“I’m not 100 percent perfect yet, so I’m going to think aloud here, okay? We aren’t dealing with a serial killer, not in the accepted sense of the word. This guy is on a spree—a very calculated, very organized spree. Each death has a meaning to him; each placement of the body is intentional. He hasn’t left many physical clues besides the semen from Shelby Kincaid. And I think that was deliberate. It’s part of the message. Shelby had been raped, but placed at the Parthenon and shrouded in herbs, which strikes me as a loving gesture. Jordan Blake was pregnant. Now we find out Jill Gates is pregnant as well. There is a fatherhood theme going on here. One interpretation—he feels protective toward them, he wants to be a father figure. Or, he desperately wants to be a father. The father. Look at the church fire. He kills a ‘Father.’” He made air quotes with his fingers. “He places the bodies in a house of God, the Father of Christ. There are so many interpretations out of that alone that we could be puzzling it through for months.”
Price was staring at him openmouthed, then laughed. “That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. But you’re the profiler—you guys are paid to think differently than the rest of us. So profile this guy for me. The University Killer, I guess he’s being called. Creative name, huh? Lee Mayfield at her best. Not the brightest woman, that one, thinking she can take on Taylor Jackson and win. She hates Taylor’s guts.”
“I heard about their issues. Mayfield may not be too bright, but she hit on something I doubt she realizes. We are dealing with someone who’s smarter than average.”
“Which holds true for most organized serial and spree killers.”
“Yes, but this one keeps breaking his profile. Three girls and one man are dead, with three separate and distinct methods of killing. Another girl is missing. He’s not leaving them in a secret dumping ground—he’s placing them where we’ll find them quickly. Even finding Jordan on the banks of the river was calculated. She could have easily been washed downstream, but I think he weighted her down right there in the area she was found, came back to her body after Shelby’s was discovered, and released her, knowing with the slow current she wouldn’t go far. A coincidence, finding them both in such a short period of time? There are no coincidences, not in this world.” He sat back and steepled his fingers under his chin. “You know what they say, ‘Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.’ So unless God ordained that Jordan was going to be found within twenty-four hours of Shelby, it was planned.”
He broke off, taking a sip of his soda. “I think we need to be looking for someone a little older than the standard profiled age. Middle-aged even. And where do you find middle-aged men on a college campus?”
Price smiled. “Professors.”
“Exactly. I think Shelby, Jordan, Jill, and our unidentified burn victim have all had contact with him in a controlled environment on campus. How the priest fits in, I don’t know yet. There are no indications the girls were religious or attended St. Catherine’s.”
“Let’s leave Father Xavier aside for the moment. He might have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Focus on the girls. You think they’ve all had contact with the suspect one way or another. Are they taking classes from him?”
“That’s the most obvious explanation. He could be a counselor, or a doctor, or a janitor for all I know. But he definitely has access to them, and I’m inclined to think he’s in a position of authority over them. We’ve surmised they were all dating someone, Jill and Shelby perhaps on the sly. If they were all seeing the same man, and that man is the one who is killing them, it makes it simpler to understand their connection. He’s having affairs with his students, which is a major no-no.”
“So why kill them? They found out about each other? Might talk and turn him in?”
“I don’t think so. One explanation for Jordan’s death is her pregnancy. We’ve learned that the DNA of the fetus didn’t match the DNA left at Shelby’s crime scene. It’s possible he was furious that she had gotten pregnant by another man. And Shelby...well, she was raped, repeatedly. Maybe he was trying to get her pregnant. With Jill’s pregnancy... I can’t be certain, but the father angle is the best thought I have for right now. The guy has a God complex.”
Price gave him a long look and wadded up his taco wrappers. “You are scaring the hell out of me. Let’s get back to the squad. It’s time to kick this into high gear.” He stood and took their trays to the trash can. His excitement was palpable; cases broke on less cogent theories. They started back to the office, walking quickly. Just before they reached the door, Price turned to Baldwin.
“And, son? You hurt Taylor, and I’ll rip your balls off. Got me?”
Baldwin didn’t miss a beat. Apparently their body language had been enough to give them away. He wasn’t sure how she felt, or where it was going, but he did know he wanted to get to know Taylor much, much better. But he didn’t hesitate or play around. He looked Price in the eye, unflinching.
“Yes, sir.” And he meant it.
51
Taylor pulled up in front of the Washington Square building on Second Avenue. She looped into the parking lot and took the first open space. She locked her car, walked the twenty yards to the door, and entered the building.
She was prepared for this meeting of the grand jury. She wasn’t thinking about guns. Or the coppery scent of blood. Or the slight sense of satisfaction she had felt when she realized who she had killed. None of those things were going through her mind at the moment. She was totally focused on an image of twelve-year-old Tamika Jones, lying in a puddle of blood on her grandmother’s kitchen floor.