“What a cute car!” Erika squealed.
“You’ve got great taste, Erika,” Yamaji beamed. “Some young lady once called it a P.O.S., but I like what I like. It’s not used, it’s vintage.”
God, I wished he would stop flirting with her. She wasn’t being serious. There’s no way a flashy woman like her could appreciate the finer points of this supposed vintage car with its loud engine and air conditioner that only pumped out stale, warm air.
I looked at Dr. Higano, in the back seat on the passenger side. The “Doc” didn’t really match the jalopy, which seemed like it might disintegrate at any moment.
But even if it didn’t suit him, he was supposed to be there.
“So…Why is Erika with us?” I asked.
Erika was sitting shotgun and adjusting her bangs in the side mirror. She turned to look at me sitting in the back seat on the driver’s side and smiled. “I’ve got three people stalking me right now,” she said.
“What?”
“So it’s dangerous for me to walk alone. Plus, my place is in the same direction.”
Three was a pretty impressive number of stalkers—but she seemed like someone who might actually be able to pull that off.
Whether she was lying or not, her presence posed a problem.
“There are certain things related to the investigation that we won’t be able to talk about,” I complained.
“It’s okay,” she said. “I heard everything from the waiting room.”
Everything was definitely not okay. It was basically all classified information.
“This is probably far enough, would you mind getting out?” I suggested.
“What? No way! I mean, wouldn’t it be dangerous to leave Dr. Higano alone with a woman?”
She was unbelievable…Dr. Higano was right there, but she was still openly buttering him up. And her comment ignored Yamaji’s existence altogether.
“It’s okay, Yuri,” Dr. Higano assured me. “She knows how to keep a secret, despite how she may appear. She also happens to be very clever and has excellent intuition…Ah, my apologies, it was rude of me to mention your looks.”
“Oh, Dr. Higano. Thank you. I love you.”
“Thank you,” he replied.
Judging from Dr. Higano’s quick thank you, they seemed to both be quite used to displays of affection.
This only reconfirmed that these two were living in a different dimension than the one I was in.
“Yuri, why don’t we pick up where we left off?” Dr. Higano continued. “About Masquerade. The serial killer. First, we should look at the definition of serial killer, which I think we can safely say has nothing to do with the victim-offender relationship, correct? By this I mean that serial killings are multiple, consecutive killings in which the killer isn’t acquainted with the people he targets. According to profiling theories developed by former FBI Special Agent Robert K. Ressler, serial killers can be loosely divided into two types: organized and disorganized. The characteristics of these two types are—”
“I’ve studied that,” I interrupted. “Masquerade would be classified as an organized serial killer. One characteristic of organized serial killers is that they target strangers. Organized serial killers are generally intellectually average or above average, have a stable outward appearance, and are employed in a job that requires a certain level of proficiency. There are many cases where they even have girlfriends or wives. Naturally, I think Masquerade is one of those cases.”
“Yes, I’m of the same opinion,” Dr. Higano said.
“However, I don’t think that analyzing Masquerade with current profiling theories is meaningful.”
Dr. Higano raised an eyebrow. “Hmm. Why not?”
“Both organized and disorganized serial killers are motivated by sexual desire. Even the serial killers who helped coin the phrase ‘serial killer’ were motivated by sex. Like Ted Bundy, the representative example of an organized serial killer, or Ed Gain, who fashioned dead bodies into clothes, utensils, and furniture and was the model for Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs. In Japan, Seito Sakakibara’s murders of two school children in Kobe were also based on sexual desire. But I don’t think this is the case for Masquerade. His motivation is different from the main premise of profiling theory, so I don’t think it applies here.”
Yamaji was still sucking on his candy and cut in. “Princess, you do realize Masquerade has only targeted beautiful people, right? And he’s got some fetish for taking their most beautiful body parts with him. To me, that’s a clear sign of sexual deviance.”
“Um, can I say something?” Shirasu interrupted. She pressed one finger up against her lips cutely. “To be honest, I feel the same as you, Yuri-chan. People generally only fall for one type of person, don’t you think? But for Masquerade, his victims are all different sorts of women. It kind of feels like a music producer casting as many different types of cute girls for a supergroup so that they can attract as many different fans as possible.”
She had a funny way of putting it, but on this point, we did agree.
And was she seriously calling me “Yuri-chan”? When did we become BFFs?
“Maybe he just appreciates many types of women? To be honest, I wouldn’t mind if he killed a hottie from a strip club next time,” Yamaji joked.
Yamaji was the absolute worst. I wanted him to die already.
Dr. Higano completely ignored the crass remark and continued, “Even if Erika is right, I don’t think we can rule out Masquerade’s sexual desire. I say this because when you take into account the fact that he takes body parts, he does have the quality of a collector. Perhaps he’s sexually satisfied by attacking many different women rather than targeting one similar type.”
“Masquerade as a collector is the first theory that comes to mind when considering his methods…” I said. “But could I finish elaborating on my thoughts about the case?”
“Of course. I’d like to know more.”