Page 41 of The Perfect People

Jessie waited until they were down near the pier, away from any passersby, before she let Susannah in on her theory.

“I started thinking about what this guy is doing,” she said. “Not just the murders, but the lead-up. He comes to these parties and attacks the hostesses in front of large groups. He scares them, but then makes them think they’re safe because others come to their rescue. Later he comes back and strikes again, using the same method. It’s like he gets off on creating a false sense of security in them. He gets the initial thrill of frightening them, then another rush by terrifying them again, only the second time around both he and the victim know that there’s no hope of escape. It’s doubly cruel.”

Susannah nodded along in agreement.

“So what’s your idea?” she asked. “You still haven’t told me.”

Jessie pulled out her phone and called the HSS research office.

“I want to focus on the disguises,” Jessie told her as the phone rang. “White tuxedos, black leather jumpsuits—this guy has a flair for the dramatic. That can’t have come out of the blue.”

“Hello?” Jamil said, answering.

“Hey, Jamil, how’s it going?”

“Still no connections between the victims to speak of,” he said, sounding mildly irritated. “I would have called if anything had come up.”

Jessie was a little taken aback by his tone but understood why. He must be feeling seriously under the gun.

“That’s not actually why I’m calling,” she told him.

“If it’s about reaching out to all the Clone Killer’s potential future victims, that’s a slog too,” he informed her sharply. “I had to hand that over to Beth exclusively while I focus on your new request. And it’s not like it was a quick job to begin with.”

Jessie saw the look in Susannah’s eyes and could tell she wanted to clap back at the guy for his snappishness, but she shook her head adamantly. Jamil Winslow wasn’t short with people unless he’d been pushed to near the breaking point. The fact that he was speaking this way was more of a reflection of the pressure she’d put on him than how he was handling it, and having a detective call him out wouldn’t help. But that didn’t stop his fellow researcher from doing it in her own way.

“Jamil,” they heard Beth say soothingly over the speakerphone, “maybe you could trynotto bite Jessie’s head off first thing when she calls. What do you say?”

There was a moment of silence on the line before Jamil responded.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Hunt,” he said. “I’m just a little frazzled. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you like that.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she said. “I’m actually having second thoughts about how realistic it is to expect you guys to reach out to every potential victim. I’m not sure it actually helps them if they don’t have the resources to protect themselves. We may need to consider how we approach their safety.”

“Well, realistic or not,” Beth said with clear pride in her voice, “I think it’s possible that we may be able to contact everyone on the list sometime today.”

“Wow, that’s amazing,” Jessie told her, feeling a modicum of relief at the potential good news before remembering the reason she’d reached out. “But as I said, that’s not why I’m calling. I want to talk to you guys about disguises.”

“I’m sorry?” Jamil said, obviously confused.

“With both of these murders,” Jessie explained, “it looks like the killer attacked the women earlier in the evening while in disguise. Can you check the database for violent crimes committed while wearing disguises? I don’t mean robberies, but more personal, intimate acts of violence—sexual assaults, home invasions, and murders, of course.”

“I’m searching now,” Jamil announced and, after a long pause said, “There’s nothing that matches very closely. I do find a home invasion where clown masks were worn, but that was three suspects. And it was in Altadena, over two years ago. It doesn’t seem like a match and nothing else I see feels as personal as what you’re dealing with.”

Jessie sighed, looking out at the waves rolling in toward shore and trying to channel their mellow unflappability.

“Well, it was worth a shot,” she said, hoping she didn’t sound too deflated.

“Um, I might have a suggestion that doesn’t totally fit your parameters,” he said hesitantly.

“Go for it,” Jessie said. “We’re worried that there may be another attack tonight, so we’re not overly concerned with parameters.”

“Okay,” he said, sounding more confident. “I recall a case from back when I was researching for the MBPD. It involved a Peeping Tom who was accused of looking into multiple homes on the Strand.”

“I searched through all recent convictions for the last two years,” Susannah said, “even for misdemeanors. I would have noticed that. Why isn’t there a record of it?”

“Because this guy was never charged,” Jamil said. “He always wore disguises so the victims who saw him through their windows couldn’t positively identify him. But we had a suspect in mind. Give me a minute to locate my old files and I’ll pull up his name. I’ll be right back.”

“He’s getting out his laptop,” Beth said after a brief silence. “While you’re waiting, do you want an update on how that press conference outside headquarters went this morning?”

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