a geographic profile with my report. It’s likely this offender is in Iowa operating around Des Moines because he has some sort of anchor to the area. Home, job, family or another loved one. I suggested limiting the scope of the search. It’s unlikely that the offender would bury six bodies in this radius, only to bury another two hundred miles in the southeast corner of Lee County.”
Cam took over again. “Right now there are fifteen ViCAP cases nationwide where the victims were last seen withdrawing large sums of cash. I’ve spoken to every detective of those cases. As we identify the six bodies we have so far, we might find something else linking the women. In the meantime, we’re holding off investigating reports from cemeteries further away than the anchor area until we have more information.”
He stepped forward, picking up a stack of paper from the table in front of them and handing it to Jenna to pass out. “We’ve sent this bulletin to every state law enforcement agency in a two state radius for dissemination to their local police. It explains the nature of the crime and urges them to alert banks.”
“There’s nothing in any of this information guaranteed to pacify a jittery public.”
There wasn’t a change in his stance, in his tone. But Sophie was coming to know Cam well enough to sense his irritation at Gonzalez’s remark. “It isn’t intended for the public. Pacifying the public isn’t my number one concern, anyway. Catching this guy is. We’re not exactly standing still on this. As we ID each victim and get a better idea of her last hours we’ll have even more to go on. We’ve submitted Jenna’s forensic sketches of the victims to the databases and are going through those hits. This case is breaking open with the first two victim IDs. We’re following all leads.”
The SAC gave a tight smile. “I have complete faith in your investigative talents, Agent Prescott. But the bodies were found here . The media frenzy is here . And we need something to calm the public, and to assuage the reporters immediately, not weeks from now.”
Suddenly wary, Sophie clasped her hands. There was tension in the room, its source unidentifiable to her. This wasn’t her world, and she was unfamiliar with the agendas and politics that governed it. But it didn’t take a doctorate in psychology to realize that every group functioned within a set of unique parameters. And she was the only one in the room to not understand which one had been breached.
“I’ll leave the politics to you,” Cam said shortly. “Along with the jurisdictional complications.” With at least one of the victims being from out of state, there would be questions regarding which law enforcement entity had priority.
As if by unspoken decree, chairs scraped, and people began to rise. Sophia watched as Gonzalez approached Cam for a private word. Moments later they walked out together, Cam with a carefully neutral expression on his face.
“What just happened?” she murmured to Jenna as the woman drew near her.
Jenna grimaced. “Grass meets brass. Typical.”
Sophia must have looked as bewildered as she felt because the other agent explained. “Grass—” she thumped herself on the chest, “meaning those of us with feet on the ground running the case often are brought up short by the demands of the brass—our superiors.” She shrugged. “Obviously the agency is feeling some pressure from the public over this investigation. It was to be expected. Juicy case like this? I stay away from newspapers out of self-defense, but it’s hard to ignore the headlines. Anyway, it’s not our problem. That’s why Gonzalez gets paid the big bucks, right?”
Pensive, Sophia turned to follow Jenna out of the room. She might be the outsider here, but her time on faculty at the U of I had taught her all she needed to know about inter-department politics. She couldn’t help but wonder about the conversation going on between Cam and his
Cam took over again. “Right now there are fifteen ViCAP cases nationwide where the victims were last seen withdrawing large sums of cash. I’ve spoken to every detective of those cases. As we identify the six bodies we have so far, we might find something else linking the women. In the meantime, we’re holding off investigating reports from cemeteries further away than the anchor area until we have more information.”
He stepped forward, picking up a stack of paper from the table in front of them and handing it to Jenna to pass out. “We’ve sent this bulletin to every state law enforcement agency in a two state radius for dissemination to their local police. It explains the nature of the crime and urges them to alert banks.”
“There’s nothing in any of this information guaranteed to pacify a jittery public.”
There wasn’t a change in his stance, in his tone. But Sophie was coming to know Cam well enough to sense his irritation at Gonzalez’s remark. “It isn’t intended for the public. Pacifying the public isn’t my number one concern, anyway. Catching this guy is. We’re not exactly standing still on this. As we ID each victim and get a better idea of her last hours we’ll have even more to go on. We’ve submitted Jenna’s forensic sketches of the victims to the databases and are going through those hits. This case is breaking open with the first two victim IDs. We’re following all leads.”
The SAC gave a tight smile. “I have complete faith in your investigative talents, Agent Prescott. But the bodies were found here . The media frenzy is here . And we need something to calm the public, and to assuage the reporters immediately, not weeks from now.”
Suddenly wary, Sophie clasped her hands. There was tension in the room, its source unidentifiable to her. This wasn’t her world, and she was unfamiliar with the agendas and politics that governed it. But it didn’t take a doctorate in psychology to realize that every group functioned within a set of unique parameters. And she was the only one in the room to not understand which one had been breached.
“I’ll leave the politics to you,” Cam said shortly. “Along with the jurisdictional complications.” With at least one of the victims being from out of state, there would be questions regarding which law enforcement entity had priority.
As if by unspoken decree, chairs scraped, and people began to rise. Sophia watched as Gonzalez approached Cam for a private word. Moments later they walked out together, Cam with a carefully neutral expression on his face.
“What just happened?” she murmured to Jenna as the woman drew near her.
Jenna grimaced. “Grass meets brass. Typical.”
Sophia must have looked as bewildered as she felt because the other agent explained. “Grass—” she thumped herself on the chest, “meaning those of us with feet on the ground running the case often are brought up short by the demands of the brass—our superiors.” She shrugged. “Obviously the agency is feeling some pressure from the public over this investigation. It was to be expected. Juicy case like this? I stay away from newspapers out of self-defense, but it’s hard to ignore the headlines. Anyway, it’s not our problem. That’s why Gonzalez gets paid the big bucks, right?”
Pensive, Sophia turned to follow Jenna out of the room. She might be the outsider here, but her time on faculty at the U of I had taught her all she needed to know about inter-department politics. She couldn’t help but wonder about the conversation going on between Cam and his
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