Page 50 of Night Fall (The Quantico Files 1)

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Alex stood, and with their notes in front of her, she began to go through the assessment she and Logan had put together.

“I know Monty’s been working with you, giving you some preliminary ideas about our subject. But things have changed because we now have a solid suspect. What we’re giving you today isn’t a profile, since that’s a procedure we go through when we don’t know who our subject is. But I’m going to present this assessment as if we didn’t believe Adam Walker is our suspect. With that approach, I think you’ll learn some things that may help you find him.”

She reached down and, lifting her cup, took a sip of water. As she put it back she said, “We were certain from the beginning that our subject was probably a white male between twenty-five and thirty-five—”

An agent she didn’t know raised his hand. “I can remember only one time when the BAU presented a profile where they believed the UNSUB was over forty. Why is that?”

“I guess it’s because almost all serial killers are white males between twenty-five and thirty-five. All we’re really doing is following statistics. Of course, there have been some exceptions. Even female serial killers. Aileen Wuornos comes to mind. And Black serial killers—Wayne Williams, Samuel Little. Little claims to have killed ninety-three women.”

Alex looked around the table. “I also want to point out that there’s a big difference between our subject and the other serial killers I mentioned. Wuornos killed men she believed had raped her or were planning to rape her. Whether or not that was true, she had a particular target for her inner rage. Samuel Little killed only women, most of them marginalized, women addicted to drugs or involved in prostitution. When asked why, his answer was ‘Well, God put me here to do this.’ I believe his inner anger was directed toward his mother, who was a prostitute. In his mind, he was killing his mother.

“But our current subject is different from Wuornos and Little. His killings are based on the availability of his victims. He’s not looking for a specific kind of person to murder. His victims have been two white males, a Black male, and a Hispanic woman. His signature is his complete commitment to The Book. One thing that does connect our subject to Little is that he also believes his actions are directed by some kind of divine being. Usually we would call a killer who chooses victims at random an unorganized killer, but this guy has a specific plan. The victims aren’t important, but the MO is. He’s presenting a sacrifice. And he always chooses trains to display his bodies. That’s why I say he’s an organized psychopath.”

“He leaves the victims lying on their backs,” Stephen said, “with their hands folded. Usually that’s a sign of remorse, right?”

“In most cases that’s true,” Alex said. “But remember, he stabs his victims. It’s personal. Usually that’s a sign of anger. Most people who commit murder don’t enjoy it. They have a goal. A reason they consider valid. They may be angry, but they don’t want to get their hands dirty, so they either poison or shoot their victims from a distance. Much more tasteful.”

A twitter of laughter erupted around the circle, but she ignored it and looked at Stephen. “You asked about the subject showing remorse. That’s not what he’s doing. He’s showing respect toward the being he calls the Master. This is a divine sacrifice. In his mind, it should be treated as such.”

“So we can’t predict his next move,” Karen said. “His victims are random. This makes it much harder.”

“That would be true, except we do know what he plans to do next.” Alex took a sheet of paper out of her notebook.

“‘When the Virgin who shall be washed in blood, the final sacrifice, is offered to the Master, the demons will be unleashed, and the angels will make war with the evil ones. This sacrifice will be holy, and the one who offers it will be elevated in the Master’s kingdom. He is the Destroyer. The one called to fulfill the will of the Master. Long live the Master!’”

“That’s from The Book, isn’t it?” Stephen asked.

“Yes. Walker believes he’s called to be the Destroyer. He won’t change his mind. Reasoning with him won’t work. Nothing will stop him because he believes his orders are from above.” Alex stopped and took another drink of water. When she put down her cup, her gaze traveled around the table again. “Every sacrifice we’ve found so far has been several days old. From his letter to the newspaper, I think the fifth sacrifice has already occurred, and we’ll find it today.”

“As you know,” Harrison said, “detectives are on their way to Union Station. We have reason to believe that’s where the fifth body will be discovered.”

“We’ve notified the Kansas City Southern Railroad,” Stephen said. “They’ve sent our message to all personnel, and they’re keeping a strict watch on all their trains. But so far they haven’t found anything.”

“This sacrifice may be a little different, but it will be train related,” Alex said. “Our subject has to stick to his MO.”

“But the sixth sacrifice has to be a virgin?” Stephen asked. “What does that mean and why?”

One of the detectives made a joke about Stephen not knowing any virgins. Most of the men around the table laughed, but she noticed Logan didn’t.

It was hard for her to get out the next words. “He will want to be certain the sacrifice is a virgin. Our worst fear is...”

“You’re saying he might kill a child, aren’t you?” Karen said.

Alex nodded. No laughter this time.

“A child?” Stephen said. “We can’t let that happen. Tell us how to stop him.”

“We’ll get to that in a moment,” Alex said. “Let me finish telling you more about our subject. He was brought up in unusual circumstances. It twisted him. He doesn’t think like you or me. I’m convinced that his parents worshiped The Book and read it to him. He was also acquainted with a very dark nursery rhyme.” Alex read the Train Man poem.

“Yeah, we’ve seen that thing,” one of the detectives said. “Who in their right mind would read it to a kid?”

“Exactly my point. Walker’s upbringing was unusual, but he believes he’s finally found his destiny. His purpose for living. He believes he’s a demon, and the only thing in The Book for a demon to do is bring about this war. The Train Man is doling out judgment.”

“Is he doing this at the bidding of the Circle?” Karen asked.

“We don’t know. Maybe. Members are supposed to be angels, not demons, but it’s possible someone wants the prophecy to come to pass sooner than later and is using Walker to do it. Meanwhile, we’re trying to untwist the truth according to The Book from the opinions expressed by my aunt. For example, a lot of people think the quote “cleanliness is next to godliness” is in the Bible. It’s not. It was first used in this context by Sir Francis Bacon. Some of what we think is truth expressed through The Book might only be Willow LeGrand’s personal beliefs. I know you’re going through it carefully, but it’s massive, and much of the language is archaic.”

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