Page 28 of Girl, Sought

‘It's all there in the mask,’ she said. ‘Finch had already seen his face, so why put the mask on afterward? There was no practical reason for it. No one was going to see him.’

‘Maybe he just gets off on being weird,’ Luca offered.

‘No. Think about it. When do people wear masks?’

Luca's forehead creased into that specific formation that meant he was getting ready to play devil's advocate. ‘Bank robberies? Halloween?’

Ella drew a line down the center of the board. ‘They wear masks when they want to be someone else. The personas we show the world are masks. The faces we put on at work, with family, with friends - they're all masks. But this guy needs something more literal.’

She wrote ‘TRANSFORMATION’ on one side of the line.

‘He can't do these kills as himself,’ she continued. ‘He has to become someone - or something - else to carry them out. If he used an insect mask for Finch, he probably used a different one for Eleanor. Different collections, different masks. He wants to transform into someone who matters. His victims dedicated their lives to something bigger than themselves. Our killer wants that. He wants to matter the way they matter.’

‘So how does that mean he's lonely?’

Ella turned from the board as her mind clicked through historical cases. ‘Because he's taking what these people value most. Not as trophies in the traditional sense, but as... connections. The same way certain cannibalistic killers consume their victims to absorb their essence.’

‘Like who?’

‘Issei Sagawa, 1981. Killed and partially ate a Dutch student in Paris because he believed consuming her would let him absorb her beauty and vitality.’ She wrote the name on the board. ‘Tsutomu Miyazaki, late eighties. Killed young girls and consumed parts of them because he wanted to internalize their innocence.’

Luca said, ‘Alright, so our guy’s a cannibal that doesn’t eat people.’

‘Yeah. He’s doing the same thing, just with a different methodology. He's not eating them, but he's consuming their identities. Taking pieces of their collections - Eleanor's doll, Alfred's spider. Things that represent who they were.’

She drew a line connecting the victims' names. ‘These people represent something he never was - passionate, respected. So he's transforming them into pieces of his own collection while simultaneously transforming himself through these masks.’

‘A collector of collectors,’ Luca said softly.

‘Exactly. And look at how he operates - he doesn't just break in and kill them. He engages with them first. Talks about their collections. Learns their passions. He wants to understand them before he...’ She trailed off, remembering Alfred Finch's enthusiasm in those final recorded moments.

‘Before he makes them part of his collection,’ Luca finished.

‘The masks are his way of becoming someone new each time. Someone capable of doing these things.’ She wrote 'TRANSFORMATION THROUGH MURDER' in block letters. ‘He's not just killing them - he's trying to absorb what they represent.’

The door creaked open, and Reeves stuck his head in. He looked like he'd aged ten years since watching the footage. 'You two ought to call it quits for the night. We won't have forensic reports back until morning.'

Ella shook her head and moved to her laptop. ‘Can't stop now. Need to figure out who Alfred Finch really was. What made him special enough to target.’

‘Fine, but I'm out. Wife already thinks I’m having an affair.’

‘Go home.’ Ella managed a thin smile. ‘I'll probably still be here come sunrise.’

Reeves glanced between Ella and Luca. ‘You guys make me glad I never went federal. Hopefully see you at a reasonable hour tomorrow.’

The door closed. Then it was just her and Luca and the sound of Ella hammering at her laptop.

‘You’re not really gonna stay all night?’ Luca asked.

'Sleep's for the weak. And the dead.' She'd meant it as dark humor, but it fell flat. Everything fell flat when the bodies piled up and the leads ran dry.

‘You’re insane, but I’ll put the coffee on I guess.’ He came around to Ella’s side of the desk. ‘But just one question. Even if we know this guy’s mind inside out, how’s that gonna help us catch him?’

‘We know more about him than we think. Height, build, voice, fashion sense. And if he’s as lonely and subdued as I think he is, we might just be able to narrow down his job, living arrangements, everything. We also know that he posed as a buyer to get into Alfred’s house, so we need to check that angle too.’

Loneliness was a window into his psychology. And psychology was a road map to capture.

‘Well, we better get on it then. Back in a second.’

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