Sarai

by Lilya Myers

  The Chief knew none of that mattered now and Akroyd would have to prove himself with his peers. It took a lot of nerve to throw Akroyd to the wolves like this, especially since they were dealing with a very crafty serial killer. No matter. It was always like the Chief to have one of his gut revelations that would prove why he was the Chief.

  CHAPTER 48

  AKROYD WAS YOUNG, and maybe a little timid. That didn’t mean squat in the big picture. The kid was a brainiac and he’d find his legs with this group. When the detectives could get past themselves, they would see it too. In the end, Akroyd would earn more than his share of fist bumps from them.

  Akroyd wasn’t quite sure whether or not he should stand up to address the group. He fumbled with his papers for what seemed like forever as many pairs of eyes fixed on him. He stayed in his seat.

  “Uh… just to recap what we know, and possibly all or most of you have already been briefed,” he continued, “from the forensic evidence, external examination and autopsy results all of the women, with the exception of one, had not been murdered at the crime scenes where the bodies were discovered. The lividity, decomposition, um, the direction of blood flow patterns – all the usual things that are indicative of that.”

  Akroyd looked up from his notes again and into a sea of mob-ready stares. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair when someone muttered, “Thank you Captain Obvious.” The Chief shot a look at Paulie.

  “Obviously, this is old news. Just making sure we’re all on the same page.” They sure are a hard-ass looking lot. I’m glad I’m not the guy they’re looking for.

  “The lab is still working on other evidence collected at the scene and you’ll all receive a report on that as soon as any or all become available. We’re talking eleven different crime scenes, and believe me, we’re working overtime to get you some answers. If we had a murder scene, uh, scenes, it would sure help right now. But the fact is, we don’t.” He swallowed and realized that he misspoke.

  “I stand corrected. There was something different about the one found in that dinghy on the beach. She was murdered there. Usually serial killers stick to their game plan. So, this is unusual. We’re not ruling out copycat but to say that it is would be a long reach. We’ve withheld from anyone not directly involved in this case the specific detail about the eyes. Something only we and the killer would know. In this instance, the M.O. was exactly the same as the others except that she had been killed where she was found. Waiting for the M.E. to give us a report.” A few of the detectives started firing questions at Akroyd. They weren’t accustomed to Akroyd’s need to recap on top of his slow and methodical delivery.

  “Hey,” he said sharply. “I know this is a heck of a way to get to know each other but let me get through this first, okay?” A few of the detectives looked at each other. They at least respected the guy for standing up to a room full of testosterone-charged bodies, and one hormonal body.

  “It doesn’t appear that any of the women put up a struggle, at least at the time they were attacked. Latent bruising and lacerations around the wrists and ankles all seem to indicate that the vics put up a struggle after they realized they were bound…and trapped. Before the Chief called me in here, I received another report.” They all reached for the copies Akroyd had tossed on the table.

  O’Connell spoke up. “Were they actually raped? Did he rape and mutilate these women? Did he rape them first?…”

  “Hang on. You’re looking for a pattern and you all have a lot of questions. I know it’ll come up short for what you’re looking to get – but I’m sure what I give you next will either answer some of those questions or cause you to reevaluate what you thought you already knew.” He decided to stand up. Instead of being at eye-level, the detectives all had to look up at him. That’s better.

  “The autopsies indicated several things about which some possible conclusions, not closed-end assumptions, can be made. It appears that the women were taken by surprise, and then injected in the neck with a very thin needle. Like the kind that’s used on a child.”

  Akroyd snapped six enlarged photos under clips on a large board behind him. Because the needle marks were so small and the bodies had already started decomposing, they were almost missed. But here, here…” Akroyd pointed to places on the victims’ photos. “When the M.E. got some test results back, he found there was a foreign drug in their systems. Apparently, he was quite adept at making his attack swift and precise because he hit almost the same spot on every woman’s neck. There were no defensive wounds to suggest that they struggled at the time of the initial attack. The hands had been bagged – tested – no biological material found under any of their fingernails. This means that they weren’t able to put up a struggle before they were bound and they couldn’t fight after they were bound.”

