Autopsy of a Mind

Breathe, Sebastian. 

I had to remind myself.

There were a few things that I needed to think about. If the police force had no clue who the BTS Killer was, neither should the accomplice. Even if he did have connections within the police force, he wouldn't know the answer to an unsolved mystery.

This could only mean one thing… he had a personal connection with the BTS Killer and knew from the very beginning who this person was. He used evidence from the killer's crimes to divert our attention from him. 

Why did he want to inspire others to commit crimes? What could have made him think of something so twisted? I had never considered that. Adding in the love for the football cap he always donned on and the belief that he had a male figure in his life who influenced him greatly… could it be that this male figure was the BTS Killer? 

With the knowledge of the crimes and watching this close influence indulging in crimes, he might have thought it was liberating. But that didn't explain why he would give out evidence that could lead to the capture of said influence. 

I could only think of one thing. 

Dissatisfaction. 

I stood up from my perch on the floor and opened the door and walked down the hallway. I peered into Nash's office and he looked up immediately.

"Help me wheel in her board," I asked him. 

He glanced between the board and me before nodding reluctantly. 

As we walked back down the hallway, I saw others stare at me. A mixture of pity and worry flashed in their eyes and I didn't understand their reaction. 

"Why are they looking at me like that?" I asked Nash. 

He sighed. "They think you are boarding yourself inside the room to grieve. And I think it's a good thing. Your face shows your devastation and it is the best cover for us to keep investigating." He patted my back in encouragement. 

He wheeled in the board and looked at the pile of papers scattered on the floor. 

"Why did you want the board?" he asked finally when the door was closed behind me.

"The victim's ID card was not found at the crime scene. I called the victim's mother and spoke to her at length. The family doesn't have the ID either."

Nash rubbed his finger on his chin. "So, the accomplice got his hand on the evidence and victim's property." His eyes widened. "Now that you mention it… It would make sense if they were related. The high intelligence and the possibility that the BTS killer is in a high position in the government would align with the accomplice having someone in the same positions, right?"

I nodded briefly. "But we can only guess the BTS killer is a person in power right now…" I shook my head. I plopped down on the floor and spread out the paperwork on the victims. 

"The killer was closely looking at his victims, stalking them until he knew they were alone in their home. That means he was in a position where he needed to frequent these localities and possibly had access to the interior of the houses."

Nash closed his eyes, thinking of something. He picked up the file on the first victim and flipped through it. "Definitely. He knew the victim's house and how to navigate through it. That is why the detectives at the time thought it was the cable guy or plumber who worked in the house before." 

"But this killer also knew to wipe down all evidence of his. Even though DNA was not a thing when he started killing, he made sure not to leave anything behind apart from what he used on the victim. Like he knew the technology would catch up to the evidence."

"And the police never suspected that it could be someone in their own circle," Nash gasped. "You really think he is a police officer?" he asked, his voice slightly raised. 

I blinked, not answering him in words. "Maybe he was not a police officer then, but in the police academy or in suspension." I raised my brow. 

"You are saying that the periods of time he was on those killing sprees were when he was triggered into feeling powerless, right?" he whispered. 

"Exactly." I picked out the next files.

"Look here… he came back after a long hiatus. But there was something very different this time," I whispered. The thoughts were slowly forming in my head. I was slowly putting the dots together.

"The second killing when he came back?" Nash asked. He looked through the case and shook his head. "I don't understand."

"Remember when he killed the whole family? The children included?" I asked. "In his first spree, he had no mercy if someone else walked in and saw him with the victim. He ruthlessly killed all of them." I pointed to the pictures of the little kids he had murdered alongside the mother. "But when he encountered the same thing in his second spree, he locked the child in the bathroom and still killed the mother." I pointed to the file Nash was holding in his hand.

Nash dropped down beside me and took a blank sheet of paper and started to build a timeline. "From the time he stopped his first spree to the second spree… he could have had a child and he didn't want to kill a child because it reminded him of his… son…" And then he scribbled some more and gasped. "The same child would be in the age-range that we suspect the accomplice is in!"

"Bravo, you have figured this out." I couldn't help but smile. "But we can't stop at that. It could have been that a close family member gave birth. The accomplice could be a nephew or someone in the family, too."

"And that would explain why the child would have access to the victim's things…" Nash trailed off. "Is there anything else?" he asked, excited. 

I nodded. "There are these notes," I flipped to the photocopies I had received. "The letters to the media and police force that were handwritten… they look like they were not written by an adult. The trepid way they wrote… this person was not confident and was scared that the killer would get caught because of him." 

Nash looked at the writings, dragging his hand over the prints. 

"It would also explain why the accomplice went to so much trouble to erase all traces of him in those packages. Going the extra mile to put disinfectant and remove everything from the box?" His eyes gleamed with excitement. 

"Then, we have a profile of who it could be, right? We are looking for someone who was in the force or was working to be in there… had many failures but eventually had enough power over people that he didn't need to kill to exert power over others."

"The way he tied up the victims and sexually assaulted them… it was always about power… power over a woman. Maybe the BTS killer had a mother who was dominating or a wife who was the breadwinner of the household. The pressure to be more manly could have turned his fantasies of tying up and sexually engaging with women violent. He wanted complete control over the female body."

"So, the first spree… he was financially inferior to his significant other and he couldn't handle it. He wanted to take back some form of control."

"And then he finally got a job that satiated his financial and power-related needs. He also had a child who depended on him. He felt powerful, so he didn't need to assault and murder women anymore. But something happened again in his life and he felt stripped of his masculinity."

"I'll personally make a list of people who were patrolling officers at the time, specifically in the areas of the victims and or those going to the police academy. I'll narrow it down by people who faced problems or were suspended at the time."

"No one should know about this." I closed my eyes as the suspicion overflowed in my veins. "We cannot have anyone find out. Do you understand?" I whispered. 

"You can trust me. My priority is to find Evie and if we can use this information to get her back, I will gladly become unlawful and fish for information where I shouldn't." I could see the determination in his eyes.

"Actually, on top of that list, give me another list with those in high government positions with close family members within the age range of the accomplice."

"I will do that. Also, I will follow up with the prosecutor about the list of clients Collins has seen in the past decade. There should be a good number of important people there who we could consider."

I breathed in relief. "Tell me as soon as you find out."

"The result for the grain of sand will come out by morning and we are looking through all the properties from the kidnapping suspect's family and friends. We will get a hit soon, don't worry." 

He waved goodbye and left the room, leaving me to my misery. The list seemed to have been solved. And I had nothing else to do at that moment but to wait for the results. 

It gripped my heart and wouldn't let go. 

Questions of what-if floated in my mind, clouding my judgment. For a second, I wondered if I should give in to the fog and forget that I was anything other than a man who needed to grieve the absence of his fiancé. To be a simple man who may never see the woman he loved with all his heart ever again. 

I dared not think too deeply. But I couldn't help.