circles shadowed his eyes, razor burn had spread across his neck like a nettle sting and his skin looked pale and gaunt. But he couldn’t allow himself any slack now. Although he had tried his best to be objective the investigation had become something of a personal battle, one he had to win; after all, the alternative was just too painful to contemplate.
‘ Okay, as you can see we’ve got five names, men who may have been associates of Gleason in San Q,’ he said, addressing his team. ‘By the way, before I go any further, I presume all of you are up to speed on the Gleason case?’
The question was, of course, rhetorical – he prided his team on the quick acquisition and accumulation of information – and it was met with grunts of affirmation and the nodding of heads.
‘ Great. So I want a full background check on each of these individuals as well as a current address. As you know, this case is urgent, so as soon as we have addresses I want them brought in for questioning. We can’t let this one slip away from us. As everyone knows, three people all connected with Gleason have been sent threatening packages, and in the case of Dr Kate Cramer, who was the lead forensic artist in the case – well, she discovered a dead baby girl floating in the sea outside her house.’
Although this was not news to the team it was still met with expressions of outrage and disbelief.
‘ The perpetrator is obviously willing to kill,’ he continued. ‘And so it’s most likely he’s killed before.’ He looked across the room to Dr Jennifer Curtis, the specialist psychological profiler on his team. ‘Would you agree, Jennifer?’
A tall, slim and beautiful black woman stood up and addressed the room.
‘ That’s right, sir,’ she said, clearing her throat. ‘From all indications I would say, without a doubt, that we are dealing with a psychopath, someone who has, most probably since he was a child, felt no concern or empathy for anyone or anything. He views people – babies, even – as nothing more than inanimate objects that he can manipulate at will. I thought it would be a good idea to go back to the police records of each of these individuals concerned and scour them for any signs of psychopathic or sociopathic behaviour. Obviously, since they have all ended up in prison it’s likely that most, if not all of them, will have experienced behavioural problems of some sort – problems at school or work, feelings of isolation and alienation, addiction to drugs or alcohol. But I want to look for signs of disassociation as well. The person who is doing these things no doubt feels superior to the rest of mankind. He thinks, to a certain extent, that he is some sort of god, and the rest of us are his little playthings.’
‘ Get all the original police interviews and court transcripts on each of these five men and see what you can find.’
He turned to another member of his team, a stocky black man, who he knew happened to be gay, and who, in the course of a number of investigations, had proved himself to be an expert interviewer and interrogator.
‘ Lansing – I want you to go to San Quentin and interview the governor and staff and other inmates and see if you can discover any more about Gleason and his connection with these men. Did Gleason have any confidantes? Who were his friends, if that sick fuck had the capacity to make any? Did he have any enemies? Did he do any deals in prison? Take drugs of any sort? Who came to visit him? Did he receive any letters? Okay?’
‘ Right, sir,’ said Lansing. ‘I’ll fly up there tonight.’
‘ Great. What’s the latest on the daughter, Roberta Gleason? Helen, did you manage to get hold of her to check to see that she is okay?’
He looked over to a pale, drawn woman who was wearing a pink fleecy hat. He knew that Helen Holt had been diagnosed with breast cancer and that the hat hid a patchy scalp, the result of
‘ Okay, as you can see we’ve got five names, men who may have been associates of Gleason in San Q,’ he said, addressing his team. ‘By the way, before I go any further, I presume all of you are up to speed on the Gleason case?’
The question was, of course, rhetorical – he prided his team on the quick acquisition and accumulation of information – and it was met with grunts of affirmation and the nodding of heads.
‘ Great. So I want a full background check on each of these individuals as well as a current address. As you know, this case is urgent, so as soon as we have addresses I want them brought in for questioning. We can’t let this one slip away from us. As everyone knows, three people all connected with Gleason have been sent threatening packages, and in the case of Dr Kate Cramer, who was the lead forensic artist in the case – well, she discovered a dead baby girl floating in the sea outside her house.’
Although this was not news to the team it was still met with expressions of outrage and disbelief.
‘ The perpetrator is obviously willing to kill,’ he continued. ‘And so it’s most likely he’s killed before.’ He looked across the room to Dr Jennifer Curtis, the specialist psychological profiler on his team. ‘Would you agree, Jennifer?’
A tall, slim and beautiful black woman stood up and addressed the room.
‘ That’s right, sir,’ she said, clearing her throat. ‘From all indications I would say, without a doubt, that we are dealing with a psychopath, someone who has, most probably since he was a child, felt no concern or empathy for anyone or anything. He views people – babies, even – as nothing more than inanimate objects that he can manipulate at will. I thought it would be a good idea to go back to the police records of each of these individuals concerned and scour them for any signs of psychopathic or sociopathic behaviour. Obviously, since they have all ended up in prison it’s likely that most, if not all of them, will have experienced behavioural problems of some sort – problems at school or work, feelings of isolation and alienation, addiction to drugs or alcohol. But I want to look for signs of disassociation as well. The person who is doing these things no doubt feels superior to the rest of mankind. He thinks, to a certain extent, that he is some sort of god, and the rest of us are his little playthings.’
‘ Get all the original police interviews and court transcripts on each of these five men and see what you can find.’
He turned to another member of his team, a stocky black man, who he knew happened to be gay, and who, in the course of a number of investigations, had proved himself to be an expert interviewer and interrogator.
‘ Lansing – I want you to go to San Quentin and interview the governor and staff and other inmates and see if you can discover any more about Gleason and his connection with these men. Did Gleason have any confidantes? Who were his friends, if that sick fuck had the capacity to make any? Did he have any enemies? Did he do any deals in prison? Take drugs of any sort? Who came to visit him? Did he receive any letters? Okay?’
‘ Right, sir,’ said Lansing. ‘I’ll fly up there tonight.’
‘ Great. What’s the latest on the daughter, Roberta Gleason? Helen, did you manage to get hold of her to check to see that she is okay?’
He looked over to a pale, drawn woman who was wearing a pink fleecy hat. He knew that Helen Holt had been diagnosed with breast cancer and that the hat hid a patchy scalp, the result of
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