Chapter 743 The deadlock and the murderer who appears again

"So, they compare themselves to the God of Death?" Joyner, standing next to Hotchner, asked curiously.

Hotchner didn't know what he thought of, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly, "If that's the case, then the murderer must lack a basic understanding of Tarot cards.

‘Death’ does not simply mean death in the physical sense, but represents the arrival of endings and changes. When this card appears, it usually means the end of certain aspects of life, such as job promotion or marriage.

This kind of ending is not negative, but often heralds a new beginning and a certain sense of rebirth. "

Hearing Hotchner's talk, everyone's eyes were focused on him. This was not something that could be said by a guy who gave people a staid impression and looked more like an antique than Rossi.

If it was Rhett who said this, no one would be surprised. After all, Genius Encyclopedia knows everything.

Even if it comes from the mouth of any female agent present, it would not be so surprising. After all, tarot card divination and other things are the most interesting things for little girls like horoscopes. Which of the girls present is not? Having been a girl since childhood, it is natural for me to understand a little bit.

"Hallee was particularly obsessed with tarot card reading for a while, especially the days after I proposed to her. Every time she drew 'Death', she would be very happy."

Realizing the strangeness in everyone's eyes, Hotchner gave a rare smile and showed a small show of affection.

Jack noticed that although everyone tried hard not to look directly at Joyner's slightly gloomy face, everyone including Rosie was actually looking at her secretly from the corner of their eyes. Hotchner's behavior just now was definitely intentional.

Danny was one of the few people at the scene who didn't know anything about it. He curled his lips indifferently, "Is this what you said, the murderer started to try to establish contact with the police? He gained spiritual satisfaction by provoking authority."

Rossi was somewhat noncommittal about this, "Maybe, in the 'DC Sniper' case, John Muhammad and Lee Malvo left exactly the same cards at the scene."

Joyner quickly regained her composure and forced her attention back to the current case, "So they are actually copycat criminals of the 'DC Sniper'? Trying to create similar panic among the citizens as before?"

"What's more, they've obviously looked at similar cases and are trying to tell us in this way that what we know, they know too."

Rossi said, turning to look at Red, "Do you remember Kenneth Bianchi in the 'Mountainside Strangler' case? Not only did he deceive the LAPD, pretending to be an enthusiast and go to investigate the scene with the police, but he also A half-baked psychologist, after being arrested, he tried to use his knowledge of psychology to pretend to have a split personality and escape from prison.”

Rhett nodded to express his understanding, "One of the murderer's motives is probably to provoke the NYPD or FBI to show his superiority in IQ."

Joyner glanced at the passers-by and looked at the reporters in the crowd holding professional cameras high, with deep worry in her eyes. "No matter what, they succeeded. Ms. Moger is considering whether to mobilize other cities around." field agent."

Danny couldn't help but sigh, "The NYPD has recalled all the officers on leave, but we still can't guarantee that there will be enough police officers near all the possible attack locations marked by Dr. Reid. We hope that the arrival of the FBI can alleviate some of this. The problem of understaffing.”

"Why do I feel like this is what the murderer wants to see?" Jack had a strange feeling that he couldn't explain. "Imitators generally only imitate a single serial killer, some do it out of admiration, and some think they can surpass it.

There seems to be no precedent for using the modus operandi of "Son of Sam" and imitating the model of "DC Sniper" to throw tarot cards at the scene to provoke the police.

Moreover, the previous interval between crimes was about two to three days, but now there is only one day between the fifth and sixth murders. What caused the murderer to speed up the frequency of his crimes? "

Everyone knows the answer. It was the press conference jointly held by the NYPD and FBI yesterday. The murderer may have regarded it as a declaration of war.

"No matter what, they will pay for their arrogance." Danny ended the conversation with a harsh word.

——

Another day passed. In the office temporarily assigned to everyone in BAU, Emily angrily tore off a page of manuscript paper, crumpled it into a ball and threw it into the wastebasket.

Jiejie frowned beautifully, biting the end of her pen and looking at the clean notepad in a daze. Luke Elvis, who was sitting next to her, had a similar expression. There was a WORD text open on the screen of the laptop on the table. Just a single line of text.

Jiejie has just completed profiler training, and Luke Elvis still has half of the class to finish. If their performance is considered normal for novices, the same goes for Rossi and Hotchner. The ugly face speaks volumes.

On the third day, the number of victims increased from 4 to 6, but everyone present could not even compile a basic profile report.

“The NYPD is asked to conduct a thorough investigation of the area and companies that have long lunch breaks at noon, hoping that someone can identify fathers and sons who fit the dominance-submission model or colleagues who have a superior-subordinate relationship.

Damn it, if I were a patrol officer, I would be cursing if I got this kind of profile. "

Emily tore off a page of manuscript paper again, and was shocked to find that she had torn out the last page of a thick notepad at some point.

"The NYPD has sent out all their undercover agents to collect gang intelligence and keep an eye out for suspicious people. I feel like a drowning man desperately trying to hold on to the last straw."

Joyner said with a sad face that she and Danny had turned enemies into friends a long time ago. As the case managers who bear the main pressure, it is not an exaggeration to say that the two of them feel sympathy for each other.

Danny's eyes were red from the heat, and he seemed to be preying on others. The wolfberry in the cup had been replaced by Jack with cassia seed and chrysanthemum tea. At this time, the whole office was filled with a faint scent of golden chrysanthemums, but there was no trace of it. It plays a role in soothing people's emotions.

"Do you think it's possible that the other party is coming for us?" Rhett, who had been guarding his map, suddenly had an idea, and everyone looked at him with surprised eyes.

Jack directly denied his speculation, "Your schedule has not been made public, and Hannah and Jiejie never mentioned BAU when communicating with the media."

Since the "Boston Death" case, the BAU has almost completely disappeared from public view. In public reports of some cases, it is occasionally mentioned that the FBI's behavioral analysis team provided help, but it is never specific to a specific person's name. .

Perhaps some well-informed people will know that the famous David Rossi has returned to the FBI and participated in the investigation of some cases, but the specific ones need to be searched carefully in the vast amount of case information released by the federal government every year.

Rhett frowned and stopped talking, thinking carefully about whether he had omitted some details. In fact, everyone was a little irritable. This was not only due to the pressure from the victims that may be increasing every day, but also doubts about their abilities.

This is the first time that a case has been handled for such a long time. No one in the BAU can even provide a preliminary profiling report. It’s not that everyone can’t write it, but everyone, including Jack, looks at what they have written. They all felt something was wrong.

I always feel as if a big piece of the puzzle is missing. It should be right in front of me, but everyone is turning a blind eye to it, staring blankly and searching in vain in the air.

Just as everyone was staring at each other, time was passing by bit by bit. Jack exhaled a sullen breath and stood up from the chair, "Who wants to follow me to the corridor to take a breather? I have a few more here." "Cuban goods."

"Me!" Danny stood up first. Hotchner hesitated and then followed Rosie. Then almost everyone stood up. Even Emily and Jie Jie exchanged a look. , bent down and picked up the bag at his feet to prepare to go out.

Suddenly, there was a bang, and the office door was pushed open. Garcia stood at the door, looking panicked, "Everyone, I noticed that I was browsing the real-time surveillance video just now, and I may have seen the murderer."