The North Face of the Heart - Dolores Redondo Page 0,7
evidence implicating him in the disappearances of at least two others. In her case report, Amaia wasn’t able to specify the factors that had roused her suspicions. She wrote that she’d “had a hunch.”
Dupree surveyed the crowd. “Sherrington’s hunch obsessed him. He trailed those two suspects for weeks, first one and then the other. One wild, stormy night on his way home after monitoring one suspect, he stopped at a traffic light. The other suspect happened to cross the intersection in front of him. On an impulse, Sherrington followed. It was pure chance; the inspector had no idea the murderer was on his way to dispose of a victim. Sherrington’s profile lacked one vital detail: he hadn’t determined how the killer got rid of his victims’ bodies. A later review of the case notes revealed the brilliance of Sherrington’s conclusions. Unfortunately, no one supported his work or even paid any attention to it.
“Alone late at night in a furious storm, our inspector saw the killer unloading the body of his latest victim, a young woman who exactly fit Sherrington’s profile. Elated that he’d caught his murderer red handed, Sherrington tried to arrest him, but the killer was bigger and stronger than he was. They struggled and Sherrington collapsed, falling victim to a heart attack triggered by stress and an undiagnosed cardiac anomaly. Hunters chanced across Sherrington the next morning, and he was evacuated to a hospital where a risky heart operation saved his life. The killer had escaped by the time the inspector regained consciousness. Even so, Sherrington’s analysis had so precisely established the murderer’s methods that the police were quickly able to locate the bodies of nine other victims.
“Because of his severe heart condition, Inspector Sherrington was placed on permanent disability leave. To this day, the Sherrington database is a model of victimology. Sherrington’s principles are valid whether the crime is obvious or the murderer staged the scene as an accident or a suicide.”
Dupree looked around. “Agents, cadets, thank you all for your time. Colleagues from abroad, the coordinators will give you a folder with details of Inspector Sherrington’s investigations. Study them. They will be the subject of your next seminar. This concludes today’s lecture.”
Special Agent Dupree left the stage. The audience sat in silence. The auditorium lights came up and left them blinking.
Amaia got to her feet but didn’t move as she focused on the stage and the exit through which Dupree had vanished. The attention he’d focused on her had made her feel both strangely flattered and oddly threatened. She realized too late she hadn’t remembered to watch whether Dupree had picked up notes on the way out.
Gertha gave her a hearty slap on the back. “Girl, that’s what I call getting yourself noticed!”
Lost in thought, she heard Emerson exclaim, “How about that, Assistant Inspector! Looks like you really impressed the boss!”
He was jealous as hell.
She turned to look at Emerson as if awakening from a trance. Something in him had changed. He’d done his duty as her mentor and more, even though she’d had the impression he’d been less than pleased to be saddled with a female cop in a class that was almost exclusively male. Emerson was one of those alpha males who hates to lose. A couple of times, he’d tried gazing deep into her eyes and charming her with his brilliant smile, but now his mouth was a slash of displeasure. His chin jutted out and he was puffed up like a bantam fighting cock. Amaia put one hand on his shoulder and pushed him gently aside. She stepped past, leaving him disconcerted and offended, as if she’d poked him with a pistol instead of her index finger. She made her way around the chatting agents clustered along the rows and in the aisles. She exited the hall, on her way to the stage door.
Emerson called out behind her. “Salazar, you can’t leave now! The seminar starts in fifteen minutes in room 3, all the way across campus. We have just enough time to get there!”
He caught up with her as the stage door opened. Dupree came out into the corridor with another agent at his side. Men in the hallway shook Dupree’s hand and congratulated him as he made his way through the crowd.
Amaia raised a hand. “Agent Dupree!”
Dupree turned but looked straight through her. He nodded at Emerson, just behind her, and called him by name, then turned away and continued down the hall.