Chapter 19 - Gotham City Police Headquarters, 8.30am
There were times when a perpetually hangdog expression came in damned handy, thought Gordon as he entered his office, at least no one notices when you really _do_ feel that bad. He'd been back from the crime scene for less than twenty minutes. He'd overseen the removal of the bodies and braved the gamut of reporters who had decided to all but blockade the GCPD, since going to Graves house would have involved some actual journalism and fortitude.
Waiting for him in his outer office had been two of the most stereotyped looking federal Agents Gordon had ever seen.
She was white and had short cropped dark hair, and wore a charcoal grey skirt-suit and a simple white blouse. He was black and wore the male equivalent, with a tie of such dark red that it would probably have been cheerier if he'd just worn plain black. She was named Pulaski, he, God help him, seemingly really _was_ named "Smith".
She tended to speak for the both of them, introducing themselves without fuss or any of the arrogance he had seen on occasions from other agents. Neither looked pleased to be there, though whether that was because they had been assigned to the Corinthian case or sent to the nightmare city known as Gotham or both, Gordon couldn't guess and didn't really care at the moment.
Pulaski spoke first, a barely noticeable Texan accent in her voice.
"You might be expecting flim-flam and rivalry here Commissioner, so let's get that part out of the way first. Cards on the table from the word go. We are aware of the unusual situation here in Gotham, I've worked Metropolis in the past, Jones has worked Star City. Frankly, whilst I think we'd all prefer things weren't that way, we don't live in a perfect world and self-appointed superheroes are a fact of life. And, though I'd never say this at a promotion board, they can be damned handy to have around at times, yours has quite the reputation. A lot more reliable than Green Arrow, though Superman is another case altogether of course. I have a brother in the SCU there and he all but worships him."
Gordon found himself warming to this agent already. He much preferred straight talk. Provided you could be sure that the straight talk wasn't in itself a bluff. But he had developed excellent people reading skills over the years and he got a good gut feeling about the two of them.
She gestured towards the paperwork on the desk.
"I have to say, I'm impressed by the thoroughness of your forensic evidence."
"We certainly have enough opportunity to refine our techniques in Gotham, mores the pity. Our Toxicology crew alone is four times the size of Washington's, which is saying something."
"Indeed, though I was particularly impressed by the speed with which some results had been processed given the first murder you actually investigated was only yesterday morning. I wasn't aware that the GCPD possessed that sort of computing power."
Gordon kept his face impassive as he replied. "A local citizen, who prefers to remain anonymous, generously provides time on a variety of advanced pieces of equipment."
Pulaski gestured to the detailed graphs and print outs in her file "Clearly a _very_ generous citizen. One of those that we were just talking about?"
"Indeed, however I'm sure if there were any particular results of testing you wish to probe further into, that we could reproduce the results in our own labs."
"Of course, and I suppose that this analysis, was carried out by an authorised member of the GCPD?"
Gordon didn't even blink "I could certainly prove that to the satisfaction of the courts." He gave his most significant pause "…if anyone were ever to require it."
Pulaski nodded. "Understood."
They sat in silence for a few moments, each reading the others respective files, occasionally asking questions of each other.
Pulaski had been assigned to the Corinthian case for three years, Smith for a little over a year. Gordon shuddered at the scenes they must have had to deal with. After only two he felt ten years older. He noticed more subtle signs about her, the slight bags under the eyes well hidden with make-up, the controlled stress in Smith's body language.
"Is there a medical update on the Graves woman?"
"Graves is another matter. She's in a state of complete breakdown. The doctors estimate it could be months before she's coherent again, if she ever is."
"Wish I could say I was more upset about that."
"Me too Commissioner, but whatever else she might be, she might have been a witness, what she saw happen could have been an invaluable source of information."
"There's something I have to ask Commissioner. There are rumours about there being a fifth kid involved in last night's events. Might even have been one of this town's capes."
