girl!”
Nathan took a deep breath and walked to his office window subconsciously looking for his quarry. Grey rose from his seat. “Look man I want to catch this jerk just as much as you but we can’t waist our time playing hunches.”
Nathan turned and gave what could only be described as an evil grimace. His next words were very calm and calculated. “This is no hunch; this is how we’re going to catch him.”
Grey eyed his partner intently. “What are you getting at?”
Nathan returned the look. “He has already made a mistake, the one I’ll use to catch him.”
Grey sighed. “The cigarettes.”
Nathan extrapolated on his theory. “Have you ever smoked Grey?”
Grey answered. “I did for a short while, but I never liked the coughing, the shortness of breath and money.”
Nathan nodded slightly. “I’ve always hated them. My parents used to smoke. It’s a very powerful addiction. Smokers smoke in the morning when they first wake up and in the evening just before bed. When they wake up in the middle of the night they smoke, stressed out grab a cigarette. Bad day at the office? Grab a cigarette. Stuck in traffic? Grab a cigarette.”
Nathan took a breath. “Interesting addiction, smoking, it’s the only drug I know of people take when their feeling good, bad or indifferent. People smoke after a meal, when a baby is born people smoke, after sex people smoke. No matter what goes on in a smoker’s life they smoke, it’s as natural to them as using the bathroom, or eating.”
Nathan paused giving all that he had said enough time to sink in, than he continued.
“Were looking for a white male between the ages of 30-45, I’m guessing closer to 35-40. He’s between 5’10” and 6’00” and weighs just over 200 lbs and these girls weren’t his first victims, just the first where he’s accepted what he is…embraced what he is. He most likely picked these girls up as they were walking home from school, took them to his house, which is probably somewhat secluded, raped and murdered them then took their bodies to high traffic areas in the woods, a park, a walking trail, and that is where he makes his mistake. When he drops the bodies he knows he should just drop the bodies and run but no, he’s worked for this, he’s earned this. So he stays and ..……”Services” himself over the body. After he finishes he walks to the edge of the forest and revels in his success, with a smoke. He congratulates himself with a few more cigarettes and then walks to his car and drives away supremely confident, he even doused the butts in a nearby puddle so that the only trace of evidence he leaves is the semen knowing he’s not in the database, just enough that we can’t be sure if any other evidence there is from him. Tire tracks and his butts blend in among the rest scattered around the scene.”
Once again Nathan paused to let Grey soak in his profile.
“It won’t take long to find him because I’m willing to bet that just like lighting up has become second nature, so has buying cigarettes. As a smoker he probably smoked after he woke up, before he picked up those little girls and after he was…….”Nathan stopped briefly, closed his eyes then continued in a very solemn tone. “After he was finished. The point is he stopped for cigarettes, the only question is where.”
Agent Daniel Grey met his partners gaze and gave in to his scenario for the time being.
“Ok, I only have two questions. Where do you think he stopped?”
Nathan had already come to the most likely locations where he believed the murderer stopped. “There are ten stores within a 5 mile radius of the last crime scene; one gas station is also a discount tobacco store. After cross sectioning that store with the radius of the other crime scenes…”
Grey’s eyes widened “You think you know the exact store?”
Nathan tilted his head to side “Maybe…if he left going