two hours.
The only real news from the ME was that Marcia had not been raped. Jake wasn’t surprised. Sadistic killers were more often motivated by power than sexual lust.
He typed another email to the forensics lab:
From: Detective J. Austin
To: Greater Indianapolis Forensics Unit
Re: Marcia Lamb
Guys, I hate to ask but I need anything on this one quickly. Did she scratch his face? Did you find any DNA? Anything we can use, can you keep me in the loop as you find out, rather than keeping it for the final report?
Thanks
Detective Austin
He didn’t hold out much hope. Forensics hated to be rushed, and Jake anticipated that the killer hadbeen too organized, too careful, to leave any clues. He probably knew as much about forensics as most cops.
He became aware of a gentle floral scent that he vaguely remembered. Pure Turquoise by Ralph Lauren? He had bought that for Leigh on her last birthday. He turned to see Gail Greene standing behind him, a gentle smile on her face.
‘You forgot my doughnut,’ she said.
‘Sorry. I can get you a coffee,’ he replied.
‘That stuff?’ she said with a smile. ‘No, thank you. You’ll have to owe me one.’ She propped herself against one of the desks. ‘Let me tell you a little about your suspect. I don’t think he killed anybody.’
‘We guessed that.’
‘He has Aquinas syndrome, a compulsion to claim crimes he had nothing to do with. It’s named after—’
‘Thomas Aquinas,’ said Jake.
‘You’re Catholic?’ she asked.
‘My mother is.’ He motioned towards the door of the interview room. ‘Is he going to be OK?’
‘I don’t think he’ll ever be OK.’ She smiled sadly. ‘He’s a deeply damaged individual. Borderline retarded in terms of intelligence. His mother abandoned him, and he drifted in and out of care. I’m having trouble tracking down exact records. But now he’s living in a project, among drug dealers and prostitutes. He’s fallen through the cracks, and he could be very dangerous.’
‘Dangerous enough to murder?’ Johnny had got allof the details wrong so far, but Jake would still have to look into it.
‘Hmm.’ Gail twisted a lock of her hair in her fingers when she spoke. ‘Typically, people like Johnny are prone to violence and to abnormal expressions of sexuality,’ she went on. ‘For instance, during the interview he exposed himself to me.’
‘You should have called me.’
‘I’m a big girl.’
Jake put his hands up in surrender.
‘He shows some signs of sexual deviance,’ she went on.
‘Paedophile?’
She shook her head and her red hair changed colour in the light from the window. ‘Sufferers from Aquinas syndrome sometimes have predilections towards juveniles, but I don’t think so in Johnny’s case. Necrophilia seems more likely, given his obsession with death and dead people – he showed visible signs of arousal when discussing what he claims he saw.’
Jake groaned. Now they had another suspect, even if a blind man could see he didn’t do it. Procedure was procedure.
‘So, is he capable of having killed Marcia Lamb?’
‘Capable, sure,’ she said, clearly picking up on his tone. ‘But it isn’t exactly an easy pathology to anticipate.’
Jake nodded, unsuccessfully biting back a frustrated sigh. Johnny might not be a murderer, but he could still be a problem.
He would have to be watched.
16
Tuesday, 3 p.m.
Colonel Asher’s face was redder than usual. And his shirtsleeves were rolled up – never a good sign. He nodded briefly at Dr Greene, then turned to Jake.
‘Austin, when you have a moment can you come into my office, please? And bring your partner with you.’
‘Duty calls,’ Jake said to Gail. ‘So, what do we do about Johnny?’
‘Our resources are limited. I would love to get him into a residential programme and prescribe him the right meds. But it’s not going to happen. And as you have nothing to hold him on, he falls between the cracks again.’
Jake stood.
The only real news from the ME was that Marcia had not been raped. Jake wasn’t surprised. Sadistic killers were more often motivated by power than sexual lust.
He typed another email to the forensics lab:
From: Detective J. Austin
To: Greater Indianapolis Forensics Unit
Re: Marcia Lamb
Guys, I hate to ask but I need anything on this one quickly. Did she scratch his face? Did you find any DNA? Anything we can use, can you keep me in the loop as you find out, rather than keeping it for the final report?
Thanks
Detective Austin
He didn’t hold out much hope. Forensics hated to be rushed, and Jake anticipated that the killer hadbeen too organized, too careful, to leave any clues. He probably knew as much about forensics as most cops.
He became aware of a gentle floral scent that he vaguely remembered. Pure Turquoise by Ralph Lauren? He had bought that for Leigh on her last birthday. He turned to see Gail Greene standing behind him, a gentle smile on her face.
‘You forgot my doughnut,’ she said.
‘Sorry. I can get you a coffee,’ he replied.
‘That stuff?’ she said with a smile. ‘No, thank you. You’ll have to owe me one.’ She propped herself against one of the desks. ‘Let me tell you a little about your suspect. I don’t think he killed anybody.’
‘We guessed that.’
‘He has Aquinas syndrome, a compulsion to claim crimes he had nothing to do with. It’s named after—’
‘Thomas Aquinas,’ said Jake.
‘You’re Catholic?’ she asked.
‘My mother is.’ He motioned towards the door of the interview room. ‘Is he going to be OK?’
‘I don’t think he’ll ever be OK.’ She smiled sadly. ‘He’s a deeply damaged individual. Borderline retarded in terms of intelligence. His mother abandoned him, and he drifted in and out of care. I’m having trouble tracking down exact records. But now he’s living in a project, among drug dealers and prostitutes. He’s fallen through the cracks, and he could be very dangerous.’
‘Dangerous enough to murder?’ Johnny had got allof the details wrong so far, but Jake would still have to look into it.
‘Hmm.’ Gail twisted a lock of her hair in her fingers when she spoke. ‘Typically, people like Johnny are prone to violence and to abnormal expressions of sexuality,’ she went on. ‘For instance, during the interview he exposed himself to me.’
‘You should have called me.’
‘I’m a big girl.’
Jake put his hands up in surrender.
‘He shows some signs of sexual deviance,’ she went on.
‘Paedophile?’
She shook her head and her red hair changed colour in the light from the window. ‘Sufferers from Aquinas syndrome sometimes have predilections towards juveniles, but I don’t think so in Johnny’s case. Necrophilia seems more likely, given his obsession with death and dead people – he showed visible signs of arousal when discussing what he claims he saw.’
Jake groaned. Now they had another suspect, even if a blind man could see he didn’t do it. Procedure was procedure.
‘So, is he capable of having killed Marcia Lamb?’
‘Capable, sure,’ she said, clearly picking up on his tone. ‘But it isn’t exactly an easy pathology to anticipate.’
Jake nodded, unsuccessfully biting back a frustrated sigh. Johnny might not be a murderer, but he could still be a problem.
He would have to be watched.
16
Tuesday, 3 p.m.
Colonel Asher’s face was redder than usual. And his shirtsleeves were rolled up – never a good sign. He nodded briefly at Dr Greene, then turned to Jake.
‘Austin, when you have a moment can you come into my office, please? And bring your partner with you.’
‘Duty calls,’ Jake said to Gail. ‘So, what do we do about Johnny?’
‘Our resources are limited. I would love to get him into a residential programme and prescribe him the right meds. But it’s not going to happen. And as you have nothing to hold him on, he falls between the cracks again.’
Jake stood.
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