Part 24 (1/2)
”What have you got in mind?” Dallas slowed his gait and reversed their hands so that he enclosed her hand in his.
”I can try to link with the killer's mind again. I did it for a few brief moments this morning.”
”h.e.l.l, no!” Dallas stopped in the middle of the road. ”It's too dangerous for you. Isn't it?”
Genny couldn't look him in the eye and lie to him. She kept her gaze focused on the road ahead. ”There might be some danger, but you'd be there. And Jacob would be there, too. If I got sucked in too deep, I'd have a lifeline. You could pull me back-”
”Forget it.” Dallas squeezed her hand and resumed walking.
She had to increase her speed just to keep up with him.
”Don't be angry with me. I just want to help you...and help Jacob. This terrible man has already murdered so many women.”
”We'll find him.” Dallas slowed to a normal gait. ”But we'll do it without endangering your life.”
She knew better than to argue the point with him right now. But she was well aware of what she had to do, what she must do, to stop the killings. If she could connect with the killer's mind again, she might be able to discover his ident.i.ty.
He sat curled up in his chair by the fireplace and happily recalled recent events as he watched and rewatched the taped newscasts that had been playing on and off all day on WMMK. He was becoming quite famous in Cherokee Pointe, and he had them all stumped. Every stupid lawman working on the case.
He licked his lips. Ah, Misty Harte's blood had been delicious. And empowering. And the unexpected mind-meld with Genny Madoc had been exhilarating. He didn't know which he looked forward to more-satisfying his s.e.xual needs with the fourth victim or playing head games with Genny. Of course he couldn't tap into her mind; he didn't possess that ability. He'd have to wait for her to initiate the next contact, just as she'd done this morning. But once they were linked, he thought he'd be able to communicate with her without any problems.
He smiled as delicious images of success filled his mind. He was so close to achieving all that he desired.
Only one more sacrifice to build his strength before he claimed his prize. He had been waiting a lifetime for her. All the other transfers had been only partly successful because the women he'd chosen had been too weak, too powerless. But this time, he had found the perfect woman. This fifth victim would give him everything he had longed for all his life. Strength. Power. Perfection.
When Linc Hughes held out his mug, Teri Nash refilled it with coffee. Regular, high-octane java. They had spent the past four nights at BSU headquarters in Quantico pooling their efforts. Both had other cases they were working during the day, but they were determined to help Dallas and Sheriff Butler. With only ten full-time profilers working with the Behavioral Science Unit, each of those agents often worked on fifty cases at once.
Linc, the most experienced profiler, had already given the Mobile murderer and the Cherokee Pointe murderer an ”organized offender” status based on the organized and disorganized dichotomy involved in five basic aspects of the interaction between the victims and the offender: interpersonal coherence, significance of time and place, criminal characteristics, criminal career, and forensic awareness. A man who fell into this category would in all likelihood be fairly intelligent, possibly highly intelligent. He'd be socially and s.e.xually competent and skilled at whatever work he chose, but would often change jobs or leave town after one or more of the murders. More than likely he would be mobile, with a vehicle in good condition. And this type liked to follow his crimes in the news media.
”You know Dallas will be in your debt the rest of his life,” Teri said as she leaned over to kiss Linc on the forehead.
”The initial report is ready for you to send him. It's incomplete, but it'll give Dallas and the sheriff something to work with.” Linc checked his watch. ”It's nearly four o'clock. I'll fax it to the sheriff's office, and you can call Dallas whenever you think he'll be up.”
”I'll give him until five-thirty,” Teri replied. ”If I know him, he's not getting much sleep these days.” She yawned. ”Speaking of sleep. Maybe we should try to catch a few zees.”
Linc glanced at the file folders spread out across the desk in his office. ”How's your research into the victims coming along?”
”I don't have all the data I need, but so far I've come up with a big fat zero.”
”It doesn't make sense that none of the victims have anything in common, other than all five in each series of murders lived and died in their home area.”
”The ages range from teens to forties. Different races. Different physical descriptions. Various backgrounds and occupations. It's as if this guy simply chooses his victims at random.”
”Possible,” Linc said. ”But my instincts and my training tell me that there is some significance to the fact that in each case there are exactly five murders, all occurring around daybreak, all sacrificed in the same manner.”