"I've heard that rumour too, Agent Pulaski"
"Please Commissioner. Don't play games with me on this. There's a further rumour that a mask and gloves were left but mysteriously disappeared and don't show up in any of the photo's the coroner or CSI team took. The empty space on the fan is another strong hint that there's more going on here."
"I was one of the first on the scene, and there was no fifth boy on the fan at any point last night, and I have no idea who a fifth boy might have been."
Pulaski looked genuinely disappointed, "I see, well I'm very sorry to hear that Commissioner. I'd hoped we could make more progress than that."
"So did I" And Gordon meant it, "but this isn't Metropolis".
There was an uncomfortable silence until it came time came for the Task Force meeting.
The assembled Task Force was in sombre mood. Even the gallows humour that tends to permeate such sessions in an effort to keep everyone sane was conspicuous by its absence. Speaking tones were muted, some of the team looked stressed, to be honest _most_ looked stressed, all had that "stretched" look of those who are doing too much, for too long, but can't stop. Even then it was easy to spot some who were clearly just back from the crime scene.
They sat around the conference table, rubbing their eyes, nudging the person next to them to make sure they were awake and staring down at half empty coffee cups, of which there seemed to be far too many. Every ashtray in the place was filled to overflowing, but no one saw fit to point to the "No Smoking" signs; if the choice was between watching a friend smoking a cigarette or punching a wall, most of the team were prepared to be tolerant of a bit of second hand smoke.
Gordon called the meeting to order and introduced Pulaski and Smith. There was the usual round of half-hearted greetings from the assembled detectives.
Pulaski gave her presentation, basically an outline briefing of the case and the Corinthian's history. As with Gordon, her straightforward approach appeared to win over more of the team than the words "FBI" usually managed to alienate.
"As many of you will be aware, the FBI has been tracking a serial killer known as the Corinthian for several years now. He has a consistent approach which led to him being one of the first true pattern killers we documented… The recent murders in Bludhaven and Gotham match his profile and thanks to the excellent forensic work of GCPD I strongly believe that they are his work."
"I'm not a psychologist, though I have some training in that area. There are any number of technical terms used by those who ARE psychologists to describe him. The one used most often by us is 'Sick son of a bitch with less right to live than a cockroach'." It didn't get a laugh, but Gordon had a feeling it hadn't been meant to.
"He's killed enough young men and children to populate a decent sized high school. Most, but not all, were male prostitutes, or male minors employed in the vice game, others were simply ordinary kids he picked for no reason we've been able to confirm. He has killed those peripherally involved in his hunt, but he reserves special treatment for his targets."
"In textbook terms he's a psychopathic sexual sadist with a fetishistic tendencies."
"All his victims have been found tied in any one of a number of almost ritually submissive positions. He uses rope, fishing line or anything else that came to hand. Some have been raped, some sodomised, some have had things done to them so bizarre that there aren't actually names for them. I have slides for those who don't believe me on that last score, but don't eat beforehand."
"No matter what he does to them beforehand, he leaves them alive enough for the cause of death in each case to be the same. All have their eyes cut out with a wide bladed knife, probably a hunting knife, and are left to bleed to death, if the shock of their experiences wasn't enough to do it anyway. He then proceeds to eat the internal part of the eyes, leaves the remains and the bodies on display and moves on."
"And each and every time he has committed a murder he has done it without leaving a single shred of evidence. Not a fingerprint, not a hair, not even a skin cell."
"If he treats 'em the way you say, ain't there some sperm left or sometin' like that"
"Not that we're ever been able to find, Detective Bullock." Gordon was impressed, Pulaski must have memorised a lot of names to be that confident in identifying him, though Bullock was memorable for all sorts of reasons.
"Like we said, most of his victims have been sexually active one way or another, but there has been no forensic evidence in common with each case. Certainly any sperm residue we've found has been too old to be from the killer. Or in the cases where we are confident that the victim has had no prior sexual experiences, there is no sperm to be recovered. It's possible he fires blanks, but if that's not the reason, he uses the best damn prophylactic technique we've ever come across."
