by Ivan Bering
No questions? Good. We’ll start by Wes giving us a summary and the latest status. Once he is finished everything is open. Wes the floor is yours.”
Wes didn’t stand; he used his notes for a careful opening. “There is an old classification system created by Richard Walter which establishes four personality types for killers. Our Couple fits category four, the most difficult to catch, the Anger-Excitation killer, the AE. This AE type doesn’t engage for any tangible achievements, like money, power or sex, but just kills for the sheer pleasure of the torture and the kill. This sadist type doesn’t stop, unless caught or the killer dies.
In our situation, the first move appears to be the blow to the head to daze or knock her out, then she is moved to the bathroom and her head held under water until she is close to drowning. According to the experts, the water enhances a killer’s sensitivity and pleasure.
I’m not making this up. The struggle under water result in a series of currents; these bathtub currents create tingles on the small hairs on the killer’s arm. This tingling sensation evokes an erogenous zone. .
The one deviation is AE killers generally work solo. Everything else fits the pattern. The couple is smart and have done their homework and understand chemistry and biology. I think they enjoy the game and thrill of being chased; they believe they’re in control and smarter than the cops. I don’t think they will move on unless we get a lot closer.
The case has taken on the label as the Five Star Couple. The operation is rather straightforward. The woman checks into a room of a four or five-star hotel. The man joins her later; they call up one of the high escort services and have a girl sent up. They systematically beat, almost drown her and torture her. You can see the pictures on the wall.
Finally, the girl’s neck is broken, not much deviation in any of the cases; they clean up the room in a fashion we’ve never seen before. They must bring their own vacuum cleaner and cleaning fluids. Even our new forensic tools have not detected anything of value.
Hotel video is useless; the woman always wears some type of large hat which hides her face. On the first killing, a hotel guest saw the man leaving the room, again not much help, just a glance. Her male partner is spotted with large sunglasses and a hood over his head. Not much from the witness. Just a glimpse. Nevertheless, we were lucky; since the man is never present at the registration desk, this sighting is how we established it was a couple.
The latest twist in the case is the room number. These high-end escorts try and protect their girls, so once the girl gets in a room, she calls. She has a code signal if she is safe or is concerned. If she indicates concern, a bodyguard, who is still in the lobby, gets up to the room asap. If she signals she is safe, the guard returns to the office for the next assignment. At the last killing, this service had a recording device on all incoming calls, and we can hear the girl call and provide the safe word code. Please listen:
“Hi gang, this is Sherry, I’m in room 272 at the Ritz Hotel and should be here for a few days; everything is AOK.”
“The AOK is the code they use. This means she feels absolutely safe and the bodyguard may leave. Sounds like a useless clue but here is the twist: she was killed in room 212. I had the tech team go over the room door, and they found evidence of four dabs of a soft putty. This putty is the kind that teachers, and others, use to hang objects on a wall. The stuff can then be rolled off after use, and if the wall has a high gloss finish, there is almost no evidence left on the wall. This is how they established room 212 as 272; they only hung a sign over the real room designation. Room 272 was never used.
None of the other agencies have recording devices, but they do record the room numbers. And yes, in every case the girls were killed in a different room than the one they were sent to and the one they called in with the safe code.
The mystery lady has always registered in the killing room. The second room was just a complete red herring. So what I am saying is the killers registered in room 212 where she was killed. But the request for a woman comes into the agency for someone to come to 272 and the girl calls back saying she is in 272.
The killers are able to disguise the room number and get the girl into the room; why bother? I’d like to spend a few minutes on this room and door issue. Alright, let’s started. Any thoughts?”
There was no hesitation and Terry started. “If the idea is to fool someone into accepting a wrong room number, this couple must have some carpentry or artistic skills……you know … to be able to match the room numbers….. they’d have to match the colors and texture, the font, etc. To do all this, they must scout the hotel and get pictures of the style, size and color of a room’s numerals.”
“A lot of work for what? Just to develop some type of false clue?’
The Historian was next. “Here is my take: all the killings were in rooms next to the bank of elevators and the wrong rooms at the far end of the hall or around a corner. Am I correct?’
Wes looked at his diagrams and after a few minutes. “Son of a bitch you are right. Everyone follows the same pattern: the girl says 272 which is way down the end of the hall and the killing room 212 is right next to the elevator and the stairway. Son of a bitch, they were establishing an exit. If anything blew up, the bodyguard would be around the corner or at the far end of the hall, and they would be two steps away from the elevator and the stairs.”
Karen was ready. “They really don’t have to be artists. Let’s try another scenario. Let’s assume they use an ‘under construction’ approach. The sign says something like ‘temporary room number 272 during maintenance period’. It doesn’t have to be up very elaborate. The prostitute’s directions are to call from the lobby when she arrives…..remember the killers provided a cell number in every instance. On arrival she calls….. gets the OK to come up and at that time they slip the sign on the wall. The special putty is already on the wall. The sign comes down as soon as she is in the room; it is only up for a few minutes, and it doesn’t have to match the other room numbers.’’
