The Reckoning - BLACKBIRD book 3

18. teamwork

Brock faced him. "If Gillian's theory's right, he's skilled enough to convince them to meet him personally."

Fred shrugged. "It's easier to pose confident online. Maybe he knows what to say on a chat, but when it comes to interact in person, he's completely unskilled." He patted Hank's shoulder. "Like our Doctor here."

Brock scowled down at the picture Aldana had given him, hoping they wouldn't notice he thought their jokes were rather out of place. The others chuckled their agreement to the sniper's tease.

"He's abducting them because there's no way these women would go on a second date with him," said Aldana. "It's his only way to spend time with them." She fetched another picture from the bed and showed it to Brock. "Look at this bruising on the first victim's genitalia. This is rush mixed with lack of sexual experience. You'd find it on any victim of a first-time sexual offender."

Brock nodded. Of course, Aldana had worked sexual crimes for many years. Hank handed him a third picture.

"By the second victim, he'd acquired a little experience, and most of the bruises are from restraining her with his bare hands," said Ron.

Aldana faced Brock with a serious frown. "We're talking about a young man with no sexual experience prior to this, Agent Brockner, not even paid."

"We think he was somehow raised to believe this is how he's supposed to treat women," added Fred.

Russell pointed at the pillows on the table. "The way he's treating them? The message is one and the same—see what a tough man I am. But in spite of that, he was also raised feeling insecure about himself, and with very little social interaction."

Brock nodded again, turning to look at the table. Of course, it was so clear now. Like a hand on his shoulder, pushing him. So he dived in, to pick up where they'd left the puzzle and add the missing pieces. He felt the tingling in his fingertips as he spoke, thinking aloud. He didn't care if they understood every bit of it. He needed to word it in order to make sense of it.

"The subject is getting only the momentary physical relief from the abuses, but no real pleasure. The rage displayed when he kills proves it. He's been emasculated for so long that now he's incapable of feeling a real man, no matter how hard he tries and how violent he gets. Because he just doesn't know how it feels."

Across the room, Gillian struggled not to gawk. Gosh, the way he had to say things, so clear and accurate. That wasn't the stupid bitter man. That was the profiler she'd admired her whole life, and once more she felt that the chance to be there and see his mind at work was some sort of privilege.

Meanwhile, Brock nodded slowly again, feeling the scrambled pieces fit in place as he went on. "He's not only acting out a fantasy, but trying to prove himself up to somebody else's expectations. And the victims are not surrogates of a wife or a girlfriend, 'cause he's had none."

Russell flashed a tight smile, agreeing. "And there's only one woman in a man's life that can both emasculate him like this and cause this desperate need to prove himself."

"His mother." So, so clear, that exquisite moment of understanding. Brock savored it.

"The week between the first kill and the second abduction was not a cooling-off period," said Ron.

Of course not. Brock looked up at him. "He used it to hunt his next victim online."

"One more thing," said Fred. "Both women were abducted on a Tuesday, so we should still have the whole weekend to find him."

Brock gave the pictures back to Aldana and looked around at all of them, making sure Gillian from her corner noticed he included her. "Good job, everybody. We'll keep working on this in the morning. Goodnight."

They all nodded at him with quick smiles and he headed out. Russell followed him. Brock paused before his own room, right next door.

"Brock, the whole idea about the subject's mother..." said Russell, lowering his voice.

"It was Gillian's, I know," Brock completed.

Russell held his eyes.

Brock saw he was hesitating and frowned. "What is it, Coleman?"

"Man, I've seen you and Reg doing what we just did all together, and we both know nobody keeps up with you like her—not even me, no matter now I'm supposed to be a profiler."

His words made Brock wear his blankest face.

Russell sighed. "Look, Brock, I don't know why the air's always so thick between you guys, and I don't care. But you and Reg could've figured this out in a few minutes, if you guys could just put aside your issues and work together again."

Brock felt one of his eyebrows raising at such an open scold, asking what entitled Russell to say something like that.

Russell scoffed and patted his arm. "Okay, okay, sorry. I just had to say it. Now why don't you join us for a beer?"

"Thanks, but I still gotta make some calls, and I can use some sleep."

"Alright. We'll keep it low."