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

thirties. Neatly groomed, of above-
average intelligence. He is almost certainly a high school
graduate, perhaps with a college education or even more. The
two crime scenes are over a mile apart, and the murders were
committed at a time of day when there was little public
transportation running. So he drives a car. It will be neat and
well maintained. He probably has no history of mental health
problems, but he may have a juvenile record of burglary or
voyeurism. If he's employed, it will be a job that requires both
intelligence and meticulousness. We know he is a planner, as
demonstrated by the fact he carries his murder kit with him
--scalpel, suture, duct tape, chloroform. Plus a container of
some kind in which to bring his souvenir home. It could be as
simple as a Ziploc bag. He works in a field that requires
attention to detail. Since he obviously has anatomical
knowledge, and surgical skills, we could be dealing with a
medical professional."
Rizzoli met Moore's gaze, both struck by the same thought:
There were probably more doctors per capita in the city of
Boston than anywhere else in the world.
"Because he is intelligent," said Zucker, "he knows we're
staking out the crime scenes. And he will resist the temptation
to return. But the temptation is there, so it's worth continuing
the stakeout of Ortiz's residence, at least for the near future.
"He is also intelligent enough to avoid choosing a victim in
his immediate neighborhood. He's what we call a `commuter,'
rather than a `marauder.' He goes outside his neighborhood
to hunt. Until we have more data points to work with, I can't
really do a geographical profile. I can't pinpoint which areas of
the city you should focus on."
"How many data points do you need?" asked Rizzoli.
"A minimum of five."
"Meaning, we need five murders?"
"The criminal geographic targeting program I use requires
five to have any validity. I've run the CGT program with as few
as four data points, and sometimes you can get an offender
residence prediction with that, but it's not accurate. We need
to know more about his movements. What his activity space
is, where his anchor points are. Every killer works inside a
certain comfort zone. They're like carnivores hunting. They
have their territory, their fishing holes, where they find their
prey." Zucker looked around the table at the detectives'
unimpressed faces. "We don't know enough about this unsub
yet to make any predictions. So we need to focus on the
victims. Who they were, and why he chose them."
Zucker reached into his briefcase and took out two folders,
one labeled Sterling, the other Ortiz. He produced a dozen
photographs, which he spread out on the table. Images of the
two women when they were alive, some dating all the way
back to childhood.
"You haven't seen some of these photos. I asked their
families to provide them, just to give us a sense of the history
of these women. Look at their faces. Study who they were as
people. Why did the unsub choose them? Where did he see
them? What was it about them that caught his eye? A laugh?
A smile? The way they walked down a city street?"
He began to read from a typewritten sheet.
"Diana Sterling, thirty years old. Blond hair, blue eyes. Five
foot seven, one hundred twenty-five pounds. Occupation:
travel agent. Workplace: Newbury Street. Residence:
Marlborough Street in the Back Bay. A graduate of Smith
College. Her parents are both attorneys, who live in a two-
million-dollar home in Connecticut. Boyfriends: none at the
time of her death."
He put that sheet of paper down, picked up another.
"Elena Ortiz, twenty-two years old. Hispanic. Black hair,
brown eyes. Five foot two, one hundred four pounds.
Occupation: retail clerk in her family's floral business in the
South End. Residence: an apartment in the South End.
Education: high school graduate. Has lived all her life in
Boston. Boyfriends: none at the time of her death."
He looked up. "Two women who lived in the same city but
moved in