Disclaimer: Not mine – Darn it!
A/N: Sorry for the delay. I have been exceedingly lazy (and struggling with this chapter – I know where I'm going after this but I have to get past this part to get to the fun stuff.) Bear with me, please!
Chapter 10: Inside the Mind of a Killer
Riley looked at the expectant faces around the table. "Our killer is Caucasian, between 25 and 35 years old, a victim of sexual abuse during childhood and teenage years. The reason that we found no defensive wounds on any of the murder victims is that they allowed themselves to be bound, in fact, they paid for the privilege." Riley paused, knowing that her next words would definitely get a reaction. "She's a dominatrix – she probably advertises her services on craigslist or something similar. She kills alone but uses an accomplice to move the body from the murder scene to the dump site."
"Wait a minute!" shouted Sacks. "Did you say she? You're trying to tell us that a woman did this?"
"While I admit that female serial killers are rare, they are not unheard of. Countess Elizabeth Bathory is believed to have killed as many as 600 young women in the early 1600's. She actually bathed in their blood believing it would make her more beautiful. And it's possible that there are more female serial killers than we know of – they may just be better at getting away with it."
"While the theory of a female killer/dominatrix does explain the lack of any signs of struggle, how do you explain the dislocated shoulders?" Ducky interjected.
Riley smiled. "I think I can demonstrate that. Agent Sacks, could you lie down on the floor, please?"
They were giving her the crazy lady look again, especially Sacks. "Why do you want me to get on the damn floor?" he asked angrily.
"I need to test something. And please don't use profanity. I find it offensive. Now, are you going to get down on the floor or do need to assist you?"
"Do it, Sacks," ordered Fornell, "or we'll never get a complete profile." Sacks complied, complaining all the while.
"I'm sorry to have to use you for this demonstration, Agent Sacks, but you are about the same height and weight as our last victim," continued Riley. "You don't have shoulder problems do you?"
"No. Why?" Sacks was beginning to worry, but everyone else was enjoying his discomfort. Apparently Tony wasn't the only one who disliked him.
"Oh, don't worry. This won't hurt. Tony, could you please grab Agent Sacks by the arm and drag him across the floor?" Tony grinned widely and moved toward Sacks, who protested loudly. Grabbing Sacks by the left hand, he easily pulled him several feet along the carpet.
"Keep going, Tony," Riley said. "See how smoothly Tony is pulling Agent Sacks? Now, Ziva, could you please do the same thing?" Ziva complied, pulling Sacks back to his original position.
"Do you see the difference?" Riley asked. "Keep going, Ziva – see how she has to almost jerk him across the floor?"
"You can get up now, Sacks," said Riley. Looking at Dr. Mallard she asked, "Do you see it? Does it make sense?"
"Perfect sense, Dr. Kendall," answered Ducky. "I can't believe we didn't see it before."
"That's because we assumed we were looking for a man. She drags them from the kill site and rolls them up in a rug, evidenced by the rug fibers that we found on the bodies. Her accomplice then helps her move the body to the dump site. I would suggest looking for the rug in dumpsters in the vicinity of the last murder. You won't find the victims' clothing. She keeps it. She meets her victims near her apartment, probably in a bar but not necessarily the same bar every time. She may have several, uh, appointments with the victims before killing them, giving them a false sense of security. Check credit card records several weeks prior to the murders for bar receipts. I know you've checked out their computers, but they may not have used personal or work computers for these activities. Check out public computers near their homes or workplaces. I'll compile my results and email my report to all of you within the hour. Or if you would rather have a hard copy, let me know and I'll print it out for you. Any questions?" Riley looked around the room. "Okay, then. Is there somewhere I can work?"
Gibbs directed Riley to an empty desk in the bullpen and she left the room to type up her report. When she left, the conference room erupted in conversations. Everyone was speaking at once, some in agreement with Riley and others dismissing the profile as garbage. Suddenly, an ear-piercing whistle split the air.
