The atmosphere in Mike's office was decidedly tense, as a stone faced Lenny Murchison grabbed the guest chair close to the side wall, Norm sitting down next to him, while Dan leaned against the back of the door, leaving Steve by the file cabinet.
All four men remained stoically quiet until Mike walked over to his desk, sat down in his chair, and weaved his hands in his lap.
"I think it's about time you pull that rabbit out of your hat and tell us what kind of monster committed the crime that happened last night, and, more importantly, where to find him, Lenny."
The Lieutenant's voice was quivering slightly as he said that, blue eyes intently focused on the Psychiatrist who nervously shifted in his chair.
All of Lenny's usual lightheartedness was washed from his face, his lips pursed to a thin line, eyes narrowed in nervous tension.
"Way to throw the ball in my court, Lieutenant, being that we have zero to go on as far as our perpetrator is concerned.", the Psychiatrist said quietly, immediately drawing the ire of every police officer in the room his way, "But…for what it's worth, there are a few things I can tell you. During similar events in the past, police profilers have narrowed down their suspects to thrill seekers, people who get a sick satisfaction and feeling of superiority from taking somebody else's life. They have no impulse control, they act fast and most times don't quit until police stops them or they are shot. That's part of why there's relatively little research on mass killings of that sort out there. Almost all the killers are dead, and even though post mortem psychology was able to ascertain that some of these identified traits intermingle with those of other killers, there's no one thing that all of them have in common. It's more like a recipe of sorts, a multitude of factors that lead to the eventual outcome."
Silence once again returned to the corners of Mike's office, as all detectives pondered about what had been said. In the end, it was Haseejian who cleared his throat.
"Isn't there anything we can use to narrow this down? Male? Female? White? Black? Twenties? Thirties? High school dropout versus College Grad?"
His valid question was applauded by a collective assortment of nods, which were quickly stopped by Lenny's vigorous headshake.
"It won't be that easy unfortunately, gentlemen. Now, I understand that at this point, we're assuming that we're dealing with a male, which as far as history is concerned, is the predominant gender to execute a mass killing. When it comes to age, you could be dealing with anybody from sixteen to sixty, as there's no real age correlation in regards to this behavior. More import than biographical data at this point is what triggered the attack. My guess is that it was some topic related to homosexuality, it created a conduit, causing him to live out his dark fantasies at a known gay bar."
Completely unaware that Mike was keeping an eye on the young Inspector, Steve clenched his jaws and covertly glanced over at Hank, who still sat in the guest chair right outside the door, chin dropped to his chest, looking so utterly lost.
"Where do you start searching for a guy who just killed sixty-three people? There's gotta be something.", Norm grumbled, only to have Mike raise a hand.
"Up to sixty-four, as of an hour ago. One lady passed away at the hospital, didn't make it out of surgery alive."
"Damnit.", Lenny muttered, much unlike his usual professional and contained self, "Well, with regards to the fact that I can't think of a case with a surviving assailant off the top of my head, I would assume you will want to look for potential media outlets, any place your attacker would go to boast about the deed. After all, he's doing this out of a position of superiority, he finds great esteem in his deed and better yet, he got away with it. He wants to shamelessly gloat about it. Even if he's smart enough to avoid the media altogether, the compulsive desire inside him, that…that need for control and affirmation will cause him to spill the beans somewhere."
"Maybe Lenny is onto something…", Steve said, a renewed sense of hope in his voice, "See, we've been so busy tracking down the gay/trans/drag subculture for clues, we haven't given enough thought to those who hate them. Maybe there are groups we can look into, known bars that cater to those who hate gays, anything like that. I can talk to Doyle down in Vice, see if they've come across anything. Bunko might even be able to help."
"Mhm hm…"
Twirling the black reading glasses back and forth in his hand, Mike nodded deep in thought, before glancing up at his team.
"Go ahead and do that, Steve. Reel in Jameson from Records downstairs too, he is a walking archive for crimes. Oh, and…find a home for Hank please, another friend or relative, somebody who can keep an eye on him besides you, because I need your full attention on this case."
Accepting the order, albeit begrudgingly, the young Inspector cocked his head, then proceeded to study the carpet with great interest, as Mike barked the remainder of his orders.
"Norm, see what you can find out about registered high powered rifles in this city. Forensics thinks we're dealing with an AK-47 here. Odds are it was bought out on the streets but anything will help at this point. Extend your search out to all nearby counties as well. Dan, call all the cab companies, see if there were any pickups at the time of the attack, and where the passengers were dropped off, anything that seemed out of the ordinary. And do call Captain Parker, have one of his units check dumpsters in the vicinity. It's possible that our assailant may have shed out of his clothes at one point. Let's get going guys, and we'll reconvene in...in three hours sharp."