Page 45 of Lana

“You can change your mind at any time with no judgment on our part,” Mitch said quietly beside her.

She turned to him, their eyes locking. She shook her head. “No, I want to do this. I need to,” she added with a slightly hoarse voice.

He looked at her for a long moment, then nodded. “Okay. Jackson and I are going to talk you through the evidence and we’ll record the session so none of us need to take notes. Is there anything else you’d like?”

“No. Let’s start,” she said, putting her handbag on the chair against the wall before standing near the center of the whiteboard.

Mitch nodded and Jackson responded, “Recording.”

“Seven bodies were found in the woods in Redwater. Each body was suspended in the trees with varied levels of decomposition, indicating the deaths did not occur at the same time,” Mitch said as he put a photograph of the crime scene in the center.

Zoe braced herself. She could do this.Do it for Lana.

She nodded for him to continue.

“The coroner is still working through the cases, but we believe the cause of death is the same for all victims: multiple stab wounds to the abdomen.”

Zoe took a steadying breath before she spoke. “Using a knife to kill, rather than a weapon like a gun, indicates a certain type of personality. It speaks to someone who carries a certain level of rage, or possibly a personal connection to the victims. It’s a more visceral and graphic experience for the killer,” she said, organizing the thoughts in her head. “It’s also quieter than a gun—provided the victim is gagged—and attracts less attention.”

“The crime location is important,” she continued. “Do you know if they were killed in the woods?” Zoe asked. Mitch had mentioned that Lana wasn’t, but she didn’t know about the rest of the victims.

He looked at her a long moment. “We don’t believe any of the victims were killed in the woods. They were killed in a farm shed in Redwater,” he said, then added two more photographs of the interior of the shed.

Zoe stepped forward, studying them.

“The killer is organized. The tools are hung neatly on the walls, the benches are tidy. Given what looks to be blood stains on this bench,” she said, pointing to the one in the center, “I assume you believe the victims were positioned on this table, right?”

Mitch nodded.

“It is a high level of organization, which usually indicates these were premeditated attacks. The killer planned these kills—fantasized about committing the crime and waited patiently for the opportunity to implement those plans. He’s not impulsive, however, given the blood stains on the bench, he may have lowered inhibitions due to drug or alcohol abuse. That would explain why, even though the setup is organized, evidence that a highly meticulous killer would’ve removed has not been. Alternatively, he was comfortable this setup was secure and no one would find the shed. He staked out this location for a while, until he could be certain.”

She took a moment before continuing.

“What do you know about the victims?” Zoe asked, bracing her heart for her sister’s name to be said aloud.

Mitch spoke evenly, his voice strong and confident. “Lana Seacombe was a twenty-five-year-old, St. Louis female missing person who had been studying nursing. Olivia Beckwith was a twenty-nine-year-old physiotherapist from Columbia, Missouri. Ellen Laube was a fifty-two-year-old Redwater housewife who had been thought to have moved away with her new boyfriend. The final victim who was killed most recently—her body not suspended in the woods—was Camilla Gregory, a thirty-two-year-old female from Oradale who was a pathologist.”

Zoe frowned, staring at the photos on the whiteboard. “The killer is likely a sophisticated person who was able to acquire victims within the privacy of his own home or some other private setting. These were not women with high-risk occupations such as prostitutes or drug dealers who could be classified as easier targets. Additionally, all but the housewife were in the medical field. Without knowing the rest of the victims, this is a guess at best, but I would say this person works in a hospital or is in a role that has medical access—such as a blood-collection driver or the like. He could be a patient with a chronic illness who spends a lot of time at hospitals and medical facilities, but my guess is he needs to be well and relatively fit to perform these kills and suspend the bodies the way they were—so a person with a chronic illness is probably unlikely.”

She chewed on her cheek, looking at the board. “My thoughts are that the housewife was a practical kill—maybe she was in the wrong place at the wrong time and she was silenced. She doesn’t fit the killer’s preference—not in age or career. That kill was different.”

She saw Mitch look to Jackson, but she kept focused on the task at hand.

“Given the level of organization of the shed, and the organization of the victims—excluding Ellen Laube—this killer would’ve likely done pre-offense surveillance and potentially stalked the victims. It’s unlikely his behavior after the kills would’ve changed, because he feels no remorse. These weren’t impulsive kills—they were the exact opposite.”

Her eyes returned to the crime scene.

“How did you get the bodies down from the trees in the woods?” she asked.

“Jackson climbed the tree the rope around their feet was attached to; I climbed the tree the rope around their hands was attached to. We cut the ropes carefully, pulled back as the ropes went slack, and slowly lowered the body down onto a stretcher placed over scaffolding.”

Zoe swallowed hard, unable to picture that without picturing Lana as the decomposing body.

“I think we have a lone killer with an accomplice. If you can confirm all victims were killed in the same way and fit the preferences of the killer, I would be very confident it’s one person doing the killing. But, that... display... in the woods... It would be extremely hard to do alone, even with multiple ropes or scaffolding. It’s possible the killer is blackmailing or controlling the second person to assist them with the display,” she said, chewing her cheek as she thought that through further. “In fact, I’m certain that’s the case.

“Going back to the woods. The killer displayed the victims in such a manner that indicates he was proud of his kills. They’re almost like trophies or a piece of art—for lack of a better word. This is a display of his work, however gruesome. The fact that it was in the woods could indicate two things: he may have wanted it to be found, or he might’ve thought of it like a game—a secret only he knew.”

“Do you think it’s a he?” Mitch asked.

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