Page 39 of All He Takes
A gust of wind blew through the air, rustling the trees and making the caution tape flap in the wind.
They needed to catch this guy. Based on this timeline, he would choose another victim for his sick photography game.
And he would do it soon.
***
Nicky walked into the motel room, her eyes scanning the dingy space. She saw threadbare carpets and cracked walls, signs of neglect and disrepair. Nicky's bag landed heavily on the bed, making the cheap mattress bounce slightly. Ken followed her into the room, his footsteps heavy on the creaky floorboards.
It was a small highway motel, but it was the closest spot--it would have to do. They needed a place to sit down with the information and find something to lead them to the killer, and they had to do it fast.
Nicky set her laptop up at the table. No word from the police about the car yet, but she hoped something would come in soon. Until then, they needed to review every detail they had so far.
The killer was methodical. He always left a Polaroid at the scene, showing his handiwork. But this time, he had left the body.
And it was the first time he had done that. Why now?
The killer was never careless, never left behind evidence that could be traced back to him. He was always careful, always careful to leave nothing.
Nicky knew that leaving the body was deliberate. But why would he do that? She thought about the other victims. They were all pretty, slim, and had dark hair. They all looked like they could be related. That had to be a clue, but it was too broad of a hint to narrow down. Maybe there was a girl like that in the killer's life, a mother, sister, lover, who he was obsessed with, but she couldn't just look at men with an affiliation to every brunette woman in the country. That would put Nicky on the list too.
No, they needed something else.
As Ken sat with her at the table, Nicky splayed the four photos of the victims out. One was on the floor. The other in a chair. Two were on couches.
"Could there be something in their poses?" Nicky asked absently.
"What?" Ken asked.
"The killer takes the photos to get a thrill, but they are ritualistic too. He takes one of the girls in a different pose every time." She tapped the photos. "He likes to act out a fantasy with every victim, but there has to be more to it than that. He must have a reason to select a certain position."
Nicky leaned back in her chair, tapping her fingers on the armrest. What could he be trying to get out of it? She looked down at the photos again. What was the significance of the framing?
"What if he's trying to tell us something?" Ken said.
Nicky looked up. "What do you mean?"
"What if he's trying to communicate something to us?" Ken said. He leaned in, his eyes shining. "What if this is his way of showing us that he's in complete control of these girls?"
"That would make sense," Nicky said. She picked up the photos. "He is showing us that he's in control, and he can do whatever he wants with them."
"And he takes these photos to assert his dominance," Ken said. "He wants to show us that the girls are helpless, that they are completely at his mercy."
Nicky's eyes scanned the photos again. She could see it now. The girls were posed in ways that made them look more like objects than people.
"These girls were taken right out of their normal lives," Ken said. "Every time he takes a girl, he's stealing her away from her family, her friends, her job. He's taking her from everything she knows, and into this completely foreign world."
"You're saying he's trying to show us how powerless his victims are?" Nicky said.
Ken nodded. "It would make sense. He's trying to prove to us that he has absolute, complete control over these girls. If he can just take them away from everything they know and force them to do whatever he wants, then he's proving that he's in complete control of their lives."
Nicky leaned back in her chair, looking at the photos again. The killer took his photos with care, framing them perfectly. He wanted them to look good.
But was there more to it than that?
She wasn't sure. What she did know was that her mind wasn't feeling like it was in the right place. She needed something, something to get her thinking on the right track. The thought of losing another girl frustrated her to no end.
Nicky stood up, feeling uncomfortable in her own skin. "I'm gonna take a walk."
