“It’s not a good idea,” he said finally.
Isabel said, “I know all the arguments against my going.”
“Do you?”
“I’ve gone over all the material that police chief sent when he requested a profile after the second murder. I even got on-line and read the local newspaper articles. I think I’ve got a very good feel for the town, for what’s happening down there.”
Miranda said, “Your basic powder keg, just waiting for a match.”
Isabel nodded. “Small town on the teetering edge of panic. They seem to have a lot of faith in their police, especially the chief, and pretty fair medical and forensics facilities for a small town, but this latest murder has everybody jumping at shadows and investing in security systems. And guns.”
She paused, then added, “Three murders makes this a serial killer in Hastings. And he’s showing no signs of stopping now. Chief Sullivan just officially requested the FBI’s help, and he’s asking for more than an updated profile. Bishop, I want to go down there.”
Bishop turned at last to face them, though instead of returning to his desk he leaned back against the high windowsill. The scar on his left cheek was visible now, and Isabel had been with the unit long enough to recognize, in its whitened appearance, that he was disturbed.
“I know what I’m asking,” she said, more quietly than she might otherwise have spoken.
Bishop glanced at Miranda, who immediately looked at Isabel and said, “From all indications, this is the sort of killer that local law enforcement can handle with very little outside help. Maybe a bit more manpower to ask questions, but it’ll be inside knowledge that catches this animal, not an outsider’s expertise. The profile marks him as nothing out of the ordinary. He’s local, he’s killing local women he knows, and he’s bound to make a mistake sooner rather than later.”
“But it wasn’t an SCU profile,” Isabel pointed out. “None of us developed it.”
“Special Crimes Unit can’t develop all the requested profiles,” Bishop reminded her patiently. “We barely have the manpower to handle the cases we do get.”
“We didn’t get the call on this one because this killer is so seemingly ordinary, I know that. Around a hundred serial killers active in this country on average at any time, and he’s one of them. Nothing raised a red flag to indicate that our special abilities are needed in the investigation. But I’m telling you-there’s more to the case than the official profile picked up on. A lot more.” She paused, then added, “All I’m asking is that you take a look at the material for yourselves, both of you. Then tell me I’m wrong.”
Bishop exchanged another glance with Miranda, then said, “And if you’re right? Isabel, even if the SCU took on this investigation, given the circumstances in Hastings you’re the last agent I’d want to send down there.”
Isabel smiled. “Which is why I have to be the agent you send. I’ll go get the file.”
She left without waiting for a reply, and as Bishop returned to his desk and sat down, he muttered, “Goddammit.”
“She’s right,” Miranda said. “At least about being the one who has to go.”
“Yeah. I know.”
We can’t protect her.
No. But if this is what I think it is… she’ll need help.
“Then,” Miranda said calmly, “we’ll make sure she has help. Whether she likes it or not.”
Thursday, June 12, 2:00 PM
“Chief, are you saying we don’t have a serial killer?” Alan Moore, reporter for the Hastings Chronicle, had plenty of practice in making his voice carry without shouting, and his question cut through the noise in the crowded room, silencing everyone else. More than thirty pairs of expectant eyes fixed on Rafe.
Who could cheerfully have strangled his boyhood chum. With no particular inflection in his voice, Rafe answered simply, “We don’t know what we have as yet, except for three murdered women. Which is why I’m asking you ladies and gentlemen of the press not to add unnecessarily to the natural anxiety of our citizens.”
“In this situation, don’t you think they should be anxious?” Alan glanced around to make certain all attention was on him, then added, “Hey, I’m blond, and even I’m nervous. If I were a twenty-something blond woman, I’d be totally freaked out.”
“If you were a twenty-something blond woman we’d all be freaked out,” Rafe said dryly. He waited for the laughter to subside, fully aware of the fact that it was as much nervous as amused. He was good at taking the pulse of his town, but it didn’t take any particular skill to feel the tension in this room. In the town.
Everybody was scared.
“Look,” he said, “I know very well that the women here in Hastings are worried-whether they’re blond, brunette, redhead, or any shade in between-and I don’t blame them a bit. I know the men in their lives are worried. But I also know that uncontrolled speculation in the newspaper and on the radio and other media will only feed the panic.”
“Uncontrolled?”
“Don’t start yelling censorship, Alan. I’m not telling you what to print. Or what not to print. I’m asking you to be responsible, because there is a very fine line between warning people to be concerned and take precautions, and yelling fire in a crowded theater.”
“Do we have a serial killer?” Alan demanded.
Rafe didn’t hesitate. “We have three murders we believe were committed by the same person, fitting the established criteria for a serial killer.”
“In other words, we have a lunatic in Hastings,” somebody he didn’t recognize muttered just loud enough to be heard.
Rafe responded to that as well, still calm. “By definition a serial killer is judged conventionally if not clinically to be insane, yes. That doesn’t mean he’ll be visibly any different from you or me. And they seldom wear horns or a tail.”
The reporter who’d made the lunatic comment grimaced. “Okay, point taken. Nobody is above suspicion and let’s all freak out.” She was blond.
“Let’s all take care, not freak out,” Rafe corrected. “Obviously, we would advise blond women in their mid to late twenties to take special care, but we have no way of knowing for certain if age and hair color are factors or merely a coincidence.”
“I say err on the side of factor,” she offered wryly.
“And I can’t say I’d blame you for that. Just keep in mind that at this point there is very little we can be sure of-except that we have a serious problem in Hastings. Now, since a small-town police department is hardly trained or equipped to deal with this type of crime, we have requested the involvement of the FBI.”
“Have they provided a profile?” This question came from Paige Gilbert, a reporter with one of the local radio stations. She was more brisk and matter-of-fact than some of the other women in the room had been, less visibly uneasy, possibly because she was brunette.
“Preliminary. And before you ask, Alan, we won’t be sharing the details of that profile unless and until the knowledge can help our citizens. At this stage of the investigation, all we can realistically do is advise them to take sensible precautions.”
“That’s not much, Rafe,” Alan complained.
“It’s all we’ve got. For now.”
“So what’s the FBI bringing to the table?”
“Expertise: the Special Crimes Unit is sending agents trained and experienced in tracking and capturing serial killers. Information: we will have access to FBI databases. Technical support: medical and forensics experts will study and evaluate evidence we gather.”
“Who’ll be in charge of the investigation?” Alan asked. “Doesn’t the FBI usually take over?”