Leaving Ronnie's mother's house, Clay couldn't hide the uncomfortable expression on his face. "What kind of mother would let her young child witness her working as a prostitute?"
Jack remained silent. In both of his lives, he'd never encountered a situation as disturbing as this. The closest he could think of was the fictional Marquis of the popular wuxia novel.
But Jack's focus was elsewhere. "Remember the scene we saw at the first victim's house? In Madison Hargrove's bedroom? What stood out there?"
Clay's eyes lit up. "You mean the traces you found on the pillow? The victims were forced to put on heavy makeup, just like what we saw on Ronnie's mother. And the second victim, Jackie Vogel, was the same. It's a sign of psychological trauma, isn't it?"
Jack nodded, then added, "But it's more than that. Remember the ballet shoes under Madison's dressing table? I'd bet Madison regularly practiced at a dance studio.
"And don't forget Jackie Vogel—the second victim. Ronnie abducted her right outside a dance studio, and she was a dance instructor."
"You're saying that's how Ronnie chooses his victims? He scouts dance studios and follows women who resemble his mother back to their homes?" Clay asked, realization dawning.
The next morning, the team gathered in the mobile command vehicle's conference room. JJ held up a copy of the autopsy report. "Madison Hargrove's report shows healed fractures in the metatarsals of her right foot—a common injury among dancers."
"Jack was right," Jubal added. "I contacted the previous attempted rape victim, and she also took ballet classes at a studio near her home."
After hearing Jack and Clay's account of their visit to Ronnie's mother, the room fell into an uneasy silence. The story had shaken everyone, leaving them struggling to process the implications.
"Ronnie isn't just venting his anger," JJ said, breaking the silence. "Forcing his victims to wear makeup, assaulting them, and then killing them—these are his ways of trying to regain control. He's re-enacting and attempting to rewrite the traumatic experiences of his childhood.
"Each of his victims is a reflection of his mother in his mind."
"Then why doesn't he just kill his mother?" Aubrey asked, chewing on one of the leftover sandwiches Jack had made.
"Because for Ronnie, it's not that simple," Jack explained. "Just because we understand his trauma doesn't mean he does. All he knows is that acting out these crimes brings him relief.
"His mother explicitly told him—just like she told us—that her work was what kept them fed and clothed. Imagine being a child, repeatedly exposed to that kind of humiliation and helplessness.
"But this isn't just mimicry. Ronnie isn't copying the clients who visited his mother; he's trying to rewrite what he saw, to take control of it. And to do that, he needs a spectator—someone to validate his actions, like he once passively watched. That's where Raylene comes in."
Jack's words left everyone deep in thought. There were no complicated psychological terms, just an unsettling explanation that was difficult to stomach. Sympathy for Ronnie was out of the question, but the team couldn't help but feel a sense of powerlessness in the face of his twisted psyche.
The room grew quiet as everyone worked to sort out their emotions. After a long pause, Clay sighed and asked, "So how does knowing all this help us catch that lunatic?"
"It helps a lot," Jack said, gesturing to Alice to bring up a map of the region. On the screen, they marked Ronnie's recent movements.
"He started in West Virginia, then moved to Ohio, before returning to Harrisville, where he met Raylene. From there, he went to Pennsylvania.
"As I said, Ronnie's actions are driven by his need to reclaim control over his chaotic childhood. His movements follow a pattern. If we can identify that pattern, we can predict his next target."
Aubrey frowned. "But his mother was a traveling sex worker. That makes tracking her movements almost impossible."
Having seen this type of geographical profiling before, JJ spoke up. "Pull up Ronnie's mother's arrest records. Focus on the period before Ronnie came of age and moved out on his own. Every time they relocated, it was likely because she got arrested for prostitution."
Alice got to work, marking every location from Ronnie's mother's arrest records. The map quickly filled with pins, spanning Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, New Jersey, North Carolina, and other states in the eastern and southeastern U.S.
Jack's hunch proved correct: every one of Ronnie's crime scenes matched locations where his mother had been arrested. The overlap was unmistakable.
"For Ronnie, having to relocate every time his mother got arrested was just another source of trauma," Jack said.
Jubal issued instructions immediately. "Alert local law enforcement in these areas. Warn them that dance studios may be targeted. Circulate the plate number and description of Jackie Vogel's Subaru to the state police, especially along major highways and at gas stations."
By afternoon, responses started coming in. Local police confirmed they were patrolling dance studios in their jurisdictions.
In Ravenswood, two plainclothes officers were assigned to monitor Ronnie's mother, just in case he decided to contact her again. Jubal felt it was essential to keep tabs on her as the root cause of Ronnie's behavior.
Meanwhile, state police in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia increased patrols on major highways connecting the states. Still, there were no leads yet.
"What do we do next? Just sit here and wait?" Clay snapped, his frustration boiling over. As a former soldier used to executing orders, his patience wasn't the issue. It was the helplessness of watching victims pile up without being able to act.
"Not at all," Jack replied, running his finger along Interstate 77 on the map.
"The Newark office in New Jersey is sending agents to Harrisburg. That leaves us with three key locations along I-77, starting in Marietta, Ohio, and running south to Mineral Springs, North Carolina.
"My suggestion is to head to Marietta first. We'll split into two groups. One group, along with the command vehicle, will stay in Marietta. The other group will follow I-77 south to Mineral Springs."
Jubal considered this plan, tapping his pencil on the map. After a moment, he nodded in agreement. "Let's go with Jack's plan. Alice and I will stay in Marietta. The rest of you will head south along I-77.
"It's been over 24 hours since Ronnie last struck. That suggests he and Raylene have likely left the area. They could be anywhere along I-77 by now. It's time to take the initiative."
(End of Chapter)
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