Matt took notes, then glanced at the Banks file. “You’re right. I didn’t notice.”

“Anne Banks bothered me from the beginning because she was the only one who didn’t fit the profile in any way, and we didn’t even connect her until long after the sixth victim because she was killed in broad daylight, in a park, with dozens of potential witnesses, none of whom saw anything. She was the only victim who didn’t have a full-time job. The only victim who was extremely affluent—her husband was a dot-com genius, made a significant windfall when he sold his company and then he started another. The only victim who had young children still living at home. She wasn’t random.”

“Are you saying that the killer targeted her specifically?” Matt asked. “Got a taste for killing, and just continued?”

“No. I think he has a specific motive for killing each person—meaning, they are not truly random—though we still don’t know how he’s choosing his targets. A minor slight? Does the individual remind him of someone who hurt him? Do the women remind him of his mother, the men of his father? Is there a more personal reason? We haven’t established any personal connections between the victims, other than they were killed in groups of three. Perhaps they are all connected to the killer in some way—directly or indirectly—but not to each other.”

Catherine cleared her throat and shuffled some papers; Matt heard her clicking on her computer.

“And?” He knew she had more.

“His murders are brutal, but well planned,” Catherine continued. “No one has come forward as a witness. In seven murders, they don’t even have a sketch, bad or otherwise, or anyone who saw the victim with someone immediately before they were kidnapped. My educated guess is that he calculated each murder for weeks, if not months. He knew their routines, patterns, schedule—and then planned exactly what time of the day—the right day—he could kill them. Those he killed in their homes—he knew they lived alone or would be alone. Those he took to another site, he didn’t keep alive for longer than it took to transport them. He grabbed them, drugged them, traveled to his chosen location, then killed them. He didn’t feel a need to explain himself and he didn’t get pleasure out of torture or even from their fear. His victims were likely unconscious or otherwise incapacitated and couldn’t fight back. His satisfaction comes from a cathartic relief when he kills.”

“Except for the first victim,” Matt said. “She was killed in public, in a park, found almost immediately.”

“Exactly. That was bold—but it could have been that was the only place he could manage to get her alone. Her husband worked from home—they were together all the time. Her two older kids were at school, otherwise she would have been with them. And still—though she was killed in a public place—no one claimed to have seen anything.”

That was truly frustrating. A mother killed in a neighborhood park and no witnesses. Did that make the killer supersmart or superlucky?