Page 32 of Psycho
“I considered that, but lust killers, especially organized non-social types, achieve their sexual gratification in not only torturing but murdering these women. It’s a culmination of weeks or months of fantasizing. The kill is the release they need, the mutilation is the foreplay. So, the mask was a red flag.”
August nodded. “He was hiding his identity from somebody, but not the victim.”
“Exactly,” Lucas confirmed.
“Was that the only thing that stood out to you?”
“There was one other thing, but I don’t think it’s necessarily a clue. Possibly just a preference.”
“What was it?”
“A red light.”
“A red light?”
“Yes, all of the lighting was clinical but rudimentary, like somebody had rigged up lights in a place that shouldn’t have any. But there was this red glow that sort of panned around the room, almost like a lighthouse beam.”
“That’s…odd.”
“Yes.”
“How did you figure out it was Kohn?” August asked.
“I didn’t.” He instantly corrected himself. “I mean, I obviously did but not by using any training. I gave our profile of the killer to the New Mexico bureau and the tribal police and went back to Virginia. A few months later, Kohn showed up at Quantico for a week-long training and sought me out. Which, in retrospect, was bizarre but, at the time, didn’t seem all that weird. He was friendly, called me Mulder, teased me about being able toseethings.”
“Flirting with you?” August couldn’t hide that the thought irked him.
Lucas gave a humorless laugh. “Yeah, that should have been my first clue that something was up.”
August’s mouth was a hard line. “Why’s that?”
“He didn’t ping my gaydar at all. Not even as a closet case.”
“He was trying to get close to you. See what you knew.”
“Yes. And I never saw it coming.”
“Why would you?” August asked. “An FBI agent tasked with solving the murder he executed. It seems pretty outlandish outside of a psychological thriller.”
“Outlandish like a family of crime-fighting psychopathic billionaires?” Lucas asked, lips twitching.
“Technically, my father is a billionaire. I make a professor’s salary.”
“No,Imake a professor’s salary. You make a tenured ivy league professor’s salary, which I’ve been told is quite nice.”
August smiled. “I do just fine. And my father is very generous with his children. Now, finish telling me your story.”
Lucas sighed. “I always keep my shields up whenever we’re not on a case. Otherwise, I get bombarded with visions every time I so much as pick up a fork. People think it would be great to get a glimpse into people’s heads, but it’s not true. Kohn was no different. He flirted, texted, asked my opinion about the New Mexico case. When he asked me out, I refused. Dating while psychic has too many pitfalls.”
“Dating while psycho comes with similar issues,” August said, a teasing smile on his lips.
Lucas couldn’t help but laugh. “I imagine it does. Kohn was pestering me every day, so on his final night, I invited him out to dinner. It was awkward and sealed my belief that he was straight, but I thought maybe he was just…testing the waters, unsure of his sexuality.”
August threaded their fingers together and brought Lucas’s hand to his lips, kissing it, having no idea how to actually soothe Lucas. He was clearly embarrassed, though he had no reason to be.
“When I dropped him off at his hotel, he surprised me by leaning over and kissing me. I was so surprised, I didn’t have time to shield myself.”
“What did you see?”
