Page 78 of The Last Close Call

A new photograph appeared on the screen, and the guy’s skin looked even worse. Anyone with skin like that probably had issues in high school.

“No current DL. No current address,” Skinner said. “But we can conclude he moved back to Central Texas because of the three separate attacks in the past nine weeks.”

“Moved back to Central Texas?” Liz asked. “Do we know he ever moved away?”

“Not definitively, no,” Skinner said. “But when a violent serial offender stops, it’s usually a case of him being incarcerated, dead, or he’s moved out of the area. Or—in rare cases—he actually stops.”

“How do we know he didn’t stop?” Liz asked.

“We don’t for sure. But it’s uncommon.”

“I think he got spooked and moved,” Jack said. “He dropped off the radar not long after his parents died and he came under suspicion. I think that’s what made him pull up stakes and leave the area.”

“How would he know he was under suspicion?” Heidi asked.

“We talked to the fire chief up there in Round Rock,” Bryan said. “He told us they went and interviewed Anderson’s boss at the time to vet his alibi. Chances are, he knew he was a suspect.”

“So he decided to move away for a while and fly under the radar,” Jack said, pointedly contradicting Hood’s stance that until they knew otherwise, Anderson was linked to one homicide and not three.

“Where are you on your search efforts?” Skinner asked.

“We’ve got the U.S. Marshals involved,” Hood said. “Plus our efforts, along with APD. We’ll locate him, it’s just a matter of time.”

Bryan glanced at Jack. He doubted the head of the task force knew that APD’s efforts involved Jack enlisting the help of a private investigator. A PI recommended by Jack’s girlfriend, no less.

Or sort-of girlfriend. Jack still wasn’t admitting that he and Rowan had a thing, but Bryan could tell from the way he talked about her.

Knowing Jack, he hadn’t mentioned to Hood or anyone else that he’d enlisted the help of a PI. When it came to seeking permission from higher-ups, Jack tended to go with a less-is-more philosophy.

“So, what’s your bottom line on this guy?” Hood asked for the second time.

“Well, you’re dealing with a highly organized sexual predator,” Skinner said, unfazed by Hood’s obvious impatience. “He plans his crimes, carefully selects his targets, and conducts research beforehand. And afterward, he covers his tracks. As you’re also aware, this individual is escalating.”

Jack shot a look at Bryan. He’d been saying that since November. This fucker’s escalating. Won’t be long before he strangles someone. It was the first thing he’d said to Bryan when they’d left the hospital after interviewing Evie Wood.

Bryan thought of her in the park yesterday handing over that glossy catalog. It’s Evie. Please. You don’t have to ma’am me. Ever since she’d said that, he’d been trying—and failing—to think about her as simply Evelyn Wood, a woman whose case he needed to solve.

But his brain kept coming back to It’s Evie. Please.

“Something else to point out,” Skinner continued, “is that his period between crimes is shrinking—another indication that he’s escalating.”

“Just what I wanted to hear,” Heidi muttered beside him.

“Mind if we back up a sec?” Detective Green asked, chiming in for the first time. “When you say ‘organized,’ do you mean when he’s carrying out the attacks? Or that he has a target list, or what?”

“Good question. It’s possibly both. One thing we know about most organized attackers is that they plan. They prepare. They develop contingencies.”

“Like the doors,” Jack put in.

Hood looked at him. “Doors?”

“In four of his eight crimes in Austin,” Jack said, “we know that he slipped into the homes beforehand and unlocked secondary doors, ones that weren’t often used. That way he had a backup route to flee the scene if he needed it.”

“Contingencies,” Skinner repeated. “Organized attackers also tend to be intelligent. In this case, highly intelligent.”

Skinner paused to make sure it sank in that they were dealing with a smart adversary, as if they didn’t already know. Over and over, he’d shown police that he had a cold, calculating mind.

“We know he had an academic scholarship to UT, but he dropped out during his freshman year and moved back home with his parents. This would have been a pivotal time for him, by the way. A blow to his self-esteem.” The profiler looked down and seemed to be consulting his notes. “Also, we know from his sister that he suffered from depression in high school. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that he exhibited other warning signs, such as cruelty to animals, setting fires”—Skinner glanced up and looked directly at Jack at the mention of fire—“and also bed-wetting at a late age in childhood.”

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