This case was one of yours, Jake, she said.
Jake fell silent for a moment.
Dont tell me, he finally said. The Matchbook Killer case.
Riley almost asked, How do you know?
But it was easy to guess the answer.
Jake was obsessed with past failures, especially his own. Doubtless he was keenly aware of the anniversary of Tilda Steens death. Hed probably also noted the anniversaries of the other victims deaths. Riley guessed that they probably haunted him every year.
That was before your time, Jake said. Why do you want to dredge up all that ancient history?
She heard bitterness in his voice the same bitterness she remembered hearing from him when she was still a young rookie. Hed been furious with the powers-that-be for shutting the case down. Hed still been bitter when he retired a few years later.
You know Ive been in touch with Tilda Steens mother over the years, Riley said. I talked to her just yesterday. This time
She paused. How could she put it into words?
It hit me harder than usual, I guess. If nobody does anything, the poor woman will die without her daughters killer getting brought to justice. I dont have any other cases going and I
Her voice trailed off.
I know just how you feel, Jake said, his voice suddenly sympathetic. Those three dead women deserved better. Their families deserved better.
Riley felt relieved that Jake shared her feelings.
I cant do much without BAU support, Riley said. Do you think theres any way I could reopen the case?
I dont know. Maybe. Lets get right to work.
Riley could hear Jakes fingers rattling on his computer keyboard as he brought up his own files.
What went wrong when you worked on it? Riley asked.
What didnt go wrong? My theories didnt fit with anybody elses at the BAU. The area was fairly rural back then, just three little small towns. Even so, along an interstate that close to Richmond, there were plenty of transients. The Bureau just decided it must have been some drifter who moved along. My gut told me something different that he lived in the area and might live there still. But nobody cared what my gut had to say.
While he was typing, he grumbled, I might have cracked this thing years ago if it werent for my shit-for-brains partner.
Riley had heard about Jakes incompetent partner, who had been fired before Riley joined the BAU.
She said, I hear he screwed up almost everything he touched.
Yeah, literally. In one of the bars, he handled a drinking glass the killer had touched, smeared up the fingerprints but good.
Werent there any fingerprints on the napkins or the matchbooks?
Not after being covered with dirt in a shallow grave. The guy screwed up royally. He shouldve been fired right then and there. He didnt last long, though. Last I heard he was working in a convenience store. Good riddance.
Riley heard a pause in Jakes typing. She guessed that he now had all his materials ready at hand.
OK, now close your eyes, Jake said.
Riley shut her eyes and smiled. He was going to put her through much the same exercise she had taught to her students. She had learned it from him in the first place.
Jake said, Youre the killer, but you havent killed anybody yet. You just walked into McLaughlins Pub in Brinkley, and youve just introduced yourself to a girl named Melody Yanovich. Youve put some moves on her, and things seem to be going pretty smoothly.
She began to see things from the killers point of view. The scene playing out clearly in her mind.
Jake said, Theres a little bowl of matchbooks on the bar. In the middle of your pickup, you grab one and pocket it. Why?
Riley could practically feel the little matchbook between her fingers. She imagined herself tucking it into her shirt pocket.
But why? she wondered.
When the case had been open, there had been a fairly commonsensical theory about that. The killer had left matchbooks from the bars and notepaper from the motels on the victims bodies to taunt the police.
But now she realized Jake didnt think so.
And now she didnt either.
She said, He didnt even know he was going to kill her at least not when he was in McLaughlins Pub, not that first time. He picked up the matchbook as a souvenir of his impending conquest, a trophy for the good time he expected to have.
Good, Jake said. Then what?
Riley could clearly visualize the killer helping Melody Yanovich out of his car and escorting her into the motel room.
Melody was willing, and he was feeling confident. As soon as they got into the room, she went to the bathroom to get ready. Meanwhile, he picked up a piece of notebook paper with the motel logo for the same reason hed picked up the matchbook, as a souvenir. Then he took off his clothes and got under the covers. Soon Melody came out of the bathroom
Riley paused to get a clearer picture.
Had the woman been naked right then?
No, not exactly, Riley thought.
Melody came out with a towel wrapped around her. Right then he started to get uneasy. Hed had trouble performing in the past. Was he going to have that problem again this time? She climbed into bed with him and pulled off the towel and
And? Jake coaxed.
And he knew then and there he couldnt do it. He was ashamed and humiliated. He couldnt let the woman get away knowing that hed failed. A burning rage took him over completely. His fury wiped away his humanity. He grabbed her by the throat and strangled her in the bed. She died very quickly. His rage ebbed away, and he realized what hed done, and he was seized by guilt. And
Rileys mind hurried through the rest of the crime. The killer had not only buried the victims in shallow graves, but hed put the graves close to streets and highways. He knew perfectly well that the bodies would be found. In fact, hed made sure of it.
Rileys eyes snapped open.
I get it, Jake. When he first picked up the matchbooks and pieces of notepaper, he was only collecting souvenirs. But after the murders, he used them for something different. He left them with the bodies to help the police, not to taunt them. He wanted to be caught. He didnt have the nerve to turn himself in, so leaving clues was the best he could do.
Youre catching on, Jake said. My guess is, both of the first two murders played out pretty much exactly that way. Now take a look at the local police summary of the murders.
Riley looked at the report on her computer screen.
How was the last murder different? Jake asked.
Riley scanned the text. She didnt notice anything she hadnt known already.
Tilda Steen was fully clothed when he buried her. It seemed that he hadnt tried to have sex with her at all.
Jake said, Now tell me what it says about the cause of death for all three victims.
Riley quickly found it in the text.
Strangulation, she said. The same for all of them.
Jake grunted with dismay.
Thats where the locals went wrong, he said. The first two, Melody Yanovich and Portia Quinn, were both definitely strangled. But I found out from the medical examiner there werent any bruises on Tilda Steens neck. Shed been suffocated but not strangled. What does that tell you?
Rileys brain clicked along, processing this new information.