Stone Cold Heart (Tracers #13)(47)

“You don’t look surprised,” Sara commented.

“I’m not. That date reinforces my case theory.”

“And what is your case theory?” Mark asked, speaking up for the first time.

“I think Kaylin was in White Falls Park and witnessed a body being buried or some other criminal activity that made her a target,” he said. “I think this unsub saw her and went after her, probably killed her right there or maybe grabbed her and took her elsewhere, then dropped her backpack in another park to throw off investigators.”

Silence settled over the room, and Nolan looked at Sara. From the start of this thing, they’d been thinking along the same lines.

“What about the others?” Mark asked.

“They came later. Instead of burying those bodies, looks like he pulled into the park, made a quick turnoff, and dumped them off a cliff into a wooded ravine. So he changed his MO after Kaylin, probably decided that digging a grave, even a shallow one, was too risky. He had to find a quicker way to get rid of them.”

“Do serial killers do that?” Talia looked at Mark. “Change things up like that? I thought they liked to stick to a script.”

“Generally, it’s more important to get away with their crimes, whether they stick to a script or not,” Mark said. “These guys evolve, refine their technique. However, the killer’s signature stays the same from one crime to the next.”

“Explain the signature,” Sara said. “I’ve never really understood how that’s different from MO.”

“The signature is about some emotional need that’s satisfied from committing the crime, and it’s the same every time,” Mark said. “Maybe he needs to tie the victim up, control her, inflict pain before he takes her life—which is the ultimate act of control. The MO—the way he picks up his victim, where he takes her, where he disposes of the body—that can evolve over time as he gets better at his work.”

“His work?” Talia shuddered. “That’s messed up.”

Mark nodded. “I don’t disagree.”

“What’s wrong, Nolan? You seem skeptical,” Sara said.

Nolan leaned back in his chair. “The five-year time gap bothers me. Serial killers don’t just stop. Not unless they’re dead or in prison.”

“It might not be a gap in killing, just a gap in us knowing about it,” Sara said. “For all we know, he left Tennessee and went to another state or down to Mexico for a while, then found his way back to Texas.”

“Agreed,” Nolan said. “But let’s assume he wasn’t doing it somewhere else. Let’s assume he was in prison. Maybe he got picked up for assault or burglary or, who the hell knows, check fraud. Point is, he might have done time.”

“Which would mean we have his prints and DNA,” Talia said.

“Exactly.” Nolan looked at Sara. “Any word on that T-shirt you found the other night?”

“The lab’s still working on it. It’s at the front of the line, but it still takes time.”

“What’s the technician’s name?” Nolan asked. “Maybe I’ll check in after I finish here.”

“Won’t help. I already put a rush on it.”

“Won’t hurt, though, right?”

“Her name is Mia Voss, and she’s in charge of the DNA lab,” Sara said.

“Let’s talk about the park,” Mark said. “I think that’s important. He seems attached to that location, which is why—even if your theory is true and Kaylin Baird witnessed him engaging in some sort of suspicious activity there—he continued to use the park as a site to dispose of his victims. The place is very much in his comfort zone.”

“Maybe he’s a park ranger or some other employee,” Talia suggested. “Would that fit with your profile?”

“It’s not a profile, really, because I haven’t done a complete analysis,” Mark said. “What I have is preliminary.”

“Okay, your preliminary profile,” Talia said.

Mark nodded. “I think the unsub is a white male in his thirties or forties.”

Talia looked at Nolan. “Now, there’s a surprise.”

“He’s physically active, probably engages in outdoor sports, such as hiking or climbing. He has a high school education but not beyond, although he has a fairly high IQ. I’d say he had an abusive relationship with his mother or another important female caregiver, based on the bindings and the sadism—”

“Sadism?” Nolan cut in.

“The cases in Tennessee,” Sara said. “I don’t know if you read the autopsy reports, but both bodies showed bruising and several bone fractures consistent with torture over a period of days or weeks.”

“Weeks?” Talia leaned forward.

“The bone was fractured but then started to heal itself before death,” Sara said. “He kept them alive for at least a week. I found evidence of the same sort of treatment in the case of Alicia Merino.”

“That means he has to have a place to keep them,” Nolan said.

“Somewhere remote,” Mark agreed. “Or at least far enough from neighbors that he doesn’t attract suspicion. Maybe a basement or a cabin somewhere.”