Visiting crime scene

Together with Kim, Sam and John Bailey drove to Downtown Atlanta. This district had been Grant's former area of responsibility as a cop, but this didn't mean that he liked it to return here – more on the contrary. No one of them felt at ease here – Downtown was a dubious district even here in Atlanta.

Near a shopping center Bailey parked his black Jeep. Walking they did the last meters to the place where the corpse had been found, which was already cordoned and lightened up as bright as day. Cops were busy to keep curious persons away – among others a real swarm of journalists.

"Those paparazzi are unbearable!" John snarled next to Kim. "Where do they know about this right now? It's half past five!"

"They listen to the police radio", Bailey replied from the front without turning. "We know that, but we can't stop 'em."

John snorted, but bit back a respond when Malone turned and John caught his warning look.

An older man came along the agents. He was smaller than Bailey, stocky, with sparse hair and seemed to be a bit deranged. Kim knew him. That was Detective Philip White, a leading officer of the Atlanta Police Department. The department had actually nothing to do with the FBI, but sometimes a case kept both departments busy, and so of course the agents knew each other.

"Detective White!" Bailey said, when he recognized the man.

White ran his fingers through his hair. "Agent Malone!" he returned. Faint relief was in his voice.

Kim couldn't suppress a grin. She could understand the relief. The detectives did not know how to take these odd murders. Surely not.

With a gesture Detective White told the officers standing at the cordon to let the agents pass by then followed them close.

Although Kim was used to the sight of dead people meanwhile – also to the sight of battered ones – she winced when she saw the victim. Indeed the condition of the corpse played not that big a part this time. What gave the young woman such a fright was the color the murderer had used this time. The not really clear brown shade made unpleasant associations come to her mind. "Good that George can't see this here", she murmured quietly at Sam.

Dr Waters just nodded silently. She had had similar thoughts.

Kim remained standing some steps away from the corpse and took the crime scene in. Like every time she got the feeling of seeing a movie shortly afterward, when she saw through the eyes of the murderer for some parts of a second. It was over soon, and what remained was just a feeling of satisfaction. This emotion didn't belong to her, Kim knew. They belonged to the murderer.

Kim looked at Sam.

The older profiler had stepped close to the corpse and squatted down next to it. She had seen pictures in her mind as well – strong hands grabbing suddenly, the desperate try to fight the grab. It had been senseless. Hurriedly Sam stroked her blond hair out of her face.

Bailey stepped close to her and squatted down himself.

Kim even wanted to follow him as John stepped next to her. "And?"

Warner shrugged. "Same like with the others. He makes time, it feels right to him what he does."

Grant nodded. "White and his folks have found some witnesses within the crowd. Gonna talk to 'em, maybe someone's really seen somethin' interestin'."

His young colleague nodded, looked after him, when he went toward the cordon, then made a move to go to Sam and Bailey for the second time. Suddenly she noticed a movement out of the corner of her eyes and stopped.

A man left the crowd of spectators and came toward the investigators. He was tall and well-built, but nevertheless very slim; his hair was short, straight and blond with a faint hint of red, and he moved with an agility that reminded Kim of a cat somehow. His walk was springy, but didn't seem energetic. Much more it was a way which seemed to be almost lurking.

From the very first moment the man was disagreeable to Kim. This came surprising for herself for she didn't know this from herself. She followed him slowly as he went toward Sam and Bailey. If he had noticed the young agent he ignored her well, but she wasn't even sure that he had noticed her at all.

Determined he crossed the cordoned place and headed for the two agents kneeling next to the corpse.

Bailey, who had noticed a movement from the corner of his eyes as well as Kim, saw him coming along and rose from his squatting position with a fluid movement to go to meet the stranger some steps away. "What're ye doin' here?" he received him reserved, but not really unfriendly. "Please leave the cordoned space! You're standin' at a crime scene!"

The man nodded unimpressed. "I know. Agent Malone?"

Bailey nodded as well, but didn't make a move to give the other one a handshake. "May I ask you where from...?"

"I'm district attorney Dan Jefferson", the other one interrupted as though he hadn't even heard Bailey's started question.

