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12
After consuming mediocre sandwiches from a nearby deli and finishing three cups of too-strong coffee from the station’s kitchen, Alex was hopeful they were making some progress. This was such a different profile. Some serial killers didn’t like to get up close and personal with their victims, such as David Berkowitz, known as the Son of Sam. He shot his victims. Others wanted to experience their murders firsthand, such as Dennis Rader, whose nickname, BTK, stood for bind, torture, and kill. Sometimes killers used a combination of methods. Richard Ramirez, the Night Stalker, employed both styles.
Alex sat back in her chair and went over what they thought they knew so far. This UNSUB had profiled as someone who wanted to keep a distance from his victims until he shot Monty’s grandmother. Logan believed he’d made that change to add drama to his threat. If they hadn’t been able to see him live, he wouldn’t have been as threatening. Alex agreed. It explained why the UNSUB had changed his MO. She could only hope this would backfire on him. Maybe he’d left something behind—some kind of evidence that would lead to his capture.
They’d also decided he was older because it seemed as if he may have known Davis and Bayne, and the murders were so well planned. That had taken time and patience. This indicated he probably wasn’t holding a full-time job, yet he had enough money to travel and buy a drone. He was probably retired, giving him the time to carry out his detailed plan. A younger UNSUB would probably be rushed because he worked somewhere.
Even though they wondered if he’d had some personal contact with Davis and Bayne, they wouldn’t have been involved with his rejection by the BAU. They may have developed the behavioral analyst program, but they probably wouldn’t have been directly involved with hiring and firing. So why go after them?
So far the crime-scene techs hadn’t discovered any evidence pointing to the UNSUB at the grandmother’s house. But they were continuing to work the scene, and hopefully they’d uncover something. Mrs. Wong’s closest neighbors had been questioned, but no one had been able to provide any information. Her house was set back from the road, so it was unlikely anyone would notice a visitor. BAU agents were developing a neighborhood-canvass questionnaire so they could interview everyone who lived nearby. The police were checking surveillance videos from homes and businesses in the area, but it didn’t look promising.
Alex was convinced their UNSUB wasn’t finished. If for no other reason than the page left at Monty’s grandmother’s, which was surely another clue.
“I still wonder if one of the reasons our UNSUB wanted his targets to commit suicide was because he didn’t want their families to be able to profit from any life insurance policies,” Logan said. “Maybe this was another way to hurt them.”
“Could be,” Alex said. “I had to deal with a few murders in Kansas City fueled by spouses wanting to cash in on large policies. A couple of the deaths were staged to look like suicides—but only after the suicide clause was no longer valid. Like the one in my policy.”
“Well, I hope Davis and Bayne had good policies and their widows are able to receive those benefits,” Logan said. “It certainly won’t make up for their loss, but at least they’ll be taken care of financially.”
Alex was looking at a copy of the page from Davis’s book sent to Bayne, the one investigators said had arrived at his hotel two days before his death. The UNSUB had caused the deaths of two other people near Bethesda, so it seemed clear that this was his comfort zone. He’d taken chances with Bayne’s killing. So many things could have gone wrong without him actually on site. But his plan had been constructed perfectly, and everything had gone the way he’d wanted.
Of course, there was the video taken in Frederick. Either the UNSUB had gone there himself to film Bayne’s granddaughter and great-granddaughter, or he’d hired someone to do it.
The crime-scene techs hadn’t found anything on the Davis envelope or book-page copy that would help them find the UNSUB. No fingerprints. No DNA. That didn’t surprise Alex. She didn’t expect him to be sloppy.
Alex sat forward again and picked up yet another page from their files.
After several hours of back and forth, Logan said, “Let’s talk about the messages the UNSUB has sent so far. What’s he trying to say?”
“I think Davis is his main focus,” Alex said. “I mean, Bayne wrote books too. So why isn’t he quoting him? Everything revolves around Davis. I still think our UNSUB knew him. Had a reason to resent him.”
“Most of the time a serial killer is triggered by a person or event in his life,” Logan said. “I think you’re right. Something happened between him and Davis.”
“I agree,” Kaely said. Her words came slowly, and her forehead was furrowed.
“What are you thinking?” Alex asked.
Kaely began flipping through the information from Australia. “I realize it’s not our job to solve the case, but what the UNSUB knew keeps nagging at me. It wouldn’t be too hard to find out where Davis was going to be. I’m sure his presence at the convention was promoted. But how did the UNSUB know his room number, let alone which window was right? And Bayne? For crying out loud, the man was in another country. How did he know Bayne would have such a convenient way to kill himself? And Monty? It’s not like he has a public profile. How could our UNSUB know about his grandmother? And when Monty would arrive at the police station this morning? It seems to me that he wanted us around to watch Monty kill himself. This guy certainly has access to a lot of information. That makes me nervous.”
“Maybe he gained some of it from their phones?” Logan asked.
Alex cleared her throat. “It could be, but I still feel like he knows a lot more than he should.” She shook her head. “We should at least let the chief know this needs to be looked at closely.”
“You believe he has someone on the inside?” Logan said.
“Don’t you?” Kaely asked. “Someone is giving him information. I can imagine someone coming after me. I’ve had some unfortunate press coverage.” She looked at Alex. “But why pick Monty? Can you guys think of any reason he would become a target after Davis and Bayne and not one of us?”
Alex shook her head. “Monty’s never been in the public eye that I know of. Most of what we do is done in the shadows.”
Logan let out a long sigh. “Look, I think we’re getting off track here a bit. We need to address our UNSUB’s interest in targeting behavioral analysts. If we dig any deeper, we’ll be trying to do the job of investigators. Right?”
“Not necessarily,” Kaely said. “Aren’t we talking about his MO? He broke his pattern for Monty. Why? What’s the UNSUB’s final goal?”
“We can’t apply the same standards we use in other cases to this guy,” Alex said. She was confused too, but a few things were clear in her mind. “We know most serial killers have poor childhoods. They have a negative relationship with their mothers. Or perhaps their mother died. But I don’t think this applies here. Our guy wants to kill profilers because...”
A thought formed in her mind. She looked back and forth from Kaely to Logan. “He killed Davis and Bayne because they were the cream of the crop. Maybe he went after Monty to let us know he could get to us. He wants us to know he’s in control. That he can get to us anytime he wants to.”
Although her suggestion made sense, the reality of it made her suddenly feel cold inside.
