Chapter 10 - Vengeance

"Thomas Moreno. Age twenty-nine. Moved to Queens two years ago from Charlotte, North Carolina. Bachelor's degree from UNC. Was attending NYU for his Master's while working full-time at a brokerage firm on Wall Street."

Deakins' frown deepened with each sentence Alex relayed. "Any connection between the two victims?"

"It doesn't appear that way," she replied from her seat in front of Deakins' desk. "But we still need to dig into their social lives."

"A connection would be helpful," the captain muttered, as if Bobby and Alex should go make it happen.

'He must be getting pressure from the top,' Alex thought. That's what usually brought on his grumpy moods and unreasonable expectations. 'I guess hangings in Central Park don't look good for the Mayor's visitors campaign.'

It was late in the day, and she and Bobby were in Deakins' office updating him on their investigation. The morning had been spent at Moreno's apartment with the CSU team, followed by a quick swing by the Park to inspect the tree and scene of the hanging. Their afternoon started with a visit to Rodgers at the morgue before they settled in at their desks for electronic research and phone calls, one of which resulted in an interview with his employer for the next day.

"What about Moreno's background? Any evidence of abuse, either way?"

"He has no criminal record and no reports of abuse were filed by him or on his behalf," Alex answered. "I did a search on the internet for websites that identify sexual predators and registered offenders… no pop on either victim."

The whole time she was reporting to Deakins, Bobby was sitting off in a corner, studying the photos of the victims as they were found at the Park. "Does this look familiar to you?" he suddenly asked.

She and the captain both looked over at the photos he was now holding up to show them. Alex tilted her head and gave it some thought. "They remind me of those da Vinci drawings…"

Bobby nodded approval. "Vetruvian Man… Leonardo da Vinci's study of the ideal proportions for the male human body."

"Is that significant?" Deakins asked.

"Well… it depends on whether or not it has meaning for the killers," Goren placed his notebook on table beside him, stood up and began pacing a short pattern at one end of the office. "Vetruvian Man was originally conceived by a Roman architect who used what he perceived as… the perfect proportions of the human body in the design of his buildings," he stopped pacing and faced them. Seeing their confusion, his hand waved vaguely in the air as he further explained. "A palm is the width of four fingers… a foot is the width of four palms… the distance of a man's outspread arms is equal to his height…"

Still baffled as to what that could possibly have to do with two murders, Alex and Deakins just nodded.

"Da Vinci's image of Vetruvian Man is…" Bobby picked up one of the pictures and held it so Alex and Deakins could see as he traced shapes. "It's inscribed by a circle and a square. It's believed that the square represents material existence, while the circle is the spiritual realm. There are also those who believe that the… the five points of the body…" and he now traced a different pattern on the photo of Moreno, "feet… head… hands… represent the five points of a star."

Alex felt a small chill of understanding. "A pentagram." Bobby nodded.

"Whoa," Deakins held out a hand to halt this line of discussion. "Let's not even go there."

Bobby shook his head. "Santanism or otherwise… there are potential religious interpretations to Vetruvian Man."

"Including crucifixion?" Deakins asked.

"Crucifixion would have the legs together, as Christ is portrayed on the cross."

"Religious interpretations," Deakins repeated. He stood up from his desk and began his own pattern of pacing as his anxiety and discomfort with the subject became apparent. "What would children's toys have to do with religion?" he demanded.

"Again, it depends what all this means to the killers," Bobby answered calmly. "This is all speculation."

"Well let's not go down that path until we have more information," the captain firmly instructed. "It's bad enough we have hangings going on at a public park that's also a major tourist attraction. We don't need to add fears of religious sacrifice to the mix"

"Moreno's parents and two sisters are on their way to New York," Alex stepped in. "We'll try to set up a meeting with them tomorrow, find out if there's anything in his background that's similar to Pirelli."

"For now, let's stick with the theory of child molestation," Deakins seemed anxious to distance the discussion from the topic of Satanism. The captain shoved his hands in his pants pockets and faced Bobby head on. "If it turns out that both men were abuse victims, that changes the motivation and the profile of the killers."

"Not necessarily," Bobby argued. "Victims of abuse often become abusers. Although with Pirelli, it doesn't appear to be of the long-term, prolonged variety that would be a… a catalyst for him to become an abuser himself."

"They're from two different states, with no apparent connection," Deakins was now thinking out loud. "If they're not identified anywhere as sex offenders, how did the killers find them?"

"If they truly are child molesters… their victims would know them. It would be easy enough to find them." Bobby took a step toward the captain to emphasize his next point. "In that case, the more interesting question would be: How did the killers, with the same motivations or the same histories, find each other?"

"This is all giving me a headache," Deakins groaned as he sank back into his chair.

"If they're local, it could be a therapy or support group," Alex suggested. "Or the internet… chat rooms."

"The internet would mean they could be from anywhere," Deakins complained.

"Yes… it would," Bobby slowly agreed with a new light in his eyes. He abruptly picked up his notebook and headed for the office door. "We, uh… we need to find out if this is happening anywhere else."

TBC…

A/N - If this is all getting too complex or something doesn't make sense, I would appreciate feedback. This is certainly a more involved story than what I typically write.