"Enough!" shouted Gibbs. "Whether you agree with her or not, we at least have a place to start. McGee, check out the computer records and search for any public computers. Tony, Ziva – check out the receipts. Fornell, you guys can check out the dumpsters."
"And why should we get dumpster duty?" asked Fornell.
"Cause my team is busy following up on leads that your people missed! Now, I'm going for coffee." Gibbs strode out of the room, his team following quickly behind him. Vance, Ducky and Abby also left quickly, trying but not succeeding in hiding their amusement.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Back in the bullpen, everyone was working on their assigned tasks. Riley was rapidly typing on her laptop. McGee noticed that she was not using any notes and commented on it. "Do you have your notes on your laptop? I don't see any hard copies."
"No," Riley replied as she continued working. "I'm eidetic. I never take notes. I remember everything I see, hear or read – which is not always a good thing."
"Whoa, remind me never to play movie trivia with you," Tony said. "And I guess that explains why you never used notes in class."
"In class?" McGee asked. "What does that mean?"
"Riley and I were at OSU together. That's why she seemed so familiar at the crime scene yesterday. We had a few classes together," Tony answered, implying that they were students together, rather than the true student/teacher relationship. Riley looked at him and smiled gratefully. The truth led to too many questions. "By the way, Riley, did you really have to do that 'demonstration' in the conference room? Not that I'm complaining, mind you. I kind of enjoyed dragging Sacks around the room."
Riley grinned. "I didn't really have to do it. I could have just explained it. But I really don't like him very much." Everyone laughed as they all got to work on their respective tasks.
A little later Riley asked McGee, "If I email this to you, can you forward it to everyone else – and maybe print one out for Gibbs. He doesn't seem like the email type."
"Sure, Riley," answered McGee. He gave her his email address and she quickly sent the file to him.
"Okay, guys. My work here is done. It was really great working with you." Everyone looked up in surprise.
"You're leaving?" asked Ziva. "But the case is not solved."
"That's not my job. I do the profile, give you my report and go back to my office. If our killer strikes again, I'll come to the site and reevaluate the profile, but other than that I'm finished. I'm, uh, not allowed to do field work anymore. You probably figured that out yesterday."
"You're forgetting something," said Tony. "You don't have a car."
"Oh, poop!" Riley said, causing everyone else to erupt in laughter.
"Poop?" said McGee. "Who says 'poop'?"
"I do!" answered Riley, laughing with them. "My other preferred exclamation is 'monkey-on-a-stick' – I have no idea what it means. But anyway, I'll just catch a cab to the Hoover building. My car's there. Tell the others I said good-bye. It was really nice seeing you again, Tony."
"Wait, I'll walk out with you," Tony said. "If Gibbs comes in, tell him I'll be right back."
Tony and Riley walked to the elevator. "You don't have to do this. I'm a big girl now."
"Hey, can't a guy be a gentleman? Besides, I wanted to talk to you for a minute." They were on the elevator now and Tony reached over and hit the emergency stop, hoping that Gibbs didn't choose this moment to come back. "I was wondering if you would like to go out sometime. A real dinner, not takeout."
"Are you asking me on a date?" asked Riley. "I thought that you and Agent David were. . . you know, especially the way she reacted this morning."
"Ziva is my partner and my friend. She cares for me, but not like that." Tony quickly quelled the wave of sadness that came with this admission, but Ziva had made her feelings quite clear. Riley saw his pained expression, however brief it was, and wondered if Tony's feelings were stronger than Ziva's. For that reason, she was hesitant to accept his invitation.
"I don't know, Tony. I don't want you to feel obligated to me after yesterday. I'm fine now."
"Riley, this is not out of obligation. You are a very beautiful and intelligent woman and I would be an idiot if I didn't want to get to know you better. So how about it? Dinner tonight – I'll pick you up around 7:00."
Not sure if she was doing the right thing, Riley finally agreed. "Okay, see you tonight."
With a grin, Tony hit the emergency stop button again, putting the elevator in motion. As they reached the main floor and the doors opened, he leaned over and kissed Riley – just as Gibbs stepped into the elevator.
TBC