Charlie was happy with this development; this was a feasible scenario. “Let’s leave the room number and focus on the lady.”
The word ‘lady’ set Manuel off. “My bet: she is the leader…..a hard-nosed bitch, looking for some bizarre, wild debauchery, completely out of control action.”
Terry couldn’t contain himself. “Jesus, I am getting horny.”
“What? You’re always horny. It’s your natural state.” More yelling and laughter.
The Historian got them back on track, “I read where the hotel clerk described her hands as ugly. What did he mean?”
“He describes himself as a ‘hands man’ and says even the white cotton gloves couldn’t hide the fact that this woman had large hands and what appeared to be large knuckles. I don’t know what he saw…. this was a bit confusing……. maybe he didn’t like the shape.”
“Maybe the hands were large for a woman or swollen, like some martial arts fighter; they can hurt their hands and over time, develop some misshapen hands.”
“It’s a bit of a stretch but let’s follow this. How many clubs are there in the city for female martial arts fighters? Or why would she belong to an organization?’
“Yes, I think she would belong. The club gives her an opportunity to continue to be on top of her game, and since these two are so meticulous, we have to assume they are perfectionists. I would be prepared to canvas the clubs but what the hell would I be looking for? We have no pictures or prints. I don’t think she would be dumb enough to wear the dress and hat to the club.”
Manuel started. “Let me go in a wild direction. Gloves to cover battered hands. Horny Harry is clubbing women. Also, he appears to be picking his victims from the same general area of the city any closer and they would trip over each other. Ok hold on ..here is my thought…………..what if we are only dealing with one person.”
“Jesus Manuel that is wild…your suggesting that one of the Couple morphs into Harry.”
“Why
not? A psychotic who is directed by inner voices might have more than one set of directives or drives. Or multiple personalities……different one dominating at different times.”
“No Manuel that one is not going anywhere. You have three, you’re going to turn into one? I don’t think so. Jesus, the crime scenes are too different; the hotels leave no clues whereas the rapes have every clue we need. Too different. One too many characters.”
Manuel didn’t argue. Charlie called a break. “Time for the bathroom and fresh coffee and a new roll. Take 15.”
Everyone got up, stretched and walked the room. The whiteboard was full of single words or one-liners: sign, expertise, escape route, hands, martial arts, big hat. Numerous words which, regardless of the sequence Charlie entered them, always became rearranged into a random pattern on the whiteboard. Would any words trigger more ideas?
Once they were all back in their chairs, Charlie turned to the Historian. “John, would you like to ask the crew some questions or do some speculating?”
“Thank you. I would. Let me try my way. First assume I’m a perfectionist; where would I get the knowledge to able to even know how to clean up and what to use?”
“Well, there is the obvious Goggle search with many on-line experts willing to share, the public library and the University library, with some excellent books written by experts in various fields. And, of course, if you had access the FBI material, there should be tons of material.”
“And all the libraries have records of who was accessing this material.”
“I want to keep going. The couple also had a thorough understanding of the way the high-end escort agencies operated.”
” This would not be difficult. They just had to try a couple of them to ensure they had the pattern, but it would have been recent visit. The Couple had to be sure the agencies had not changed their operating practices……… how girls are assigned and protected.
What I’m saying is they must have conducted some dry runs, dialed up for girls and had one or more delivered. But I afraid this leaves us nowhere because we know so little. What could we ask any girls who may have been part of a dry run? Except, since none of our victims were raped, maybe on the test run he didn’t want sex with the girls or maybe his partner was there and they asked for some weird action. I know it is a long shot but if this happened in the last year, possibly a girl remembers a strange encounter.”
Everyone started kicking in and numerous suggestions filled the air simultaneously; Charlie had to step in and regain control. During this intense exchange the Historian just sat, deep in thought then he started again. “These new forensic tools to analyze a crime scene: what are they and when were they first introduced?”
Terry responded. “Look we are way beyond luminal…..the latest techniques started about two or three years ago. The forensic team now have special sprays and lights. Listen after they get through with a room they can tell you the guy is 6’2” and when fully erect his penis is 6.25 inches in length and that he had been shaking it around before he left the room.” Manuel was the only one who laughed, Terry was wearing thin.
Charlie intervened. “Terry’s description is rather vivid but close to the truth. None of us knows the details about the technology. The development and field testing took place, by Special Victims forensic units, in a different Sector. It took months before all the bugs were out.
This testing and trials ran in a couple of cities on the west coast. Today, the process is a part of all crime scene investigations, but this is very recent and our techs are still not fully up to speed. I mean, they can use the tools, but I think their in-depth understanding will take some time.”
The Historian remained focused, silent and stared at the desk in front of him; the room, for once, was silent, a couple of people up for a coffee refill. Finally, the Historian spoke.
