Brodie wasn’t entirely sure what the point of this presentation was—except to signal that if it turned out that a Muslim immigrant had killed Vance, all hell might break loose. And if they discovered the killer was not an immigrant or a Muslim… all hell might break loose anyway if the right-wing crazies decided to try to delegitimize the investigation’s findings that didn’t fit their agenda. Mr. Fensterman was just doing his job, of course, but the last thing a good criminal investigator should be thinking about is the political implications of his findings.
Ms. Whitmore said, “Thank you, Mr. Fensterman. I have heard from embassy security that another unauthorized protest is massing out front as we speak, and the police presence has been increased to avoid a repeat of yesterday’s disturbances. Now we will turn to the details of the investigation, and we’ll begin with Captain Soliman, who will run us through the homicide division’s findings.”
Captain Soliman nodded. “Thank you, Ms. Whitmore.” He picked up aremote control and pointed it toward a flat-screen TV hanging on the wall at the far end of the room. He pushed a button and a photo of a park appeared, and he said in near-perfect English, “This is Körnerpark, in Neukölln, where Mr. Vance’s body was discovered early Sunday morning.” He pressed the button, and the next picture came up, a photo of a grassy clearing within the park. In the center of the clearing, a gray-haired man lay on his back. He was wearing a camel-hair topcoat, dark slacks, and brown oxford shoes. His left arm was splayed to the side and slightly above his head, and his right arm rested partially on his chest. A cap of some kind lay in the grass near his head. Soliman continued, “The body was found in an open area in the park’s northeast corner at approximately six-thirty Sunday morning, by a woman walking her dog.”
Brodie looked at Harry’s face, which he could only see from a distance in the wide image. His single right eye stared open to the sky. Where his left eye had been, Brodie could barely make out a small patch of dark blood.
Soliman went to the next slide, which was a close-up photo of the very small entry wound near Vance’s ear. Soliman said, “Mr. Vance was shot in the right temple with a single standard-velocity twenty-two-caliber long rifle round. The bullet lodged in the brain and was removed during the autopsy. Ballistics is currently analyzing it.”
Brodie processed that. Twenty-two-caliber long rifle bullets were one of the most common and widely used rounds for civilian bolt-action and semi-automatic rifles, and were often employed for target practice and for hunting small or medium-sized game. This caliber round was much more widely used in the U.S., while European rifles tended to use 5.56-millimeter NATO rounds, which were about the same caliber but in a larger cartridge and with a higher velocity. The .22-caliber long rifle fired a slower, more lightweight round, which would explain why there was no exit wound.
Soliman switched to an overhead diagram of Körnerpark. The location of Vance’s body was illustrated, as well as the locations of trees and paths. There was a hashed line leading from the body to the street running along the east side of the park. Soliman continued, “This line here represents the likely trajectory of the bullet. I should note that Körnerpark is sunken approximately six meters below street level. Based on the angle of entry, it is believed that the gunman was on the sidewalk above the park and shotMr. Vance from a distance of approximately sixty meters. This distance would be consistent with the cranial wound and the bullet’s depth of travel.”
Brodie looked at the hashed line illustrating the hypothesized bullet trajectory. The killer knew he wouldn’t need anything more powerful than a .22 LR round for shooting someone at close range. Sixty meters—about two hundred feet—was well within the range for a fatal head shot, and the gunman made sure of it by striking the temple, the softest part of the skull. One of the greatest advantages of .22 LR ammo—both for hunters and for murderers in the middle of a dense urban area—is that due to its low velocity and small cartridge it doesn’t make much of a sound when fired. It’s also quiet enough to not require a silencer, which slows down the bullet and, in this case, could have dropped the velocity of a .22 LR round to such a degree that a fatal head shot from sixty meters was unlikely. In any case, this was obviously not a random murder. It was planned and premeditated.
Soliman continued, “Berlin saw heavy rain throughout the day Saturday, and we have analyzed impressions in the grass and mud inside the park to determine precisely where Mr. Vance was standing when he was struck, and we have also determined the body was not moved after the fatal shot. This analysis has allowed us to approximate the location of the shooter, and we will be able to confirm it once further analysis of the cranial wound is completed.” Soliman continued talking, describing what Vance was wearing at the time of his death—slacks, dress shirt, plus a camel-hair topcoat, scarf, and a flat cap—and then listed the items found on Mr. Vance’s person, remarking on the absence of a cell phone and the likelihood that it was taken by the perpetrator or an accomplice. Soliman also mentioned the Beretta M9 that Vance was holding in his coat pocket and said that the mag was fully loaded and that, according to an initial analysis, the weapon had not been fired recently.
