“What if this one was different?”
“What?” I ask, confused.
He faces me again. “There were rare cases where the revenge killers actually killed just those who had wronged them. No one else was caught in the crosshairs.”
“Very few,” I remind him. “And almost all end with a shootout between law enforcement and the unsub. Still can’t play judge, jury, and executioner, regardless.”
“Most all revenge seekers are seeking revenge for themselves. It’s what causes the psychotic break—being too close to the triggers when the emotions finally take over,” he goes on. “We profiled this unsub as being one to avenge for someone else. He could have separation and even be able to form attachments, unlike other revenge killers, since I doubt it’s a proxy killer who is suffering a delusional paradigm.”
I heave out a long, weary breath. “I get the confliction you’re dealing with. Especially in this case, given what we’ve already learned and now seen. But innocent people will die if we don’t stop him. No one has the right to take the law into their own hands,” I say calmly, even though a silent argument in my mind contests my own words.
He cuts his gaze away before replying, “They tried to get help. They tried to seek justice. They were denied.”
“They?” I ask curiously.
“The unsub,” he states flatly. “I don’t know if I should keep referring to the unsub as him, since you said you feel it was a woman.”
“You believe me?” No one else has.
“You saw Hollis. You saw Lana. What made you believe the unsub was a woman when you never saw a face? Men can be small as well, and I strongly believe in counter forensics in all cases with an unsub this organized. He or she could have easily masked their true size and weight with the right counter measures.”
I grow quiet, letting a chill creep in over me. No one at all has even considered believing me.
“Men can be small,” I say in agreement.
“How small are we talking?”
“Someone as short as Lana.”
He clears his throat. “That’s specific,” he says under his breath. “Still doesn’t explain why you think it’s a woman.”
My mind goes back to the blurry images of the small frame taking down Hollis, landing on top of him.
“I swear I heard a feminine laugh. It was cold and taunting, and almost enjoying the killing part.”
He shifts beside me, turning a little pale.
“Really?”
“This unsub may be somehow projecting obsessively onto Victoria or Marcus Evans, creating the illusion of either being them or being involved with them. It would make the most sense, considering we’ve ruled out the few friends they had in this town. So don’t rule out a proxy.”
“An unsub who can fight, kill, and meticulously plan murders with counter forensics is too organized to be killing as a proxy. Killing as a proxy would indicate a psychotic break,” Leonard argues. “And obviously he or she is still rational enough to show patience and control, which would immediately rule out any sort of psychotic break.”
I grow quiet, thinking of all the contradictions this unsub has left us with. It all fits, and none of it fits at the same time.
It’s as though he or she needs their own profile. Even considering it to be a woman is a direct confliction with a female serial killer profile because of the torture.
“Remember the case we worked in San Antonio six years ago?” Leonard finally asks, his tone thoughtful as he stares out the window.
I don’t even have to ask for details to refresh my mind. “The father who killed the five guys who raped his daughter at a frat party.”
He nods, still lost inside his own mind.
“He also went on to the campus police,” I remind him. “He killed two of them before we caught him.”
“The campus police never filed a report. When we interviewed them, they said poor girls get drunk and call rape all the time at frat parties, trying to get a settlement out of the rich guys,” Leonard says, his hands turning to fists. “I have a sister. Anytime something like this happens, I think of her.”
“Caroline can take care of herself,” I remind him. “She’d obliterate any guy who tried to touch her.”