When I asked for her input, I was expecting a conversational opinion, not a rapid- fire, bullet-point appraisal and I was rather taken aback. Impressed, but taken aback all the same. I closed my gaping mouth and let her continue.

‘Part of what is particularly scary about this man, is the strategy. From the outset, he planned this back catalogue of murders to cast suspicion on the circus, on the off chance someone made a connection. Now, you’d think it would have been more sensible to ensure there was absolutely no connection, so each case appeared unrelated. But he thought more globally than that, pulling the circus into his plan because of the misdirected attention it could arouse. And he succeeded with spectacular results. If Rose-Marie Bateman’s death hadn’t been linked to the circus in Dunedin, then I am certain there would have been another murder, even more violent, in the next circus town, to continue covering up the deception and, more importantly – or scarily, depending on how you see it – because he has a taste for it now. He has found a new skill; he’s discovered he’s really good at murder, and the police can’t catch him. Arrogance again. Of course, all this planning and the other murders took place while he continued to seduce his next victim. This man has no compassion, no empathy, no soul. But you would never know it if you met him because he would blend in perfectly well in the community. A high-functioning psychopath. A genius high-functioning psychopath. You need to look in the university or someone with high tertiary qualifications. You need to look for a Caucasian male, aged between thirty and fifty. Don’t look at me like that.’

‘Like what?’

‘Your mouth’s open. Anyway, I got that white-male-age thing straight off the television. But seriously, I think your guy’s at the university, and in a position of power – a tutor, lecturer or professor. He had this girl deceiving everyone to hide the relationship. It was probably inappropriate – on many levels, if he was married, and also the whole teacher–student thing is taboo. He’s probably very charming and pleasant, but underneath he’s a ruthless, cold-blooded killer who thinks that the police are useless and couldn’t catch anything right under their nose. Oh, and he must be able to travel easily without being missed or raising the suspicion of his significant other. So perhaps his work or teaching involve going away a bit.’

‘Shit, Maggie,’ I said, thinking I’d met someone recently who fit that description. ‘That was a little more detailed than I was expecting. Have you thought about making a career out of this?’