Do you know if he brought the rat with him?” Hans asked.
“We have no evidence either way, but DC sent the rat to our lab for dissection. Our people think they can analyze the stomach and tissue samples and determine what area of the city it came from.”
Hans nodded. “I think we can assume the rat was found in the motel room or on the premises. It was certainly killed there, and unless the killer was carrying the rodent in a cage-which would have brought undue attention-he probably acted spontaneously. The question to me is did he intend to leave a message before he saw the rat? Or was the message a last-minute idea?”
Hans continued with his theory. “I suspect the message was spontaneous, but accurate. He is planning on killing six women. He certainly has killed before. You don’t slit someone’s throat that deep, with no hesitation, without some experience in murder. He went in with purpose.” Hans frowned as he flipped through the pages of the report.
“See something?” Noah asked.
“Lucy wrote that the victim had lived in the neighborhood until nine months ago. Where has she lived since? Why did she come back?”
Noah said, “Detective Reid is following up on the prostitution angle. It’s a violent business. Not just the sex trade, but drug use and distribution, money laundering, you name it.”
“Don’t be surprised if another prostitute ends up dead in the near term. The killer is a sociopath-cold, calculating, remorseless, no empathy with his victims-but he’s not a psychopath. He has a purpose and isn’t killing for emotional release. This, however,” Hans tapped on the photo of the rat, “is his own personal game. He doesn’t care if the cops see it. He’s of above-average intelligence, but thinks he’s smarter than he is, and smarter than everyone else. Truly, one of the most dangerous types of killers I’ve encountered. He’ll kill again before anyone catches him, but it’ll be his own arrogance that will bring him down.”
Noah thanked Hans for his analysis and walked him to the front of the building. He’d always admired the assistant director for his ability to see things no one else saw. Noah preferred facts and physical evidence, while Hans-a lot like Lucy-saw what was just beneath the surface.
“How is Lucy?” Hans asked when they were alone.
“The same.”
“Is something wrong?”
Noah wasn’t surprised that Hans had picked up on the tension. Noah had no intention of formally reprimanding Lucy for her insubordination, but it had deeply bothered him that she had been so brazen completely ignoring protocol. He worried he had been wrong in his recommendation to approve her for the Academy. He saw for the first time what the original interview panel had seen-her tunnel vision when it came to victims. He didn’t know how she could remain so deeply involved with the dead. How could she survive day after day, year after year, working cases like the one they were at today? She hadn’t had the same reaction to the Wendy James murder.
“Noah?”
“I’ve been working with Lucy for two months now, and she’s been an asset as an analyst. Diligent. Methodical. Very smart. But today-I saw a side of her I haven’t seen before, and I’m not sure I like it.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I read all the transcripts from her two FBI interviews.”
“Those aren’t public.”
“She’s working under me, I had a right to access them. I know you’ve read them.”
Hans nodded his head once, but didn’t comment.
“Are you at all worried that she might snap?”
“What happened that has you concerned?”
Lucy’s insubordination wasn’t the issue. Noah preferred working with people who had strong opinions and weren’t afraid to share them, as long as when decisions were made and orders given that those decisions and orders were followed to the letter. But Noah kept replaying the morning. Not focusing solely on Lucy’s words, but also on her behavior. It wasn’t just when she jumped in about taking the case. It was before that, when she stepped into the room and looked like she was about to collapse.
