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After, Jo had given him the rundown on the current case, leaving nothing out, Jenna allowed him to view the crime scene photographs. They were taking a risk doing this, as any type of stimulation could trigger a psychotic episode. Surprisingly Vito looked at the images with a detached expression on his face. She waited for what seemed like fifteen minutes or so for him to absorb the images. “Well, do you have anything to offer us about the case?”
“The woman you believe to be involved isn’t.” Vito shook his head emphatically. “No way. Well not in the way you imagine. The domination and rape fantasies are personal, and he wouldn’t share it with anyone and sure as hell not with someone he believes to be inferior to him. He might be ordering her to clean up his mess. I figure he’d enjoy seeing her do that, especially if she’s trembling and afraid of him.” He sighed as if tasting the idea and enjoying it. “You need to understand, this woman means nothing to him… She might as well be a mop or some inanimate object.” He slid his gaze to Jo. “This guy has killed before, many times, and can never get enough.” He wet his lips as if tasting the tension in the room and looked back at Jenna. “The thrill never goes away. We’re always planning the next kill—I am right now. It’s just as well I’m shackled. Being this close, I can smell you. Inside my head I’m seeing you squirming in agony.”
Refusing to back down, Jenna met his gaze straight on and lifted her chin. “I’m seeing you crying for your mama when they push that needle in your arm but that’s beside the point. Can we get back to the case or is that all you have?”
“Feisty—I like a challenge.” Vito smiled at her. “I have insights on psychopaths you can’t read in books. I live with them. I know how their minds work and how they differ from each other. You’ll get to understand as time goes by there are different types and all with their own demons. It’s the demon who guides them that you need to understand—I know everything about how they think, but it will cost you.” He shrugged. “I’ll give you this one for free, like a ‘come get me’ offer. From what you’ve explained, your man is escalating fast and allowing Poppy to live might indicate he’s losing control, which makes him unpredictable. Who do you have in your sights as suspects?” Vito pushed the iPad back across the table to Jenna.
After giving him a basic suspect profile, Jenna waited for him to process the information.
“This list of probable suspects is good. Any one of them could be the killer but look for someone with high intelligence. This man is smart.” Vito nodded, looking pleased with himself. “If his women are, what did you call them, high risk, I figure you mean prostitutes, itinerants, women who hitchhike or hang out alone in bars, right? If he is killing them, he is selective and in control. Few are reported missing, which allows him to take his time with them. He is using skewers but that’s a coincidence. I figure we’re worlds apart. This isn’t a copycat killer. I used skewers to represent a halo and salvation; this man is following a ritual that symbolizes important things to him.” Vito sucked in a breath. “Bad memories from his childhood perhaps.” He shrugged and drummed his fingers on the table thinking for a beat. “As no one is going missing from your county, then it’s kind of obvious he kidnaps women from different counties or states. So, he travels around, which you’ve already figured out. Keeping the women alive is unusual. Most of us prefer to catch and kill.” He smiled. “The chase is all part of the thrill, so this is unusual. He’s keeping them for a specific reason. I would say as he beats and rapes them, his fantasy is domination. He’s proving he can control and instill fear in women and needs to prove it over time. I doubt he gets bored with them. They must do something to trigger the final act of murder. He needs the women to validate their own deaths.” He met Jenna’s gaze with an ice-cold stare. “I would say he is like me in that way and is probably living a double life. It wouldn’t be impossible for him to be someone who helps people during the day and kills at night.” He turned his attention to Jo. “What did you call me? Ah yes—a classic case of double-life psychopathy. He could be the same.”
“What about washing their bodies and displaying them in public? What’s with the face mask and skewers? What do they symbolize?” Jo leaned forward slightly, her eyes bright with interest. “This killer seems to have so many facets it’s hard to understand his motive.”
“Oh really?” Vito chuckled. “You are this high and mighty expert on behavioral analysis and you don’t understand the basic visuals we use as stimulation.”
“Why don’t you spell it out for me?” Jo lifted her chin. “This type of cooperation is very valuable to us. If you agree to continue to assist us, I’ll make a request to have you removed from death row. Maybe if you continue to speak to us, I’ll throw in a few luxuries as well.”
“Okay.” Vito pursed his lips. “The mask is pretty simple. It makes all the victims look alike, same as dressing them in negligees. This guy has a specific type of woman on his mind each time he kills. This trait is quite usual for many people like me because it’s usually the face of the person who triggered the killing spree in the first place. That’s what is on our minds when we feel the need to murder someone.” He thought for a spell, staring at his hands and then lifting his gaze back to Jo. “He is like me to some degree. I would say the women he chooses do something that trigger the need to kill them, but killing them straight away is too easy. He needs to punish them for their sins, and once he is satisfied, he takes their lives. Bathing them and placing the mask over their faces gives them back their innocence.”
“What about the skewers placed down the spine like a porcupine?” Jo paused her pen above her notebook. “What do you make of that?”
“It’s obscure and only something that triggers a memory for him.” Vito sighed. “If he moves around for work, then you could assume these women are hitchhikers. Maybe, he offers them a ride and place to stay. If so, they’d get willingly into his private vehicle. He’d take them to the place he’s keeping them, which would be isolated, because he wouldn’t want anyone disturbing him during his ritual. One thing is for sure, it wouldn’t be close to where he lives or he’d risk being seen coming and going.” He let out a long breath. “The displaying them is a myth and something shrinks believe is part of our tormented psyche. It means nothing and has no significance. The ritual was over the moment they died. The woman meant nothing to him anymore. He was just dumping the garbage.” He stared at Jo. “I could fill your book for you with reasons psychopaths commit murder, but that’s all I’m saying. Get me a deal and we’ll talk again.” He turned his head toward the door. “Guard.”
Jenna waited for him to shuffle out of the door and turned to Jo. “That had to be one of the most terrifying interviews I have ever conducted.”
“It was brilliant.” Jo gave her a wide smile. “He really believed he’d taken control of the interview, didn’t he? We milked valuable information out of him and I watched him go through every stage of his psychopathy. I hope we get the chance to speak to him again. That, my friend, was an interview behavioral analysts can only dream about.”
