The 7th Woman (10 page)

“Valérie Trajan was one month pregnant,” Professor Vilars announced in a gloomy voice.

How was it possible? How did the murderer have this information? And what role did Alexis play in this ghoulish plan? These were the questions hounding Nico while Armelle continued the autopsy.

“Well, look at that.”

“What is it?” Nico asked impatiently.

“Mrs. Trajan must have worn contact lenses. But there isn't one on her right eye. She must have lost it. I am extracting the one from the left eye. I will have the contact lens examined and a sample taken from its surface for genetic analysis.”

“I'll confirm that she wore them,” Nico said.

“We don't have much to work with,” she concluded. “I will provide you with the time of death. Based on my initial observations, it happened at the beginning of the afternoon. I'm going to look more closely and get my report to you in the morning,
Monsieur le Juge
.”

It was four in the morning. Nico set an appointment with Becker an hour later at headquarters and hastened out of the medical examiner's office. He didn't really like that place and had much to do.

NICO had barely gotten into his car when he decided it was time to let Cohen know. He woke him up and started summarizing the night's events. He didn't usually provide him with all the details of an investigation, but he was doubly involved in this one and could not leave his superior in the dark. Cohen, too, decided to report to headquarters. Then Nico contacted Jean-Marie Rost, who was still at the murder scene with the division's teams.

“Marc Walberg is very absorbed in the killer's message,” the deputy chief said. “You know him, he shouldn't be bothered. He promised to have some conclusions for our five a.m. meeting. We searched the Trajan apartment from top to bottom. You were right, the victim was fairly disorderly. Her clothing is all over the closet, her underwear just thrown in the drawers. She wasn't the type of women to set out her slippers the way we found them. We'll have to see if that leads somewhere. Mr. Trajan arrived not long after you left. He is in shock. I sent him to the hospital. I'll question him a little later, and I'll call his place of employment when it opens.”

“I'd like you to verify a little something for me,” Nico said. “Check to see if you find any contact lenses in the bathroom or the bedroom. The victim should have worn them.”

“I'll do that now. See you later.”

They hung up. Nico arrived at 36 Quai des Orfèvres and immediately went to the division's offices. Nets were spread between the floors of the building, just in case someone was tempted to jump over the rails. There were showcases on each level with a large collection of medals and uniforms. The Criminal Police Benevolent Association also used the space to hang posters announcing Beaujolais Nouveau celebrations, the staff Christmas party, retiree dinners and the like. Team solidarity showed whenever there was good reason, such as the death of a member of the service.

Nico took refuge in his office. His cell phone showed that his sister had tried to reach him several times during the night. He called her.

“Good God, Nico! What is happening? Alexis is in a terrible state, and two police officers are still with him in his office.”

“I'm sorry, Tanya. I should have called you to explain, but I admit that I have not had a minute to myself. And the whole thing is very strange.”

“What whole thing? Please, tell me.”

“I'm working on the serial killer case. Alexis has confidential information about the victims.”

The other end of the call fell silent.

“Tanya? Listen, Alexis doesn't understand what is going on, and neither do we. What is certain is that the criminal has decided to target me. I would not be surprised if he tried to involve my family members. We just have two or three small things to check.”

“You don't have any doubts about Alexis, do you?”

“Of course not, but we need to find out who is manipulating us as quickly as possible. I have requested police protection for you. I recommend that you take time off from work until further notice. Don't let the kids go to school. Stay home for the time being.”

“You're scaring me, Nico. Nothing like this has ever happened to us before.”

“I know. I'm sorry, believe me.”

“Promise me that you will find who is doing this.”

“Now you're doubting me? Have I ever let you down?”

“Of course not.”

“So give me a few days, and this thing will be over. I promise.”

“What about Dimitri? And Mom? Are they in danger?”

Nico sighed. To tell the truth, he didn't have the slightest idea.

“Ask
Maman
to stay with you until Sunday. I won't be able to get enough backup to ensure your safety if you're spread out. I'll call Sylvie later.”

“OK. And if you need us to take Dimitri in, we can do it, no problem.”

“Thank you. Did Caroline leave?”

