Page 80 of Rookie Days

“I am calm.” He stared daggers at them both. “You want to know my whereabouts? I’ll tell you. Just let me get my diary.” Hesneered when Quinn checked the drawer, before giving him the go ahead to proceed. “You thought I was going to pull a gun on you? It’s in the other room. I’m not that fucking stupid!”

???

“What a wonderful character, uh?” Quinn remarked when they walked back to their car.

“Yeah, he was a total delight.” Ellie slammed the door shut as she got behind the wheel. “Still bitter and angry at the death of his sister.”

“Poor guy.”

“Yeah, but no rapist or murderer, I feel. I’ll check his alibi, but if he was in New York, as he told us when the two murders were committed, that gets him off the hook.”

“Mmm. It’s fucking frustrating.”

Quinn rarely swore, on or off the job, so she must be feeling it. Ellie certainly was. This was a blow, alright, after getting her hopes up about getting close to her target. Still, she was far from defeated.

“I’m going to expand the search,” she decided. “Just like us cops, medical personnel come into contact with a lot of people in their day-to-day work. I need to get back to the drawing board and look wider.”

“Same question though; right?” Quinn prompted.

“Yeah, it goes back to motive every time. Who’d have cause to want to hurt nurses? Rape is about domination. Punishment. Like you said before, it can be very personal.”

“So, who did they piss off?”

“I’ve already eliminated a bunch of the victims’ friends and family from my list of potential perps, and a lot of their common colleagues as well. But I think I need to have another closer look at these.”

“I’d say so.” Quinn blew air out sharply. “Not a nice idea, is it?”

“Nope.”

Ellie understood and shared her frustration. Her colleagues on the force were like brothers and sisters to her. It must be the same for the nurses and doctors who worked closely with each other, and in often difficult and high-pressure situations, when a human life depended on the decisions that they made. Ellie did not like the idea of a savage wolf in sheep’s clothing, hunting his own. Still, it had to be considered.

“You think he’ll do it again?” Quinn asked.

Ellie glanced at her. The lieutenant had to know the answer to this question. Was this more testing? Training? Well. She did not mind either way.

“I think so, yes.” She spoke with conviction. “He’s not just getting rid of random women out there. I get the sense that this has a deeper meaning for him, and that he’s enjoying what he’s doing. The planning, the stalking… Has to be doing a lot of that too. He met O’Connell at a club where she was a regular. He knew where to attack Jackson on her usual running route. He’d been watching them both, fantasizing about taking action. Now that he’s raped and killed twice and literally got away with it, can you imagine how smug he must feel? Proud of himself, I’m sure.” Ellie nodded aggressively. “He’ll be basking in his own arrogance, thinking he’s great and that we’re no match for him. He’s likely developing a real taste for this game. Someone like him won’t stop at two.”

“I agree with your perspective on this guy.” Quinn looked grim on the back of it, but she was appreciative in her feedback. “It’s a very innate skill, being able to put yourself in the mind of a killer like this. It seems that you have it, Ellie.”

Ellie did not mention that it made perfect sense, in a way. She’d practiced enough in her childhood, wondering about theanimal who’d taken her sister. Then, as now, it was not helping much.

“Hasn’t led me to him yet, has it?” she muttered.

“’Yet’,being the operative word,” Quinn emphasized as a timely reminder. “Carry on with your profile. What else comes to mind?”

Ellie thought about it some more as she stopped at a red light behind two women riding motorbikes. They looked slick in matching leather jackets, blue jeans, and black helmets. Filming each other with GoPro cameras, possibly for some future reel on social media. Enjoying themselves, it seemed, as they exchanged an enthusiastic fist bump. To Ellie, they both looked attractive. Free women. In charge and in control of their destiny. It struck her as the complete opposite of what the perpetrator reduced his victims to.

“He wants to humiliate them,” she murmured. “Cut them down to size and remind them of their vulnerability. That’s why he rapes them first. He’s a damn coward. He wants his victims conscious but not able to fight back. Not as strong and confident as he wants us to believe.”

“Why does he want to humiliate them?” Quinn pushed.

“Probably because it’s happened to him too.” Ellie gripped the wheel tighter as sudden heat surged through her. “He’s been humiliated by a woman, and he can’t stand it. How competitive is it at med school? Or in a medical training environment?”

“I’d say extremely, but this isn’t my field. You’d better ask Janet.”

“I’ll call her as soon as we’re back at the station. I feel like I’m on to something here, thanks for the prompting.”

Ellie floored it as the light turned green and the motorbikes shot off ahead. Warmth of a different kind also flooded through her at the thought of Janet. Quinn obviously noticed her relax, and her cheeks color, because she chuckled.

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