A/N: Okay, here is chapter 9! We'd actually worked on that before thinking up chapter 8, so it was almost done^^ We just knocked it into a shape that we both like *gg*

Special Thanks go to crimsonskyr, who actually drew a cover for this fanfiction... I am still completely blown away by that and also very proud. Someone actually took the time to draw something inspired by one of my stories! I am still amazed by that. So thank you very much, crimsonskyr and with your permission I'll post the link to the picture in the next chapter^^ again, me and my beta totally like it *gg* Its awesome^^

Special Warning: This chapter deals with the inner workings of Serial Killers and may not be suitable for everyone to read! Proceed at your own risk! I would also like to say that these are not the views of the author, and were researched carefully over a time frame of several months with sources such as the local library and even the FBI Homepage (yes, there is such a thing as a homepage for the FBI and I found the bulk of my research on there^^). So all of the psychology in here is actually accurate, at least as far as Serial Killers go. As I have said, read at your own risk! You have been warned.

And, as a finishing note, I would like to thank all of you for your generous donations of cyber-cookies, the chibi looks much better fed now^^ But don't let that stop you, we are still running the "Send-Conan-to-therapy- fund" and if you should wish to donate, feel free to do so with your review.

And now, enjoy the show!

Chapter 9

Tuesday, 21st September 2011

Kudo Mansion

Afternoon

Conan had told Ran he'd be doing his homework at Professor Agasa's house, but in truth, he only wanted to go to his old house. He needed some time away to think without being bothered or having to explain himself. Also, he finally wanted to finish the psychology profile he had started and his library presented him with a myriad of sources to draw from.

Research was always a hassle; as a rule there were way too many books and too much paperwork to deal with. As a result, Conan always made a mess of his surroundings. His mind could work as analytically as he was used to, but as soon as paperwork got in the way, the paper-tornado struck and left his immediate surroundings in a state of complete upheaval. He would try to keep it clean, but failed every time. Therefore, he proceeded to ignore it, because as long as the system worked, he wasn't going to change it.

Scattered all over his desk he had four very thick books on psychology, his notebook, several sheets of paper he jotted on and Mitsuhiko's research, which consisted of about twenty printed pages, almost every inch of which was either marked with a highlighter or covered in his notes. Conan consumed himself with the information he had gathered, trying to deduce either motivation or personality of the killer.

Conan thought that if he would be able to sneak into the killer's mind, he would be able to predict possible future movements. He hoped that some sort of revelation would come out of this in the end. Whether it was the reason behind the black sand or the original motivation behind the killings, Conan did not care.

Understanding the culprit and his motivation for killing children seemed like the only course to take at this point. It was either this or sneaking into crime scenes again. Since he was not willing to take a chance and get caught, Conan braved the daunting task of trying to figure this guy out. Most likely the police had several experts working on a similar profile for the killer, but since Conan wasn't allowed to participate in the investigation, he had to do one himself. This unfortunately, was no easy task, especially considering how little evidence he had gathered so far. What made his project even harder was the killers own complexity, which had lead to him sitting in the same spot for the past hour, idly twirling a pencil, with almost nothing to show for it.

He knew that every killer had a reason; there was always some motive behind taking the life of another. As idiotic, shallow and egotistical those usually got, there was always some purpose behind it all, even if no one but the killer could understand it. But for some reason, this one was different. Conan could see that he was definitely no ordinary perpetrator. The man was everything but a cliché. There was nothing of the usual motive in this murderer. He simply needed to kill, most likely because he enjoyed it. It was at that point where the usual abilities and experiences of a detective needed to be backed up by more psychology than usual to understand the killer.

The shrunken tantei had spent hours reading through paragraphs about the behavioural traits in Serial Killers and Conan's goal was to transfer as many characteristics he could find to this killer. Mitsuhiko had been right it was interestingly bizarre and researching such information was intriguing, on a disturbing level. Serial Killers operated differently than the average murderer, which made them sometimes harder to catch. To Conan, this meant he had to work harder. There was no such thing as an unsolvable crime. This killer would slip sooner or later and that was when he could catch him. There was always only one truth and Conan's job was to find it.

After another hour of flipping through pages and scribbling down notes, Conan was drawing a pretty informative picture. The lack of concrete evidence like hair, saliva, blood or skin pointed to someone very cautious in general. This man took great pains to leave nothing behind. In Conan's opinion, this pointed to someone very methodical. It was like the killer knew exactly what the police would be looking for and took according precautions. Sure, there was the typical avoidance of fingerprints, but the fact that the officers who had scoured the scene could not find one shred of evidence indicated someone systematic, meticulous and very methodical. Based on that knowledge, it was safe to assume that the killer was a man of higher intelligence. He seemed to possess a wide array of knowledge, starting with anatomy and stretching all the way to forensics.

As disturbing as it was, he knew exactly how to keep his victims alive for an extended period of time. This man, whoever he was, knew exactly how much force to apply and where to apply it.

