Forbidden (Southern Comfort) by O'Neill, Clark (free ebook reader txt) 📗

valuable tool.  Deputy Harding, if you could put a rush on that new composite, I think that will be your most valuable tool in catching him.   The sooner you can get those flyers out, the sooner someone who’s seen him can come forward.”

Josh nodded and shifted in his seat.  “You, uh, don’t feel the need to have Ms. Hennessey take a look at the new composite, or at the video for ID confirmation?  I’d hate for her to have to see that.”  He nodded toward the image on the screen.

And elevated himself yet again in Clay’s estimation.  “I think we can spare her that discomfort,” Clay assured him, “unless you don’t trust my visual ID.”

“I trust it.”

“One question,” Sheriff Callahan commented with a raised finger.  “We’ve focused all of our attention on this one man, but you said you believe he operates with a partner.  What, if anything, do you know about this other person?”

Clay turned to Kim for the answer, as she had a great deal more information than he did.

“What we know unfortunately isn’t much.”  She looked at Clay.  “I’d like you to take a look at what info we have, and see what you can put together.”

“You can use the interview room,” Sheriff Callahan offered.  “Unless this guy wanders in here to ask directions, it should be free for most of the day.”

“HE’S definitely dominant,” Clay theorized as he and Kim went through what information she had.  “The fact that you have almost no evidence on him leads me to believe as much.  He’s letting his partner get his fingers dirty, while he’s content to stay behind the scenes.  It suggests that he’s organized and intelligent, and has no need to become intimately involved with the girls.  I doubt that he ever touches them sexually.”

“Because he has no interest or because he’s cautious?”

Clay sighed and rubbed his hand across his neck.  “If we had more to go on, I might be able to give you a better answer.  There are several possibilities to consider.  One – he’s capable of what we would classify as normal adult interactions and therefore gets his kicks in a more traditional manner.  In which case, he’s probably a well-functioning male, dates or maybe even has a girlfriend, though I doubt he would let anything get serious.  He’s cautious and smart – not a risk taker, clearly – and looking at the situation from strictly a business standpoint, he would see the girls as a means to a financial end. Essentially nothing more than merchandise.

“Two – our man’s a voyeur.  He likes the girls’ pain, their humiliation and subjugation, and he enjoys his role as director.  His partner gets physical with the girls, but it happens under his instruction.  Ironically, of the two of them he’s probably the one with a deep-seated problem with women.  He has his own need to control the situation, which would suggest his own childhood trauma.  Maybe he was a victim, and this is how he reasserts domination.  It’s quite possible, given what we know about the other perp.  Theirs would be a co-dependant relationship, with each feeding off the other’s character disorder.  Like some of the male/female partnerships we see in this kind of situation, there are elements of domination and submission.  As long as the subordinate maintains his place, their interactions should proceed quite smoothly.  That’s tenuous, though, because offender number one – the albino – doesn’t particularly like taking orders.  His stepping out of line, making waves, might drive perp number two toward breaking.”

He drummed his fingers on his knee and looked at Kim.

“I’m wondering,” he admitted, “how seeing his partner’s face plastered around town will affect him.  The albino’s obviously made a couple of errors in judgment – killing the girls is not part of the plan – and I’m speculating that our dominant perp will not be pleased with our composites.  It may cause a fracture in their relationship, which could either prove beneficial for us or entirely disastrous.  There’s a very real possibility that the situation may incite him to violence, rather than risking us catching his partner and getting him talking.  Once those wanted posters go up, the albino definitely falls from asset to liability.”

“So if that happens,” Kim surmised “and he knocks the guy off before we find him, we’re essentially back to square one.  Because almost all the information we have regards his partner. So our best way of catching one guy may make it almost impossible to catch the other.”

“It’s definitely a catch twenty-two,” Clay agreed, leaning back in his chair and studying the ceiling.  It was closing in on lunchtime, and he found himself wondering what Tate was doing.

“You know, that little smile thing you have working leads me to believe you’re not entirely present beside me.  Your body’s here, sure, because I can see you as well as smell you.  But your mind is clearly wherever your badge is.”

Clay frowned, and then found himself laughing.

Kim leaned back in her seat, lashes fluttering.

“I have to compliment you on your control. It’s been what, five hours, and this is the first time you’ve lowered the boom.  You’ve shown an admirable level of restraint.”

“Neither the time nor the place,” she commented, sitting up straight and adjusting her jacket.  “But I have to admit it’s been killing me.  Especially that thing with the condom.”

Clay groaned, burying his face in his hand.

“I mean, how drunk were you, exactly, to stuff a used condom back in your pocket?  Were there no trashcans in Hot Sex Land?  Were you hoping to use it again?  Because I have to tell you, that’s highly ineffective.  Not to mention a little gross.  Of course, not quite as gross as seeing it stuck to your cell phone.  Now I’ll have that image in my head every time I call you, thanks very much.  But just for the record, way to be bold and exciting.  I had no idea you were the colored condom type.”

He’d had no