  Russ broke in, “So what’d he use to render them unable to fight?”

  “I was just getting to that and the answer is not chloroform,” Akroyd answered with an edge of annoyance in his voice. An onslaught of questions filled the room.

  “Save your questions…please,” he added in a commanding voice. Although the Chief didn’t have anything to smile about these days, it brought a little amusement to see that Akroyd’s spine had hardened and that he gave a little push-back. No worries. He’s gonna fit right in.

  “Okay, so back to the needle marks. There was ketamine found in the vics tested so far. As you all probably know, ketamine is the popular date rape drug and is also being used recreationally. The last vic is still being tested but it’s a logical deduction, for the moment, to believe that the lab will find the same drug in them.”

  Akroyd went on without missing a beat. “There are several different blocking agents that are used as an adjunct to anesthesia to induce skeletal muscle relaxation. However, they produce complete paralysis. That would require mechanical ventilation – intubation. You know, stick a tube down their throat with oxygen. Not a likely scenario for a guy on the go. Of course, in this case, the perp is looking for an immediate means of subduing his target. Hence, the killer administered ether simultaneously with the injection.”

  Before he could demonstrate, someone asked, “So the perp mixed the ether with the ketamine?”

  “No, that’s not possible. He probably covered her mouth to stifle a scream and dispensed the ether through a cloth while he injected her with the other hand. The autopsy of vic number five revealed that she had suffered a fatal heart attack prior to the killer’s rape, torture, and mutilation. He may have miscalculated her weight and dosage to achieve his desired results or, she already had a heart condition. The jury’s still out on that one. We’ve got a lot of bodies we’re dealing with and we can’t afford to overlook something because we made assumptions. When this thing gets to court, you don’t want some defense attorney getting the whole thing thrown out because we didn’t cover our asses.”

  Catrone’s blood pressure had been percolating with something Akroyd had said earlier. He leaned forward, “Did you just say that he went ahead and raped her anyway after she was dead?” Akroyd’s confidence had grown enough through this briefing that Paulie’s threatening demeanor didn’t faze him. He understood, too, that it wasn’t directed at him.

  “That’s what the autopsy report says.”

  “Som-a-bitch.”

  Akroyd was no less repulsed by the report. He went on. “DNA testing. The good news is that results take between five and ten days. The bad news is that the testing lab is backlogged by about six weeks at the very least. Begging, threatening, nothing is going to get it done faster, I’m afraid. There’s a chance that we may get results from our first vic in the next week and a week or two later on the second for comparison.”

  The meeting lasted another hour and a half as other evidence was reviewed and questions were answered. When the meeting was adjourned, no one wasted time getting out of there and on to their assignments. Russ scooped up the murder book, now several volumes, and some other files as he made a mental argument with
himself. His gut was telling him to take his hunch about the mutilations to his boss – the one that was giving him the proverbial indigestion – what the Italians called agita.

  CHAPTER 49

  THE CHIEF HAD just turned into the doorway of his office and Russ was only a few steps behind him in the hall. He slowed his pace and, at the last second, kept moving down the hall toward the detectives’ division. Joey was on the phone. Russ fell into his chair behind the desk opposite his partner. The old wooden frame creaked as the casters took him for a short ride to the window. He leaned forward and stared outside. He didn’t have a corner on the market for using that as a decision-making tool. They were no further long in finding this madman. Every day was getting more critical.

  Russ stood straight up as though he had been ejected from the seat just as Joey ended his call. Grabbing his jacket, he brushed Joey’s shoulder with a slap as he was going past and said, “Come on.”

  Detective Scenza didn’t have to ask. He was on his partner’s heels as they turned the corner into the Chief ’s office.