He acted with such extreme precision that the victim would be completely under that sadistic killer's control. Thinking about it, it was not such an uncommon thing about murderers; or about Serial Killers in general. They liked to control their environment to the point of becoming obsessive about it, often becoming irritated if they can't. Most likely this guy was a megalomaniac, meaning that he has an unrealistic belief in his superiority, grandiose abilities and even omnipotence. Such a personality would be categorized by an excessive need of total power and control over others, and would be marked by a lack of empathy for anything that is not directly self-gratifying. This most likely was combined with a narcissistic personality. This whole thing was about being the superior person, even over a child. With each kill, his ego would only inflate further.

Also, the signs of ever worse violence inflicted upon the kids pointed to him becoming more cruel with each child he took. To demonstrate his power and authority he needed it that way. The killer ultimately determined when the victim would die. He had power over life and death at that moment which he displayed by keeping the children alive for as long as he chose. From the reports Conan had managed to take a sneaking peek at, the M.E. had estimated a rough time frame of about 72 hours.

The killer also seemed to know about basic psychology, since he knew how to create an atmosphere of panic in the city. From what Conan had been able to deduce about his personality, this was most likely done on purpose. Not to mention the lack of concrete evidence, which would put any investigator on edge. This of course, was likely all part of the thrill to the killer. That feeling of overconfidence because his movements remained undetected, most likely increased his mental superiority over someone else. In a way, it was very similar to Ted Bundy, the notorious American Serial Killer, who had killed at least 28 young women. That had been one killer that had loved to rile law enforcement.

"Perhaps our guy has a similar mindset..." Conan mumbled to himself, thinking of all the possible implications behind such a way of thinking.

If the killer they dealt with at the moment indeed had a similar mindset as Ted Bundy, it only seemed to confirm Conan's earlier assumption: Their killer was a narcissist. This was honestly good news for Conan, because a person with a narcissistic personality disorder couldn't help but stretch his boundaries. He basically saw himself as invincible. Therefore, he would not be able to resist the temptation of leaving something behind on purpose, enabling the police to distinguish his work from any other killer. He wanted to be acknowledged for the havoc he wreaked. Generally something like that would be labelled a "Calling Card," almost everyone with a disorder like that couldn't help but leave behind some sort of clue. That pile of black sand seemed like a good place to start for further inquiries in the future.

Another distinguishing feature was that killers often kept souvenirs. Though a lot of killers actually did something like that, it was a most prominent feature in Serial Killers, to further enforce their belief in having complete control over the victim. These souvenirs would become a collection as more and more people were killed. Each item represented the kill itself, allowing the murderer to relive what he had done. It was like living the experience again. For rapists for instance, these items allowed them to relive the deed itself and get aroused by it. For others, these souvenirs could be badges, rewarding them for their accomplishments. For Serial Killers operating out of a desire to control, these were probably to have visible proof of their dominance. Each killer used them for different reasons. These items could be anything, a personal item, an ID card, a piece of jewellery, a strand of hair. Conan had read about one that kept the house keys of the victim, because that killer was obsessed about locks and the mechanism of unlocking. Also, that killer had used a key as an accessory to the murder weapon. Shaking his head, the mini-tantei concentrated on the present killer again.

In this case, it was a little more difficult; because it could not clearly be determined that anything had been taken from the kids. Conan thought through each murder this monster had committed, but could not pin-point an object that had been taken. Children didn't really carry much with them to begin with.

"Some have their house keys with them if their parents don't pick them up, but..." Conan kept thinking of an object children would most likely carry with them. It wasn't that simple, because he couldn't think of an object that they all had in common that had turned up missing. At that age, a child would be known by his or her toy, but some were picked either on the way to or from school, there was no need for them to carry a toy with them.

Maybe nothing was taken in the first place...

Conan raked a hand through his hair in frustration. The more answers he would come closer to, the more questions would arise. He'd thought by doing this, he would get some sort of clue that would set him upon the culprits track, but so far he'd been out of luck.

Also because Conan could find no real motive, like revenge or spite, he labelled this killer among the psychologically motivated ones, which basically meant that the motive for killing was something immaterial, something that only held worth to the killer alone, but was insignificant to someone else. It was something that only existed in the murderers head. There had to be something that drove him to kill. Conan wanted to know what had triggered this guy into killing the first child. If he could figure that out, he'd have better understanding of who this person was and how he operated.

Once again the shrunken sleuth returned to the need for control that was so often present in murder cases, even more so in Serial Murders. That specific drive ranked pretty high on the list of possibilities for killing.

But why a child then?

For a killer that thrived on dominance over others, it was odd to take the smallest version of a human and dominate that. Perhaps the original reason had something to do with children.

