May cast a glance at the body on the table, covered by a sheet. But Andy didn't head there. Instead, he headed to the computer in the corner and jiggled the mouse. The screen flashed to life, and there, May found herself staring at two sets of postmortem results, along with photos.
"I've got the diagrams of the two bodies here," Andy said. "You can see that both victims were stabbed multiple times, and the same type of weapon was used. The angle of the wounds and the depth of the wounds was also the same in both cases."
"Why multiple times?" May asked, looking from one of the results to the other.
"I think, from the angle of the stab wounds and the force used, we're dealing with a killer who is average to short in height, and who is not particularly strong. It took them a few tries to actually kill, in both cases. That might be due to simple hesitation, which as you know can play a part. But it could also be due to a plain lack of physical strength."
"Could it be a woman?" May asked.
"Yes. It could be a woman or a smaller man. Either way, I would imagine, the pepper spray was used to disable the victim and make it easier for the killer to do his, or her, work."
Andy pointed to the diagrams. "You can also see that the victims were both stabbed at a leftward angle into the chest area, through the back, and we can therefore tell that the killer was right-handed."
There was a moment of silence, as May and Owen both took in what Andy had said. Then, May spoke up. "Thank you, Andy. That's all very helpful. We'll take all of this information with us and see where we can get with it."
"I hope you find this person soon. If there's one thing that scares people, it's being attacked in their homes. Our offices have had several calls already today. Folks are terrified," Andy said, sounding serious.
"We'll do our best," Owen promised.
They walked out. May saw that it was already late afternoon. The day was disappearing fast, and with it, their chance to solve this case in the shortest time.
"We need to put together a profile," May decided. "Let's head back to the police department and see where we can get with what we have now."
"A smaller man or a woman. Someone who's less strong than average. Right-handed. Someone who might have worked in security, or in the fire department, in the past."
"And who has had two years of laying low," May said.
"So, perhaps we should also look for a criminal conviction or a jail term," Owen suggested thoughtfully. “There must be a reason for that two-year break.”
"Yes," May agreed. "Let's get back to the station and start putting it all together."
They made their way back to the car and set off, heading back to Fairshore. May was glad that they had some useful information, but it was still a long way from having a suspect. She wondered how long it would take for them to narrow down the list of possibilities.
As they drove, May's mind raced, trying to put together the pieces of this case. Whoever this killer was, they were clever and dangerous.
And the victims had both been big, strong, strapping men. Definitely not pushovers. That made another possibility occur to May.
"I wonder if this person might be killing out of jealousy," she said.
"Jealousy?" Owen said.
"Both these victims are tall, strong men. Both of them would have been able to overpower the killer if the Mace hadn't been used. This killer is not particularly strong. It just made me wonder if perhaps there's an element of jealousy there."
She didn't know how that would fit into a profile. She guessed it was something they'd have to look at when they found a suspect that fit the other parameters.
May was looking forward to the challenge of building a profile, knowing it would get her a step closer to this unknown killer. She had that at the top of her mind as she parked outside the police station.
And then, she looked up, and realized with a twist of her stomach that she had other problems.
Sheriff Jack was waiting at the top of the stairs. He looked stressed and furious as he stared directly at May.
"I need to speak to you. Now," he said, in a tone of voice she’d never heard him use before.
CHAPTER NINE
It felt good to be back in action, the killer thought, as he climbed into his car and headed for home. It had been a while. In fact, he was wondering if he might have lost the touch that had allowed him to fill this unique role.
He rubbed his right hand. It was aching from holding the knife handle. He wasn’t a natural at killing, but he definitely had a talent for research and planning.
