One Killer. A few grainy video clips and ballistics tests confirming the bullets came from the same pistol were the few clues available. Silence soon fell in the meeting room, replacing the usual brainstorming.
This feeling was actually quite uncomfortable: waiting for the killer to strike again, waiting for new bodies to turn up, hoping the killer would make a mistake or contact the police, as happened in the "Son of Sam" and "D.C. Sniper" cases.
David Berkowitz, the "Son of Sam" killer, had proactively written letters to the police and the media. John Muhammad, the "D.C. Sniper" killer, not only made the phone call that ultimately led to his arrest, but also left letters and a tarot card at the crime scene.
These serial killers used this method to attract public attention, to taunt and humiliate the police. After repeated success, these serial killers began to view their killings as a competition with the police, a game of cat and mouse.
Now, everyone in the BAU, including Danny, Joyna, and Jack, was humiliated. This humiliation stemmed not only from the killer's brazen style but also from the guilt they felt towards their past and future victims.
They now had no means of stopping his rampage.
Jack sat in a corner, replaying the videos on his tablet over and over again. These files had been processed by Garcia, making them much smoother and clearer than the original footage, which had noticeable frame drops and resembled cartoons.
Unfortunately, none of the footage showed the killer's face, making it impossible to use for facial recognition. Garcia was busy, accessing footage from other time periods through the NYPD's surveillance system, hoping to find clues from bystanders at the scene after the crime.
This was the lesson psychologists and criminal investigation experts had learned from the "Son of Sam" case: after committing a crime, the killer often found himself compelled to return to the crime scene.
The FBI already has a number of existing programs for using facial recognition to quickly and accurately identify bystanders at a crime scene; it just requires some human assistance.
The problem is, if it were just a few dozen people, it would only take a short time. But all five crime scenes were public places, and even the most indifferent New Yorkers would likely stop and watch a body surrounded by tape.
Identifying nearly one or two thousand faces at all the crime scenes combined wasn't something Garcia could accomplish in a short time alone. Even with all the analysts and technicians at the operations center, it would still take a long time. But as the old saying goes, there are always more solutions than problems if you don't let your mind wander. Rossi told Garcia that they just needed to find a way to ensure that the same face didn't appear at more than one crime scene.
After working all night to modify the facial recognition program and get it to run automatically on the computer, Garcia fell asleep on her desk. As she put it, if the computer didn't sound an alarm, she knew she hadn't found anything, so she asked everyone not to wake her.
Jack had no intention of challenging the computer program. He simply replayed the crime videos because he had a vague feeling, but he couldn't find the moment of inspiration.
Emily and newcomer Luke Elvis soon joined in, followed by Danny and Hannah, then Aubrey and Joyner. Finally, everyone, save for Red, who remained deep in thought before the map, gathered behind Jack.
"Does anyone notice anything strange?" Feeling his air was being drained by the crowd, Jack had to ask.
"No," everyone shook their heads, including Hotchner, who folded his arms and scowled.
Except for the first crime scene, which didn't have footage from the crime scene, Jack replayed the videos of the remaining four cases one by one, in chronological order.
"It does feel strange, but I can't put my finger on why," Aubrey said, rubbing his chin, earning a chorus of eyerolls.
"The killer's pattern was different after he fired the gun. We don't know what happened the first time, but the killer was obviously not panicked the second time. Instead, he calmly pretended to be a passerby and walked away quickly. But the third and fourth times, he trotted away from the scene, giving people the impression that he was a little panicked. But when he committed the fifth crime yesterday at noon, he returned to his previous calm and composed appearance. This doesn't make sense."
Finally, Emily pointed out the key point. Generally speaking, a serial killer's crimes are a process of gradual proficiency. From the first time being unfamiliar and panicked, with countless mistakes, to gradually becoming cold-blooded, killing has become something as casual as eating and drinking.
As Rossi said next, "After five crimes, it stands to reason that his behavior pattern should have been fixed long ago."
"What do you mean? The killer is not the same person?" As Jack had judged before, Kate Joyner was not a vase, and she immediately understood what everyone meant.
At some point, Red tiptoed behind the group. "I know a way to verify this, but we might have to wake Garcia up."
"Leave it to me." Jack pushed through the crowd and left the office. He took a deep breath to re-enrich his oxygen before pushing open the pantry door.
A few minutes later, the microwave in the pantry dinged, and the enticing aroma of passion fruit and rum instantly wafted through the hallway.
Everyone in the meeting room followed Jack's large piece of cake as he eagerly watched him push open the door to the adjacent office.
Not long after, Garcia's delighted cheer and exaggerated kiss echoed from the next room.
Jiejie and Hannah exchanged a look of confusion, and a few minutes later, Jack returned with a blue lipstick mark on his face.
"Well, Garcia used a digital coordinate model to analyze the heights of the murderers in the crime videos. The one who calmly left was six feet one inch (about 185 cm), while the one who ran away in panic was only five feet ten inches (less than 176 cm) at most."
"So there really is more than one suspect." Hotchner's face remained expressionless, his brow furrowing even deeper.
"So, there's more than one suspect. What does this mean?" Teacher Rossi's small class was finally ready to begin.
"Most serial killers don't split up unless there's a compelling reason to do so. Take, for example, Mohamed and Malvo in 'DC Sniper.' Their first crime spree was separate, with Malvo committing the murder, but Mohamed was sitting in a car nearby.
Then there's Kenneth Bianchi and his cousin Angelo Buono. Bianchi was arrested after leaving numerous clues during his final two solo murders, but that was because Buono had suffered a mental breakdown and fled beforehand."
Reid used another infamous serial killer duo as an example. Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono were a disgrace to the LAPD, known as the "Hillside Stranglers."
Between October 1977 and February 1978, ten young women were murdered in Los Angeles. They ranged in age from 12 to 28 and had been sexually assaulted before being strangled. Their naked bodies, covered in scars of abuse, were dumped on a hillside near Hollywood.
(End of chapter)