Mixed Messages (A Malone Mystery) (28 page)

She
glanced at the TV screen
.
The ten o’clock local news was on
.
She started to change
the channel. Find something funny, she thought. It would be good to watch a comedy; I could use a good laugh. No, she reminded herself, you need to know what’s going on in the world.

Ignorance may be bliss, but it can also get you killed
.
You may not like to watch the news but you’d better do it anyway
.
She turned the volume up just as Steve Lane, the Channel
8
anchor
, was introducing renowned psychologist, Dr. Richard Reniker.

“Dr. Reniker,” the newscaster said, “I understand that you’ve frequently assisted the police in several states and that you’ve worked with the FBI’s Behavioral
Analysis
Unit in profiling criminals
.
Could you explain to our viewers what a profiler does?”

“Yes, thank you for inviting me, Steve,” Dr. Reniker replied
.
He smiled, looking straight toward the camera
.
“Well, with all the investigative
crime
programs on television these days, many of you may already know this but, for those of you who don’t,
I’ll explain
.
A
profiler is someone who gathers all available information about a particular crime or crimes and utilizes that information to create a profile, or portrait, of the type of person who would be most likely to have committed the crime or crimes.”

“And have you come up with a profile of the Westwood Strangler?” Steve Lane asked.

“Yes
.
I’ve studied the crime scene photos and the police reports relating to the cases and I’ve developed a list of what I consider
characteristics
of this person
.
Please keep in mind that this is strictly my opinion, although it is based on years of researching similar cases.

“
I believe that these crimes are
being
executed by a highly organized person with a superior ability to delay gratification
.
In other words, he is capable of controlling his murderous impulses until he believes the time is right
.
He plans each and every detail very carefully
.
He does his homework, that is, he knows his victims and their habits
.
I also believe that this killer is very intelligent
.
I see him as someone who functions quite well in society but who definitely considers himself to be a loner.”

“Dr. Reneker, you say he’s intelligent and high functioning. Does that mean you think he’s
someone with a white collar job?”

“Possibl
y
,” the psychologist replied, nodding his head, “but not definite
ly
.
He could very
well be a professional but, because of his loner tendencies, I see him as someone who works alone the majority of the time
.
Don’t forget, there are
many
bright people who are underachievers, working in jobs that are far beneath what they are capable of
.
He could be one such person
.
Whatever job he holds, he needs the time and freedom to
stalk his victims and, ultimately, kill them
.
Of
course, there’s always the possibility that he’s unemployed, possibly between jobs.
” Doctor Reneker glanced down at his notes before continuing.

“
I believe we’re looking for a white male, between the ages of
twenty
-five and
forty
-five
who has some type of criminal record.
In all likelihood, h
is behavior started when he was a juvenile; he may have been arrested for voyeurism, destruction of property, theft, that sort of thing. As he got older, he was probably picked up for burglary and possibly assault or attempted rape. Then, something may have happened, a stressor, in his life to push him to the next level: murder. I’m basing this on probabilities compiled through the years from similar cases of serial killers.”

“You said, ‘
a stressor
’?
Can you give
our viewers
an example?
”

“Yes, Steve.
A stressor is a life
altering event, or something that the perpetrator perceives to be traumatic, that took place within days, weeks or even a few months of his first attack. In this instance, he strangled the first woman in early September. My best guess is that something major happened in his life just prior to that. It could be anything from a job loss to the death of someone close to him
,
whom
he either loved very much and/or depended on. We already have five victims and this type of perpetrator usually doesn’t stop until he’s caught.”

“
So
, do
you expect there
to be another attack soon
?”

“
Unfortunately
, yes. Definitely. The
attacks
have escalated; they’re getting closer
together
. There was a month between the first two
attacks
and, now, we’ve had two this week. That could mean that the Westwood Strangler is
devolving
; in other words, losing it.”

“
That’s really scary,” Steve said
.
“
I have another question.
I
s it true that none of the victims were raped?”

“
Yes, that’s true
.
There have been no signs of sexual assault on
any of the
victims
.
Obviously, that eliminates semen as a source of DNA,
which could be used against the perpetrator,
if and when
he
is apprehended
.
As I’m sure you’re aware, police rely heavily on DNA to prove their case.
And, unfortunately, the police haven’t found
any
DNA
at the crime scenes,
which indicates a methodical
killer who is fanatically neat and clean
.
”

“Assuming you’re right,
that we’re talking about a
man who is still young enough to perform sexually
,
how do you explain no sexual intercourse, no rape
?
Isn’t that unusual?”

