Chapter 13 #3
From what I remembered of Pascal, even the chance of making progress, even if it led to a dead end, was better than finding the Holy Grail for him, beaten only by the day he busted an operation in such a way they could never rise from their ashes.
“Do you think there was a methodology behind her selection of victims?”
Pascal nodded. “Yes, I do. She tried to pick people who wouldn’t be missed.
That methodology is also present in the trafficking situation and the attacks in Dragon Heights.
By targeting people with small families, wiping out the entire family, or targeting the estranged, she made it harder for anyone to connect her to her crimes.
She had been hunting and killing people for over a hundred years in an effort to bring her child back from the dead.
She’s now the most prolific serial killer in the United States in living memory. ”
“She’s being classified as a serial killer?”
“She had a methodology, a preferred target demographic, and she had gaps of time between kills. Mental illness surely plays a role in her decision to embrace necromancy to try to bring her son back from the dead. She’s not a spree killer, and she’s not a mass murderer under our current definitions.
Of the options, she fits our current definition of a serial killer the best. We don’t currently have a category for the type of serial killer she is, though.
She doesn’t fit any of our usual models.
The closest is for financial gain or greed, but it doesn’t really fit.
I doubt she’s a visionary. That typically requires the belief the killer is acting on behalf of a greater power.
Now, mental illness clearly played a role, especially with her level of mercury poisoning.
By the time she got around to kidnapping you, she likely no longer had any idea she even had a son. ”
“That’s tragic.”
“It truly is. Her autopsy report is disturbing at best, and I recommend you avoid looking at it unless absolutely unavoidable. I’ll admit, it’s good fortune that she picked you as her target. I doubt we would have made any significant progress without you being involved.”
As always, Pascal found some way to flummox me when our paths crossed. I narrowed my eyes. “Do you know I was investigating the situation on behalf of one of the local brothels?”
“I’m aware. And you were doing it without a PI license, little missy. However, as you didn’t actually do anything you need a PI license for, as long as you report your earnings on your taxes, you aren’t even getting a slap on the wrist for it.”
“The FBI knows too much,” I complained.
The black dragon laughed at me. “It’s not my fault you tend to be honest to a fault and told the police what you were up to.”
“Details.” I reviewed the spreadsheet, grumbling over the lack of consistency in the mercury dragon’s choice of victims. “At first, she started with children roughly Adam’s age.
She didn’t care about gender or ethnicity.
She targeted her victims by age. Then she started expanding her hunt.
I’m guessing she used the adults to practice her necromancy.
Or her clan was practicing, too. She wasn’t the only necromancer in the lot from my understanding of the situation. ”
“We heard about Mrs. Millson tearing up one of the Merorie dragons over Death Mile. Quite brutal. There were telltale signs of necromancy usage on what remained of his corpse, which was admittedly little.”
That caught my attention. “What do you mean by telltale signs of necromancy usage?”
“Necromancy always exacts a price on its practitioner. In the case of this Merorie dragon, he had atrophied in certain parts of his body. This atrophying is essentially advanced and early aging caused from practicing such magics. Madam Merorie had significant atrophying of numerous organs, which accelerated after her death. Most of the mercury dragon bodies associated with the case showed evidence of necromantic influences. Necromancy is not a safe art.” After a few moments, Pascal shrugged.
“I’m going to guess you haven’t been given access to the autopsy reports? ”
“I haven’t asked for them. It’s not relevant to the financials at this point in time, and my job is to try to get a lead on the trafficking victims. However, it seems I can’t leave the rest of the case alone.
It’s a flaw, I know.” Overextending myself could lead to me failing to make progress on anything, although I’d dodged that consequence thus far.
With the FBI’s help, especially from an agent I already knew and trusted in a professional capacity, we might actually get somewhere.
“Honestly, I haven’t really had much of a chance to really dig at the numbers.
One of the bankers found our lead and pointed it out. ”
“It’s only been a few days, Kinsley. Don’t beat yourself up over it.
You know well enough it could take months for us to get to the bottom of this.
And yes, we both know the victims might not have months, which is why you’re stressed.
And I’m betting that’s also why you’ve been pushing your magic use as much as possible. You want to recover the victims.”
In a way, Pascal’s willingness to call it as he saw it comforted me. If I screwed up, he’d let me know. In between lectures and scoldings, he’d point me in the right direction and teach me how to improve my work.
Such improvements ultimately saved lives, even when I went home and cussed and cried over having earned a scolding from a federal agent.
With his typical patience, Pascal waited for me to answer.
“Is it bad I want to rip down this woman’s entire empire and leave her reputation and memory in ruins?”
“It’s not bad at all, and acknowledging that this is on your mind is a good thing.
It’s something we all deal with. You’re motivated, and motivation is good.
You just need to make certain you don’t sour your own investigation trying to force pieces together.
This case is, in a way, simpler than others because of the nature of your magic.
You used your magic to get a better idea of the picture, so in theory, it should be easier to avoid blinding yourself to the facts of the case.
But every case is a story. This one is complicated, yes, but it’s ultimately just another story of human greed and passion.
Once you boil it down that way, it gets easier to handle the emotional load. ”
I took my time thinking about his statement, scrolling through the hundreds of victims, and I winced over the reality of the situation.
Pascal was right. Every victim, every action, it all stemmed from Madam Merorie’s greed and passion.
Deep love had twisted into something so foul I would spend many an hour crying over it in the future, mourning the lives lost, the utter tragedy of her son’s death, and the beautiful yet terrible grief the woman had suffered through. “Greed, passion, and mental illness.”
“Yes, mental illness surely played a role in this. Her grief went far beyond what is normal or healthy. But ultimately, she made the choice to use necromancy to try to bring him back instead of letting him go. Therapy might have helped. But that’s not a certainty.
” Focusing on his briefcase, he pulled out a stack of papers and placed them near me.
“This is our current guidelines on handling investigations into serial killers. I thought you’d appreciate a copy.
Serial killers are outside of your regular scope, and understanding FBI methodology might help you learn what is or isn’t a good lead. ”
I forced myself to smile, although it was grim. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”
“No matter what happens from this point forward, do try to convince yourself that there is value in having tried. Even if we fail to find the victims, we’re giving the work our best effort.
We win some and we lose some, and it’s important that you keep that in mind as we move forward.
Obviously, we will do everything in our power to rescue any living victims, but sometimes, we’re just too late.
The traffickers have the whole deck of cards, and really, we’re running on hopes and prayers.
” He swept his hand out to take in the hundreds of boxes.
“Today, the hopes and prayers are backed by bankers who want to see justice done as much as we do, and let me tell you, that’s a rare thing. ”
Yes, it was.