The Mind of a Murderer by Michael Wood

Author:Michael Wood [Wood, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780008618858
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Once they’d eaten – homemade soup and bread to begin with, then grilled seabass and new potatoes with vegetables – they spread Olivia’s notes out on the dining table.

‘Bloody hell. Do you really think he’s killed six people?’

Olivia nodded, taking a piece of chocolate.

‘The media are going to love this.’

‘I know.’

‘So, what do you want from me?’

‘DI Foley and his team are asking me to profile this guy. They want me to be more specific than saying he’s a white male in his late twenties to mid thirties, but that’s not what I do,’ Olivia said, sinking into her seat and looking fatigued. ‘I can’t just give them a name and address and tell them to go and arrest their killer.’

Sebastian looked down at the map where Olivia had marked the areas where the victims were murdered. ‘Three victims in Brent, the others in Ealing, Hillingdon, Hackney and the City. We’re talking central, north to north-west London. It’s strange how his first and his most recent victims are close to each other, whereas all the others are out to the west.’

‘What does that mean?’

‘I don’t know. When were the first and latest ones killed?’

Olivia opened her notebook. ‘First victim was Neil Parker. He was killed on the fifth of November last year. The most recent one was Jessica Sheffield on the fifteenth of February.’

‘So, three months between the two, more or less,’ he said.

‘Significant?’

‘Well, as you know, crime isn’t random. It’s either planned or opportunistic. There’s a theory that states a crime occurs when a victim’s activity space intersects with the murderer’s activity space.’

‘What do you mean by “activity space”?’

‘Well.’ He took a sip of the strong coffee and picked up a Mars bar from the pile Olivia had dumped on the table. ‘We all have our own activity spaces which are our homes, places of work, places we go to on a regular basis like the gym, the supermarket, the park et cetera. Now, to get to and from these places we travel on personal paths. So, if you picture in your mind a map of where your home is, the office is, the swimming pool is, and draw lines between them, they’re the personal paths getting you to and from your activity spaces.’

‘OK. Go on.’

‘Now, you’re not the only person who uses those activity spaces and personal paths. Other people use the swimming pool and I use the same office as you, so everyone’s map will look different. We all intersect with each other from time to time. It’s these events that lead to crimes being committed.’

‘So, say I’m at the pool and so are a couple of dozen other people, there is a higher likelihood of a crime taking place because of the number of people there compared to when I’m at home?’

‘Yes. Take in other factors too, like the car park. Loads of cars are parked there, and I’m guessing it’s not very well lit, as they never are, so car thieves will purposely target that area because it’s easy pickings.

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