“Well,” Dr. Reneker replied, “
that isn’t as unusual as you would think
.
I
t could be because of any number of things
.
A possibility, what immediately comes to mind, is impotency
.
Perhaps the Westwood Strangler kills these women to punish
all
women because he is unable to perform sexually
.
Frequently, this happens when
a wife or other important female in his life made fun of
his sexuality
.
It could even go back to his childhood
.
I’ve seen cases where a
mother made derogatory comments about the size of
a boy’s
penis and, because he was of a sensitive nature, it affected him adversely.

“
As an adult,
he’s unable to find
sexual release through intercourse with a woman
.
He becomes extremely frustrated and begins to resent all women. He starts to fantasize about killing them and discovers that this arouses him. Eventually,
for him,
strangling
women
becomes
the only way he
can
achieve orgasm.
”

“
Dr.
Reniker, is there anything else you can tell our viewers?”

“Yes
.
Usually, in cases of this nature, the predator lives outside of the hunting grounds, so to speak
.
However, it’s my feeling and, I need to mention, also the belief of the Cincinnati Police department, that this person, this animal, is
most likely
someone who is seen frequently in the neighborhood
and quite possibly lives there
, someone who fits in so well that nobody questions his being there
.
It’s
also
possible that this killer even has access to these women’s houses
or, at least,
that he’s someone they wouldn’t think twice about letting in
.
There were no signs of forced entry at
any
of the crime scenes.

“Also, this is
almost certainly
someone who lives alone because, if he were married or living with someone, he would be accountable for his time
.
These women were murdered at various times of the day and night
.
For example, Steve, wouldn’t your wife start asking questions if you weren’t home at four in the morning?” he asked, turning to the newscaster.

“That’s putting it mildly,” Steve said, grinning. “But couldn’t the strangler be someone
whose job or other activities give him a reason to be gone at those times?”

“Definitely
.
There could be any number of scenarios
.
After all, profiling is based on probabilities
.
It is not an exact science. Actually, for anyone who is interested in learning more about profiling, I’ve written a book on the subject,
The Art of
Profiling
, available at local book stores
.
” He held up a copy of the book, angling it
s cover
toward the camera.

“Doctor, unfortunately, we’re almost out of time
.
I’d like to thank you for being with us tonight
.
Is there anything else you’d like to say before we close?”

Richard Reneker looked directly at the camera
.
“
Yes.
Again, thank you for inviting me
.
I would like to say that I know that the women in this area are frightened and rightfully so
.
They’ve received constant warnings from the media about locking their doors, not going out at night alone and so forth
.
I would like to add one thing to that
.
Ladies, please, definitely heed all
of those warnings and, of course, be wary of strangers but I would caution you to also be wary of
men you know
.
The killer could easily be the boy next door.”

Ann turned off the TV
.
She mentally reviewed what the psychologist had said
.
A serial killer! And
,
she thought, it could be anyone
:
the cable guy, the mailman or the neighborhood handyman
.
A white male twenty-five to forty-five years old who is fanatically neat and clean, someone people let into their homes without giving it a second thought.

“Oh, my God,” she whispered
.
Like an insurance agent
?
She thought of the late hours that David had come home lately and his behavior when he was home
.
Dr.
Reniker had said that the wife would question her husband if he weren’t home at four a.m
.
Maybe the guy is married, she thought, but his wife is just stupid
and
naïve
.
Like me
.

She closed her eyes. All she could see were David’s eyes as he’d screamed at her and
destroyed the beautiful roses he’d brought her
.
They were filled with rage, even hatred
.
For a few seconds, she’d actually been afraid of him.
She
trembled
.
Was there any chance, any chance at all, she wondered, that the man she was married to was a cold
-
blooded killer?

Chapter 2
8

ANN GOT UP FROM THE SOFA
.
You need to go to bed, she told herself
.
You’re
tired
and you’re not thinking straight
.
How could you, for one minute, think that David could or would kill or even hurt anyone
?
True, he has a bad temper but
he always takes his anger out on inanimate objects.
N
o matter how angry with me he’s been, he’s never even come close to laying a hand on me
or the kids
.
She reached
down
to turn off the lamp but, before she could, it and the other lights that were on in the apartment, all went out
.
“Oh, no,
”
she moaned
,
“
j
ust what I need.”