Until Dark - Mariah Stewart [59]
“Then why do it?” someone asked.
“Oh, I think it’s a power thing. He’s proving that he’s in control. He can—and will—do whatever he pleases to them and they are powerless to stop him. He’s the man. And he needs to prove that. Maybe to an authority figure. Someone he feels treated him badly. Maybe his mother.” She hesitated, then added, “Probably his mother. He exercises his power over her, but still treats the victim with a certain amount of reserve.”
“Showing his respect?” a trooper asked sarcastically.
“Possibly. And remember, there’s evidence that all of his victims, except for Julie Lohmann, were stunned twice. I think he stung them the first time to initially subdue them. To gain control over them.”
“And the second time before he raped them, so they couldn’t fight back,” one of the Deal detectives said.
“True. But it also rendered them powerless. Making the humiliation of the rape that much more complete. And then he strangled them. Again, apparently with little emotion. The marks on the necks of the victims show precise placement to make the killing as swift as possible. There was no dragging out of this act either.”
“So you’re saying we have an UNSUB who rapes and murders but doesn’t enjoy it?” A skeptical young state trooper sat back in his chair, arms folded across his chest.
“Yes, that’s what the evidence tells us.”
“Why would anyone do that if he doesn’t enjoy any of it?”
“I didn’t say he didn’t enjoy any of the process.” McCall leaned on the back of her chair. “Let’s look at his behavior for a moment. Certain aspects of these crimes were high risk. Abducting women from parking lots. Amy Tilden from her children’s school, where several hundred parents and teachers met in classrooms that overlooked the lot. Two of our victims from public parking lots in their towns. One from the snack stand at a crowded Little League field in broad daylight. What does this suggest?”
Before she could answer her own rhetorical question, Chief Ford said, “He’s arrogant, confident, thinks he’s so much smarter than we are that he can flaunt himself and we’ll still never be able to find him.”
“That’s right. He exposes himself to a high risk of being identified, even caught. But he does it anyway, because it excites him. It’s the risk that excites him. Judging from the emotionless way the actual rapes and murders were committed, one would wonder if the planning and the risk-taking weren’t perhaps more enjoyable for him than the actual acts.”
“Then why do it?” someone asked. “Why risk so much to commit crimes that don’t really turn you on?”
“Maybe the risk is the turn-on,” McCall said with a shrug. “Or maybe the crimes are merely a means to an end. A way of calling attention to himself.”
“Yet he takes pains not to get caught.”
“But he lets himself be seen,” the lead detective from Walnut Creek reminded them. “Closely enough that we were able to get a good sketch. Does he want to be caught?”
“I don’t think he wants to be caught,” Miranda Cahill spoke up for the first time. “I think he wants to be noticed.”
“I believe that may be the key,” McCall agreed.
“Noticed by whom?” an officer turned to ask.
“Perhaps by someone connected to the investigation.”
The gathering of law enforcement personnel gazed around the table at each other.
“Who?” someone asked. “Someone here?”
“Quite possibly,” McCall agreed. “Of course, if we knew whose attention he’s after, we’d probably be well on our way to figuring out who he is, wouldn’t we?”
“So, in other words, he’s showing off for someone?”
“In other words, yes, possibly. But I don’t think this