"In fact, apart from the eyes, about the only reason we can be sure it's him in each case is the complete _lack_ of evidence. No other killer has been so consistently adept at covering his tracks."
"He's also unpredictable in his timing, He can kill once then lie low for months, or kill on a daily basis in the same city for a number of weeks, then move on. There's no more pattern to his actions timing than there is to his choice of victims."
"With so many of the victims being found in hotels and motels, aren't there any security videos of him arriving or departing, or eyewitnesses?" This time from Montoya, a young beat cop that Gordon had high hopes for, she'd make Detective before she hit thirty if she kept up at this rate.
"Good question, Officer… Montoya isn't it?" Pulaski definitely earned extra points from Gordon for that feat of memory. "He tends to use the sort of establishments where the clientele insist there aren't any cameras. We know of one instance where the owner liked to secretly film his customers for his own… entertainment. We know the Corinthian not only moved to another room, but later killed the owner in a suitably gruesome manner and set fire to the entire building just to ensure no film survived. Even in the cases where there are video camera's he usually stays long enough for the tapes to be reused, which is usually a day or two at most, and manages to avoid being taped after checking in, uses other exits and the like."
"As for eyewitnesses, it's strange, and another recognisable aspect of his MO that no one, but no one recalls his appearance."
"Covering their own backs?" Bullock again.
"Very possible in some cases, but in every case it seems to be more genuine confusion. They literally can't recall his appearance. The most common terms are 'just some guy', 'he looked cool', 'looked like anyone else' and so on, much as your witnesses reported this time around"
"He's a serial killer with supervillain type powers? Oh that's all this burg needs!"
"That's all _any_ burg needs Detective Bullock. His precise methodology in such cases is unknown, but we can't rule him being metahuman out."
Smith made one of his rare interjections. His rich speaking voice belied his somewhat dull appearance. Gordon idly wondered what his singing voice sounded like, probably impressive.
"Some of our psych profiles actually hinge on that possibility, suggesting that he murders because he not only feels apart from other humans, as in the case of psychopathic and sociopathic disorders, but because he actually IS apart from other humans. The cutting of the eyes may be a sense of shame or self-loathing manifesting, he doesn't want his victims to be able to see him. He travels around a lot because he can't fit into society."
"My heart bleeds for the poor guy." Bullock's tone dripped irony.
"Mine too Detective, mine too. Frankly I don't know if that's true or complete garbage, but if it helps me catch this guy I'm prepared to accept he's a reincarnation of the St Francis of Assisi balancing out all his good karma."
Pulaski took over again, "We have to say that this time he has topped his own personal best. The murder in Bludhaven and the lone victim the night before last are typical of his actions. The maximum he's killed before is three, but six, and four of those his 'special cases', is unheard of. We'll be spending most of the day at the crime scene and we'll have some of our agents there too. We'll try not to get in your way, but in return, please be prepared to help us out when we request assistance."
"Now, finally I want to emphasise that to be honest we are long past caring about who gets this SOB. It's gone beyond any individual agency. It'd be nice if the FBI got him after all this time, but with the combined Police Forces of thirteen States after his blood too, if it goes to one of you guys to get him, you have our unreserved blessing and your on my Christmas card list for life. I have a son, he's six years old, I don't get to see him enough and I love him to death. I don't want him growing up in a world where there is a Corinthian still at large. Thank you for your attention. Any questions?"
There were very few, mostly concerned with minor details of past cases.
Gordon called the group to order again "I'm sure we appreciate Agent Pulaski and Smith being so frank, and we will be the same in return. We have a lot of work to do, and as always, little time to do them in. I have every confidence in you."
The room cleared, and with nods towards Gordon, Pulaski and Smith departed too, until the Commissioner was alone in the briefing room. Without a word, he went around and closed all the blinds, then locked the door. Only then did he speak aloud,
"You may as well come out, I know you wouldn't have missed this."
There was a creaking sound and an airvent opened in the ceiling, a dark cloaked shape dropped lightly to the ground
"We have some things we need to talk about."