Malone got the matter immediately. Jefferson still didn't hold the position of the leading district attorney for a long time until now, that's why they had never met before although it was not really rare that the FBI got in contact with the prosecuting attorney's office. Nevertheless he knew the name, and now he even returned the offered handshake. "I'm glad to get you to know", he said and turned to beckon to Sam and Kim, who had stepped next to them meanwhile. "Special Agent Dr Samantha Waters and Special Agent Kimberley Warner", he introduced the two young women and turned again, this time to the other side. There, some meters away and absorbed in a talk to an older woman, John Grant was standing at the cordon. "And that's Agent John Grant", Bailey finished his introduction.

Jefferson scrutinized all of them for a while then nodded at every one shortly and greeting. "I don't wanna disturb you in your work, Agent Malone", he said then turned back to Bailey. "I was told you would be workin' on this case, and 'cause I wasn't far away from here I wanted to use the chance given and to get to know you and your team." With his head he gestured toward the corpse: "I've never seen somethin' like this before, to be honest. Hope you'll soon catch the guy who's done this. I'd love it too much to talk to him – how on earth do you get the idea to spray a corpse with color?" Shaking his head he turned away and returned to the cordon.

Without caring about him for one more second Sam and Bailey turned back to the dead. Only Kim kept staring after the district attorney for a moment. Something seemed to be wrong with this man, but still she was not able to say what it basically was. Finally she decided not to think about it any more and stepped close to the corpse, too.

Bailey turned his head and looked at her. "So?"

Kim gestured at Sam inviting. Automatically she let the older and more experienced profiler go ahead.

Sam bent her head and sighed. "He's acted the same way like with the other victims – he kills them, removes their cloths then colors them." She took a look around and shook her head. "He's killed her here, what means the place doesn't matter to him at all." Her gaze wandered to the cloths of the victim lying about two meters away, orderly fold – exactly where the color hadn't been able to meet them.

The others followed her gaze.

"Why does he put the cloths that far away?" Bailey wanted to know.

"He's not willin' to dirty 'em", Kim replied.

Sam nodded. "The cloths don't have to do anything with the person", she explained. "He's seeing them separated. That's why he doesn't color them as well."

"He punishes 'em", Kim murmured. "He don't have to punish the cloths."

"And besides, he humiliates them by doing this", Sam added quietly. "By removing their cloths."

Bailey nodded. "Especially when he removes them in public." He looked at Sam: "Is this the matter? The humiliation?"

Sam strictly shook her head. "No. No, I don't think so. I'd guess he doesn't see his victims as...persons but as a...a symbol for something. They symbolize something for him, and he tries to express this with the color."

John stepped next to them, holding his notepad in his hand.

Questioning Kim glanced at him.

He shrugged. "The witnesses haven't been really helpful", he told. "No one of 'em's watched the murder straight. Only one woman's seen a man runnin' away from the crime scene. At first sight she thought he'd be haunted or would have done somethin' bad, but shortly afterward the first patrol arrived, and that's why she's thinkin' now he'd called the police."

"Is she able to describe him?" Bailey wanted to know.

"Medium tall, dark coat, that's it. She said she'd been quite far away. Oh, and she thought him 'not to be from here, somehow'."

Irritated the agents exchanged a gaze.

"'Not to be from here, somehow' – what shall this mean?" Kim asked.

John shrugged. "She couldn't express it another way. I've given her my card, in case it should come to her mind what seemed odd to her with him."

Somehow no one of them believed really that the woman would ever call them.

Bailey sighed and shook his head. "We won't come further this way. We gotta find out what these victims are standin' for in the eyes of our doer; that means we need to know what the colors mean. This seems to be the key to this case. I'm gonna get the corpse taken to Grace to the pathology, and then we return to the office."

"Guess that means a lot of work for George and me", Kim murmured while walking to the car together with the others.

Silently he watched the four FBI Agents and smiled to himself, but in a way nobody standing around him could see it.

They were good, he had to acknowledge. He had been able to understand every word spoken by them from his place. Still they were miles away from solving this case, and of course they would come too late, but at least they were on the right track already. The colors would guide them if they could understand them – what would have to turn out later on. It would be fun to play with them.

Slowly, without hurry, he turned and left the crime scene.