Page 15 of Girl, Unmasked
CHAPTER FIVE
‘Ultra-Violent Crime Unit.Can you believe that?’
Ripley had complained the whole way here, and showed no signs of slowing down, even at thirty thousand feet.The pilot had just announced over the speaker that they wouldn’t usually hit max altitude on a flight this short, but they needed to avoid the bad weather in Connecticut.
Ella spread out her recliner seat and made the most of her unexpected extravagance.She’d never known such luxury on land, let alone in the sky.She’d only flown private once before, but this Gulfstream was the one reserved for the toppest of top brass.It was wood and cream leather in every direction, with sweats that could swivel to face each other around a mahogany table.The cabin was quieter than most hotel rooms, with thick carpeting that muffled footsteps and windows large enough to frame the cloud cover below like paintings.
‘It’s funny how new bosses usually cut costs, but Vernon’s here insisting we use a private jet.’
‘He's buttering us up.’Ripley had already kicked off her shoes and was treating the luxury seats like her personal office.‘Classic manipulation.Give them the carrot before you show them the stick.’
‘Maybe, but there’s also a chance that you just don’t like him.You know we’re supposed to change our theories in light of new information, right?’
‘I know that.’
‘And the evidence suggests Vernon is absolutely fine.Leave it out.’
‘You’re just saying that in case he’s got this place bugged.You’re getting soft.’
‘And you’re mad about the name change.I can see it.’
Ripley looked insulted.‘And you’re not?’
‘No.What’s in a name?’
‘Don’t Shakespeare me, Dark.Never play the bard card.’
‘Vernon’s new initiative isn’t a bad idea.First we stop the serial killers, then we stop people before they can become serial killers.You’re telling me that isn’t a net positive for the world?’
‘Yes it is.I’m not denying that, but...’Ripley trailed off and threw her casefile on the table.‘Let’s talk about our angel maker.Go through everything piece by piece so we know what to expect when we land.’
‘Good choice.’Ella opened up her own file and scanned the basic details.‘So, we’ve got a single female, Sophie Draper, 39, attacked and killed in her own house.’
‘Job?’
‘Worked for Eagle Eye Publishers.I’ve heard of them.’
Ripley was on her cell.‘Says here they’re the fifth biggest publisher in the tri-state area.Is that a boast?The fifth biggest?’
‘Yeah.It means they’re the biggest publisher outside of the big four.You heard of the big four?’
‘No.Should I have?’
‘Never mind.So, Sophie lived in an apartment alone, and it says here there were no scuff marks on the door, no windows broken.That means the killer either snuck in or was invited in.’
‘Yeah.Impossible to recognize the cause of death too.I’m not seeing any bullet wounds, and if our unsub is this skilled with a knife then chances are that’s what he used to kill her.’
‘Could be a lust kill, but doubtful,’ Ella said.‘Lust killers and theatricality don’t go well together, and the positioning suggests that the killer is sending a message through the victim.How would he even create these cuts?’
‘Mutilations like this mean power tools at the very least.He bought them with him, as well as the barbed wire and whatever he used to replace her eyeballs.’
‘Our man came prepared, which means he wasn’t invited the house.Nobody in the right mind is going to answer the door to a guy holding barbed wire and let him in.’
‘So we’ve got an organized offender that’s pretty handy with a power tool.The cuts on the vic’s back are probably quite easy to pull off though.You’re the mutilation expert.What do you think?’
Ella inspected the photos again.She found a close-up of the victim’s possible angel wings.The flesh had been torn down the middle and then peeled back in either direction.‘Quite straightforward, anatomically.It looks like he’s just made two parallel incisions along the scapular region and followed the natural lines of the shoulder blades.Then he undermined the skin and separated it from the fascia layer underneath.With the right tools, he could peel back large sections in one piece.Hunters use the same technique.Ed Gein used the same technique.’
‘And he was an idiot,’ Ripley said.
