The Alienist - Caleb Carr [210]
By the time we left the little restaurant, at close to three o’clock that morning, we’d managed to convince ourselves that we could. The task was still a daunting one, however, and not to be undertaken until we’d all gotten some sleep. We made directly for our respective domiciles, relishing the prospect of that rest; yet by ten o’clock Thursday morning we were back at Number 808 Broadway and ready to map out a strategy. Both Marcus and Lucius seemed a bit disoriented by the shrinking of our circle of desks from five to four, as well as by the appearance of a new hand on the big chalkboard; but they were, after all, experienced detectives, and when they turned their attention to the case, all extraneous issues eventually became just that.
“If no one else has a particular starting point in mind,” Lucius announced, reacquainting himself with the materials on his desk, “I’d like to suggest one.” The rest of us mumbled general assent, and then Lucius pointed to the right-hand side of the chalkboard, specifically to the word ROOFTOPS. “Do you remember, John, what you said about the killer after you and Marcus went to the Golden Rule that first time?”
I shuffled through my memories of the visit. “Control,” I said, repeating the word that had come so clearly to me the night we’d stood on the roof of Scotch Ann’s miserable hole.
“That’s right,” Marcus chimed in. “On the rooftops he’s consistently displayed thorough self-confidence.”
“Yes,” Lucius said, standing up and going to the board. “Well, my idea is this: we’ve spent a lot of time understanding this man’s nightmares—the real nightmare that was his past and the mental nightmares that haunt him now. But when he plans and commits these murders, he’s not behaving like a tormented, frightened soul. He’s aggressive, deliberate. He’s acting, not just reacting—and as we saw in his letter, he’s fairly impressed with his own cleverness. Where did he get that?”
“Where did he get what?” I asked, a bit confused.
“That confidence,” Lucius answered. “Oh, we can explain the cleverness—in fact, we already have.”
“It’s deviousness,” Sara said. “The kind that harassed children often develop.”
“Exactly,” Lucius said, bobbing his balding head quickly. Then he produced a handkerchief for the inevitable wiping of his ever-sweaty scalp and brow—I was delighted to see the nervous little move again. “But what about the confidence? Where does a boy with his past get that?”
“Well, the army would’ve given him some,” Marcus answered.
“Yes, some,” Lucius judged, pursuing his new role of lecturer with ever more gusto. “But it seems to me that it goes back farther than that. Didn’t Adam Dury tell you, John, that the only time his brother’s facial spasms calmed was when they were hunting in the mountains?” I affirmed that Dury had told us as much. “Climbing and hunting,” Lucius continued. “He seems to be able to relieve his torment and pain only through those activities. And now he’s doing it on the rooftops.”
Marcus was staring at his brother and shaking his head. “Are you going to tell us what you’re talking about? It was one thing to play cat and mouse with Dr. Kreizler, but—”
“If you will please give me a minute, thank you very much,” Lucius said, holding up a finger. “What I’m saying is that the way to find out what he’s doing with his life now is to follow the trail of what makes him feel secure, instead of the trail of his nightmares. He’s hunting and killing on the rooftops, and his victims are children—all of which suggests that having control over situations is the most vital thing in his life. We know where the obsession with children comes from. We know about the hunting and trapping. But the rooftops? As of 1886, he hadn’t spent much if any time in a major city—yet now he’s thoroughly mastered them, so much so that he even trapped us. That kind of familiarity would take some time to develop.”
“Wait,” Sara said, nodding slowly. “I’m beginning to see your point, Lucius. He leaves St. Elizabeth’s and wants to go to a place where he can be fairly anonymous—New York is