Alex Kava Bundle - Alex Kava [213]
“I’m not saying some of these killers are not crazy, what I am saying is that it’s a mistake to believe they have to be insane to do the things they do. When, in fact, killing for them is a conscious choice. They are masters of manipulation. Their crimes are all about dominating and controlling their victims. It’s not usually because they hear orders to kill from a three-thousand-year-old demon living inside a black Lab.
“If they were simply nuts, it wouldn’t be possible for them to carry out their elaborate murders over and over again—to perfect their methods and still avoid getting caught for months, sometimes years. It’s important to recognize them not as deranged crazies, but for what they are. What they are is evil.”
She needed to change the subject before she got carried away with a sermon on the effects of evil. How there was a shadow side to everyone’s human nature; a shadow side that was capable of evil. But to discuss it always led to the question of what made some step over the line, while others dared not. After years of examining evil, Maggie hadn’t a clue what that answer was.
“What about motive?” she asked instead. “What are some of the stereotypical motives?”
“Sex,” a young man in the back said loudly, enjoying the sudden attention and laughs that the single word drew. “Don’t most serial killers get some sexual gratification from killing, just like rapists?”
“Hold on,” the one woman challenged. “Rape isn’t about sex.”
“Actually, that’s not a true statement,” Maggie said. “Rape is very much about sex.”
Immediately there were a few sighs, some disgruntled shakes of heads as though they expected this from a woman.
“Rape is very much about sex,” she repeated, ignoring their skepticism. “It’s the one variable that distinguishes rape from any other violent crime. No, that’s not to say that rapists rape simply for sexual gratification, but yes, they do use sex as one of their weapons to achieve their goals. So it’s wrong to say rape isn’t about sex when sex is definitely one of the weapons they use.
“In fact, rapists and serial killers use sex and violence in much the same way. Both are powerful weapons used to degrade the victim and gain control. Some serial killers even start out as serial rapists. But somewhere along the line they decide to take it a step further to achieve their gratification. They might begin by experimenting to reach different levels, starting with torture, working up to strangulation or stabbing. Sometimes that’s not enough, so they begin different rituals with the dead body. That’s when you see cases like the Pied Piper who sliced up his victims, made stew and fed it to his other captives.
She caught several of them grimacing. Skepticism seemed to be replaced by morbid curiosity.
“Or in Albert Stucky’s case,” she continued, “he began to experiment with different rituals of torture, slicing off victims’ clitorises or nipples, just to hear them scream and plead with him.”
She said these things calmly and casually, yet she could feel the tension in her muscles, an involuntary reflex as her body seemed to prepare for flight or fight anytime she thought of Stucky.
“Or you find more solemn rituals,” she said, trying to expel Stucky from her mind. “Last fall in Nebraska, we tracked a killer who gave his young victims their last rites after he strangled and stabbed them to death.”
“Hold on,” Detective Ford interrupted. “Nebraska? You’re the profiler who worked on that case with the dead little boys?”
Maggie cringed at the simplicity of his description.
“Yes, that was me.”
“Morrelli was just telling us about that case last night.”
“Sheriff Nick Morrelli?” An unexpected but pleasant flutter invaded her already tense body.
“Yeah, we all went out for ribs last night. But he’s not Sheriff Morrelli anymore. Turned in his badge for a suit and tie. He’s with the D.A.’s office in Boston.”
Maggie retreated to the front of the room, hoping the distance would shield her and prevent them from witnessing her sudden discomfort.