"He broke the guy's neck? That's nothing like his usual MO."
"As I said earlier, he found another way. On the bright side, I got quite a good look at him this time. That, along with some of Mr. North's predictions, is what helped me to decide it was time for us all to meet. I'd be happy to sit with a sketch artist, and we'll share Bob’s theories about his next move. I trust you'll handle all of this discreetly. I suspect you agree that most people wouldn't respond well to our kind if they knew."
Lt. Foley scratches his head, in deep thought. He looks me up and down, then does the same to Bob, who fidgets. Maiko takes her hand and intertwines her fingers with his. They look into each other’s eyes, and I know I have them.
Chapter 23
Bob
Boy, if Kate knew I was here, she'd slug me. Heck, if me from two years ago was here, I'd slug me. A television graphics producer isn't exactly cut out for this line of work.
I'm relieved that Dr. Gibson finally brought us together, so that I can pass on what I know, and what I think I know, and then get the hell outta dodge. When she first asked me if I was up for it, I wondered aloud why she couldn't just do it herself, but she said that Lt. Foley and Dr. Miyata were more likely to believe us if we showed up together. On the one hand, she's right: showing up out of the blue by yourself with this kind of news would be met with heavy skepticism. On the other hand, bringing along your mental patient doesn't exactly seem like prime strategy either.
When Kate got me to start seeing the doc, I thought at most, I'd be able to control my memory flows and not sit there for hours on end lost in my own thoughts, drooling like a St. Bernard. Not in my wildest imagination did I expect to be helping solve crimes or finding out about other people like me. And I have a pretty active imagination.
Lt. Foley scares me a little, though, I gotta admit. I'd already built him up a bit in my mind, given his impressive record dealing with the scum and villainy of our fair city. But the man is larger than life in person, so to say I'm uneasy standing in the same room as him is an understatement. I had a nervous energy sharing some of my predictions with them, and after seeing his reactions to everything we've told him, I've been fairly quiet since then. He turns my way, and I sense that's about to change.
"Alright, Uri Geller, so whaddaya know about this guy and what he's gonna do next? Let's hear it."
"Well, uh…he didn't predict things. He bent spoons, or well, he said he did, but he didn't, really. The Amazing Randi debunked..." They're all staring at me. Why are they all staring at me? Oh…focus, Bob. "Right...so, initially, I thought he was the most complex serial killer ever. All of his victims were raped, murdered, and dismembered, with unbelievably spotless cleanup each time. But then there were the differences at each scene, too, deviations from his MO. Sometimes burglary, one involving necrophilia. Lt. Foley, am I right in guessing there were some other inconsistencies that weren't reported to the press?"
He looks to his mate, and she returns a quizzical look. "Yeah, there are a few. In one case, the dismemberment happened while the woman was still alive." This, understandably, makes everyone look queasy, including me. "A couple had their clothes torn and scattered about. But a few times, he had them folded nice and neat, and were either folded under their heads or in the corner of the room, like out of some kind of respect, or maybe some feng shui bullshit."
"Oh, feng shui is real, Officer Frank."
We all turn our attention to the doorway. A short, rather attractive Latina strides in and sits down on the chair beside Dr. Gibson. My guess is that this is the other patient of hers they were talking about earlier, Isabel Gutierrez. She immediately reminds me of Rosario Dawson. I loved her in Josie and the Pussycats. I should probably keep that to myself.
Lt. Foley looks at her, then the door. "Ms. Gutierrez...how'd you find us?"
She taps her ears. "I hear things, remember? You can call me Izzy, by the way."
Dr. Gibson looks her way, and Izzy averts her eyes. "Are you alright? How long have you been outside of your house?"
Izzy keeps looking at the floor. "All night. It hurts like hell, especially in here with all these machines whirring and buzzing and beeping. But the ear buds you gave me are helping. And I couldn't sit idly by in my padded cocoon while this gas man was still running around hurting women. I had to try to help." She musters the courage to look Dr. Gibson's way. "I'm glad I ran into Officer Frank and his lady friend as they were helping her." She shoots Lt. Foley a quick, meaningful look. Hmm.
