"Could it be like a human skin patch? Maybe the killer was influenced by some horror film, or perhaps they collect the skin as a trophy," Rossi speculated.
"Hard to say," Reid frowned, deep in thought. "From the photos, the area of skin removed from the victim's foot is about 2 by 2 inches, and it's only on the right foot.
A piece of skin that size, once removed from the body, would quickly lose its viability and completely shrink, making it difficult to preserve."
"Maybe that's why the killer keeps committing these crimes," Emily chimed in, though she immediately seemed unsure of her own theory, pursing her lips and dropping the subject.
Jack was more focused on the difficulty of catching the killer. "According to the reports, there seems to be no connection between the abduction and dump sites. Reid might need a bigger map this time.
The total area of the Los Angeles metropolitan area is about 5,000 square miles. Even if we just count the city of Los Angeles, it's still 500 square miles."
Reid nodded in agreement. "The only thing we can confirm right now is that the killer must be a local or someone who's lived here for a long time. They're very familiar with the area, and since no one has witnessed the abductions or body dumps, it shows they know the city well."
The preliminary discussion ended there. Hotchner was still recovering at home, so Rossi was temporarily handling the assignments.
Reid stayed at headquarters, where JJ provided him with several large maps to begin his analysis.
Meanwhile, JJ and Emily headed to the LAPD headquarters at Parker Center to meet with several detectives from the metropolitan division. Afterward, they planned to meet the victims' families to gather more details.
Since the killer completed each crime in under 24 hours, the families of the first two victims hadn't even had time to report them missing.
And according to LAPD's internal protocol, a missing person can't be officially reported until after 24 hours, so they weren't even sure if there were more victims yet to be discovered.
Jack and Rossi, on the other hand, went to the LAPD crime lab where the three bodies had been sent for autopsy. They needed to speak face-to-face with the medical examiner handling the case.
—
"The cause of death for all three victims was clearly drowning, but their lungs had no water in them—only 100% pure methanol, which completely permeated their skin.
They had been soaking for quite some time, so the bloating you see is not just due to the water being drawn out of the skin; some of their subcutaneous fat had also dissolved," said the middle-aged, balding medical examiner, slurping his instant noodles next to the autopsy table. Upon seeing the FBI agents, he quickly finished his soup, burped loudly, cleaned up a bit, and then put on his gloves to pull out a body covered with a white sheet from the upright freezer, starting his explanation.
Jack was used to looking at corpses, but even he found this a bit much. He knew the disinfected stainless steel autopsy table was likely cleaner than any restaurant kitchen, but still...
Rossi, having seen enough of these eccentric medical examiners over the years, remained unfazed. "So, instead of drowning the victims, the purpose of the methanol soak was simply to immerse them?" he asked.
The medical examiner hesitated briefly before nodding in agreement.
"In fact, it's a very effective way to destroy evidence. It has completely wiped out any chance of recovering usable DNA from the bodies. The methanol dissolved everything, even the makeup on their faces."
Jack nodded in understanding. Despite the ghastly appearance of the wrinkled, bloated skin, the corpse was unnervingly clean.
The victim they were looking at now was Linda Dean, killed two days ago. Jack examined the wounds on the soles of her feet, comparing them to the photos of the other two victims' wounds. He had a rough idea of what was going on but wanted further confirmation.
"From your perspective, how would you rate the killer's skill in removing the skin from the victims' feet?"
The medical examiner had clearly thought about this and replied without hesitation, "The first two victims' wounds were jagged and uneven, but this latest one—Linda's—has much cleaner edges. The killer's technique and confidence have clearly improved."
Rossi, understanding Jack's line of questioning, continued, "It seems to me that this level of skin removal wouldn't require any specialized medical training, would it?"
The medical examiner shook his head. "No, as long as the tool is sharp enough, that's all it takes."
Rossi and Jack exchanged disappointed looks. This meant they couldn't narrow down their suspect pool based on medical expertise.
Jack then noticed the wrinkled skin around the wound and had a sudden thought. "Did the killer remove the skin before or after soaking the body in methanol?"
The medical examiner paused before responding, "I only found trace amounts of methanol in the wounds, which suggests the skin was removed after the victim was already dead. But why does that matter?"
"It matters a lot," Jack explained. "If the skin was removed postmortem, it means the killer's goal wasn't to inflict pain or torture."
The medical examiner thought for a moment and then walked excitedly over to his desk, grabbing a report. "Speaking of that, I just made a new discovery."
He handed the report to Jack. "This is the toxicology report for the first victim. We found a large amount of chloroform in her blood.
So I tested the blood of the other two victims, and they also had high levels of chloroform.
That explains why all three victims had such peaceful expressions after death. They didn't suffer much when they were suffocated by the methanol."
Chloroform was well-known to the FBI. It's often portrayed in movies as a tool for abductions, where a small amount poured onto a cloth and pressed over the victim's face renders them unconscious.
Both Rossi and Jack instinctively glanced at the victim's face—not at her expression, but at her nose and mouth. They both wore puzzled looks.
"If the killer used chloroform to knock them out, shouldn't there be redness or blisters around the victim's nose and mouth?"
Chloroform, also known as trichloromethane, was the second synthetic compound used for anesthesia after ether. Even Queen Victoria used chloroform for painless childbirth during the delivery of her eighth child.
However, because of its toxicity, it was eventually phased out in favor of safer anesthetics. Although it smells sweet, it's harsh on sensitive skin and can cause redness or blistering around the delicate areas of the nose and mouth.
The medical examiner shrugged. "I didn't notice it at first either, until I found burn marks inside the victim's nasal cavity. That's when I confirmed it."
After all, most forensic experts don't follow a case from beginning to end like on TV shows like CSI. Usually, they just provide evidence and leave the solving of the case to others, so sometimes you have to figure things out yourself.
"Could the killer have created a sealed environment and released chloroform in the form of a spray?" Jack speculated.
"That would make sense." The medical examiner smiled and nodded, clearly enjoying how easily he could communicate with someone on the same wavelength.
There's no such thing as a knockout drug that works instantly. The human body has reflexes, and if a stranger suddenly covers someone's face, the first instinct is to hold their breath and protect their mouth and nose.
Even if someone accidentally inhales a bit of the chemical, the small dose wouldn't be enough to immediately render them unconscious.
In fact, squeezing someone's neck or pressing on the carotid artery would be more effective, and you wouldn't risk giving the victim a fatal dose by accident.
"So we're dealing with a chemical expert," Rossi said, taking a deep breath, sensing they were finally making progress.
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