  Out of respect, detectives would usually wait to be invited to sit, particularly when crashing into the Chief ’s office like bulls charging in a ring. Joey already knew what was on Russ’s mind and what he was about to unload on the Chief. The Chief was a good ear but even so, the narcs-turned homicide detectives quickly thwarted their charge when the Chief looked up.

  Russ had to stand. His brain had gone into overdrive, already organizing some of his men to the task he had in mind. The point he was trying to convey to the Chief came out like scrambled eggs and was making no sense to anyone except himself.

  The Chief sat there smiling for a minute and then his face turned more serious. “Have a seat, Detective Roma. I hear better that way. I’d be happy to consider whatever it is you’re asking if you would kindly accommodate me by passing that by me again. I’m only fluent in English.” The affable smile returned. He knew what Russ had to say was important and he wasn’t trying to diminish that. It was a tool he learned to use long ago to get the zealous party to refocus.

  “Sorry about that, Chief.” Russ sat, although he balanced on the edge of the chair. “I’ve gone over and over everything we’ve gotten so far, which doesn’t add up to sh…squat. Granted, there have been multiple vicious acts carried out on each of the vics. There’s one thing that stood out and has been most disturbing to me. Every time I reviewed each case, I kept coming back to the mutilation. I thought that I could be focusing too much on it because our little friend at that rag sheet newspaper decided to name our perp The Mutilator. I was afraid that was what kept drawing my attention to the mutilations alone instead of keeping my overall objectivity. So, naturally, I kept dismissing the fact that I would be missing important clues by compartmentalizing that one aspect of the crimes.”

  “Go on, I am listening and you have my complete attention,” the Chief responded. Joey listened too, even though he and Russ had dissected it into a million parts. There was no question that he was already on board with Russ. They had been through all the what-ifs and supporting arguments that day at the restaurant and returned to it many times since.

  “I did a little bit of research and some checking on my own about that subject. I first heard about genital circumcision from Rachel’s friend, Sarah. She came back from a trip to the Middle East. I don’t recall how the topic came up but I can’t forget how horrified she was by what she was told by a young woman there. Appropriately named, I found out that genital circumcision is also referred to as mutilation. Long story short, I’m uncertain if it’s actually a religious practice or an ancient custom thought up by some warped pervert. That’s irrelevant here. The sick part is that even though it’s banned or outlawed in some circles, it’s still being done. That’s key.”

  “So what you’re telling me is they cut up their young women and girls like our killer has? Well, why would they be killing all their women?” the Chief asked innocently. He’d grown up a city boy from the Upper East Side. All this foreign culture insanity was setting his hair on fire. What little he had left.

  “No, Chief,” Russ explained, “It isn’t meant to kill the women.” If this wasn’t so serious, Russ and Joey would have been amused at the Chief ’s naivety concerning the world outside of New York.

  “Sure, some could possibly die from infections or other complications, but not from the mutilation itself. Death isn’t the goal of the mutilations. From what I’ve read, the practice was rooted in gender inequality. They believe it was, still is, a means to control a woman’s sexuality, ideas about purity, modesty – that sort of thing.”

  “I’m still not sure I understand, or if I want to know anymore, but go ahead.” said the Chief. It wasn’t a pleasant topic to talk about, no less think about. Chief was from the old school.

  “Essentially what it is, Chief, a young female child or young woman undergoes the ritual removal of some or all of her external female parts…with a razor, a blade of some kind, or glass…” Russ took a deep breath. “With or without any anesthetic. What remains is strictly the ability to relieve themselves and bear children. Nothing more. This can lead to chronic pain and other health complications.”

  Before he responded, the Chief steepled his fingers and rested his face against them. The Chief had two daughters of his own and a granddaughter. The idea was beyond his grasp that any society would sanction such barbarism.

  When he collected himself, he asked, “So, you think our killer might have ties to this culture? What if it’s just something the killer read about somewhere, or thought up in his own sick mind?”