"Where's my partner? Did you tell him everything you knew about this gas man?"
"I did. Officer Troy still thinks I'm loco." She twirls her finger beside her head. "He went back to Ms. Watson's room to look for you." Lt. Foley nods. I can see him plotting his next move with his partner. So he’s keeping him in the dark about all this. Hmm.
"Isabel, I'm glad you're alright. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the rest of us, but I didn't know if you would be able to handle it yet." So the doc never told her about herself, me, or any of her other special patients. Hmm.
Izzy shrugs. "It's ok. I'm sure some of the things I told you I would do to the man if I found him had something to do with that. And I ignored your advice not to follow him, so we're even." So many secrets...wait, what would she do to him? Hmm.
"Now that we're all on the same page, can we get back to Memory Man's theory about my case?" Lt. Foley seems anxious to get away from talking about Izzy. Hmm.
"Fudge, shouldn't we bring her up to speed on what Dr. Gibson and Mr. North have told us so far?"
"I heard, while talking to Officer Troy..." She taps her ears again. "Remember? It was distracting me, actually, which is probably why he still thinks I'm loco."
Fudge, er, Lt. Foley, looks to his girlfriend and holds out his arm towards Izzy, as though to say, "See?" Maiko nods sheepishly, and all eyes are back on me. Great. I really hate that.
"Yeah, so...inconsistent crime scenes, with a few key irrefutable elements in common. If you think about it, there's only one explanation that makes any sense...Hickam's dictum."
Crickets.
It's like I've started speaking Klingon. And I'm pretty sure I'm not this time.
I can see from the blank stares that I'm going to have to explain it to the non-doctors in the room. Dr. Gibson already knows and is open to my theory. And I can see the gears turning in Dr. Miyata's head.
"...Whose dick-what?" Oh, Lt. Foley. So street smart, yet so...well...
"Hickam's dictum. It's the medical principle that there isn't always just one thing wrong with a patient, that they can have as many diseases or disorders as they damn well please." I can see this is going to take more explaining. "The parallel here is that there are multiple independent crimes that result in a single final crime scene. Separate events or combinations of events that seem to lead to a simple outcome, if you make too many assumptions. We humans just love to detect patterns and look for the simplest explanation, right? Well, think of this as the opposite of Occam's razor."
I expected Foley's gal to be the first to light up, but instead, she exchanges uneasy glances with her beau. Hmm. Instead, it's Izzy who puts it together. "You mean, there's a bunch of separate crimes, one after another?"
"Exactly! First, the women are raped, but they're killed later, by someone else. They're dismembered by another still, before finally, a different person comes in and cleans up. And sometimes in between all of this, a thief robs her, too…The Aristocrats!" Hmm, guess they don’t watch as much standup comedy as I do.
Izzy still doesn't seem convinced. "That's ridiculous. You're talking about the most convoluted, twisted super villain team of all time."
I hold up a finger. "Unless...some of them aren't even aware of each other, and never cross paths."
"Ha. Now I've literally heard everything. And I literally do hear everything. But I never hear a parade of people going into these houses. Officer Frank, can you believe this chalado?"
"He should..." Dr. Gibson sounds
more nervous than when she first brought me in to meet the others. "He's known all along that these women were raped and killed by different people."
Wait...what? "Huh?"
"¿Que?"
"Sonuvabitch..."
"Frank..."
Doc takes a deep breath. "All cards on the table, lieutenant. If we're going to catch these people, we need to be completely honest with each other about what we know, and I think all of us know more than we've shared so far. We're going to have to put all our knowledge and skills together to end these rampages." She's still nervous, but that's more backbone from her than I've seen before.
Foley and Maiko share another knowing look. They're not telepathic, too, are they? That's not a thing, right?
He turns back to Maddy "Alright, Doc. But I don't have any proof of anything being done separately besides the rape. And I couldn't exactly share that proof without exposing myself and Maiko. Don't get me wrong, I ain't no saint, but she is. I didn't realize what we were helping perpetuate until it was too late and we were already knee deep in the shit. I also suspect that the rapist is oblivious to everything that happens after, but the killer, Ripper, and Cleaner all know each other. And the Cleaner must have some kind of enhanced sight."
