Twisted Minds

Sorbet

F.B.I. ACADEMY - LECTURE HALL -

Will Graham stands in front of his classroom With Dr. Caroline Bailie by his side. "The Chesapeake Ripper murders in sounders of three." I tell the students pointing at the projection behind me. "He did his first victims in nine days. Annapolis. Essex. And Baltimore. He didn't kill again for 18 months. Then there was another Sounder of three in as many days. All in Baltimore." CLICK. CLICK. CLICK. The REFLECTION of the CRIME SCENE PICTURES REFLECT off of Will Graham's glasses as he lectures while changing the slides. "We use the term Sounders because it refers to a small group of pigs. That's how he sees his victims. Not as people, not as prey. Pigs." I explain as I walk around the class. Will turns back to the TRAINEES as he CLICKS again. "Eleven months after the sixth victim there was a seventh." CLICK. A PICTURE OF JEREMY OLMSTEAD He's impaled by several tools on his workbench. "Two days later, the eighth is killed in his workshop. Every tool on the pegboard where they hung was used against him. As with the previous murders, organs were removed." Will continues as CLICK. A PICTURE OF THE WOUND MAN ILLUSTRATION From Hans von Gersdorff's 'Fieldbook of Wound Surgery.' "The removal of organs and abdominal mutilations means someone with anatomical or surgical knowhow. There is a distinctive brutality." I explain, Jack Crawford stands at the back of the entrance, watching in the dark.

"An FBI Trainee named Miriam Lass was investigating private medical records of all the known victims when she disappeared. She is believed to be the Ripper's ninth." CLICK. A PICTURE OF MIRIAM LASS, Will continues "But no trace of her was found. Until recently, two years later. Her severed arm was discovered. Only because he wanted it to be." CLICK. A PICTURE OF MIRIAM LASS' SEVERED ARM. Jack Crawford stands soberly in the darkness, only Will and Caroline are aware of him. "True to his established pattern, the Chesapeake Ripper has remained consistently theatrical." I say leading to the class' ending.

F.B.I. C.S.I. S.U.V. - NIGHT -

Will rubs the disrupted sleep out of his eyes, sitting next to Dr. Caroline Bailie in the backseat, who looks like she only just rubbed the sleep out of her own eyes. Jack Crawford up front. "The victim was found in his hotel room bathtub. He had requested two keys at check in. No one saw a second guest come or go. Abdominal mutilation and organ removal." Jack briefs us on the situation, "Sounds more like an urban legend than the Chesapeake Ripper." Will says rubbing the back of his neck. "The room is sealed off until you get there. You'll have it fresh." Jack says looking at Caroline and Will then back at the road. "Fresh? Fresh as a daisy?" asks a sarcastic Will. "Fresh enough to tell me if it's the Ripper. Then you go back to class." Jack says emphasizing his works with nods of his head. "You don't want us in a classroom. You want us to wrap our heads so tight around the Ripper, We won't go back to class until he's caught." I say groaning and running a hand over my face. "It's your bad luck to be the best." Jack says looking me in the eyes, "Expecting a few more bodies after this one?" Will says raising an eyebrow.

"If it's the Chesapeake Ripper I am." Jack says, "Don't let the Ripper stir you up. Reason he left you Miriam Lass' arm is so he could poke you with it." I say with a knowing tone, "Why not the rest of her?" Jack asks curiously. "His other victims, he wanted to humiliate in death, like a public dissection. She was different. He respected Miriam Lass." I say in an understanding tone. "Probably impressed she found him." Jack says, he's sad but doesn't particularly let it show. "He could be starting another cycle." Jack says thinking he knows the rippers pattern. Truth is, he doesn't know the pattern, the ripper is unpredictable, at least i understand what i believe to be his motive. "You've heard from the Ripper directly. If he's killing again, he's not going to be subtle about it. He'll just pick up the phone." I say with a knowing tone. " Any more phone calls, Jack?" Will asks eyeing Jack, "No......If this is the Ripper, there will be at least two more bodies, then nothing for months, maybe years. We'll have a window to catch him and then that window will close. The last time it closed, I lost the Ripper and I lost Miriam Lass." Jack says letting that lay there a moment.