“Well, hello Steve. I’m delighted that you decided to return. Do I dare hope that this means you’re going to accept our offer?” Chief Mason was glad to hear from him.
“May I come talk to you and the council members? Would Tuesday evening be all right?”
“Excellent. That’s our regular meeting night so everyone will be present. They’ll be as pleased to hear from you as I am.”
On Tuesday evening Steve walked into the council room at seven and greeted those who were present. Chief Mason, Mayor Albert Watkins and six council members, two women and four men, were present. They welcomed him and invited him to sit at the big round table with them.
“Before we get to my news, I’d like to discuss something that concerns me deeply. I heard of the death of the young woman, the bank teller, and the possibility that it might be linked to the one in Dayton. I can’t presume to tell the police department how to run their business, but I would appreciate it if you’d allow me to make a suggestion.”
“Certainly,” Charles Bosley, Chairman of the council spoke.
You have in this community an excellent psychologist with a law degree, an outstanding education and loads of experience. It would be to our advantage to ask Lisa Madison to do a profile on the Unsub (unknown subject) and give our law officials a blueprint, so to speak, for an investigation.”
There was a moment of silence and then Claudia Wickins ask, “How much would it cost us?”
“I have no idea. That would be between you and Lisa.”
Carol Sizemore looked perplexed. “What do you mean by a profile?”
“A profile tells you something about the subjects life style, possible background, possible motive and whatever the psychologist can determine from the evidence. All of the larger government officials have profilers on the payroll now, such as the FBI. In each case, it has helped solve the crime more quickly.”
There was a silence and then Charles Bosley said respectfully, “Let’s discuss your personal business and then I’d ask you to leave the room and let us discuss this proposition of yours.”
Arnold Parker leaned over the table. “We have been hoping that you will accept the position as Chief of Police. You have a stellar reputation and a great work record. No one can ever replace Chief Mason. There are not enough words in the English language to sing his praises, but we feel that you will come closer than anyone else.”
The mayor, quiet until now, said, “Hear, hear.”
“Yes, if you’ll accept me, I shall be delighted to live and work in the Village. I’ve made some close friends here and feel that we can work well together. True, the population is increasing and more people are moving in from other areas, or rather they’re passing through. I think it’s safe to say that criminals would think a peaceful place such as this would be a good place to hide out. Yes, I’ve observed your Chief and agree that he is the best, but we need to look more to the future and plan ahead so that we’re not caught unprepared.”
The eight people all applauded. Chief Mason nodded at him. “I see no reason for Steve to leave the room while we discuss a profiler. He can answer any questions that may come up. Besides, if he’s going to be working with you, he needs to know how you think and what your plans are.”
After a lengthy discussion such as, “We’ve never done that before” the group finally agreed that they needed to obtain all the help they could get.
Charles Bosley was instructed to contact Miss Madison and ask her to work with them.
Again they welcomed Steve and he left, pleased with the evening.
On Thursday, Lisa called him to thank him for recommending her. She had agreed to work with them pro bono and let them decide whether she would be a permanent employee or not. Steve was excited and happy for her.
On Saturday Steve met Jason and they went to the dating agency. Gary and Nigel were waiting for them. Steve quietly told them of his suggestion to have Lisa do a profile. They were all pleased that she had accepted.
“Keep it to yourselves for a while,” Steve cautioned them. We don’t want to throw a cog in her work because the wrong person found out what was going on.”
After reading the police reports from the Village and from Dayton, Lisa reported to the council on the following Tuesday.
“It is a man, probably a loner with no close friends. He may have dropped out of high school. I strongly feel that he was abused by his parents, maybe an alcoholic, abusive father and a domineering mother. Something is wrong with him. He either has a speech impediment or is a cripple in some way, or has a disfigurement. He feels attracted to the women but feels they are looking down on him or maybe they did reject his advances. I think these killings are new to him, but with his feeling of inferiority, they can accelerate into a series of killings.”
Chief Mason sat back and smiled, but all the rest of them were astonished at the profile. There were several questions and then the Mayor turned to the Chief. “Do you think you can take this information and begin to look for someone to fit this description?”
“I sure can. Miss Madison, I can’t thank you enough for your input and hopefully we’ll consider working with you in the future. Thank you for meeting with us.”
Lisa thanked them and left. They continued to discuss the evidence and Lisa’s ideas.
A week went by with everyone holding their breath, so to speak, for fear another murder would be committed. Steve had taken a copy of Lisa’s profile and had quietly gone to work on his on. He observed everyone coming and going in the Village and even went to outlying areas and looked around.
One day Steve was in a feed store just outside of town when a man shuffled in. He was a good six-three and maybe two hundred fifty pounds. He had shaggy, black hair that needed a cut and certainly a comb. He had dark eyes that were constantly shifting and not meeting anyone else’s eyes. When he discovered Steve looking at him, he hurried out without buying anything.
Now what was that all about? That doesn’t mean he’s guilty of anything. It only means that he is unsure of himself with people, or maybe he just came in out of curiosity and didn’t intend to buy anything.
