Viper - Michael Morley [87]
Maybe psychology was going to have to bow to forensics. If the Castellani kid was guilty, then his DNA would be inside the young couple’s car. His fingerprints would be on the bodywork and his trace evidence would be somewhere on the girl or on her clothing. Forensics could make an impressive prosecution case and Jack knew it would take more than his niggling doubts to dismantle it.
He took a pen and paper from the desk and totted up the ten major things that he believed he now knew about the offender.
He kills his victims and – with the exception of the murders at the pit, where he was disturbed – disposes of them in separate places.
He uses a gun to control his victims and take them to where he wants.
He is turned on by power and control. That turn-on is of a sadistic nature. More than anything he enjoys witnessing the suffering.
He has a vehicle, something big enough in which to conceal and move a victim, no doubt bound and gagged.
He has excellent local knowledge and the burial site is so well known to him it probably has a significant memory for him.
He is fit and strong enough to climb mountain paths and get in and out of deep pits in a hurry.
He is sexually active but is probably not in a relationship, so he is sexually frustrated.
He is noticeably cruel, perhaps even violent, and is probably known to be dangerous.
He is able to come and go of his own free will. He is not accountable to a close partner or scrupulous boss who might question his movements at odd times.
The use of fire is indicative of massive internal stress and frustration, which is only relieved when the flames roar and someone else suffers.
Suffers externally like he suffers internally – could that be it? This last thought hovered in his mind.
Jack reviewed the ten points. Franco Castellani ticked some of the boxes, but not all. One thing for sure – this kid undoubtedly knew all about suffering. Perhaps he felt compelled to share suffering around.
Inflict it on others.
Get others to feel the agony that was slowly killing him.
Given the age, race and gender of the victims, Jack summarized the profile.
White male/s
Has experience and knows how to control violence, probably aged thirties to fifties (maybe younger if two people involved)
Single or divorced – a loner
Born and lives locally
Has special local connections to National Park area where victims’ remains found. Also connections to holiday campsite in Pompeii where murder scene discovered
Holds driving licence. Owns – or has access to – vehicle big enough to move victims around in
Comfortable with a gun – possibly law enforcement officer (or works with such officers), ex-military, rifle-club member, sports shooter, prison officer. Perhaps a career criminal. A Camorrista with a history of violence?
Sexually active with fetishist/paraphilic tendencies
Sadistic – has a need to see others suffering
Once more the fit wasn’t perfect. He trawled the list again. On reflection, he really didn’t feel this was a two-person crime. And if you ruled out a second person then Franco really didn’t seem to have the maturity and cunning to fit the profile.
Jack scanned the rest of the outline. He also didn’t think the profession was right. There was a difference between shooting vermin every day and taking human lives. Unless Franco saw those really pretty women – the ones who rejected him and ridiculed him – as vermin. That would make sense. That would make perfect sense.
He was still caught in the tangle of contradictory thoughts when his cellphone rang.
‘Jack, it’s Sylvia. I just got a call from Sorrentino. One of his excavation teams has just found another body. The third. And it’s another woman.’
66
Campeggio Castellani, Pompeii
It took Antonio Castellani two more pots of coffee to tell Pietro everything about Franco, Paolo and his hugely dysfunctional extended family.
The more he heard, the more Pietro was convinced that Paolo Falconi was no gunman and no serial killer. But his cousin Franco stayed top of the list