"Oh, I thought that, too!" Ok, that came out sounding way too excited, like a schoolgirl who just saw Justin Bieber smile at her. "Sorry."
Doc breaks the awkward silence for me. "But I only sensed one signal at the scene I stumbled upon. And each time I've picked him up since then, he's been alone."
Izzy seems frustrated, agitated, even, shaking her head. I see why doc thought she might not be ready for this. "I hear the rapist speaking to the victims, but I’ve never heard anyone else talking to each other there." Everyone starts chiming in, talking over each other. "Stop...stop...STOP!!!" And just like that, Izzy falls off the chair, clutching her head.
We all rush to help her, doc and Foley getting there first to help her back into her seat. He whispers to her. "Sorry, Izzy. Guess we all forgot for a moment." He looks to the rest of us, and motions for us to speak more softly.
I explain my belief that the killer must be the one tracking either the women themselves, or possibly Foley and Maiko.
Frank jumps in. "I don't think we're being followed there, though I tried to bait him when I first suspected he was following us, but he never showed. Maybe he's like you, Doc. Once he sensed I was nearby again, he changed his mind and stayed away. Maybe he even did that tonight."
"Possibly, but I think it's more likely that he's tracking his prey, not the two of you."
Maiko seems relieved, at least. "What makes you think that?"
"Well, when I tracked him tonight, he killed again, and this victim wasn't like any of the others. We think he's not just responsible for the Ripper killings here in San Jose, but possibly a dozen or more murders in the Bay Area that seem unrelated, and maybe even a few last year in Nevada."
Foley instantly changes his expression to one of surprise, then understanding. Hmm. I elaborate, "Right. There have been more than a handful of unsolved murders by suffocation, strangulation, broken neck, and other assorted means over the last two years. There's no pattern except for two data points. The victims are always alone, and there's nearly always a dearth of forensic evidence."
"Sonuvabitch. You're serious?" He explains that they did broaden their scope to other unsolveds in San Jose, but had trouble connecting them to anything other than the Reno cases. "But we had...other complications that kept us from wanting to officially connect the two cases."
So he did know about Reno, but didn't wanna...oh, I see. Cop politics. "Ah, so the FBI was involved in those cases, and you didn't want them taking over your investigation."
Frank's dumbfounded, and looks at doc. "How the fuck does he do that?" She starts to explain, but he stops her. "Never mind, this is making my fuckin' head hurt."
Something about our line of discussion bothers Maddy. "If there really are three people carrying this out, I wonder why I only picked up on...one..."
Dr. Gibson looks into the distance, seemingly at nothing. Lt. Foley picks up on it, too. "What is it, doc?"
"Well...the first time I ran into him, his signature was incredibly strong. I thought I might be picking up on how powerful his enhanced sense was. But the last two times, he felt different. Now I wonder if what I was feeling the first time were three signatures overlapping or interfering with each other. I saw only him through the window, but his companions could've been there, too. Maybe my ability to isolate individuals isn't as advanced as I presumed." She seems a bit dejected, like she's unsure of herself now.
"Don't worry, chica. Most of the time, there are so many voices in my head, I can barely hear my own thoughts."
"And sometimes I sit in the corner drooling, remembering mundane details of my life."
"And I leave people unconscious just by touching them." Maiko seems the most supportive of us, placing a hand on Maddy's shoulder, but then removes it, having realized what she just said.
We turn to Lt. Foley. He eyes each of us up and down in turn. "Yeah, I got no problems with what I can do."
Maiko titters. "Well, ever since you told lil ol' me, ya know, your long-time girlfriend, I've been wondering if it's why you're so moody all the time."
"I am not moody."
Maiko smirks at him with scorn.
"Well, if I am, it's cuz you drive me crazy sometimes, doll."
Doc tries to keep us focused. "Well, now that we agree we’re dealing with a team…"
Izzy interjects, "You all agree. I still think it’s one fucked up guy."