  “The lab was able to get latent prints off the set of gloves we found at the crime scene. The one in the boat on the beach? We ran them through the system and came up zip. We also got some DNA off one of the gloves, too. The killer must have nicked himself with the knife or whatever he was using. Nothing in our databases there either.”

  “That could mean that he’s never gotten caught,” the Chief said.

  “Exactly the point, or part of the point. The head scarf is something like religious women wear. Similar styling. It’s called a hijab. It could mean that he’s not from here. I did say could. I don’t mean – not from New York. I’m sayin’ not from this country. The fabric’s being tested –” Russ stopped mid-sentence and turned to see who had just knocked at the Chief ’s office door.

  The three men could see Laurel and Hardy, a.k.a. Detectives Danny O’Connell and Paulie Catrone through the open blinds on the door. The Chief waved them in. In spite of how crowded the room had become, the Chief motioned Danny to close the door again. There weren’t any other chairs. Paulie’s legs went to an at-ease holding pattern and Danny leaned against the door frame.

  “Sorry to interrupt you, Boss, but we thought you guys would want this information hot off the press. It ain’t earth shattering but any news is better than none. Oh, and somebody from the crime lab came by and asked me to give this to you, Roma.” He handed Russ an envelope which Russ fingered instead of opening, waiting for Paulie to get to the point. The murder book was growing but the case was standing still.

  The three men looked expectantly, waiting on Paulie’s news. Like he said, anything was something. “We know none of the girls or their families knew one another. They didn’t go to the same schools. They didn’t work for the same employer. They had no friends in common –”

  “Uh, Paulie? Can you kinda fast forward to the part we don’t know and you don’t think is earth shattering but came here to tell us and we’re waiting impatiently, I might add, to find out?” Joey was working those Italian hands in a roll along motion hoping it would get the wheels spinning.

  “I’m getting’ there, Joey. Grow some patience. You know, you can be one of the most annoying –”

  The Chief began tapping his pen on the desk. A signal to cease and desist and get on with it before he lost his cool.

  “Turns out there’s not one but two common denominators with all our vi
cs. Every one of them was adopted. And they were all of Middle Eastern decent.” He looked at the Chief, Russ, and Joey staring back, mouths open.

  “Hey, waddid I say?”

  Joey was out of his seat, lightly slapping one of Paulie’s cheeks with one hand and planting a kiss on the other. It was an Italian thing just like the hands. “Paulie, if you had come in here and told me I had won the million dollar lottery, it couldn’t top what you just told us! Hey guys, excellent work.” Russ’s insides were about to split with excitement.

  Paulie and Danny were a little confused about all the fuss. When everybody in the room settled down, Russ took a cue from the Chief to brief Paulie and Danny. The timing of their work was explosive to the case. Dots were connecting. They were about to start connecting even more.

  CHAPTER 50

  SARAH HAD PUT in a call to Able for help. Even though Rachel didn’t want to tag along, Sarah felt guilty about having to leave her alone while she did a little PR for Able. She also knew Rachel like a book. Given her insurmountable amount of curiosity, an hour alone at a hotel in a foreign land, could spell disaster. Rachel was too naive to know what she might encounter right outside the hotel.

  Able knew the Minister of Tourism as well as a lot of other influential contacts in Egypt and easily made some arrangements. He talked directly to the Minister who offered a private showing at the Cairo Museum and a trip to the Pyramids. He even volunteered to use his driver and bring his wife along as company. When he called her back with the news, Sarah thanked Able profusely. It gave her comfort to know that her best friend would get to see two important attractions under the guidance and safety of a respected man and his wife.

  “Rachel, I really appreciate you being such a good sport about doing a little bit of sightseeing without me. I promise, I’ll really try to wrap up my business so I can join you to see the Pyramids. Other than a drive-by, I’ve never had the chance to see them. I’m kinda jealous I won’t make the museum and that you’ll have the best and most important guide to give you the tour. There’s still Luxor and the Valley of the Kings tour. I already made arrangements for us to do together.”