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following things about our unknown subject. He enters the victim’s residence through an open window. He does this in the early morning hours, sometime between midnight and two A.M. He surprises the victim in her bed. Immediately incapacitates her with chloroform. He removes her clothes. He restrains her by binding her to the bed using duct tape around her wrists and ankles. He reinforces that with strips across her upper thighs and mid-torso. Finally, he tapes her mouth shut. Utter control is what he achieves. When the victim awakens shortly thereafter, she cannot move, cannot scream. It’s as though she’s paralyzed, yet she’s awake and aware of everything that happens next.
    “And what happens next is surely anyone’s worst nightmare.” Zucker’s voice had faded to a monotone. The more grotesque the details, the softer he spoke, and they were all leaning forward, hanging on his words.
    “The unsub begins to cut,” said Zucker. “According to the autopsy report, he takes his time. He is meticulous. He slices through the lower abdomen, layer by layer. First the skin, then the subcutaneous layer, the fascia, the muscle. He uses suture to control the bleeding. He identifies and removes only the organ he wants. Nothing more. And what he wants is the womb.”
    Zucker looked around the table, taking note of their reactions. His gaze fell on Rizzoli, the only cop in the room who possessed the organ of which they spoke. She stared back, resentful that her gender had caused him to focus on her.
    “What does that tell us about him, Detective Rizzoli?” he asked.
    “He hates women,” she said. “He cuts out the one thing that makes them women.”
    Zucker nodded, and his smile made her shudder. “It’s what Jack the Ripper did to Annie Chapman. By taking the womb, he defeminizes his victim. He steals her power. He ignores their jewelry, their money. He wants just one thing, and once he’s harvested his souvenir, he can proceed to the finale. But first, there is a pause before the ultimate thrill. The autopsy on both victims indicates that he stops at this point. Perhaps an hour passes, as the victims continue to bleed slowly. A pool of blood collects in their wound. What is he doing during that time?”
    “Enjoying himself,” said Moore softly.
    “You mean, like jerking off?” said Darren Crowe, posing the question with his usual crudeness.
    “There was no ejaculate left at either crime scene,” pointed out Rizzoli.
    Crowe tossed her an
aren’t you smart
look. “The absence of
e-jac-u-late
,” he said, sarcastically emphasizing every syllable, “doesn’t rule out jerking off.”
    “I don’t believe he
was
masturbating,” said Zucker. “This particular unsub would not relinquish that much control in an unfamiliar environment. I think he waits until he’s in a safe place to achieve sexual release. Everything about the crime scene screams
control
. When he proceeds to the final act, he does it with confidence and authority. He cuts the victim’s throat with a single deep slash. And then he performs one last ritual.”
    Zucker reached into his briefcase and took out two crime scene photos, which he laid on the table. One was of Diana Sterling’s bedroom, the other of Elena Ortiz’s.
    “He meticulously folds their nightclothes and places them near the body. We know the folding was done after the slaughter, because blood splatters were found on the inside folds.”
    “Why does he do that?” asked Frost. “What’s the symbolism there?”
    “Control again,” said Rizzoli.
    Zucker nodded. “That’s certainly part of it. By this ritual, he demonstrates he’s in control of the scene. But at the same time, the ritual controls
him
. It’s an impulse he may not be able to resist.”
    “What if he’s prevented from doing it?” asked Frost. “Say he’s interrupted and can’t complete it?”
    “It will leave him frustrated and angry. He may feel compelled to immediately start hunting for the next