Doc continues. "If our theory is correct, that one of them is tracking the victims, Bob thinks he knows how he does it, though we need your help confirming it, lieutenant."
"How's that, exactly?"
"In a few of the news reports on these other murders, the victims were mentioned to be close to death already. One had been severely injured recently, another had a terminal disease and was on his last legs, and the Reno cases were people who had just overdosed. But other articles don't mention this, so we were hoping you could review police and medical reports to strengthen that link."
Maiko furrows her brow and ventures a guess. "Are you saying he might be picking up on their imminent deaths somehow?"
"Yup. I've started calling him the Reaper. Like Mandy Patinkin in Dead Like Me." Blank stares. Again. No one here is gonna appreciate any of my pop culture references, I see. "Sorry."
Maiko looks skeptical. "How would he even sense that? I mean, chemicals are released from dying bodies that some birds, like vultures, can pick up on, but there aren't any cases I'm aware of showing that humans can detect those scents."
I nod. "True, but I haven't been able to figure out how your ability works yet, either. Dr. Gibson assures me it's not magical in nature. Clearly Lt. Foley can pick up on feelings of distress from a distance, so why can't this guy smell death?" Do I sound as defensive to them as I sound in my head? Hmm. My friends don't put up this much resistance, except Becks.
Maiko looks solemn, like she's working something out in her head. Dr. Gibson helps me out, in a more eloquent way than I can muster myself. "If nothing else, we need to open our minds to any number of unlikely variations in perception or ability. Some people see a connection between numbers and colors that others don't perceive. Others can see shades of color that no one else can distinguish. Some can tolerate ingesting poisons, toxins, or even metal. One of my patients can even consciously change her skin tone and blend into her surrounding environment." Yeah, I hope I get to meet Camo Girl soon. She sounds awesome.
Maiko furrows her bow. "Yes, but most of those are physiological or neurological in nature. I would venture the more outlandish are more easily explained as well, or are simply psychosomatic."
Lt. Foley leans in and whispers to her. "Babe, you're standing in a room with people who can hear things from miles away, remember everything, pick up on emotions from a dis
tance, and can track every single one of us."
"I'm just saying I'm sure it's not magic. I'd love to find out the underlying scientific explanation for people like us, myself included."
Dr. Gibson perks up. "I completely agree, doctor. Some I've figured out already, such as the hyperthymesia I explained earlier. Others...I'm still reading up on. In some cases, the explanation of their abilities is escaping me."
Lt. Foley is clearly getting frustrated by the theoretical direction this conversation is taking. He's probably picking that up from me or Izzy. Or both of us. "Ladies, please, can we save the Scientific American gobbledygook for another time?"
Maiko gives him a stern look, then nods to her to continue. Doc is frazzled, but proceeds. "Vultures can smell impending death, from a mile away or more. It's possible this man shares that ability. Perhaps it lures him or even disturbs him to the point he feels the need to extinguish it. The killer I've been tracking is also massive, so I thought he could be the Ripper as well, and only dismembers those victims he feels deserve it, a sort of judgmental psychosis."
I jump in with my theory. "But just being buff isn't enough to rip arms out of their sockets. There is, though, an extremely rare genetic condition called myostatin-related muscle hypertrophy that gives a few select individuals essentially double the muscle mass of most people, giving them this chimpanzee-like strength." Once again, the non-doctors in the room are like deer in headlights. "Chimps have been known to rip arms off of their peers and beat them with their own severed limbs." I realize I'm making the very beating motion I’m describing, so I stop. "With the right leverage, someone who has this condition can probably do the same to a person."
"Ok, so let's just say all this shit is true, just for a minute. How exactly does that help us hunt these fuckers down?" So eloquent. I like this guy.
Maddy explains. "That was my hope in coming here tonight. Between my ability to track our kind, your detective and empathic skills, Mr. North's predictive prowess, and Dr. Miyata's ability to incapacitate, I think we can locate the Paralyzer, the Reaper, the Ripper, and the Cleaner, and put an end to their respective crime sprees."
The Ripper of Blossom Valley Page 24