The Apprentice

Another summer, another monster.

But this time, one face was absent from the team. Detective Thomas Moore was not among them, and she missed his presence, missed his quiet assurance, his steadfastness. Though they’d had a falling-out during the Surgeon investigation, they had since mended their friendship, and now his absence was like a gaping hole in their team.

In Moore’s place, sitting in the very chair Moore usually occupied, was a man she did not trust: Gabriel Dean. Anyone walking into this meeting would notice immediately that Dean was the outsider in this gathering of cops. From his well-tailored suit to his military posture, he stood out from the others, and they were all aware of the divide. No one spoke to Dean; he was the silent observer, the Bureau man whose role remained a mystery to them all.

Dr. Zucker continued. “Sex with a corpse is an activity most of us don’t care to think about. But it’s mentioned repeatedly in literature, in history, and in a number of criminal cases. Nine percent of serial killer victims are sexually violated postmortem. Jeffrey Dahmer, Henry Lee Lucas, and Ted Bundy all admitted to it.” His gaze dropped to the autopsy photo of Gail Yeager. “So the presence of fresh ejaculate in this victim is not all that surprising.”

Darren Crowe said, “They used to say this was something only the wackos did. That’s what an FBI profiler once told me. That these are the nuts who wander around jabbering to themselves.”

“Yes, it was once thought of as a sign of a severely disordered killer,” said Zucker. “Someone who shuffles around in a psychotic daze. It’s true, a number of these perps are psychotics who fall into the category of disorganized killers-neither sane nor intelligent. They have so little control over their own impulses that they’ll leave all sorts of evidence behind. Hairs, semen, fingerprints. They’re the easy ones to catch, because they don’t know, or they don’t care, about forensics.”

“So what about this guy?”

“This unsub is not psychotic. He’s an entirely different creature.” Zucker opened the folder of photos from the Yeager house and arranged them on the table. Then he looked at Rizzoli. “Detective, you walked through the crime scene.”

She nodded. “This unsub was methodical. He came with a murder kit. He was neat and efficient. He left almost no trace evidence behind.”

“There was semen,” Crowe pointed out.

“But not in a place we’d be likely to search for it. We might easily have missed it. In fact, we almost did.”

“And your overall impression?” asked Zucker.

“He’s organized. Intelligent.” She paused. And added, “Exactly like the Surgeon.”

Zucker’s gaze locked on hers. Zucker had always made her uneasy, and she felt invaded by his speculative look. But Warren Hoyt had to be on all their minds. She could not be the only one who felt this was a replay of an old nightmare.

“I agree with you,” said Zucker. “This is an organized killer. He follows what some profilers would call a cognitive-object theme. His behavior isn’t just to achieve immediate gratification. His actions have a specific goal, and that goal is to be in complete control of a woman’s body-in this case, the victim, Gail Yeager. This unsub wants to possess her, use her even after her death. By assaulting her in front of the husband, he establishes this right of possession. He becomes the dominator, over both of them.”

He reached for the autopsy photo. “I find it interesting that she was neither mutilated nor dismembered. Except for the natural changes of early decomposition, the corpse seems to be in rather good condition.” He looked at Rizzoli for confirmation.

“There were no open wounds,” she said. “The cause of death was strangulation.”

“Which is the most intimate way to kill someone.”

“Intimate?”

“Think of what it means to manually strangle someone. How personal it is. The close contact. Skin to skin. Your hands against her flesh. Pressing her throat as you feel her life drain away.”

Rizzoli stared at him in disgust. “Jesus.”

“This is how he thinks. What he feels. This is the universe he inhabits, and we have to learn what that universe is like.” Zucker pointed to Gail Yeager’s photo. “He’s driven to possess her body, to own it, dead or alive. This is a man who develops a personal attachment to a corpse, and he’ll continue to fondle it. Sexually abuse it.”

“Then why dispose of it?” asked Sleeper. “Why not keep it around for seven years? Like that King Herod did with his wife.”

“Practical reasons?” Zucker offered. “He may live in an apartment building, where the smell of a decomposing body would attract notice. Three days is about as long as one would want to keep a corpse.”

Crowe laughed. “Try three seconds.”

“Then you’re saying he has almost a lover’s attachment to this body,” said Rizzoli.

Zucker nodded.

“It must have been hard for him to just dump her there. In Stony Brook.”

“Yes, it would have been difficult. Like having your lover leave you.”

She thought of that place in the woods. The trees, the dappled shade. So far from the heat and noise of the city. “It’s not just a dump site,” she said. “Maybe it’s consecrated ground.”

They all looked at her.

“Say again?” said Crowe.

“Detective Rizzoli has hit on exactly the point I was getting at,” said Zucker. “That spot, in the reserve, is not just a place to throw away used corpses. You have to ask yourself, Why didn’t he bury them? Why does he leave them exposed to possible discovery?”

Rizzoli said, softly, “Because he visits them.”

Zucker nodded. “These are his lovers. His harem. He returns again and again, to look at them, touch them. Maybe even embrace them. That’s why he sheds corpse hairs. When he handles the bodies, he picks up their hairs on his clothes.” Zucker looked at Rizzoli. “That postmortem strand matches the second set of remains?”

She nodded. “Detective Korsak and I started with the assumption this unsub picked up the strand from his workplace. Now that we know where that hair came from, does it make any sense to keep pursuing the funeral home angle?”

“Yes,” said Zucker. “And I’ll tell you why. Necrophiles are attracted to corpses. They get a sexual charge out of handling the bodies. Embalming them, dressing them. Applying their makeup. They may try to gain access to this thrill by choosing jobs in the death industry. An embalmer’s assistant, for example, or a mortuary beautician. Keep in mind, that unidentified set of remains may not be a murder victim at all. One of the most well known necrophiles was a psychotic named Ed Gein, who started off by raiding cemeteries. Digging up women’s bodies to bring home. It was only later that he turned to homicide as a means of obtaining corpses.”

“Oh man,” Frost muttered. “This just keeps getting better.”

“It’s one aspect of the wide spectrum of human behavior. Necrophiliacs strike us as sick and perverted. But they’ve always been with us, this subsegment of people driven by strange obsessions. Bizarre hungers. Yes, some of them are psychotic. But some of them are perfectly normal in every way.”

Warren Hoyt was perfectly normal, too.

It was Gabriel Dean who spoke next. Up till then, he had not said a word during the entire meeting, and Rizzoli was startled to hear his deep baritone.

“You said that this unsub might return to the woods to visit his harem.”

“Yes,” said Zucker. “That’s why the stakeout of Stony Brook should continue indefinitely.”

“And what happens when he discovers his harem has vanished?”

Zucker paused. “He will not take it well.”

The words sent a chill up Rizzoli’s spine. They are his lovers. How would any man react when his lover was stolen from him?

“He’ll be frantic,” said Zucker. “Enraged that someone would take his possessions. And anxious to replace what he’s lost. It will send him hunting again.” Zucker looked at Rizzoli. “You have to keep this out of the media’s eye, as long as possible. The stakeout may be your best chance to catch him. Because he will return to those woods, but only if he thinks it’s safe. Only if he believes the harem is still there, waiting for him.”