“Right after you did. She isn't aware of anything. She only noticed that Alexis wasn't acting normal. I wouldn't be surprised if she calls today to make sure that everything is all right. What should I tell her?”

“I'll take care of it.”

“I would have guessed as much. You're hot on her. You can tell a mile away.”

“Tanya …”

“Don't deny it. You've got good taste. She's worth it, clearly. I'm sure she noticed that you're interested in her.”

“How's that?”

“Nico, you were acting like a teenager. You were devouring her with your eyes. For a minute there I thought you were going to jump all over her. Do you really think she didn't get it? Come on.”

“Oh.”

“Seize the day, Nico. I'll let you work. Keep me posted, please.”

She hung up. He had started thinking about Caroline again.

F
IVE A.M. THEY HAD just sat down at the rectangular table in the office. Alexandre Becker was acting haughty. He was the boss and clearly wanted to mark his territory. Police
officers were there to execute the magistrate's orders. They carried out their investigation-related duties only when authorized by a
commission rogatoire
mandate. It was up to the magistrate to give more or less independence to the police, as he saw fit. Nico did not like the man's sense of self-importance. But he knew that his personal feelings shouldn't come between the police and the justice system, and he had to keep them to himself.

“Let's get going and be practical,” he said. “I suggest we review the investigation and set up a plan of action.”

Everyone nodded.

“Deputy Chief Rost? Did you get anything from questioning the neighbors?”

“Zilch. The girl most probably opened the door to her murderer. There is no sign of breaking and entering, no suspicious noises in the building. Nobody saw or heard anything.”

“What about the husband's schedule? And Glucksman's?” Nico asked.

“Trajan is in such a state of shock that we still haven't been able to question him,” Joël Théron said. “He was taken to the hospital, where he is under police guard. I'll call his office in the morning. Glucksman is off the hook. We checked and confirmed that he was on a business trip. Two of his colleagues were with him all day. His wife has a shop, and she decided to take the day off.”

“And Valérie Trajan?”

“She was a pharmacist and worked in a drugstore four days a week,” Théron said. “She didn't work on Wednesdays, a habit she established with the expectation of having children.”

Nico continued. “What did Walberg have to say about the killer's writing?”

“The two messages are by the same person,” Rost said. “It has been confirmed that he is left-handed. But there is a notable difference. Now there are peaks, trembling and a greater contact angle.”

“Which means?” Cohen questioned, impatient.

“The writing is less regular, showing more nervousness or excitement.”

“I want Walberg to compare the writing with Dr. Alexis Perrin's,” Nico ordered.

“I think that is an excellent idea,” Cohen said.

“I'll take care of it,” Deputy Chief Rost said.

“And what about the Trajan apartment search?” Nico asked.

“Nothing,” Rost said, disappointed. “All we got was confirmation that Valérie Trajan was somewhat disorderly by nature and that it is certainly the murderer who arranged the slippers, as you suggested right away. They are in the lab, along with her clothing and shoes. Oh, and I didn't find any contact lenses.”

“That's impossible. Did you look everywhere?” Nico asked.

“In every corner. I understood that it was important. And Florence Glucksman said that Valérie Trajan never had any problems with her eyesight.”

“That's odd. Professor Vilars found a contact lens on the victim's left eye and not on the right one.”

“I have the solution to this mystery,” Kriven said. “The lab found a contact lens in the trace evidence picked up by Vidal's vacuum. He called five minutes before the meeting to let me know. The lab is comparing the two, along with DNA from both of them.”

“The most plausible explanation is that Valérie Trajan lost a contact when she was attacked,” Nico suggested. “But why didn't we find other contacts in her home, and why did her friend say she had perfect vision? We need to ask her husband. Furthermore, a lock of blond hair was left for us between her breasts. The police forensics lab is examining it. We'll have the first results concerning the brown hair we found on the knife used to kill Chloé Bartes in the morning. As for the blood used by the criminal to write the message, it is very likely to be the victim's, but we have to check.”

Nico paused. He did not want to monopolize the meeting or take the lead when that was, in theory, his boss's job or the investigating magistrate's.

