The Venus

Chapter 03

How Does One Go About Skinning a Wild Cat?

It was 12:57 when Paschall strolled into the squad. Besides his two regular detectives, Detective Inspector James Hacks and his lead detective Fredrick Clancy, Jules Goddard from Forensics, his right-hand man Filip Matz, the computer whiz kid, and the big boss were already waiting for him. Melissa Xanders was also there in civilian clothes. Very tight blue jeans and a matching tight pastel green sweater. With her hair in a ponytail, she looked younger than in uniform, almost studentlike. Paschall stepped into the conference room, hung his jacket and scarf neatly on a coat rack, and with his back to his audience, asked:

"What's the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist?"

Melissa was about to answer, but a hand gesture from the chief made her quickly close her mouth. Apparently, this was part of the meeting and was meant to be a rhetorical question for Paschall to answer. Paschall walked to the wall behind the chair reserved for him and lingered in front of a large whiteboard as if he were about to teach. From a folder in his hands, he took out an A4-size photograph of their victim and with a loud bang, placed it exactly at the top in the middle of the board. He had touched up the photo so that the grotesque was missing. He turned and said:

"A psychiatrist goes into a dark room and looks for a black cat. A psychologist goes into a dark room and looks for a black cat that might not be there."

To put it mildly, this was not the kind of answer that Melissa had wanted to give. She was glad the chief had stopped her. Meanwhile, Paschall continued:

"At least two of us noticed that the body, or rather the condition in which the body was found, was reminiscent of the victims of a serial killer, the Boston Strangler. A body posed for shock and a bow tied neatly around the neck. Whereas the original victims of the Strangler were strangled with a piece of clothing or textile from the victim's home, our girl was strangled with bare hands.

Paschall pointed to the picture on the board:

"And that brings up my question again. Are we dealing with an average murder? A murder of passion that, in retrospect, is staged in such a way that we think it is the work of a serial killer? In other words, the psychologist from my original question. Meanwhile, the murders and the signature of the Boston Strangler have become something like cultural heritage. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of websites devoted to the murders. Hundreds of books have been written about them. From the scholarly to the wacky. There are also many movies, series and documentaries about the murders. I have to admit that I have contributed to this myself. I give at least four lectures a year at the various police schools, some of which deal with the Boston Strangler. I have co-authored a number of scholarly articles and a book with Professor Brussels. If this is a so-called copycat, then a classic police investigation should bring clarity. On the other hand, if this is not staged to mislead us. If this is staged to show us exactly who or what he is, then what critter are we dealing with? Are we dealing with a strict copycat who revels in The Strangler? Or are we dealing with something that could potentially be much worse? A killer who just handed us his business card and invited us to play?"

There was a moment of silence after Paschall spoke. Everyone in the bubble realized all too well what he had said. Finally, it was the chief who spoke. From what he had to say, Melissa immediately realized that this man was not to be underestimated either and that he had not become Chief because he was so good at directing traffic:

"In the first case, we should not ask too many additional questions. The questions that we ask in a normal investigation are likely to be answered on their own as the investigation goes on. In the second case, however, one question immediately arises. Is it a coincidence that we found her, so to speak, at the back door of your house, Matthew? Or is it an unmistakable message for you, for all of us? I mean, if cops in the U.S. are asked to make a list of colleagues who are experts in serial murders, your name is guaranteed to be on every one of those lists, in the top three, if not at the top along with the BAU. Is our victim somehow a gift to you from an enamored fan? Is this his way of communicating? You know these cats better than any of us at this table, so you know if it's one of them, he must know that you live here, that this is your town."