“First of all, let’s get something straight: I am no expert in this kind of thing,” Nicoletti said.
“Don’t be modest. I’ve read your journal articles on the subject. Your observations and criticisms of several investigations into this type of personality were very insightful.”
“Those articles were based on cases that were closed. The actual work had been done by dozens of detectives long before I read the files. And many of the suggestions to correct the approach to the investigation of serial offenders came from detectives I interviewed, who, if you recall, were given adequate credit for their comments in the footnotes.”
“What about the Miami Grove killer? You made that case yourself.”
“That was luck. I was watching a money courier who was working for a drug smuggler. The killer selected her as a target and was watching her too. I was lucky to see him and figure out what he was doing before he saw me.”
“In my reading of the case, it seemed a bit more complicated than that. You also caught that child murderer in Maryland a few years ago. Was that luck too?”
“More or less. I spotted him at the funeral of one of his victims.”
“The dead child was the daughter of a policeman, and as I recall, at the time of the funeral, no one knew what the murderer looked like. So how did you know?”
“I didn’t know, not at first.”
“Weren’t there dozens of officers at the cemetery?”
“Hundreds.”
“And if my readings are accurate, at those occasions, there are teams of detectives assigned to look for people who are acting in a suspicious manner. So how is it that among all those trained eyes, you alone spotted the killer?”
“Motion.”
“Excuse me?”
“Motion…the flow. You know the expression ‘Go with the flow?’ Well, he didn’t.”
“I’m not sure I understand…”
“Everything has a rhythm. Individuals, streets, neighborhoods, sections of entire cities…They all have their own tempo. That’s why when you visit a strange city, you feel a little awkward at first. You are either walking too fast or too slow. People bump into you. They crowd against you at the crosswalk, lose patience with your driving, any number of things. That’s because you are out of sync with the rhythm, the flow of the city.”
“And that is how you spot these killers?”
“Basically, yes. Once you understand the patterns of local behavior, anyone who is out of sync will stand out as clearly as if they were covered in yellow paint.”
“And in the Maryland case?”
“He drifted, falling farther and farther back in the crowd that was moving to the graveside. Before the service was over, he started to walk away. My partner and I followed him to a bus stop. He got off a few blocks later and got into a car. We got the tag number and went to his home.
“He was living with his grandmother, who allowed us into his room. Among the items on his dresser was a necklace—a Miraculous Medal, gold, with a silver Virgin Mary set in the center of a blue enamel background. The victim had worn one that was not recovered with her body. I called the detective who had the case and we waited for the grandson to return home.
“Twenty minutes after he walked in the door, he confessed. That’s all there was to it.”
“I won’t contradict your modest rendition,” Dr. Kimba said, “but in my study of the subject, very few detectives ever actually work on serial murder investigations. And of those who do, only a tiny fraction actually capture the killer. You, my modest friend, have captured two, which by my calculation, puts you in an exclusive club having only one member.