The method of ultimately killing the victim via strangulation after having kept it alive for a set amount of time strongly pointed towards the direction of dominance. After all, when strangling someone, the killer had to be close to the victim. When one used a gun or a knife, it was always some tool to provide distance, but this killer apparently strangled the children using his bare hands which negated such a weapon barrier. It also put him in close proximity, most likely, directly in front of the victim, since the worst choking marks were at the throat and not the neck. Strangulation was a much more personal method of killing someone, since the killer had to get up close and personal to the victim, especially since it was manual strangulation. A gun would be more impersonal for instance. Killing up close, this murderer was receiving something he needed psychologically. It might be possible that it made the killer feel some kind of connection to the victim, not that they had to know each other. These kinds of crimes were all about: 'What does the killer need?' It was all about him and his needs. For someone killing out of the original drive to control, strangling would have been the preferred method.

Also, in favour of that theory was the way he disposed of the victims in the end. He'd left them fully clothed, still tied up and stuffed in plain black trash bags. It could mean the killer denied his victims any dignity, even in death. He controlled the way they died; he also controlled the way they were found. While reading, Conan came across a case from the United States, where a Serial Killer had cleaned the bodies of his victims, dressed them in fancy clothing, even going so far as arranging their hair and make-up. This guy was the exact opposite. He did not care how his victims looked after they had fulfilled their usefulness.

And yet he took extreme care to not let the victim die before those three days were up. That could also be construed as another way of control; the shrunken sleuth simply had no idea why that was. It was risky to keep a victim alive for a fixed amount of time after all.

"Why was that? What is it about those 72 hours that holds so much appeal to this guy?" Conan pondered, leaning back in his chair, absently resting his chin lightly on his hand. At that moment, if someone were to walk in on him, it was highly unlikely he would even realize it. He was firmly locked in his own brain, hoping to come to some breakthrough, completely ignoring the world around him.

Those were not the only questions that haunted the mini-tantei's mind. He was also bothered by things like the killers compulsion to target only children of a specific age (but not a specific gender), his reason for keeping them alive and if it was really the urge to control that drove him to do so. Strangling them right away should have been equally satisfying to the killer. Conan actually shuddered that that particular thought. By now, his mind was at least going 500 miles a minute.

Why did he beat them? Why these kids in particular? What made these kids special? How did he pick the victims? And what about the locations he left the bodies in: were they picked at random?

Conan wanted answers, craved them even, but all he ended up with was more questions.

The degree of violence involved made him uneasy as well. While physical violence was a common way to exert control, there seemed to be an unusual amount of it involved. Perhaps it was rage over some wrongdoing (actual or supposed) that led him to show such cruelty; or perhaps it only intensified the thrill for this guy. Some killers liked to see their victims suffer; some even tortured them to satisfy such sick urges. But beating seemed like a rather archaic method of torture, there were more subtle ways to torture a person, so it probably was not actual torture.

However, there was one thing that could be safely crossed out, for which Conan was devoutly grateful. None of the kids had been sexually assaulted. At least the kids were spared that particular agony. It wasn't as if the events that HAD transpired were any less traumatizing, but at least that could be crossed out. It also meant that whoever was behind the killings received no sexual gratification out of the kill itself. In most cases, there was something sexual involved in some form or other, but these kills were strictly for the purpose to give a non-sexual gratification, be it control or something else.

Another thing that piqued his interest; all the kids came out of the general vicinity of Tokyo; therefore it stood to reason the killer did so as well, or at least lived somewhere nearby. It could also mean that he lived somewhere else, but spent a lot of time in Tokyo, because he seemed to know his way around. After all, it simply made no sense whatsoever for such a careful individual to chance a longer car drive with either an unconscious child or a body in the car. The risk of being discovered was just too great.

And yet another thing that niggled at the back of the small detective's head was the fact that; over the last couple of months, the periods between killings had shortened by a fair amount. At the beginning, it was roughly one child per month, now it was almost one every two weeks. The fact that the time table drew ever closer together pointed to someone who definitely received some sort of gratification out of the killing itself. Over time, this gratification had built up to something that resembled an addiction almost. He needed the next killing, the pleasure he received was dulling and he would try to get his victims quicker. The actual thrill lessened, which caused him to need more and more victims to cope with that sort of addiction and the possible withdrawal symptoms. It also meant they had to catch him fast, before he got his claws into another child.

The good news however was that a Serial Killer suffering from such symptoms would get bolder, confident in his belief that he wouldn't get caught. Killers who believed that were bound to make mistakes, possibly giving them the evidence they needed to finally lay hands on him.

This killer would falter soon, and then the trap would snap shut, effectively catching that monster.

I know, I know, still no action, but such stuff needs to be properly explained and told, so that everyone has a rough idea of who this killer is and how his mind might work. The truth is still slightly different though... But Conan is not far off the mark here *gg* I also apologize for the shortness, but we didn't want even more input in this chapter... Feel free to guess what I mean by that *muahahaha*

Stay tuned for the next chapter, but that might take a bit of time stil, we have to work on that for a bit^^