Chapter 7
Seven
Erin hadn’t noticed Chester come up to the table, and when he nudged her leg, she jumped. She had to get control of herself.
“Lay down,” Erin said gently. Chester reluctantly flopped down on the floor.
Mr. Hoover, who’d been freed from the laundry room, got up from his spot under the other side of the table and walked over to Chester.
He turned around several times and then curled up next to his new friend.
Erin and Kaely both laughed at their pets’ antics, relieving Erin’s tension a bit.
She pulled some of the photos closer so she could see them.
“Kaely and I both want you to be prepared for what you’ll experience tomorrow,” Nick said. “This won’t be easy, but we don’t want you to be blindsided.”
Erin nodded. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”
Kaely and Nick were right. Ever since the night in St. Louis that had changed her life, situations that were new or uncomfortable could cause her to shut down.
Even though she was still concerned about what Nick was getting ready to show her, she was grateful to Kaely for contacting him.
She didn’t want to have a panic attack at the command center. That would be incredibly humiliating.
“You said you’ll go with me?” she said to Kaely.
Kaely smiled at her. “Yes, we’ll go together.”
It helped her to know Kaely would be there to support her. Although her agoraphobia had less of a hold on her now than it used to, she still struggled when going to new places. Especially when she was around people she didn’t know. “So I won’t be talking to anyone from the BAU?”
“No, the analysts only work on the profile. They don’t do any investigation. Field agents handle that. Agents will be there, but you’ll be questioned by someone from the state police department.”
“Yeah, you told me that already. Sorry.” Erin rubbed her hands together. “Feeling a bit anxious. I’m not only a long way from home, but I’m still trying to digest the fact that someone mimicked my book as a way to murder an innocent human being.”
“You’ve got to remember that this isn’t your fault, Erin,” Nick said. “This UNSUB used other books too, and until he’s caught, he may choose another author’s work. This is on him. No one else.”
“I know, and I agree with you,” Erin said softly. “But it still messes with my head.”
“Well, we could just outlaw all fiction. Maybe that will keep everyone safe.”
Erin gave him a small smile. “Okay. I get it.” She took a deep breath. “So, what should I look at first?”
Nick moved closer to her and lined the photos up. He pulled one toward her. Although there was a part of her that didn’t want to look at it, she knew she had to.
“This is the first murder,” he said. “It was taken from Dan Harper’s book, The Last Thing She Saw.
The unknown subject broke into the house of a young, single woman in Richmond.
He came in through the back doors that led to her patio.
The police believe they were unlocked. Family members told them she never locked them during the day.
She liked to feed the birds and squirrels that frequented her yard.
He entered through the gate attached to her privacy fence in the backyard just after dark.
Unfortunately, none of the neighbors noticed anything.
He tied her up, taped her eyes open, strangled her, and left a strange poem behind.
It was grasped in her hand.” He pointed at a photo of the note.
I am death, created by evil and fueled by hate.
I hold in my hands your ultimate fate.
You feel my presence as I draw near.
I feed on your anguish and relish your fear.
The Last Thing She Saw was the look in my eyes
as she realized today was the day she would die.
“Dan used poems in his book as well,” Nick said when he was finished, “but this wasn’t one of them. The killer wrote his own verse. As you can see, he emphasized the book’s title. Also, the officers found a copy of Dan’s book next to the body.”
This bit of information made Erin shiver.
This guy was scary. “Dan’s the son of D.
J. Harper, a really successful author,” she said.
“I think this is Dan’s first book. What a way to start a career.
” She hesitated a moment before saying, “This poem is quite telling, actually. I think this guy wants us to know that his motive is some kind of revenge. He also wants everyone to believe that he’s in charge.
Not the authors and not the investigators. ” Erin looked at Kaely. “Do you agree?”
“Yeah, I do,” Kaely said. “That’s exactly what I told Nick and Noah. He agreed. The analysts at the BAU are looking over the poems now.”
Erin finally looked at the crime scene photos. Everything was neatly staged. This was someone who was organized and meticulous. “I’ll bet there weren’t any fingerprints, right?”
Nick nodded. “Nothing left behind. Locard’s Principle didn’t work this time. He may have taken something with him, but if he did, investigators couldn’t figure out what it was.”
Locard’s Principle of Exchange was a theory developed by Dr. Edmond Locard, referred to by many as the Sherlock Holmes of forensic science.
The principle was known by everyone who worked in forensics.
The idea was that criminals would not only bring something into a crime scene, they would also take something out.
Crime scene analysts looked for trace evidence created from fingerprints, footprints, fibers, hairs, as well as other items that could point back to the unknown subject.
Violent deaths could create blood spatter and physical injuries caused by the victim’s fight for survival.
This included skin from under the victim’s nails which could reveal DNA.
However, in this situation, it appeared that either the crime scene techs missed something, or this was an extremely thorough and careful UNSUB.
“You’re probably wondering if investigators overlooked some kind of evidence,” Kaely said as if reading her mind again.
“The answer is no. The state police’s forensics division is top-notch.
Of course, mistakes happen, but I’d be surprised if it occurred this time.
