American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century

by Maureen Callahan

When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. —Sherlock Holmes

the homicide investigators’ credo: Do it right the first time. You only get one chance.

Like many of his fellow investigators, Bell thought these profilers were a notch above psychics. Their predictions of violent offenders were almost always the same: Your suspect will be a young man, probably white, with a low-level job, difficulties maintaining relationships, and lots of anger issues, especially toward women. Hardly the most surprising conclusion to reach.

The ransom note was riddled with misspellings. Was that intentional? Had to be. Whoever was behind this was obviously smart.

This was sobering and, if the investigators were honest with themselves, more than a little embarrassing. Keyes was right. He had predicted their response, or, really, lack thereof. To commit a crime of this magnitude, to drive around with a missing teenage girl for three hours with plenty of witnesses, and not worry about getting caught “because it’s Anchorage”—that was a damning indictment of the police department. It was true.

Almost nobody knows what they do or that they exist, even within the Bureau. Yet Dive Team members see more death and mutilation than the average FBI agent, who might deal with one homicide in an entire career.

Both men were protective of their teammates, some of whom had only recovered weapons, never a dead body, let alone a dismembered young woman. Bart didn’t want that to be a diver’s first experience.

They observed a moment of silence, and as they exited, they saw an enormous bald eagle circling overhead. Chacon took it as a sign that Samantha was watching over them.

The first thing he saw was Samantha’s face. Her eyes were wide open.

Koreshian, followers of David Koresh.

The connection?

A couple like the Curriers taken at random is almost unheard of. A couple taken for sexual purposes? Also extremely unusual.

Keyes laughed again. “Hair is free. Everything’s free if you take it,” he said. “Well, famous last words. You’ve got to pay for it eventually.”

Dark Dreams: Sexual Violence, Homicide, and the Criminal Mind by Roy Hazelwood,

Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit by John Douglas,

“The sexual offender is never fully inactive,” Hazelwood wrote. “He may not be acting out against a specific victim, but he will be making plans, selecting new targets, acting out against other victims, or gathering materials. He is never dormant.”

Dean Koontz’s Intensity.

And none of their children would have birth certificates or Social Security numbers or attend school. No one else, certainly not the government, would have a say in how their children were raised.