”And he drinks blood from the first four.”
”But he cuts the heart out of each fifth victim.”
”And eats it?” Teri asked. ”Isn't that what you and Dallas surmised?”
Linc nodded. ”Yeah, so maybe the first four victims are chosen at random simply because they're easily accessible. But there's something special about the fifth victim. If we can discover what that special thing is, then I'll bet we'll find a connection that links each of the fifth victims.”
”Makes sense,” Teri said. ”So, what I need to do is gather all the info I can on each of the fifth victims.”
”I think that may prove to be our missing link.”
Teri poured herself another cup of coffee, then sat down in front of Linc's computer and quickly zipped through the basic information on victims number 5.
”Four women, all the fifth victim. Hmmm.” Teri bit down on the side of her lower lip and clicked her tongue as she scanned the information. ”Our first number five was Kim Johnson, twenty-seven, a TV reporter from Texas. Next was Daphne Alaire, thirty-eight, a novelties and bookshop owner who lived in Louisiana. The third number five, Lori Wright, was from Hilton Head, South Carolina. She was a twenty-year-old college student home for spring break when she was murdered.”
”I'm not picking up on any similarities.”
”That's because there aren't any.” Teri shook her head and clicked her tongue again. ”The fifth victim in the Mobile murders was a housewife, Barbara James, thirty, with two kids, who did volunteer work with troubled children.”
”What's the marital status on those four women?”
Teri skimmed the info in the computer files. ”James was married, Wright was single, Alaire widowed, and Johnson divorced.”
”Physical descriptions?”
Scrolling through each woman's file, Teri made a mental note of each description. ”One blonde, one redhead, two brunettes. One fat, one skinny, two average. One short, one tall, two average height.” She spun the swivel chair around and confronted Linc. ”And before you ask-one black, three white.”
Linc shrugged. ”You'll have to dig deeper. Check into things like religion, clubs and organizations they belonged to, hobbies, things like that.”
”You do know how long that could take.”
”We're narrowing the search from twenty women to four. If there is a link, a common thread-and I'm sure there is-it will be among those fifth victims.”
”Then what you're saying is that if we can hurry up and find that common denominator, we still probably won't be able to save the fourth victim, but we might be able to figure out who the fifth victim is going to be and hopefully save her.”
”That's right.”
”Brooke was the fourth victim in Mobile,” Teri said. ”I know Dallas would like to save number four in Cherokee County.”
”That might not be possible. He may have to settle for saving the fifth victim.”
Chapter 19.
Tension was running high in Cherokee County and the fact that the local media was enjoying a feeding frenzy at Sheriff Butler's and Chief Watson's expense only added to the problem. Dallas had seen this happen before-a town panicking when it began to question the competency of its local lawmen. The Cherokee Pointe Herald and WMMK TV and radio stations, owned by the MacKinnon family, continued giving a one-sided view of events, thanks to the animosity between Jacob and Brian MacKinnon. But unbeknownst to the media, during the past week, some progress was being made in solving the sacrificial murder cases. With a task force in place, and the FBI officially, as well as unofficially, working in conjunction with local and state law enforcement, they now had a streamlined suspects list that might lead them to the killer.
Neither Matt Newton, the reporter Jacob had coldc.o.c.ked, nor MacKinnon Media had instigated a lawsuit against Jacob or filed a.s.sault charges against him. Dallas figured Newton would do whatever the MacKinnons told him to do, and Brian MacKinnon was enjoying making Jacob wait. Dallas believed MacKinnon was the type who derived pleasure from toying with a man he thought he held any kind of power over.
The majority of public opinion still remained on Jacob's side, despite the media blitz against the local lawman. People tended to like and trust Jacob Butler whereas most intensely disliked and distrusted Brian MacKinnon. What Dallas couldn't figure out was why MacKinnon would deliberately attack Jacob if MacKinnon really was in love with Genny.
Dallas lifted his legs and placed his feet atop the edge of Jacob's desk, then reared back and gripped his hands together behind his head. He hadn't slept well since arriving in Cherokee County. Too much happening too fast to waste time getting eight hours every night. h.e.l.l, he'd settle for five good hours. But once the killer was caught, he could rest.