Once Gone

All three men stared at her with surprise.

“We’re not looking for a violent criminal,” she said.

Flores grunted.

“Like hell we’re not!” he protested.

A silence fell. Riley felt an insight forming, but it hadn’t quite taken shape in her mind. She stared at the doll, which was still sitting grotesquely on the table, looking as out of place as ever.

If only you could talk, she thought.

Then she slowly began to state her thoughts.

“I mean, not obviously violent. Margaret Geraty wasn’t raped. We already knew that Rogers and Frye weren’t either.”

“They were all tortured and killed,” Flores grumbled.

A tension filled the room, as Brent Meredith looked worried, while Bill was staring fixedly at one of the monitors.

Riley pointed to close-up pictures of Margaret Geraty’s hideously mutilated corpse.

“His first killing was his most violent,” she said. “These wounds are deep and ugly – worse even than his next two victims. I’ll bet your technicians have already determined that he inflicted these wounds really rapidly, one right after another.”

Flores nodded with admiration.

“You’re right.”

Meredith looked at Riley with curiosity.

“What does that tell you?” Meredith asked.

Riley took a deep breath. She found herself slipping into the killer’s mind again.

“I’m pretty sure of something,” she said. “He’s never had sex with another human being in his life. He’s probably never even been on a date. He’s homely and unattractive. Women have always rejected him.”