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“The way he was done could’ve been done almost any night.” Uneasy with the china, Eve gave up and sat. “Bastwick required more planning, closer timing. So why not take Ledo first? But she just mouthed off—he dinged me. So that’s a possible escalation.”
“True.”
“And it’s not enough of a pattern either way. I know it. I’m reaching. Logically, Ledo should have been the first—easier, kill first—but it may be he needed or wanted to take Bastwick over the holiday week. Lighter work schedule for her. Maybe for him.
“I can’t figure it,” Eve admitted. “The killer thinks he’s in my head, but he’s not. He’s in his own. I have to get there.”
Mira sipped tea, crossed her pretty legs. They might have been discussing the weather—or how to match shoes with jewelry. “What does he want?”
“He wants to kill—that’s the core.”
“Yes. Killings this carefully planned and executed, for no known material gain or defense of self-interest, indicate desire.”
“He tells himself it’s for me—to please me, to . . . avenge me in a way I can’t do myself because of the rules I have to follow. He’s telling me he doesn’t have those rules, or is willing to break them. So he’s able to do what I can’t—to balance the scales with people he perceives have offended me and the badge, and who he believes circumvent or break the law.
“But those are excuses. People make up all kinds of bullshit excuses to kill.”
“They do, yes, but he believes. His messages are a kind of manifesto, a letter of intent. So, for him, they’re reasons, not excuses. Unselfish ones. Even righteous ones. Victim one worked to defend those accused of crimes, and certainly some who were guilty of those crimes. Victim two regularly and consistently broke the law.”
“That could be another pattern. Defending the accused with Bastwick, committing nonviolent crimes with Ledo. The next target could be someone who committed a violent crime. Someone I didn’t take down, or who’s been released since. Someone who didn’t go down for the full shot, did a deal.”
“Your instinct is to identify the next target, protect that person. But Eve, there’s no way of knowing. Age, race, gender, social status, employment. None of these things apply, none matter to this person.”
“I’ve got to work it because he’s not going to wait. It’s going so well for him. And now I’ve paid attention publicly.”
“Yes, I watched. You refused to confirm the messages had been addressed to you.”
“I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.”
“And by refusing to acknowledge or confirm that data, you kept the focus—as much as you were able—on the victims and the crimes. But he wants that confirmation, your acknowledgment not only of what he’s done, but of the feelings he wrote to you. He craves a signal from you he can interpret as approval. Which you can’t give, or it tells him he’s doing what he wants to believe he’s doing.”
“He’s not going to get it, and for as long as I can hold back the information, I will.”
Mira nodded, sipped. “You also made it clear you’d do your job.”
“And I will. Wouldn’t he expect that of me? If I didn’t, wouldn’t that knock a few inches off my pedestal?”
Mira smiled. “Yes. He expects you to pursue him—that’s exciting, isn’t it? And it shows not only his confidence in his abilities, but his deep belief that you’ll pursue primarily to find him, meet with him, cement the relationship. But he’d want that meeting to be on his terms. He leaves only the message. How do you find him through his words?”
“Working on it.”
“I’ll continue to send you best possibil
ities, but I think you’re looking for someone too careful, too organized to have used a name, left an easy way to track. It’s more likely any communication with you was anonymous, or with some sort of code name, and sent from a blocked location, or through a dummy account.”
“Yeah, I lean there. We need to check, follow through, but I lean there. I’ve got people doing cross-checks, and we may be able to narrow it down. Lab rats are analyzing the handwriting, but I don’t expect much there. I’m going to run an analysis of the words. The messages against the correspondence. Until it’s narrowed some, that would take from now to a few years after the world ends. But I hope to start it tonight.”
She hesitated a moment—but this was Mira. “I’ve brought Nadine in. What I’ve told her is off the record, and she won’t blur that line.”
“No, she won’t, and she’ll dig. But I thought she was out of the country. Nevis, isn’t it?”
“Was. She’s back. Hot story.”
“Hot story, good friend. If she’s willing to share her correspondence with me, I can add it to my analysis.”
“I’ll give that a push.”
“I’ll send you more, and you may be able to eliminate some of those potentials through the profile. Your UNSUB lives alone, or if with parents, roommates, any sort of cohab, spends a great deal of time closed off from them. While capable of holding down a job or building a career, this person isn’t capable of maintaining strong or genuine relationships. Casual friends, perhaps, but more colleagues, coworkers with little if any social interaction.”