“Has there been any progress on the rope and the fisherman's knot?” Alexandre Becker asked, showing that he was familiar with the case.

“The same batch of rope was used in the first two cases,” Nico said. “The fisherman's knots were made by a left-handed person. Théron, do you have anything from the third case?”

“It's a lefty again and the same kind of knot. The rope is being tested.”

“The victim's breasts were amputated again,” Nico said, “and exchanged with Chloé Bartes'. And, finally, the autopsy proved that Trajan was one month pregnant.”

“How is that possible?” Judge Becker shouted. “The killer obviously has access to confidential medical information. In any case, since they only recently got pregnant, that means that he chooses the victims not very long before committing the crime. So he prepares quickly, yet he is in total control of place and time elements surrounding the victims and people close to them. Trajan didn't work that day, and he knew. And this Alexis Perrin? Is he our prime suspect?”

There was an uncomfortable silence.

“Dr. Perrin is Chief Sirsky's brother-in-law,” Cohen said. “It's a strange coincidence, particularly because the murderer decided to target Nico directly in the messages he is leaving. So let's slow down. The killer is surely setting a trap. Of course, that puts us in an uncomfortable position. For the time being, Nico stays on the investigation. He's the head of the
brigade
criminelle,
and we need his experience. Furthermore, taking him off the case is what the killer wants.”

Everyone turned to Judge Becker. The ball was in his court. He sighed.

“Fine. I'll tell the prosecutor what you have decided. Let's stop there for now. Chief Sirsky gets the benefit of the doubt. I know his ability to stay on course. But let it be understood, I reserve the right to remove him from the case at any time. Now, Mr. Sirsky, talk to me about your brother-in-law's involvement in this thing.”

Nico recounted the facts and mentioned that Bastien Gamby had joined the investigation.

“Bastien Gamby?” the investigating magistrate questioned.

“The computer specialist from counter-terrorism,” Nico answered. “Nobody's better. The section is really busy right now, but I thought the seriousness of our case called for Gamby. Do you have anything to add, Kriven?”

“I pulled Bastien from his bed in the wee hours, and he met me at Dr. Perrin's office. Here are his conclusions. Alexis Perrin has an Internet connection and is networked with an off-site secretarial service that manages his appointments. This is a frequent practice. A secretary is responsible for several doctors, answers their calls and schedules appointments. This kind of network is easy to hack into, because users sometimes connect to specific sites, for example a special medical site, and leave records of their computer addresses, which allow a hacker to break in. Then the hacker can transfer whatever data or file he wants from the Internet or even from other members of the network.”

“Do we know if his computer was hacked?” Becker cut in.

“No. Gamby installed remote monitoring software on Perrin's machine, and starting now, if someone tries to get onto his hard disk, we'll be able to trace him.”

“So, Dr. Perrin could very well have put together the medical files of the three victims?” Alexandre Becker insisted.

“There is nothing that confirms or disproves that hypothesis,” Kriven admitted.

“Except that Alexis had not even seen them yet,” Nico said. “To be sure, all you have to do is go back over his schedule. David, did you record how long it takes to get from his office to the victims' apartments? We know the time that Dr. Perrin had available, considering his cancelled appointments.”

“I'm sorry, but that doesn't get your brother-in-law off the hook. He could have gone back and forth to each and returned to his later appointments afterward. He had the time. I'm really sorry, Nico. Also, he says he had other patients who didn't show for their appointments, and when we tried to check them out, we discovered that those people don't exist. The names and addresses on his records are fake.”

“Perrin could have invented them,” the magistrate said.

“Except that it was the secretary who took the calls,” Kriven said abruptly, happy to add something in Nico's favor. “I checked. She is a gem and writes everything down, including the date and time of the calls, along with the patients' names.”

“Could he have masked his voice to call the secretary himself?” the magistrate asked.

“Anything is possible,” Cohen said, “But Nico answers for Perrin. Let's not go off chasing a bad lead. Remember that Nico is being targeted directly, as we saw clearly in the last message. Let's take a look at the people Nico has arrested for sex crimes—the ones who've served their time. Revenge could be enough reason to attack him.”

