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Lawyers get asked it all the time – how can you represent someone you know is

guilty? Our job tells us never to ask about guilt, never to put ourselves into a position where we question our client’s guilt or innocence – we just put forward their case. That’s the job.

A crock of shit. A lie we tell ourselves so we can sleep at night. Kate hadn’t been taught to park her conscience yet. The one thing that was saving her was inexperience. She hadn’t been to the other side of that door. The door where you turn off your instincts, and you do your job no matter what, even if your client is guilty. I’d been through that door, and I’d spent the rest of my life trying to make up for it.

‘I think you’re both right,’ said Harry. ‘There’s a whole degree of planning involved in this murder to make it look like something else, and too many people who could tell the truth about what really happened are dead or missing. It’s not a coincidence. None of it. Alexandra wrote that journal. She killed those people.’

Kate leaned back, closed her eyes and shook her head.

‘I can’t let her get away. I have to nail her, Kate. The more I think about it, the more I wonder if Harper’s death is linked to this case,’ I said.

The chair at the edge of the table squeaked on the floor as it was pulled out.

Paige Delaney sat down. I introduced her to Kate and Bloch.

‘Paige is a fed, but don’t hold that against her. She’s seen the case files and videos. I asked her to help us with a profile,’ I said.

‘I haven’t quite finished it yet,’ said Paige. ‘And I don’t know how useful it will be. You should have it tomorrow at the latest, but I can talk through some of it now. First thing is that I believe we’re dealing with a serial killer. And that’s where the problems with a profile begin.’

‘I thought the FBI had profiling down to a fine art,’ said Harry.

‘Not yet we don’t, there’s a kind of rift happening in the Bureau. We’re working on definitions, categories and sub-categories of killer types that have existed now for forty years. I think we need to overhaul the entire process.’

‘Why?’ asked Harry.

‘Because we’re working from a baseline simplicity. Our work has always been focused on creating a profile that every law enforcement officer can understand. The reality is never that simple. In this case, it’s even more difficult because of the lack of research into female serial killers. Even our sub-types and categories of serial killer are based on male-focused research. Female serial killers have been overlooked for decades. About fifteen to twenty percent of all serial killers are female, and they make up only about three percent of the research.

‘Even our methods of tracking and identifying serial murder don’t work as well as they should. In order for a cop on the beat to enter details of a murder on our ViCAP database, they have to fill out a form, which asks one hundred and

fifty questions. It takes a couple of hours to do it right. You think a cop has a couple of hours to help us with research?’

Bloch leaned forward, but said nothing. Other than nodding her head in a greeting, she hadn’t said a word, but I could tell she was taking it all in.

‘Upshot is the FBI will tell you there are perhaps fifty serial killers at large in the United States. The real figure could be closer to two thousand. Statistically, that means there are between three and four hundred female serial killers operating right now. And we have no idea who they are, or the extent of their crimes.’

‘Jesus,’ said Harry. ‘What about this case?’

The waiter brought a selection of sandwiches and sharing platters, and we fell silent until he was done.

‘So, what do you think? Is it Alexandra or Sofia? I don’t want to prejudice your view with my own opinion. I just need to hear from someone outside this

trial,’ I said.

‘Which Avellino sister is the killer? That’s a tough question. Neither fit a typical profile exactly. Both have experienced significant childhood trauma with the death of their mother. There’s suspicion over that death, and what you told me about the bite mark is interesting. Both girls were sent away from their father after their mother’s death, different schools, separate lives. Yet …’

‘What?’ I said. ‘We need you to make a call, Delaney. We think the trial is being rigged here.’

Delaney took a bite from a sandwich, wiped her lips with a napkin and thought it over. I could see her wheels turning.

‘Most serial killers are not mentally ill,’ she said.

‘You’re kidding me,’ said Harry.

‘A lot of them are psychopaths, but that’s not a mental illness. If it was, half the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies would be in psychiatric hospitals. Most serial killers function normally in life, they actually learn how to fit in. One of the first major works on serial killers was by Clerkley – it’s called The Mask of Sanity. Back then, in 1941, they figured if you did insane things then you were insane. Not so today. Looking at your girls, Sofia’s self-harming doesn’t fit well with the profile. People self-harm for all kinds of reasons, but it’s one of the factors that is steering me away from her.’

‘Gun to your head – which one is the killer?’ said Kate.

‘Alexandra,’ said Delaney.