Steve quickly made his way outside but the man had disappeared. He could only have gone into the wooded area back of the store to be out of sight so quickly. Steve drove home with his mind whirling with multiple thoughts.
The next day Steve made arrangements to meet with Chief Mason. He told the Chief of the man. Chief Mason didn’t recognize anyone by that description. Steve had thought of something to do. He told the Chief his plan.
They put a notice in the newspaper and over the radio that the bank teller’s family had lived too far away to come to the Village. They had her body shipped to them. In the meantime the people in the town, and those with whom she worked, would like to have a memorial service. No flowers. If anyone was interested they could donate to the Indigent Relief Fund.
The service was planned for the following Sunday afternoon in the park. At Steve’s suggestion, several officers were in the park with no uniforms. Men and women officers. He had asked Jason to come with him. Jason had been clued in as to what they hoped to achieve. He was not authorized to do any police work, but he could go as a friend to Steve.
There was a surprisingly large crowd in the park. The high school glee club sang some songs and the church youth band played for a while as the people gathered. Even Steve did not know all of the undercover officers wandering in the park.
As the bank president was speaking, Steve looked around and saw the strange looking man trying to stand at the back of the group. It was the same man he had seen at the feed store. Up close Steve could now see that the man limped and had thick, loose lips as someone might that did not have a strong mind.
Steve touched Jason’s back and they separated to wander toward the man. They slowly and quietly came up on either side of him. They could see that he was agitated as if he were grieving.
Steve smiled at him. “It’s a shame that such a lovely young girl lost her life in such a hideous way.”
The man didn’t say anything, but he did slant his eyes toward Steve.
Steve spoke gently so as not to frighten him. “Are you sorry that you did this?”
The man dropped his shaggy head and nodded. “Why did you do it?”
He spoke haltingly with a slight stutter. “She was so beautiful and I wanted her for mine. She didn’t want me and screamed. I had to shut her up. I didn’t want to hurt her, but I had to.”
Steve took one arm and Jason took the other. They gently led the shuffling giant over to a policeman that Steve recognized. “This man would like to go with you. He’s very sorry that he killed that nice young girl.”
The officer was startled and couldn’t move for a couple of seconds. He finally took the man’s arm and said gently, “Please come with me and I’ll give you a ride in my car.”
Steve and Jason walked with him while he placed the man in the back of an official car. The officer got a radio out of his pocket and softly announced that he was taking a suspect to the station.
“Steve, I would never have done anything like that if you had not been such a good friend. I was scared spitless. How did you know he would be so easy to handle? He could have gone berserk and pulverized us both. He’s big enough.”
Steve placed an arm around Jason’s shoulder. “I wasn’t positive, but according to Lisa’s profile he wasn’t a dangerous person yet. He was just someone who felt alone and unwanted. That’s a chance you take as an officer. I’ve had partners killed right beside me and bullets zinging all around me, but I’ve never been as scared as I was this day.”
“I would never have known you were frightened. You seemed so in control and in charge of the situation.”
The Mayor held a press conference on the steps of City Hall. He gave credit to Lisa for her insights and to the officers for doing a great job. He then surprised the people, and the news reporters, when he asked Steve and Chief Mason to stand by him.
“Friends, I have a sad duty to perform today and a delightful one. Your beloved Chief, Aaron Mason has come to the conclusion that thirty years has been a blessing in his life. He certainly has been in ours. The Chief, city council and I have been searching for a replacement. You read in the papers recently of the great work of one of our citizens. It is my pleasure and privilege to introduce to you your next Chief of police, Steve Nighthawk.”
There was a moment of surprised silence and then an eruption of cheering, whistling, applauding and just plain approval. Many of the people had come to know and like Steve. The Mayor had a difficult time getting the attention of the crowd. “And now I give you, Steve Nighthawk“
There was another huge round of approval. Steve smiled and waited patiently.
“Neighbors, friends, I wasn’t sure I was the person for this job. I love the work, and as most of you know, I’ve been a U. S. Marshall in Texas for some time. I now have a law degree, but I didn’t want to sit behind a desk. I love the outdoors too much. This is going to be a big change for me. With your help and cooperation, we can make this a town that people will want to move into from all over the world. It has always been a peaceful Village and I’ve loved being here and knowing all of you. You’ve heard the poem, “No Man Is An Island”. Well, no police chief can do a good job without good officers and good citizens behind them. Thank you all. I know I’ll never be able to fill Chief Mason’s shoes, and I hope he’ll say in the vicinity for a sounding board. Thank you and God bless you all.”
Again there was loud applause and people crowding in to speak to Steve personally. He looked over the crowd and finally smiled broadly when he saw Jason and Lisa standing waving to him.
The council was impressed with the profile that Lisa had given them. It was puzzling how she knew so much about the man’s character without knowing who he was. They agreed to ask her to give them profiles in emergencies because they didn’t feel they could afford to hire her on a permanent basis. There was not that much need for her services. She would be paid for each separate case. That suited Lisa. Her business was slowly picking up. The school board had asked her to talk to them about work with disturbed students. She was happiest when she was needed and working.