“Of course, we do not want to neglect any lead,” Magistrate Becker said. “However, I'd like to question Dr. Perrin in the morning.”

“I took the initiative to put him and his family under police protection,” Nico said.

“That's fine. You did the right thing,” Cohen said.

“If I may,” Kriven said, “the team has already found fake appointments in Dr. Perrin's agenda for the days to come.”

“And the first afternoon patient?” Nico asked with worry in his voice.

“A woman,” Kriven said. “Today, just like Friday.”

“And do you know who it is? Did you contact her?”

“You're not going to like this, Nico.”

“What's happening now?” Cohen asked, having a hard time hiding his impatience.

“At two p.m. today, Dr. Perrin has an appointment with Sylvie Sirsky,” Kriven said. “That's Nico's ex-wife. I called her, and she never made that appointment.”

“Shit!” Nico cried out, slamming his fist on the table.

“Is she the murderer's type?” Becker asked.

“More or less.”

“Get her under protection,” the magistrate said.

Nico stared at him and saw some compassion in his eyes. He was surprised by the judge's reaction. Perhaps Becker did have a sensitive side that he kept hidden. The man rose a little in his esteem.

“Magistrate Becker is right,” Cohen said. “Get some officers to watch your ex and your son. The murderer really seems focused on you, but we still don't know why.”

“We've got our work cut out for us. It's going to be a long day. Chief Sirsky, could we touch base in the early afternoon for an update?” Becker asked.

“As you wish. To conclude this meeting, let's listen to Dominique Kreiss, who has more details about the murderer's profile.”

“I am very curious to hear Miss Kreiss' opinion,” Becker said with what seemed like a note of sarcasm.

Not everyone accepted profiling. Nico found that unfortunate, but he was sure that this attitude would change soon. Nico was convinced that knowledge of a criminal's psychology helped police understand his motives and ultimately make an arrest.

“I might be repeating myself, but let me restate the characteristics that the three victims shared,” Dominique began, not at all perturbed by the disdain the investigating magistrate had expressed. “First, our serial killer is meticulous and obsessive and chooses victims who are physically similar and have the same profile. When he amputates their breasts, he is acting out revenge against his mother. He is most likely a white male, as such killers often murder in the same ethnic group. He is twenty-five to forty years old, intelligent and organized. He's familiar with police techniques and knows how to dissect and suture human tissue. There are also biblical connotations in the messages he leaves for us: ‘Seven days, seven woman' challenges the day of rest on Sunday. And then, ‘Nico, I am shattering my enemies, and Sunday you will not be able to rise.' That brings us to Psalms 18, verse 38: ‘I shattered them, so that they shall not be able to rise: They fell under my feet.'”

“Other than having some biblical knowledge, what does that tell us?” Becker asked.

“Nothing very specific,” Dominique Kreiss said. “Just that our man is hiding behind the Bible, using it to justify his criminal objectives. I have the feeling that our killer is a cultivated man, but he is not a real believer.”

“What makes you say that?” Nico asked.

“A very religious person would have too much respect for the text to modify it and use it for his own purposes. This man doesn't care and dares God to stop him.”

“There are also the thirty lashes with the whip. That must mean something specific. If we find out what that is, it could lead us to him.”

“Maybe it marks an anniversary?” the psychologist suggested.

“Why not. So thirty years ago some major event occurred that changed the course of his life?”

“You mean he could have cut off the tail of a lizard or smothered his cat?” Kriven said. “That's like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

“You're right,” Nico said. “It is probably some micro-phenomenon that conditioned the killer, and we will never find any trace of it. However, we can't ignore the symbolism of those thirty lashes. We have to look and explore the past. Kriven, since you've got a critical eye for this kind of thing, you're responsible. Consult the papers back then. Maybe there's a news item.”

Kriven let out a breath and nodded.

“I don't need to tell you that this is a race against the clock,” Nico said to his team. “Today, the killer is preparing to make a fourth victim.”

“And we have until Sunday,” Becker said. “After that, the killer could escape us entirely.”

“We had better arrest him before Sunday,” Cohen concluded.

Everyone turned to the deputy police commissioner.