The police went out of their way to preserve evidence. ”
“I agree,” Nick said. He pulled another photo from the folder and shoved it toward her.
“This is the only other unusual thing investigators found. I mean, the item itself isn’t unusual, but the woman’s friends said she didn’t own anything like it.
Her parents weren’t so sure about that, though.
They said their daughter loved to frequent yard sales and sometimes bought things that she’d had as a child.
There was a fire when she was young, and she lost all her toys.
She liked to buy replacements when she could. ”
Erin studied the photo. There was an old Barbie doll lying on a table a few feet away from the body.
She’d had one just like it when she was a kid.
“It’s not a real early one,” she said. “It isn’t rare or valuable, but I see why someone might like one.
” She frowned. “The victim was found in the living room and the doll was on the coffee table?”
“Yes.” Nick shrugged. “The police didn’t think it was connected to the murder.
The killer in Harper’s book didn’t leave dolls behind.
Just to be thorough, they talked to several people who’d held yard sales in the area, but no one could positively confirm that the victim had been there.
One woman they talked to said she’d sold a similar Barbie, but she couldn’t remember what the buyer looked like.
All she could say was that it was possible the victim was the one who’d purchased her doll. ”
Erin nodded. “So, all three murders happened in Virginia . . .” She said this more to herself than to Kaely.
“Yeah, and that’s strange,” Nick said. “It’s as if the killer wanted the FBI involved.
As you can imagine, the police and the FBI work together all the time in Virginia.
Quite a few police officers have attended the FBI’s National Academy.
It’s an eleven-week leadership program for police from all over the world.
There are four National Academies every year, with around two hundred officers attending each one.
These are officers that the department believes will be assuming a leadership role in a few years or current chiefs of smaller departments who would benefit from learning new techniques, like how to talk to the media, how to handle major cases, and accessing available FBI resources.
The reason I bring this up is because the Academy creates lifetime friendships between the police and the FBI.
They actually enjoy working together. There’s no fight for jurisdiction like there might be in other areas of the country.
That’s what makes setting the killings here . . . well, dumb.”
“I’ve heard that the detective from the state police who is overseeing this operation attended the Academy,” Kaely said. “Noah really respects him.”
Nick nodded. “I doubt this guy will be able to hide from the task force for long. Too much talent and training against him.” He frowned. “Of course, his ability to leave his crime scenes free of evidence is troubling.”
“His comfort zone seems to be anywhere in Virginia,” Kaely said. “It’s a large area, but Virginia means something to him.”
“I agree,” Nick said.
“Is the FBI convinced that these are the only cases like this?” Erin asked. “Killings copied from novels? Have they checked out other areas of the country?”
“All the cases were run through ViCAP,” Kaely said. “They searched for similarities, patterns, vehicles, suspect descriptions . . . anything that might help them find comparable crimes. Nothing current, although, as I told you, murderers have used scenarios from other books.”
“That’s true,” Nick said. “It seems that sometimes killers are triggered by something they read. That’s not widely known to the public, by the way. It’s something law enforcement keeps under wraps for obvious reasons.”
Erin sighed. “That’s exactly what Kaely said. I find that not only frightening, but it makes me wonder if I should be writing about things like this.”
Nick smiled at her. “Look, like I said, authors aren’t responsible for the actions of psychopaths, Erin. We can’t make it illegal to write books or produce movies that deal with certain subjects because some crazy person might use it as a way to express the evil inside them.”
“Yeah, I know you’re right, but still, it’s really disturbing.” She shook her head. “So, although the state police are the lead agency, they asked for the FBI’s help.” As before, Erin wasn’t really asking a question, she was restating the information to herself.
“Yes,” Nick said. “They requested that the Bureau assist the police under the Serial Killer Act.”
“You told me once about the International Homicide Investigators’ Association,” she said, looking at Kaely. “Did the FBI contact them too?”
Kaely nodded. “They didn’t find anything current that linked these murders to anything else either.
Just like the ViCAP search, they didn’t discover any other cases where a novel may have been the impetus for murders that were similar to these killings.
No poems. No novels left behind. This UNSUB is unique.
As you know, serial killers have a specific MO.
A signature that links their murders to the killer’s psychopathy.
But that isn’t happening here. Except for the poem, which is his way to put his own stamp on his crime and build up his narcissism, he’s following the methods from the books to the letter.
” She sighed. “This is a tough one for the BAU. The UNSUB is hiding behind murders created from the minds of the authors he’s mimicking. Seeing him clearly is tough.”
“But isn’t that a signature?” Erin asked. “Somehow, he’s connected to these books for a reason. The BAU just has to find it.”
“And that’s what they’re trying to do. But the three authors he chose have no connection whatsoever.
Except for the serial-killer theme, there’s nothing similar in their plots.
I mean, absolutely nothing.” She met Erin’s gaze.
“The only thing that stands out in the minds of the agents working the case? Your connection to me. Why pick an author who is close to a former BAU special agent married to someone in the FBI? The killer has to know that the FBI is investigating his crimes. That’s why some of the people working the case wonder if you could be the key to finding this guy before someone else dies. ”