Read Online The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen - Free Book Online Page A

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
o f 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."
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 victim. But
so far, he's always managed to complete the ritual. And each
killing has been satisfying enough to tide him over for long
periods of time." Zucker looked around the room. "This is the
worst kind of unsub we can face. He went a whole year
between attacks--that's extremely rare. It means he can go
months between hunts. We could run ourselves ragged
looking for him, while he sits patiently waiting for the next kill.
He is careful. He is organized. He will leave few, if any, clues
behind." He glanced at Moore, seeking confirmation.
"We have no fingerprints, no DNA, at either crime scene,"
Moore said. "All we have is a single strand of hair, collected
from Ortiz's wound. And a few dark polyester fibers from the
window frame."
"I take it you've found no witnesses, either."
"We had thirteen hundred interviews on the Sterling case.
One hundred eighty interviews so far on the Ortiz case. No
one saw the intruder. No one was aware of any stalker."
"But we have had three confessions," said Crowe. "They all
walked in off the street. We took their statements and sent
them on their way." He laughed. "Wackos."
"This unsub is not insane," said Zucker. "I would guess he
appears perfectly normal. I believe he's a white male in his
late twenties or early