“So Glover befriends him. Makes him trust him more.” In the background, Tatum heard O’Donnell telling Sykes that she wanted no pineapple on the pizza.
“Maybe he even tried to push the unsub into action back then, see if he could make him act out his violence,” Zoe suggested. “Testing the guy’s boundaries.”
“That sounds plausible. He can’t get him to act, but Glover knows that the guy is medicated. And it might occur to him that he’d be easier to manipulate when off his meds.” He enjoyed the discussion, feeling for once that he was keeping up with Zoe, that they were on the same wavelength.
“Then, last summer, Glover disappears for a while,” Zoe said. “He goes to Dale City and, during that time, gets the prognosis that he’s dying of cancer. He also gets shot.”
“Courtesy of Marvin,” Tatum said.
“He flees back to Chicago. He’s hurt, low on funds, and he knows his time is short. He needs help.”
“So he reaches out to someone he can trust, his weird psycho friend. Do you think Glover already figured they could become a serial killer duo?”
She bit her lip, thinking about it.
“Last chance to change your mind,” Sykes said loudly. “I’m ordering the takeout now.”
“He could have,” Zoe finally answered. “I think that at first, Glover was just desperate for help. But when he got better, he began to plan his final months. And for whatever reason, he felt he needed an accomplice.”
“He might be suffering symptoms. His tumor might be screwing him up. Blackouts, confusion, problems with his motor skills.” Tatum shrugged.
“That makes sense. That’s when Glover figured he should get his friend on board, and that meant getting him off his meds. He suggested blood could replace them. Pure blood.” She frowned. “He already decided their first target would be Catherine Lamb at that point. Why?”
Tatum considered it. It could be the result of a sexual fantasy that Glover had concocted, but it seemed like a too-easy explanation. They took a big risk, attacking Catherine in her own home. There must have been a very good reason for it.
“She must have known something,” Tatum suggested, just as Zoe said, “She knew something.”
Tatum smiled. “Catherine saw them together, or maybe our unsub asked her if she knew good ole Daniel Moore was back in town.”
“It could be something more serious,” Zoe pointed out. “Her father had said that something had been bothering her. Maybe the unsub was actually asking for her opinion about blood drinking.”
“Whatever the reason, Glover probably figured that once they began killing, Catherine would be a problem,” Tatum said. “So they started with her. Glover told his friend they had to start with Catherine because only her blood would be good enough to replace the meds completely.”
“They kill Catherine . . . ,” Zoe said. “And then Henrietta Fishburne followed very fast afterward.”
Tatum nodded. This was where their story faded. There were too many questions. Why so soon? What was the purpose of the pentagram and the knife? Why did Glover call the police?
“We need to figure out Glover’s agenda,” Tatum said.
“No arguments here. But first, let’s give them what we have about the unsub.” Zoe stood up and walked over to one of the whiteboards. She rapped on it loudly. Eyes turned to face her around the room.
Only Sykes kept talking on the phone. “That’s right. Go easy on the coriander. And a large bottle of Coke.”
Zoe shot him a withering look. He quickly left the room, still whispering into the phone.
“We have a general outline for our unsub,” she said.
“Let’s hear it,” Bright said.
“Since we know Glover had chosen him as an accomplice, we can infer some of his characteristics. Glover is obsessed with control, and he would look for someone he could boss around. He would definitely avoid dominant people, and in all probability the unsub would be someone who’s used to taking instructions from others. Glover would also choose someone who was useful. That means the unsub has a job, or some other source of income, probably an apartment and a car.”
Tatum watched her, enjoying the way she dominated the room. Everyone’s attention was focused on her, people hardly breathing as she talked. Zoe had a way of handling herself, her body language making it clear that everything she said was crucial. She was the same when she told Sykes to go easy on the coriander, or when she explained to Tatum why Taylor Swift was