There were times when a perpetually hangdog expression came in damned handy, thought Gordon as he entered his office, at least no one notices when you really _do_ feel that bad. He'd been back from the crime scene for less than twenty minutes. He'd overseen the removal of the bodies and braved the gamut of reporters who had decided to all but blockade the GCPD, since going to Graves house would have involved some actual journalism and fortitude.
Waiting for him in his outer office had been two of the most stereotyped looking federal Agents Gordon had ever seen.
She was white and had short cropped dark hair, and wore a charcoal grey skirt-suit and a simple white blouse. He was black and wore the male equivalent, with a tie of such dark red that it would probably have been cheerier if he'd just worn plain black. She was named Pulaski, he, God help him, seemingly really _was_ named "Smith".
She tended to speak for the both of them, introducing themselves without fuss or any of the arrogance he had seen on occasions from other agents. Neither looked pleased to be there, though whether that was because they had been assigned to the Corinthian case or sent to the nightmare city known as Gotham or both, Gordon couldn't guess and didn't really care at the moment.
Pulaski spoke first, a barely noticeable Texan accent in her voice.
"You might be expecting flim-flam and rivalry here Commissioner, so let's get that part out of the way first. Cards on the table from the word go. We are aware of the unusual situation here in Gotham, I've worked Metropolis in the past, Jones has worked Star City. Frankly, whilst I think we'd all prefer things weren't that way, we don't live in a perfect world and self-appointed superheroes are a fact of life. And, though I'd never say this at a promotion board, they can be damned handy to have around at times, yours has quite the reputation. A lot more reliable than Green Arrow, though Superman is another case altogether of course. I have a brother in the SCU there and he all but worships him."
Gordon found himself warming to this agent already. He much preferred straight talk. Provided you could be sure that the straight talk wasn't in itself a bluff. But he had developed excellent people reading skills over the years and he got a good gut feeling about the two of them.
She gestured towards the paperwork on the desk.
"I have to say, I'm impressed by the thoroughness of your forensic evidence."
"We certainly have enough opportunity to refine our techniques in Gotham, mores the pity. Our Toxicology crew alone is four times the size of Washington's, which is saying something."
"Indeed, though I was particularly impressed by the speed with which some results had been processed given the first murder you actually investigated was only yesterday morning. I wasn't aware that the GCPD possessed that sort of computing power."
Gordon kept his face impassive as he replied. "A local citizen, who prefers to remain anonymous, generously provides time on a variety of advanced pieces of equipment."
Pulaski gestured to the detailed graphs and print outs in her file "Clearly a _very_ generous citizen. One of those that we were just talking about?"
"Indeed, however I'm sure if there were any particular results of testing you wish to probe further into, that we could reproduce the results in our own labs."
"Of course, and I suppose that this analysis, was carried out by an authorised member of the GCPD?"
Gordon didn't even blink "I could certainly prove that to the satisfaction of the courts." He gave his most significant pause "…if anyone were ever to require it."
Pulaski nodded. "Understood."
They sat in silence for a few moments, each reading the others respective files, occasionally asking questions of each other.
Pulaski had been assigned to the Corinthian case for three years, Smith for a little over a year. Gordon shuddered at the scenes they must have had to deal with. After only two he felt ten years older. He noticed more subtle signs about her, the slight bags under the eyes well hidden with make-up, the controlled stress in Smith's body language.
"Is there a medical update on the Graves woman?"
"Graves is another matter. She's in a state of complete breakdown. The doctors estimate it could be months before she's coherent again, if she ever is."
"Wish I could say I was more upset about that."
"Me too Commissioner, but whatever else she might be, she might have been a witness, what she saw happen could have been an invaluable source of information."
"There's something I have to ask Commissioner. There are rumours about there being a fifth kid involved in last night's events. Might even have been one of this town's capes."
