Page 6 of Line of Sight
“No,” Dan replied.
“Yes.” Gary stared at him.
Kathy chuckled. “O-kay.” She returned her gaze to the photos. “What strikes me is how different they all are. A different MO for each one. That’s not as uncommon as you might think, although some killersliketo stick to one MO. It’s a case of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’”
Dan cocked his head to one side. “If they feel comfortable with it?”
She beamed. “Exactly. But if an MO doesn’t work for them anymore? They change it. Serial killers are an adaptable breed, unfortunately. What you sometimes see is a progression.”
He frowned. “Can you explain that?”
Kathy perched on the edge of Dan’s desk. “Let’s assume a serial killer is doing this for the high. They’re always searching for the next rush, if you like. Well, that leads to more and more violent murders. The victims need to suffer more so that the killer gets what he needs.” She pointed to the board. “But there’s no progression here. They’re all as violent as each other. It’s as if he jumped feet first into the first murder and then continued in the same vein.” She stared at the photo of Heather Kelly. “When youdocatch this guy, I’d be interested to know if there were any murders before these. Maybe not as violent, not as noticeable.” She straightened and stood. “Let me know when you have more to go on.” Kathy paused. “And by the way, Mr. Porter… are you related to Matthew Porter? The portrait painter?”
Dan blinked. “He’s my brother.”
She smiled. “There’s a resemblance. A very impressive, talented man.” She gave a nod in Gary’s direction before heading for the door. “Good luck, gentlemen.”
Gary glanced at Dan. “Your brother paints? Sounds as if he’s famous.” He picked up his phone.
Dan reached for his own phone. “He must be in the news again.” He flashed Gary a smile. “Matt’s amazing. Let me see what I’ve missed. He never tells me when he’s going to do stuff like this.” He scrolled and then grinned. “Ah—bingo. There’s an article inTheArt Newspaper.” There was an image of an elderly man with a long, straggly wiry beard and wild hair, seated in a leather armchair in front of a bookcase, looking pensive. His hand rested on his knee, and Dan stared at the beautifully rendered fingers.
Oh wow, Matt. The detail….
Gary frowned. “Wait—isn’t that Donald Hall? The poet?”
Dan nodded. “Matt started painting him in late spring this year, but Donald died in June. His son must have said it was okay for Matt to finish it.” He gazed fondly at the image. “Matt said he and Donald used to discuss the Boston Red Sox for hours.”
Gary scrolled. “Ah.NowI know why Kathy mentioned the resemblance.” He handed Dan the phone.
Dan smiled when he saw the family portrait. “He did this for Dad’s sixtieth birthday last year.” He pointed. “That’s Matt and his wife, Nicole, that’s my sister Jessica and her husband, Ben, and that’s my youngest sister, Mia, and her husband, Leo.” Dan laughed. “He left the kids out. I remember Mom complained at the time, but Dad told her he loved it just as it was.”
“You take after your dad,” Gary murmured, staring at the photo.
Dan didn’t need his gift to know what was going on inside Gary’s head.
He put his arms around Gary, hoping for no unexpected visitors. His coworkers knowing he and Gary were in a relationship was one thing—being confronted by them embracing was something else, and it would bother Gary a lot more than it bothered him.
“Theywillmeet you soon, I promise. And while we’re on the subject of parents, I think it would be a good idea to visit yours again, to see if they can share any more information about Brad.”
“How about Thanksgiving?”
Dan thought about it. “Here’s an idea. We’ll spend Thanksgiving with your parents—and Christmas with mine.” His parents would have a houseful on both occasions, and Thanksgiving wasn’t that far off.
Dan wasn’t sure what he expected to learn about Brad, but he never ignored his senses, and right then they were telling him this was important.
They were also telling him he might need to be less emphatic about there being more than one killer. Could they all be the handiwork of one guy searching for his next rush?Kathy’s insight made him doubt his previous certainty.
And if itisone killer….
Sounds from the hallway filtered through the door, and Dan wasn’t surprised when Gary broke the embrace.
“Sure, we can do that.”
It took Dan a second or two to retrace the steps of the conversation.
“I also think we should talk to Sean Nichols again,” Gary continued. “He might have more information too. You know, from when he and Brad dated.” He took a deep breath. “Okay, enough talk of family. Let’s do some work, okay?”
Dan nodded. He grabbed the folder Barry had brought and read aloud from it.