Then Soliman said, “There was also what we believe to be a postmortem injury to the body.” He clicked to the next photo, which was a close-up image of Vance’s hollowed-out left eye socket. “Someone—we can assume the killer or an accomplice—removed Mr. Vance’s left eye from its socket using a sharp object. We mentioned this in our initial report, but the information has subsequently been withheld, in the event a group or individual were to come forward with this detail when claiming responsibility. Thus,you will not find this information in the briefing materials you have been provided.” He added, “Nor should this detail be shared with anyone outside of this room.”
Brodie nodded. His theory on that was correct. The more interesting question was why the perp had done this in the first place. As proof of responsibility? Souvenir collection by a psychotic serial killer? Or, to send a message.
David Kim said aloud, “An eye for an eye.”
The room was silent for a moment. Then Captain Soliman said, “This type of mutilation could fit into a number of criminal profiles. My people are looking back through a decade of homicide records to see if a similar mutilation was performed on any prior victims.”
Taylor said, “Sounds like you’re looking for a serial killer.”
“It is one of many theories,” said Soliman. “Another would be, as Mr. Kim alluded to, an attempt by an individual or group to send a message, perhaps related to a case Mr. Vance had been investigating. But I’d prefer not to enter into this kind of speculation until we have more information.”
Brodie stared at Harry Vance’s empty eye socket. The eyelid was intact, and it appeared as if whoever had performed the incision had done so with care, to preserve the eyeball. The killer, or the killer’s accomplice, was not rushed, or nervous. They were dealing with pros.
Soliman pressed the remote and went to another slide, this one a photograph of a stone stairway. He continued, “These stairs are at the southern entrance to the park. Based on the location of Mr. Vance’s footprints in the mud, we believe he descended into the park from this staircase, off Schierker Straße, and then walked north through the park to his final location.”
Captain Soliman moved on to the next slide, a black-and-white image from a closed-circuit security camera. It showed the corner of a city block, and a metro station in front of elevated train tracks. A figure in a long, light-colored coat and cap was walking on the street away from the station. Soliman said, “This image is taken from footage recorded by a security camera and shows a figure who we believe to be Mr. Vance exiting the Berlin-Neukölln metro station. As you can see, it is time-stamped two-fifty-two in the morning. It is an approximately five-minute walk from this location to Körnerpark.”
Brodie asked, “Have you shown this footage to anyone who knew Vance?”
Captain Soliman looked a little annoyed by another interruption to his presentation. He set down the remote and looked at Brodie. “No, Mr. Brodie. We have not.”
“Well, I’m sure his partner, Mark Jenkins, would like to see the security tape and could easily confirm or refute your ID. I’d like to see the tape too.”
Chief Inspector Schröder interjected, “We are in contact with Mr. Jenkins and I’m certain he will be helpful in this investigation.”
Brodie asked, “What about the train line for that stop? Where was Harry Vance coming from? Have you reviewed footage near other stations?”
Schröder offered a tight smile and said in slightly accented English, “Thank you for your thorough questions, Mr. Brodie,” which was actually German for “fuck you.” He continued, “The Neukölln station is serviced by both the U-Bahn and S-Bahn railway systems. These systems combined contain over two hundred stations. Our officers, with the assistance of the Berlin Police”—he nodded toward Captain Soliman—“are collecting and reviewing security camera footage near these stations where it is available. The late hour of Mr. Vance’s travels makes this process slightly less daunting. As you can imagine, we are very interested in where he was coming from and who he was associating with in the hours and days before his murder.”
David Kim piped in, “And still no one’s come forward? We don’t know who he had been in contact with while in Berlin?”
Captain Soliman nodded. “That is correct.”
Brodie asked, “Do we know when Vance arrived in Berlin?”
Chief Inspector Schröder looked at him with his severe blue eyes and said, “This is a complex case with many details to work through, Mr. Brodie, and Captain Soliman and I have structured our briefing for both efficiency and clarity,” which was German for “shut the fuck up.” A few days here and Brodie would be fluent.
Captain Soliman, who seemed a bit more accommodating than the tight-ass BKA chief inspector, added, “We have spoken to Mr. Vance’s commanding officer in Kaiserslautern, Colonel William Trask, and also to Mr. Vance’s partner, Mark Jenkins. Mr. Vance informed both of these men nine days ago—that would be last Sunday—that he was leaving for Berlin onTuesday and would be back by early the following week. According to Mr. Jenkins, his partner usually took the train between Kaiserslautern and Berlin, and we have confirmed that a ticket was issued in his name by Deutsche Bahn. We are currently reviewing security camera footage from the Kaiserslautern station, as well as the stations in Mannheim and Hanover—one of which he would have needed to use as a transfer point—and footage from the Berlin central station where he would have arrived. We hope to reconstruct Mr. Vance’s journey and to determine if he had contact with anyone during that journey, as well as to determine where he went once he arrived in Berlin. He did not tell either his commanding officer or his partner the purpose of his trip, beyond saying that it was personal.”
Taylor asked, “Did either of them speculate as to why he was coming here?”
