*As much as she hated to do it, there was only one way any insight was going to come in the Lucy killer case. Taking a wall of her office, she posted the pictures of each murder in order, and took time going from image to image deep in thought. It took her a while, but finally she saw something. Quickly, she rearranged the pictures, so that four were in one group, and the rest were in another. The four isolated images were the human jack-o-lantern, the pair of corpses dressed in wedding clothes and bodiless face watching, the naked bloodless corpse atop the church, and the couple and baby murdered at home. Then, she began writing on the whiteboard everything they knew about the case, and more and more of the information on the 'Lucy Killer' started making sense.

Claire had never been a fan of the pencil and paper, tacking notes on the wall method of crime-solving, but in times such as now, it did have its uses. Picking up the phone, she called Tim and Annie. After telling them to meet her at the office in 15 minutes, she locked the door and went for coffee.*

*When she came back, Tim was waiting outside, testing the lock.*

Hello, Tim.

*He cocked his head, watching her as she took a drink of coffee.*

~Why'd you lock the door, Claire? Figure out who the spy was?~

*She shook her head, unlocking the door with her free hand.* Tim, I bet there never was a spy. It's called misdirection, and whoever this 'Danny' is, he's quite good at it. *She opened the door as the video screen flared to life.*

/Hey Claire! Got your message./

*Claire chuckled.* That much is obvious, Annie, or you wouldn't be here. *Claire sat down on the edge of the desk, placing the coffee beside her.* What do we know about the Lucy killer? *Her tone was similar to a college professor about to lecture students on a difficult topic. It wasn't that she thought Tim or Annie were stupid, quite the contrary. This method of sharing just seemed to make the most sense to her.*

We know several things about the killer, actually. It was only after trying to see the whole picture that I was able to put the pieces together. First, from the New Orleans school videotape, we know that the killer is not a large or particularly strong man. Therefore, he must use the element of surprise to capture and subdue his victims.

Second, we have a lot of evidence to indicate he has a strong medical background. The stitching on the hand gloves, the stitching of the corpses, the cauterization of the amputated limbs in the drowning victim, and the precision with which he wields his scalpel all indicate a medical background. If he has not completed medical school, he has at least made significant progress in doing so.

As also evidenced by the gloves, he may have leatherwork or taxidermy experience. The preservation of Mr. Ward's hands would have to have been excellent to provide fingerprints that could be properly read.

*She paused momentarily to take another sip of coffee. Tim was watching her quite intently, and she noticed him nod as she spoke of the medical expertise.*

I've also concluded there were two types of murders. The first was the more common type, and the drowning victim, the rattlesnake venom victim, the body in the alley, and his initial crimes are all examples. The other, criticial type consists of the jack-o-lantern, the wedding corpses stitched together, the body atop the church and drained of blood, and the couple and baby. Now, there's a duality to the murders. The four appear to be almost theatrical, while the other murders appear more random, delusional. That's what I thought at first too, but I don't think it's true. It's too easy, too tempting to think that way. The 'Lucy killer' isn't delusional like he wants us to think. I bet he's planned this entire thing from beginning to end. That's why he gets such a sick sense of pride out of taunting us. He's -positive- we have seriously underestimated him, and until a little while ago, he would have been right.

The reason the four sets of murders are different, is because that's his message. He's striking back at all the things he can't have. Halloween represents a normal childhood, the corpses at the bayou the true love he'd never find, the church represents God, and the couple and baby signify the fact that either his home life was horrible or he was kept from the children he so desperately desired.

*She looked to Tim, then Annie, and back.* Whether or not Danny is this psycho's name, he is the Danny to Lucy, whoever she is.

We're looking for an average guy with a strong medical background, possible taxidermy experience with an awful childhood and possibly home life, who's quite intelligent and methodical. I wouldn't be surprised if he had a MENSA-level IQ. He can appear perfectly normal when he needs to, and usually does. -That- is the Lucy killer. Now, I need a name...

/Excellent job, Claire!/ *Clearing his throat, Tim had to agree.

~Yeah, Claire. When you put it that way, it actually makes sense. Any idea what he'll do next?~

Unfortunately, no....*In spite of this breakthrough, they still had no new leads.* ~I can tell you, however, that Danny Whitcomb is not the Lucy killer. He's been riding the hobo train for the past six months.~

But Tim, doesn't that make him an excellent suspect?

*He shook his head.* ~Nope. Mr Whitcomb's a wreck, mentally and physically. There's no way he has the manual dexterity required to make the types of incisions that the Lucy killer left in his victims.~

*Claire took another drink of her coffee, and then nodded.* Ok, Tim. Thanks, though.

~No problem, Claire.~