Autopsy of a Mind

Chapter 84: Jeopardize the Situation

You're right on point. Now, this is the insight I need from you. You are catching along well. Keep note of these things. I want you in the interrogation room with me the next time I get a chance and I want you to signal which direction you want to take the interrogation." He seemed confident that I would make it, I was almost surprised. 

"You'd take me?" I asked in a stunned voice. 

"Of course, we would need to decide on how to communicate before that happens."

"Aren't you scared I will make a mistake and jeopardize the situation?" I asked. I didn't want to question his confidence in me, but the pressure would be overwhelming if I was asked to make someone confess but wasn't able to.

"You have a natural affinity with language and persuading others. I have full faith in you." He paused. "Furthermore, if I let Jamison interrogate people, I don't see why I wouldn't let you someone who is far superior to him in every way, do the same."

In short, he thought the world of me. I looked at him for a moment before going to the whiteboard. 

"Anyway, what happened to William?" I asked. If the first one had set any precedent, this perpetrator had not been jailed, either.

"They couldn't take out a word about where her body was or if he was the killer. They could only pin trespassing on his name but without a victim, it was pretty bleak." Sebastian frowned. "They did go to court with all the physical evidence but the judges deemed the evidence insufficient to prosecute."

"There must have been other charges, right?" My voice was almost pleading.

"No, the lawyer deemed him temporarily insane and they were forced to give him counseling sessions. He acted perfectly in front of the psychiatrist and he went scot-free."

My head was starting to hurt. 

"Don't tell me he went back to law school and became a lawyer." Sebastian nodded. He didn't need to say any further. "Okay, I don't want to talk to this anymore. Do we have any information on the third victim as of yet?" I asked. 

"No. We haven't dug out anything. Let's go over your theories now." Sebastian commanded.

"So, we have some common factors that tie the two together. The first two victims both sexually assaulted and murdered their victims. They also escaped any punishment. Apart from this, there are no other similarities between the two." I scribbled on the whiteboard and jotted down the points. 

"The third victim is completely unrelated. Following his trend, there are three possibilities in this situation." He stared at me. I sighed and looked at the board. He had already figured out the reason, but of course, I would have to deduct it for myself. 

"One, he wanted to be performative about it. From the previous crime scenes, we can see that he is fascinated by the performative nature of the killing. He chooses locations where there will be lots of people and he has maximum exposure. While he went to parks and public places for performances for the first two kills, the third one had to be big. He was simply not getting enough exposure. By killing in front of this huge audience, he has brought fear into the hearts of the people. He is now notorious, everyone is curious about it. Knowing how our world includes serial killers into popular culture, glorifying them into monsters, he probably would enjoy that sort of name for himself." I stopped and looked at him for approval. His palm was on his chin and he was stroking it softly. 

"Continue," Sebastian urged. 

"The second possibility is that the magician is a sex offender who got away with his crime and we just haven't discovered it yet. The third victim moves across countries, so the range of targets is broad. We will have to do considerable research to figure out if this could be the case." I quickly wrote the possibility down.

"And the third?" Sebastian asked, looking at me hopefully. After thinking for a moment, I drew a blank. 

"I don't know." He leaned in and swept the marker from my fingers. Taking it, he quickly added a plus between the two possibilities. "You think he is acting as a vigilante and wants to show off his work to the world?" Sebastian tipped his head in acknowledgment. 

"But all of this is a hypothesis. We need to find concrete proof before we can paint a picture of the psyche of the criminal. Our first course of action should be to inform the cops and get them to find out if the third victim was an offender or not." 

I plopped down on the couch and leaned back. 

"Tired?" he asked, looking at me curiously. 

"You told me that we were going to watch something fun and made me watch criminals deny their crimes for two and a half hours," I found myself glaring at him. 

"This is my idea of fun, actually. I'll have to condition you to think the same," he said with a crooked smile. I felt the intense need to roll my eyes but stopped myself. 

"If you aren't careful, I will think you are trying to make me a replica of you."

"I have a feeling of deja vu. I don't care for replicas. I would be happy if you were recognized by your own name, Evie. I want to see you at the top because you made a name for yourself and not because you tried to be me." He sounded so strong in his words like he was somewhat offended that I could become his shadow. 

"Did someone try to copy you?" I asked, finding myself beyond curious. 

He frowned. "I had a student who thought herself brilliant and wished to become like me. She tried so hard that it got a little creepy." I raised my brow in surprise. Criminal psychology students indulging in such behavior, how fascinating when they become the subject of their own study. 

"Where is she now?"