"I've heard that rumour too, Agent Pulaski"
"Please Commissioner. Don't play games with me on this. There's a further rumour that a mask and gloves were left but mysteriously disappeared and don't show up in any of the photo's the coroner or CSI team took. The empty space on the fan is another strong hint that there's more going on here."
"I was one of the first on the scene, and there was no fifth boy on the fan at any point last night, and I have no idea who a fifth boy might have been."
Pulaski looked genuinely disappointed, "I see, well I'm very sorry to hear that Commissioner. I'd hoped we could make more progress than that."
"So did I" And Gordon meant it, "but this isn't Metropolis".
There was an uncomfortable silence until it came time came for the Task Force meeting.
The assembled Task Force was in sombre mood. Even the gallows humour that tends to permeate such sessions in an effort to keep everyone sane was conspicuous by its absence. Speaking tones were muted, some of the team looked stressed, to be honest _most_ looked stressed, all had that "stretched" look of those who are doing too much, for too long, but can't stop. Even then it was easy to spot some who were clearly just back from the crime scene.
They sat around the conference table, rubbing their eyes, nudging the person next to them to make sure they were awake and staring down at half empty coffee cups, of which there seemed to be far too many. Every ashtray in the place was filled to overflowing, but no one saw fit to point to the "No Smoking" signs; if the choice was between watching a friend smoking a cigarette or punching a wall, most of the team were prepared to be tolerant of a bit of second hand smoke.
Gordon called the meeting to order and introduced Pulaski and Smith. There was the usual round of half-hearted greetings from the assembled detectives.
Pulaski gave her presentation, basically an outline briefing of the case and the Corinthian's history. As with Gordon, her straightforward approach appeared to win over more of the team than the words "FBI" usually managed to alienate.
"As many of you will be aware, the FBI has been tracking a serial killer known as the Corinthian for several years now. He has a consistent approach which led to him being one of the first true pattern killers we documented… The recent murders in Bludhaven and Gotham match his profile and thanks to the excellent forensic work of GCPD I strongly believe that they are his work."
"I'm not a psychologist, though I have some training in that area. There are any number of technical terms used by those who ARE psychologists to describe him. The one used most often by us is 'Sick son of a bitch with less right to live than a cockroach'." It didn't get a laugh, but Gordon had a feeling it hadn't been meant to.
"He's killed enough young men and children to populate a decent sized high school. Most, but not all, were male prostitutes, or male minors employed in the vice game, others were simply ordinary kids he picked for no reason we've been able to confirm. He has killed those peripherally involved in his hunt, but he reserves special treatment for his targets."
"In textbook terms he's a psychopathic sexual sadist with a fetishistic tendencies."
"All his victims have been found tied in any one of a number of almost ritually submissive positions. He uses rope, fishing line or anything else that came to hand. Some have been raped, some sodomised, some have had things done to them so bizarre that there aren't actually names for them. I have slides for those who don't believe me on that last score, but don't eat beforehand."
"No matter what he does to them beforehand, he leaves them alive enough for the cause of death in each case to be the same. All have their eyes cut out with a wide bladed knife, probably a hunting knife, and are left to bleed to death, if the shock of their experiences wasn't enough to do it anyway. He then proceeds to eat the internal part of the eyes, leaves the remains and the bodies on display and moves on."
"And each and every time he has committed a murder he has done it without leaving a single shred of evidence. Not a fingerprint, not a hair, not even a skin cell."
"If he treats 'em the way you say, ain't there some sperm left or sometin' like that"
"Not that we're ever been able to find, Detective Bullock." Gordon was impressed, Pulaski must have memorised a lot of names to be that confident in identifying him, though Bullock was memorable for all sorts of reasons.
"Like we said, most of his victims have been sexually active one way or another, but there has been no forensic evidence in common with each case. Certainly any sperm residue we've found has been too old to be from the killer. Or in the cases where we are confident that the victim has had no prior sexual experiences, there is no sperm to be recovered. It's possible he fires blanks, but if that's not the reason, he uses the best damn prophylactic technique we've ever come across."
