Chris Simms - Killing the Beasts

He paused and glanced around the room before continuing. 'Let's start with the sexual one. The first victim had been posing for glamour photographs and advertising her services in adult contact magazines. It is my opinion that this will turn out to be what links all three victims. The second victim had fetish clothing in her wardrobe. On the face of it, the third victim seems very unlikely to share this… hobby. Churchgoer, very religious, straight-laced. But don't let that fool you. Often these types have very surprising sides to them, just very well hidden. Take, for instance, this fact. To which part of Britain does the Post Office deliver the most mail order sex toys? The God-fearing, outer-lying Scottish islands. This may well be the result of there being no sex shops closer than Aberdeen. But it also reveals a side to the island's population you don't read about in any tourist literature.

'Now our perpetrator — and let's assume it's a man for probability's sake — obtains sexual gratification in a very unusual way. It not only excludes any willing, or even conscious, participation from the female — it also seems not to include any physical contact on his part. He's a watcher, an observer. And he probably doesn't like to be seen by anyone other than himself when seeking his own sexual gratification — hence he subdues his victims first.'

'Like that American guy, the heir to some cosmetics fortune. Wasn't he sent down for raping women he had drugged?' asked a female officer.

'You pre-empt me,' answered the doctor with a quick smile. 'Although that person did seek physical contact: he's currently serving out a one hundred and twenty year sentence having filmed himself having sex with his victims and even saying to camera, “That's exactly what I like in my room — a passed-out beautiful girl.” In contrast, our perpetrator doesn't actually touch his victims. But I do believe he's making films or photographs of them for later use.'

He paused again and took a sip from a glass of water on the table beside him. 'Therefore we're looking for someone with an interest in cameras or camcorders. When it comes to a property search, the first thing you should look for is some sort of darkroom facility if he's shooting on film, or a computer with the appropriate software if he's shooting on digital. I'd guess the images he's already taken have been made into some sort of display — perhaps on the walls or in albums. Somewhere readily accessible for when he needs to look at them. Another factor to bear in mind is how he's getting to his victim's houses. He's carrying photographic equipment. So at the least he has a briefcase or bag. Is he driving to the houses? Is he getting the train? All three victims lived within walking distance of train stations. Next thing to consider is why he's adopted this pattern of behaviour. My guess is that he's impotent.'

'So we start staking out all the clinics round town?' someone asked teasingly.

'Or people ordering Viagra?' asked another.

McCloughlin cut in, 'Our job is working out how to find this man. Dr Heath's here to give us pointers as to what to look for. Carry on, Doctor.'

The doctor continued a little more slowly. 'I'll produce a profile soon. But with most serial killers, a white middle-class male aged between twenty-five and fifty-five years are the usual parameters. I think he's likely to still have a close relationship with a significant female relative — probably his mother, but could be an aunt or grandmother. He may well live with her, and the relationship is likely to have become strained ever since he reached sexual maturity. This man craves his privacy after all.'

Jon noticed several officers discreetly roll their eyes at one another. He heard someone whisper, 'Well that narrows things down a bit.'

'Normally I'd be happy to just develop this profile,' the doctor continued. 'But there's one aspect to the killings that doesn't seem to fit with it. Why is he killing his victims by closing up their airways with silicon gel? Perhaps our man is trying to still his victims' tongues, or more accurately their voice boxes. It's a symbolic way of ensuring their silence. Again, this could be for a number of reasons — perhaps they have discovered something about him, or have already revealed to other people something about him. It appears all the victims felt comfortable enough with the attacker to let him into their house, so it's reasonable to expect some degree of familiarity. I know this hypothesis appears more tenuous. 'The authority was now ebbing slightly from his voice. 'I need more time to look at the information we have on the victims so far. But please bear it in mind during your investigations.'

Jon didn't know if it was the rush from the cigarette that made him do it, but he cleared his throat and stood up. 'I might have something that fits with your second theory.'

The doctor looked at Jon, who looked at McCloughlin, who gave him the nod. 'I've just noticed all the victims so far lived in the immediate vicinity of owners of high-performance cars. Victim one, Polly Mather, shared her driveway with her neighbour who owns a Subaru Impreza. Victim two, Heather Rayne, lived on a road with no off-road parking. Her neighbour had left his Jag directly in front of her house. Third victim, Mary Walters, shared the back yard of her building with a couple that own a Lexus. I hope I'm not letting the car gang case I've been working on cloud my judgement here, but take this scenario. The thief is casing out expensive cars and making the mistaken assumption that our victims are the owners — basically because the cars are parked directly outside the victims' properties. He's opening up their letterboxes and snagging what he thinks are the car keys. Problem is, they're not. So when he can't get the car open, he's using the keys to let himself into the house: and we end up with a dead body.'

The room was silent for a few seconds before someone asked, 'Why the bizarre way of killing them?'

'I don't know,' shrugged Jon. 'But it fits with this ensuring their silence business. They've seen him and he can't afford to leave any witnesses?'

'So the fact that he's only killed females so far,' said the female officer who had spoken earlier, 'that's just coincidence? If a flashy car is parked outside a bloke's house, he could be next?'

The room began murmuring as Jon replied, 'I suppose so. That drug will knock you out if you're male or female.'

'This spate of car thefts you've been investigating,' said McCloughlin. 'The method they're using relies on the cover of darkness I presume?'

Jon nodded.

McCloughlin frowned. 'Heather Rayne had lain undiscovered for a day in a centrally heated flat — time of death somewhere between five and ten in the morning the day before. The other two victims were discovered first thing in the morning. Could they have been killed at night? What are their estimated times of death?'

A couple of officers darted off to their desks. 'Polly Mather — early morning. Probably between six and nine.'

'She was found in her dressing gown,' added Jon.

The other officer spoke up. 'Mary Walters — same. Probably between six and nine. But she was fully clothed.' 'So,' Jon started, aware he was trying to make the facts fit as he went along, beginning to regret that he'd spoken out without fully considering his theory from all angles. 'Maybe he's going into the house during the last few minutes of darkness. It could explain the absence of any witnesses so far. Perhaps he's dressed Mary Walters and Heather Rayne afterwards — their clothes showed some signs of disturbance.'

From the high and low tones in everyone's voices, Jon could tell his hypothesis had provoked a mixture of excitement and doubt.

McCloughlin looked at him for a moment before addressing the room in general. 'I want that theory checked against all three victims so far. For a start let's see whether any keys are missing from their flats. See if you can disprove Jon's line of reasoning. Now, while we're at it, anyone else got any thoughts they'd like to air?'