Page 8 of Absent Feeling

Amberknew that much from her training. One of the things she’d had to work on waslearning about different kinds of crime the FBI covered, along with how theinvestigations typically went. With serial killers, they kept killing untilthey were caught, until life events forced them to stop, or, in rare cases,until they achieved some particular objective. Even in the latter case, theurge to kill could often be so great that they simply couldn’t keep themselvesfrom continuing.

“Refreshme on the details of the file,” Simon said. Amber wondered if he was doing itbecause he genuinely didn’t have every detail committed to memory yet orbecause he wanted to check that Amber was taking it all in.

Ifit was the second reason, then Amber wanted to show him that he didn’t need toworry about her. She might be here as a consultant again on this case, ratherthan as a full agent, but she was going to make sure that she did the best jobshe could.

“Thefirst victim was Constance Banks, seventy-one years old, of 16 ClearviewCrescent, Guisborough. Her thirty-year-old son James Banks came over to see herafter the two of them had argued, and he let himself in using the key that hekept for emergencies when she didn’t respond. A next-door neighbor reportshearing him calling out for his mother around 11:30 am. According to thereport, James claims to have found his mother dead in the kitchen in the middleof a pool of blood, with an inkblot pattern similar to one used in theRorschach test set a couple of feet away, in the pool of blood. The copsresponding believed that she had been stabbed multiple times.”

Amberdid her best to read all of that in as neutral a tone as possible, trying notto let it show in her voice that just reading about such a violent murder was alittle disturbing.

“Why‘claims’?” Simon asked. “What would your suspicion be if it were just thismurder? What do you think the local cops thought?”

“Idon’t have to guess at that because the notes are in the file,” Amber pointedout. “They initially thought that he was an obvious suspect, since they’d foundhim in the kitchen, covered in his mother’s blood, and he freely admitted thathe was there because the two of them had argued. I guess … my guess would bethat they thought he came around because he wanted to make things up or havethe argument again, or whatever, then when his mother wouldn’t let him in, heused the key to get inside, argued with her again, and stabbed her in a fit ofrage.”

Sheglanced over and saw Simon nod. “It was a plausible theory, except that thecoroner’s report shows that the weapon used to kill her doesn’t match any ofthe ones in the house, and that Constance Banks had probably been dead for atleast an hour before her son got there.”

“So,youhaveread the whole file,” Amber said. Clearly, Simon was already ontop of most of the details.

“Iwant to make sure that I didn’t miss anything,” Simon said. “I also want yourtake on all of it. You have a way of fitting patterns together that takes youplaces other people don’t go. Tell me about the second murder.”

Amberkept reading, looking through the crime scene report for the murder that hadhappened only yesterday.

“Thesecond victim was Raymond Werdly, forty years old. He was found dead in hishome by his wife after she came home from a night shift at the local hospital. Again,the police on the scene saw multiple stab wounds and a large amount of blood. TheMO made them think that there was a link between the murders even before theyfound the card with the inkblot that had been taped to the inside of a kitchendoor.”

Thatwas a detail that made Amber pause. “Is that why you want me with you on thisone? The inkblot patterns? Do you think that there might be a code or a patternto them beyond them just linking the crimes?”

“Idon’t know if there’s a pattern for you to find,” Simon said. “But if there is,then I’m sure you’ll spot it.”

Amberhoped so. There were pictures of the cards in the file, but they weren’tsufficiently clear for her to get every detail. As far as she could tell, theywere just inkblots. She would have to do more research to establish their usualmeanings and their background. If the killer was using them to send a messageor try to hint at where his next kill was going to be, then Amber would need towork out that pattern.

“So,the inkblots show that both murders are by the same killer?” Amber said.

“Thatand the ways the murders were done,” Simon replied. “Two murders, both with akiller stabbing his victims multiple times from the front. He broke into the housesbut didn’t leave evidence.”

“Meaningthat he knew what he was doing or took the time to learn,” Amber said. Shethought for a moment or two. “He also probably picked out his victims inadvance, for a reason.”

“Whatmakes you say that?” Simon asked, although he sounded as though he agreed withher.

“Ifthe choice of victim didn’t matter, then he would just stab someone in thestreet,” Amber said. “He wouldn’t go to the trouble of breaking into a house,which has to be more difficult than simply finding someone in a secluded spot. There’sonly one part I don’t get if that’s the case.”

“Whatdid the two victims have in common?”

“Exactly!A forty-year-old man and a seventy-one-year-old woman. There’s nothing in thepolice reports to suggest that they knew each other, but … well, is it possiblethat this isn’t a classic serial killer? That this is someone leaving behindthe inkblots because they mean something, but that he’s really focused onkilling people to achieve something specific?”

Ambersaw Simon thinking for several seconds.

“Honestly,”he said, “I don’t know. I don’t think wecanknow, not without moreinformation. It’s possible that this is all related to something specific, toboth victims having crossed the wrong person or knowing something theyshouldn’t, but it’s just as possible that this is someone looking for aparticular victim type who is going to keep killing until we stop him.”

Amberwasn’t sure which of those to hope for. A killer who was simply insane mightkeep killing indefinitely, but he might also make more mistakes. One who wastrying to silence witnesses or get revenge for some perceived wrong might stopafter only these kills but might also be much better at slipping away withoutbeing caught.

“Fornow, I think we’ve gotten everything we’re going to get from the files,” Simonsaid. “I have another question for you, Amber. Why didn’t you accept Agent Palliser’soffer straight away?”

Thatcaught Amber by surprise. It was a sudden change of direction, and one that soundedlike Simon wasn’t going to let go of it.

“I—it’shard to explain,” Amber said.

“Try.”

“It’spotentially a huge change in my life. If I become an FBI agent, then it takeseverything that I thought I knew about myself and flips it around. I’ve spentmy whole life becoming one person and now after a few months of training, I’mmeant to be someone different?”

---