a genius, or when she profiled a killer with a handful of evidence. Sure, she was brusque, often even rude. But she left no possibility of disregarding her.
“According to the witness statement acquired by O’Donnell and Ellis, the unsub had said about Fishburne, ‘It’s no good; she’s too dark.’ This makes it likely that he has a racial preference. He’s interested in white victims. There’s also an indication of ritualistic behavior in the crime scene. The unsub keeps walking in circles around the victims, which indicates a possible obsessive-compulsive personality.”
She locked glances with Tatum and continued. “This morning we might have located someone who chatted with our unsub online.” She proceeded to outline their conversation with Peter, the fang designer.
“Then you think the murderer is . . . what exactly?” Koch asked.
“According to his own questions, he was on antipsychotics. We now know that his desire for blood is caused by delusions. He might have a bipolar disorder, or he might be suffering from schizophrenia.”
Zoe continued. “Usually, a delusional murderer would be disorganized, go on a chaotic, unpredictable killing spree. And the age would be somewhere in the early twenties, since the onset of these conditions is around the age of twenty. But this case is different because he was medicated, which means he was already under treatment, so we can’t assume his age. Also, since he is probably manipulated by Glover, his killings are more organized. They are, in fact, organized by someone else.”
This, Tatum knew, was both good news and bad news for the task force. Disorganized killers were unpredictable and could potentially go on a killing spree. But they were also usually caught quite fast because they were careless and behaved bizarrely in public.
“We can also make some assumptions because we know Glover wouldn’t have chosen a partner that would attract attention,” she continued. “So our guy probably has a lot of control over his own behavior or at least can fake it really well. He won’t necessarily be easy to spot in a short interview. But he’d crack during a long interview. The pressure would mount, and eventually he’d lash out or behave erratically. Especially if he’s in an unfamiliar, hostile environment like a police interrogation room.”
“So Rod Glover is effectively unleashing the unsub as some sort of trained beast?” Bright asked.
“That was the dynamic, but as time goes on, he’ll lose his grip on him. The unsub’s delusions will grow stronger, and he’ll spiral out of control. We will . . .” She frowned. “Uh . . . we will . . .” She stopped.
“What is it?” Bright asked her.
“Nothing,” she said after a moment. “This is what we have so far.” She sat down and picked up her phone.
“What is it?” Tatum asked her in a low voice.
“It’s something Harry told me. It’s probably nothing . . . but I should check. Hang on.” She put her phone to her ear. After a moment she said, “Harry.”
Tatum noticed, bemused, how her expression became instantly annoyed, her tone brusque and hostile.
“That article you wrote about the police in McKinley Park,” Zoe said. “A woman reported someone tried to snatch her baby? Do you have a name?”
She waited on the line for a minute and then said, “No last name? Just Joanne? Yes, I know, but I thought you might have actually done some investigative work and talked to her. Fine, did she call the cops? But we’ve checked the recent case files in the area, and there’s no case file about . . . yes. Okay, thanks.” She hung up.
“What was that about?” Tatum asked.
Zoe raised her eyes from the phone. “A woman named Joanne from McKinley Park called the police yesterday and said a man chased her while she was walking with her baby in the street. She thought he wanted to snatch the baby away. And he stalked around her house for ten minutes afterward. She said he seemed unhinged.”
“That might be our guy.”
“Could be,” Zoe said. “It’s the same neighborhood as Catherine Lamb’s and likely close to where he lives. Harry said Joanne got the sense that the police didn’t take her complaint seriously. No one came to interview her. They sent a squad car to drive around, but that was it.”
“The call would be in the dispatch logs,” Tatum said. “Let’s check them out.”
CHAPTER 42
Tatum sighed and rubbed his eyes. His head throbbed.
They’d found the relevant dispatch log easily enough. O’Donnell had called the woman to get additional information. She wasn’t