“If I add everything up, the only logical conclusion is that one or both members of your couple are on the police force.”
CHAPTER 18: condition Confidential
He tilted the glass and drained all the scotch.
It was too early in the day to start drinking, but he had to reduce the tension. The extraordinary Board meeting still permeated his thoughts; but the chaos of the last week had not provided an opportunity to review, in privacy, the confidential recording of the meeting. Today secure in his own office, he ignored the luxury of his surroundings, generally a source of pride, and focused on what he was about to hear. Locked doors and no secretary.
The audio player was loaded and ready. Still he procrastinated. The fear and anxiety associated with this outlandish act seemed to control his hand. The schemer knew he had taken a tremendous risk in recording the confidential sessions. His reason: if any questionable decisions resulted during these classified segments, he might be able to put pressure on the Judge or use it in other ways to further his own career. He knew the Judge had enemies.
As soon as Dr. Kate declared Condition Confidential, he turned on his recording device which he was assured was undetectable and cost accordingly. He drained the remaining scotch and positioned the machine to begin at the central part of Kate’s presentation. Although he had been present when she first described the problem, this afternoon he wanted to hear it all again. It was like reading a book for the second time and finding the parts to savor. Her voice filled the room:
“Let me start by saying that Emma Collins and I assisted Sector 13 with some S3 Interrogations at White Rock Prison. Although there were 165 convicts eligible for the process, a surprising number elected to proceed directly to the execution chamber. It appears once the prison grapevine became convinced they couldn’t beat the process, only the innocent or real hardcore cases challenged the interrogation.
Sector 13 did most of the processing; Emma and I conducted twelve of the scans and observed another seven. I mention this because my conclusions are tentative and based on this small sample. All the sessions were recorded and Emma is collecting every session; once we have isolated all the duplicate memory cell segments our in-depth analysis can begin.
As you know the scanning process is a variation of a three-dimensional Binary Search, at least it starts that way. But, then literally depends on the Medical Tech to use her touch to feel her way around the emerging patterns of memory.
I know how ill-defined this sounds. However, there is no point asking the Medical Tech why she moved to a particular point; the answer is like asking a visual artist why she used Hansa Yellow instead Cadmium Yellow on one particular spot on the canvas. The answer will not satisfy you.
Once the Tech develops a rhythm, their moves and decisions are ineffable. The problem with the duplicate memory scenes was: it took some time for us to figure out what was happening. At first we thought it was an error in the equipment. The probe had been moved to another spatial location, but we were still projecting the original memory stream.
The question became: was the probe back at the original physical location? The Techs develop a certain rhythm and maintain a pace with their visualization. The appearance of the duplicates completely disrupted their rhythm and with the 45-minute clock we couldn’t afford these disruptions.
Each appearance of a duplicate caused confusion. The Watchers thought the Techs had not heard their instructions and were sending back the same event; the Techs thought the equipment had not responded properly. All this meant recovery time and time was not available to deal with continued retries and repositioning of the probe.
Why the duplicates? My theory is when an incident is very emotional, it tends to be stored multiple times and in different locations. Why? I don’t know. Maybe the multiplication makes it easier to remember some events or so difficult to forget some events……….. their greater quantity dominates and they surface easier and more frequently.
The other unfortunate aspect of the situation: innocent men appear to have significantly more of these duplicate memory cells. This means these prisoners became the most difficult to process. My
guess: if you are innocent and falsely accused, your life will be filled with a great deal of emotion; in particular, some special events invariably come back to haunt you. Maybe there is some credence to the old adage that a cold blood criminal will not be haunted by recurring memory flashbacks, brutality not an emotional hang-up.
As you know, Sector 13 did find ten men innocent. Of this group, five were sent home in good condition with a minimum impact as a result of the S3 interrogation; they only lost a few IQ points. Three other innocent men had significant losses, close to 15 IQ points. The impact depended on their starting IQ, but they are being held, not released; more testing is necessary to see if, after a rest period, there will be some recovery.
The last two inmates will have to be institutionalized; there is no way they can be looked after by their families. They are bedridden, the classic vegetable. Again there may be some recovery in the future, but it is very unlikely.
In all cases, it was the time issue. During any probing, there is always an outside chance of some minute brain damage, and beyond 45 minutes the risk significantly escalates and the individual will be fortunate to escape unharmed. In all cases, it was the duplicate memory cells which caused the extensive searching and restarting.
This is leading edge technology. And now, I even wonder about these men who appear unharmed; do we really know what may develop later in their lives?
I recommend we suspend the Fort Green process until we get all the data and have a chance to review the material.”
“Dr. Kate, are these extra memory cells true duplicates, exact copies of each other or do they provide a different version of the event?’
“Judge, I can’t answer that question. Everyone assumed it was an operator problem, and we all focused on getting the probe into a better position. There was no time for comparisons.
