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"I've been thinking about this killer, and how he's been doing what he has. And I think I've worked it out."
"You have?" Lucien raised an eyebrow as Wyatt hurried over.
Turning to them, she explained.
"He has some way of hiding himself. Perhaps he uses dark fabric, black sacking, something to put over himself so that he’s undetectable in the alleyway. He hides there, and he waits, and then he lures them in. We've been thinking that they must have been grabbed from busy public roads and dragged down the alleyway, but I think he's been luring them in. By looking like a statue, something eye-catching, something so mysterious and out of the way that it intrigues them. Perhaps he moves, attracts their attention, and then stays still again so they think he isn’t even real. Then, he could use his cover again while he paints their faces."
Lucien and Wyatt exchanged a glance.
"It's a logical idea," Lucien said, nodding slowly. "Hiding away, and then attracting their attention, and then looking like a real statue is a clever way to get around their fears of him being a stranger."
"Yes, that would make sense. And if he hides under some sort of cover then presumably he can use it to cover them, too."
"Exactly. If someone else walked through the alleyway, they might never see the victim. Perhaps he uses black plastic, or a tarp, or some kind of cloth. It's dark, people are alone, they're hurrying to get where they need to be. Most likely, he can just hide away and keep out of sight, and then carry on when the coast is clear, which presumably, in an alleyway, would be most of the time."
She grimaced as she said it because she knew what this meant. She could see Wyatt and Lucien knew too.
"We are looking for someone who is an expert at disappearing," Lucien said. "Patrolling all of Paris's alleyways, even in the closest arrondissements, will be impossible. Looking for someone who can disguise himself with a tarp or a sheet, who is not going to be there when you shine a flashlight - how are we going to find him?"
He said the question in a thoughtful tone, as if he was already going over ideas in his mind.
"Camera footage?" Wyatt asked.
"I don't even think camera footage will help." Juliette shook her head. But something about Wyatt's suggestion had lit a flame in her own mind.
"I'll tell you how we could do it," she said.
"How?" Both men turned to her.
Juliette took a deep breath. "We need to set up a sting operation and trap him. We need to get enough plainclothes police officers to be the bait, and to walk around after dark in the parts of the city where he might be. And we then have to hope he shows himself to one of us."
Lucien's eyes narrowed. "It might work, I guess," he said dubiously.
"It's the only thing that can. Remember, we know now that he's not targeting his victims. He's just waiting for the right one to come along and then he's luring them in. All we need to do is get enough of the right looking people, in the area where he’s likely to be, and we maximize our chances of him choosing one of us."
Now, both the men were looking more excited. Lucien glanced at Wyatt and then at her.
"This is going to be short notice to organize. I am not sure we can do it. Manpower will be an issue, especially since he targets women. But let's try."
"We need to move fast," Juliette said.
She checked her watch, seeing with a jolt it was now four p.m. Their window to trap the killer was narrow.
Every second counted in putting the sting operation in place.
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
The main police station was a hive of activity. Juliette could feel the tension in the air, an atmosphere of excitement, as frantic preparations for the sting operation began.
Some of the police patrols had stood down, although there were still additional officers out on the streets. But all female policewomen and some police reservists and security personnel had been recalled, redeployed, and were now being briefed by Lucien.
"We each need to walk through a designated area, following the main routes, but remaining aware of what is happening in the alleys and side streets. So as not to alert the killer, once you have walked through your area, you will move on to the next, so that he does not see you twice if he is being cautious, and looking out for us. So, take a good look at the map, and the routes we have planned."
He flashed the map up on the screen. The assembled cops and security - ten in total, stared at it, nodding.
Seated at the desk, with two laptops open, Sierra was highlighting the routes in real time, calculating the approximate timing it would take for each person to walk through. With her AI to assist, she’d created a series of ten maps that covered the wider vicinity of the Eiffel Tower, where they thought he would strike.
Would ten people be enough? It was all that the Paris police had been able to pull together on short notice. Ideally, an operation like this would take a few days to organize but with the killer operating within such a short interval, they didn't have that luxury of time.
