“Pick one of those and then leave.” King stomped off, went into his office, and slammed the door. Unfortunately, his office had a huge glass window. He continued to march off to his desk, sat down, and scowled when he saw me watching him.
Asshole.
Stein got to my side. “So, that went pretty well.”
“Did it?”
“Yeah. He didn’t yell.” Stein looked at me and smiled. “He usually yells.”
“At the new person?”
“At. . .anybody. However, he doesn’t like new people. Or. . .people. It takes time to gain his trust.”
I rolled my eyes and walked back to the wall. “Well. . .I’m not here to be his BFF. I’ll do my best to stay out of his way, but I’m not going anywhere.”
“Good.” Stein nodded. “Because we need you.”
My heartbeats picked up. I looked back at him. “Do you?”
“Yeah. Your community ties will get this case moving. Half the time our agents knock on doors, people won’t open them. The ones that do, I feel like they’re not telling us everything.” Stein sighed. “We need you.”
“Good. I want to help. I want the Angel Maker under the jail.”
“He’s not the Angel Maker here. That’s what the news calls him. For us, he’s Unsub— Unknown Subject.”
“That’s right. Unsub.”
“And for me, a jail cell won’t be enough for this maniac.” Stein shook his head. “I’m hoping the Unsub will need a casket.”
“Me too.”
The red-head walked over to us.
Stein cleared his throat. “And this is Special Agent Tina Richards. She’s our new profiler. Our old one. . .needed a break.”
“I heard he burned out.” Richards shook my hand. “You can call me Tina. I’m not a fan of being called by my last name.”
“That’s fair.” I took my hand back. “Call me Haven.”
“Nice to meet you, Haven.” Tina turned back to the board. “I overheard that you’re from Fullbrooke.”
“I am.”
“If you don’t mind, I would love for you to take me around town so I could get a feel of the people. It would help me come up with the Unsub’s background.”
“You think he’s a local?” I asked.
“I do. He’s able to grab the kids in public places without anyone spotting him. It could be extreme planning that helped, but there’s a strong sense that he’s familiar with the area. He grew up here. He knows the nooks and crannies of buildings and shortcuts in roads.”
“That’s a good assessment. King thinks the killer is local too,” Stein added. “Our last profiler disagreed, but as we noted, Will Johnson had burned out.”
Tina had a sad smile. “It doesn’t take long for profilers to lose it.”
“Will also found out that his girlfriend was pregnant. This isn’t the best case to be on when you’re expecting a kid.” Stein nodded. “By the way, you both can call me Brett. It’ll be nice to shake things up around here.”
I glanced over my shoulder.
Alexander King watched us from his office like a dark, brooding villain.
I’m not going anywhere so get used to it, buddy.
I looked back at the wall. “Tina, what else are you coming up with for the Angel Maker? Sorry. Unsub.”
“Serial killers usually fall into one of two subsets—organized or disorganized offenders. Through the evaluation of the crime scene, victims, and forensic evidence, it’s possible to conclude personality and behavioral characteristics.”
Stein glanced back at the evidence on the wall. “What do you think about our Unsub?”
“He’s organized. The crime scene suggests that he planned his attack. He is careful to not leave blood and fingerprints behind.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “What can you tell us about organized killers?”
“They usually kill due to some sort of reaction to a stressful event.”
“So, something triggered our Unsub to begin taking little girls?”
She nodded. “He should also have an organized, yet average life. Above average intelligence and socially competent, but there may have been some awkwardness due to possible bullying in his life.”
I turned back to the wall. “So, a disorganized killer would leave a mess at the crime scene?”
“Easily. Everything would be in disarray. Blood all over the place. Maybe even fingerprints. With a disorganized serial killer, the murder is opportunistic and close to where he lives. He’s also socially inadequate and has a below-average intelligence.”
I sighed. “So, back to our Unsub. He’s organized and most likely from Fullbrooke? What else do you think?”
Tina stirred a little. “This will be an unpopular opinion, but the FBI will have to consider this.”
Brett quirked his brows. “What’s that?”
“Fullbrooke locals and most of the media have been hinting at this being a white man racially preying on these little girls, but I think it could be a black man.”
I let out a long breath. “You’re right. That’s an unpopular opinion. The last thing these folks want to hear, after six dead black girls are killed, is that the FBI will be investigating all the black men in the area.”
Tina frowned. “It’s a myth that serial killers are all white males.”
“A myth, but accurate in many ways.” I forced myself to not roll my eyes. “Not all, but most are white men.”
“Contrary to popular belief, the racial diversification of serial killers mirrors that of the overall U.S. population. There are White, African-American, Hispanic, and Asian ones.”
I shrugged. “I’m well aware of the different ones. Charles Ng was Chinese, and he murdered many in Northern California. Derrick Lee was an African-American and he killed six women in Louisiana.”
Brett jumped in, “Carl Watts was also African-American, and he killed five in Michigan.”
“And murdered another twelve in Texas,” I added. “But that’s not my point. I know I’m new to this unit, but I’m not new to this town. Fullbrooke was built on racism. The town is named after one of the meanest slave owners of the state—Tom Fullbrooke. And although he and his ways are gone, this town thrives on racism to this day. So. . .I just don’t want the white men in Fullbrooke to be overlooked.”
“Or white women. We can’t just look at men either,” Tina offered. “And I understand, Haven. I’m here to get this psycho off the streets. However, think about this. It sounds like Fullbrooke is racially divided.”
“It is.”
“Then, wouldn’t the black community notice a white man sneaking around and taking the girls?”
“Yes and no.” I studied the photos on the wall. “Black girls are taken by many in black communities all around the United States. It’s not that no one notices. It’s that sometimes I fear we’re not watching over our girls like we should.”
My heart broke as I took in those faces. I’d seen them all over the news and social media. I’d read their files and backgrounds. I’d noted the similarities they’d had with their parents—many I’d gone to school with.