"In fact, apart from the eyes, about the only reason we can be sure it's him in each case is the complete _lack_ of evidence. No other killer has been so consistently adept at covering his tracks."
"He's also unpredictable in his timing, He can kill once then lie low for months, or kill on a daily basis in the same city for a number of weeks, then move on. There's no more pattern to his actions timing than there is to his choice of victims."
"With so many of the victims being found in hotels and motels, aren't there any security videos of him arriving or departing, or eyewitnesses?" This time from Montoya, a young beat cop that Gordon had high hopes for, she'd make Detective before she hit thirty if she kept up at this rate.
"Good question, Officer… Montoya isn't it?" Pulaski definitely earned extra points from Gordon for that feat of memory. "He tends to use the sort of establishments where the clientele insist there aren't any cameras. We know of one instance where the owner liked to secretly film his customers for his own… entertainment. We know the Corinthian not only moved to another room, but later killed the owner in a suitably gruesome manner and set fire to the entire building just to ensure no film survived. Even in the cases where there are video camera's he usually stays long enough for the tapes to be reused, which is usually a day or two at most, and manages to avoid being taped after checking in, uses other exits and the like."
"As for eyewitnesses, it's strange, and another recognisable aspect of his MO that no one, but no one recalls his appearance."
"Covering their own backs?" Bullock again.
"Very possible in some cases, but in every case it seems to be more genuine confusion. They literally can't recall his appearance. The most common terms are 'just some guy', 'he looked cool', 'looked like anyone else' and so on, much as your witnesses reported this time around"
"He's a serial killer with supervillain type powers? Oh that's all this burg needs!"
"That's all _any_ burg needs Detective Bullock. His precise methodology in such cases is unknown, but we can't rule him being metahuman out."
Smith made one of his rare interjections. His rich speaking voice belied his somewhat dull appearance. Gordon idly wondered what his singing voice sounded like, probably impressive.
"Some of our psych profiles actually hinge on that possibility, suggesting that he murders because he not only feels apart from other humans, as in the case of psychopathic and sociopathic disorders, but because he actually IS apart from other humans. The cutting of the eyes may be a sense of shame or self-loathing manifesting, he doesn't want his victims to be able to see him. He travels around a lot because he can't fit into society."
"My heart bleeds for the poor guy." Bullock's tone dripped irony.
"Mine too Detective, mine too. Frankly I don't know if that's true or complete garbage, but if it helps me catch this guy I'm prepared to accept he's a reincarnation of the St Francis of Assisi balancing out all his good karma."
Pulaski took over again, "We have to say that this time he has topped his own personal best. The murder in Bludhaven and the lone victim the night before last are typical of his actions. The maximum he's killed before is three, but six, and four of those his 'special cases', is unheard of. We'll be spending most of the day at the crime scene and we'll have some of our agents there too. We'll try not to get in your way, but in return, please be prepared to help us out when we request assistance."
"Now, finally I want to emphasise that to be honest we are long past caring about who gets this SOB. It's gone beyond any individual agency. It'd be nice if the FBI got him after all this time, but with the combined Police Forces of thirteen States after his blood too, if it goes to one of you guys to get him, you have our unreserved blessing and your on my Christmas card list for life. I have a son, he's six years old, I don't get to see him enough and I love him to death. I don't want him growing up in a world where there is a Corinthian still at large. Thank you for your attention. Any questions?"
There were very few, mostly concerned with minor details of past cases.
Gordon called the group to order again "I'm sure we appreciate Agent Pulaski and Smith being so frank, and we will be the same in return. We have a lot of work to do, and as always, little time to do them in. I have every confidence in you."
The room cleared, and with nods towards Gordon, Pulaski and Smith departed too, until the Commissioner was alone in the briefing room. Without a word, he went around and closed all the blinds, then locked the door. Only then did he speak aloud,
"You may as well come out, I know you wouldn't have missed this."
There was a creaking sound and an airvent opened in the ceiling, a dark cloaked shape dropped lightly to the ground
"We have some things we need to talk about."