A Criminal's Mind

Coffee

We cut our interview with Brudos short and head out. I am walking in front of Tench and Ford as we head down a stairwell. "How the hell did he hear from Kemper, without anyone knowing about?"

Tench shrugs, "or maybe no one thought we needed to know."

Ford shakes his head, "fuck if I know. But we should find out."

"Well, yeah," I nod, "it's going to affect the study if they are all pen pals."

"I'll call the superintendent at Vacaville," Tench nods.

"Or let's just go back and ask," Ford suggests.

Tench and I stop in the main lobby, turning to look at Ford, "what are the chances the Warden's gonna know what's going on?" Tench shakes his head.

I look over to Tench before signing my badge and gun out, "you should call."

"Do you really think that Kemper called us idiots?"

Ford shakes his head, "it doesn't sound like Ed to me."

We head back to the airport and board the plane, Ford not dropping the Kemper thing. "Maybe we can phone Kemper, ask him directly."

I chuckle, "ask if he called you idiots?"

Ford drops his shoulders as he looks over to me, "if he talks to Brudos."

"Then you would be idiots."

"Excuse me."

"You would take something Brudos said at more than face value. He was just trying to get under your skin," I shake my head and start reading a magazine.

"You think so?"

"I know so," I chuckle softly, "he tried it with all of us. Don't let him get to you." As we fly back home we start going over the files again, I find a photo of a woman in an ad and look over to Holden, "Holden, odd question, but does this turn you on?"

"Hmm?"

"I mean, it's sexy, right?"

"Well, no."

"But how different is it from this?" I pull out one of the 'modelling' photos Brudos had taken.

"I'd say it's pretty different."

"To us, maybe. But some of these could be in Playboy, easy. Maybe even movies or tv."

Tench nods, "classic damsel in distress."

Ford shakes his head, "are you two saying that advertising creates psychos? All men are pervs?"

I shake my head and chuckle, "no, but all men have the same universal trigger... Sex."

Tench nods, "I'm sure Wendy has a theory."

"But this? This is how we get to him," I gesture to a photo of a shoe in the file.

When we get back to Quantico the next morning Carr is waiting for us. She listens to the Brudos tape while we unpack some of the files, "fascinating."

"You think so?" Tench crosses his arms.

"Hypoglycemia? Is he lying or denying?"

I lift my right hand, "my vote's lying."

"We can learn from what he doesn't tell us."

Ford shrugs, "maybe."

I shake my head, "Wendy's right. We aren't always going to get someone like Kemper."

"Well, yeah, the whole talking to Kemper thing."

Tench sighs, "we called around. There's no evidence they were in touch."