‘Like you pointed out,’ Hunter explained, ‘our killer is clearly an intelligent person. Disguising murders as accidental deaths and/or suicide isn’t an easy task and, as we know, our killer doesn’t use the same method every time. That takes creativity and knowledge. But don’t forget that he’s also a broken person. The reason why he kills isn’t because he’s a born psychopath and his urge is out of control. It’s because his mind has fractured as a consequence of the physical abuse he suffered when young. Fractured minds aren’t always rational, Carlos.’
‘So what other ways could he choose?’ Garcia asked.
‘There’s no telling with a person who is that broken,’ Hunter clarified. ‘It could be something that makes sense only to him… something that only he sees.’
‘Like what?’ Garcia pushed.
‘Anything. For example, one of the group members could physically remind the killer of the person who used to beat him up when he was young – father, mother, uncle, stepfather… whoever. Or maybe one of the stories he heard from a group member, despite not being the most violent, is similar to the kind of abuse our killer used to suffer.’ Hunter shrugged. ‘A member of the group could just dress like the person who used to perpetrate the abuse, or talk like them, or smell like them… his criteria is his own. The trigger can be something that only he understands and if that trigger is a direct reminder of the abuse he suffered, it will take precedence over everything else.’
‘I didn’t think of that, but regardless of what the trigger is, we both agree that our killer needs to be in the group, right? Sitting in on sessions to be able to pick his victims. There’s no other way?’
‘Absolu…’ Hunter paused mid-word, his attention back on the list of support groups on his computer screen. Shannon and her team had done a great job in condensing the information on that list. It contained the name of the support group, the type of therapy or support it offered, a one-line explanation of its main mission, and the name of the person running it. It had been the name field that had caught Hunter’s eyes.
‘Shit!’ Hunter whispered, but not quiet enough for it not to reach his partner’s ears.
‘What?’ Garcia asked.
Hunter breathed out, leaned forward, rested his elbows on his desk and used the tips of his fingers to massage his temples.
‘Maybe there’s another way to pick the victims, Carlos. A way in which our killer doesn’t even take part in the groups.’
‘What? How?’
Hunter got to his feet. ‘Let me ask you something first. Do you think that our killer could be a woman?’
Forty-Three
Despite Garcia having heard what Hunter had just asked, he angled his body around his computer screen to look back at his partner. ‘What?’
‘Do you think that our killer could—’ Hunter began, but Garcia cut him short.
‘I heard what you said, Robert. My “what” was purely meant as an expression of surprise.’
Hunter nodded, but still repeated the question. ‘So do you think that our killer could be a woman?’
‘No, I don’t think so. This killer is definitely physically too strong, plus, according to Randy Douglas, the person he saw on the 7th Street Bridge, as Terry Wilford dropped to the ground, was male, driving a RAM truck, remember?’
Hunter nodded.
‘Why?’ Garcia asked. ‘Do you think the killer could be a woman?’
Instead of replying, Hunter lifted a hand at Garcia and followed it up with a second question. He sounded angry with himself. ‘How about revisiting a possibility that we’ve mentioned before, but for some stupid reason never went back to?’
‘Which possibility are you talking about, Robert?’
‘The possibility that this killer is working with someone else.’
Garcia hesitated for a heartbeat. ‘And that someone else is a woman?’
Hunter nodded.
Garcia paused for an extra moment and his eyes skipped to the photos on the board.
Hunter waited.
Garcia caught up with the thought. ‘Are you thinking something like brother and sister, maybe?’
Hunter’s eyebrows arched at his partner. ‘What if our killer wasn’t an only child? Or what if we’re talking about a foster kid, or something similar here? What if our killer didn’t grow up alone in an abusive household?’
