Desperate Girls (Wolfe Security #1)(69)

“Did the prosecution team or Corby’s defense team ever bring in a profiler on this case?”

His question startled her. “The police reached out to the FBI for something after the third victim. But they didn’t get back with anything before the fourth murder happened, and soon after that, Corby was arrested. Why?”

“What about during trial preparation?” he asked, ignoring her question.

“I can’t speak for the defense, but we didn’t. There was so much physical evidence linking Corby to the murders that we decided to make that the backbone of our case. Juries like physical evidence.”

“As opposed to profiling mumbo jumbo?” He smiled slightly.

“Well, I’ve never referred to it as mumbo jumbo, but yeah. Jen’s case was based on three main elements,” she said, ticking them off on her fingers. “The cable company records showing that Corby had been in three of the four victims’ houses while on the job, a droplet of blood from the first victim that was found on Corby’s shoe, and the fourth victim’s necklace recovered from Corby’s house. It was one of his souvenirs.”

The necklace had been an especially powerful piece of evidence. It was a gold chain with an L-shaped pendant, and Jen showed jurors numerous photos of young, vivacious Lauren Tull wearing it around her neck. The pictures provided a stark contrast to the crime-scene photos that showed Lauren on the floor of her living room with her neck slashed open.

“In that case, I may be the first profiler to go through all this,” Mark said. “And I’ve found some alarming details.”

“Like what?” she asked.

“You mentioned the cable company where Corby worked. Police zeroed in on him as a suspect when they learned three of the victims had recently had cable work done, and the same technician had been to their homes.”

“That’s right. Our theory was that he scoped them out ahead of time, selecting victims whose homes would be easier to break into.”

Mark flipped a page in his notepad. “The first three victims had sliding glass patio doors that had been pried open with a crowbar. Victim one was found in her bedroom. The next two in the hallway. Based on the sleepwear they had on, it looks like the killer broke in after they’d gone to bed. In victim four’s case, she was wearing regular clothes and was attacked in her living room. She didn’t have a slider, but the window on her back door was broken.”

“Okay.” Where was he going with all this?

“The victims were raped and then killed by asphyxia,” he continued. “The killer also slit their throats and mutilated them with the knife.”

“Yes, but I’m sure you saw that the cutting happened postmortem,” Brynn said. “Even though the media dubbed Corby the Throat Slitter, the ME determined that the actual cause of death was asphyxia.”

“I was just getting to that,” Mark said. “The asphyxia.”

“What about it?”

He flipped open a file beside him. “According to the ME’s report, microscopic fibers were lifted from Lauren Tull’s mouth and nose.”

“Okay.”

“That suggests to me that she was smothered. The first three victims were strangled manually. Another notable detail? The tox screens. All four victims had varying amounts of alcohol in their bloodstreams, but Lauren Tull also had trace amounts of a chemical called seven-aminoflunitrazepam, whose parent drug is Rohypnol, which confirms that she ingested Rohypnol before death. Were you aware of that?”

No, she hadn’t been. They’d been dealing with a huge volume of investigative materials, and the prosecution team had divided everything up. Brynn’s focus had been on other aspects of the case.

“You’re saying he drugged her?” Brynn asked.

“I’m pointing out subtle differences in the MO. The method of entry, manual strangulation versus smothering, the trace amounts of Rohypnol in the fourth victim’s system.”

Brynn leaned forward. “But why would he change his MO?”

“I don’t think he did.”

Silence settled over the room. Brynn glanced at Erik and Liam. They seemed to be waiting for her to catch up.

“I see what you’re suggesting.” Brynn shook her head. “But you’re forgetting a few things. What about all the evidence at Corby’s home? The necklace, the blood on the boot, the news clippings.”

Mark looked at her for a long moment. Then down at his notes. “Another thing to consider is Corby’s build. He’s five-five and weighed one hundred thirty pounds at the time of his arrest.” Mark flipped to another page in his notebook. “The first three victims were blond and could be described as petite, all weighing around one hundred ten pounds. Lauren Hull weighed more than Corby—one thirty-five—and had brown hair. She was a different physical type from the others.”

“So . . . you’re saying she wasn’t one of his victims? But police found her necklace at Corby’s house.”

“Are you sure?”

Brynn just stared at him. The implications of everything he was saying were making her queasy. She thought of Lindsey’s theory that the necklace could have been planted.

Mark leaned forward on his elbows, watching her closely. “What if someone else killed Lauren Tull?”

“What’s your scenario?” She tried to keep her voice even, but she was freaking out.