During the time it would take for the body to rehydrate, Larry continued with a somewhat personal hunt.
What he was looking for was a serial killer—more precisely, a man with medical knowledge who had been curiously discovered by a young FBI detective.
To get so close to a killer that even the police had not managed to catch until now, Larry knew the murderer was closer than he imagined.
And to look for him, Larry used the rule of the three markers.
Under this rule, Larry investigates everyone around him and lists them within a large roster of names. For each entry, using the killer profile he is searching for, he considers every person on his list as a potential murderer.
To do this, Larry already has the killer profiled: he knows the cuts, the way he kills, whom he kills, and his philosophy.
Whether the killer has disorders, strange tastes, fetishes, is a drug addict, male or female—he creates a profile so precise that all that remains is to place a person into that profile.
As Larry believed, the killer was far too close to the FBI.
She was not such an outstanding agent; if she had known that the killer the FBI was hunting would be right in front of her, she would not have gone alone.
Perhaps something in that precise moment told her she was facing the killer—a small clue or a mistake made by the killer himself.
In that case, how could Larry find the right person to place as his prime suspect?
Jack did not fit the profile; he lacked medical knowledge, and the timing never matched the murders. That was why he was discarded.
"Target discarded…" Larry even put his own name among the discarded people; it was just protocol.
"Jane, discarded…"
"Max, discarded…"
Larry continued searching for someone—someone close enough to the FBI who could have been discovered by that agent before she was kidnapped.
In just a few days, Larry identified two possible suspects.
One of them was Will; he fit the killer's profile perfectly. Not only did he have medical knowledge, but he was also disturbed, and he was close both to the missing agent and to the FBI.
The other was Dr. Hannibal, a calm man with medical knowledge who enjoyed getting into the minds of investigators.
To be honest, Larry would love for it to be Hannibal Lecter simply because it would be far too entertaining.
An FBI psychologist who is actually the killer they have always been searching for? That really would be entertaining.
"That's the man, Dexter." Larry showed his target to Dexter and explained, "If he's who I imagine, you must not get too close or he'll catch you."
"Is he that dangerous?" Dexter would be responsible for following him for several days to learn more about the man.
"Yes. If the profile I have of the killer turns out to be true, we're facing an intelligent man with extensive combat knowledge and a very keen perception." Larry knew hunting him would not be an easy task.
"Leave him to me."
"Not this time—not with this one. We have to do it together, the two of us." Larry did not underestimate Dexter's abilities, but this was the first time he was facing a predator like him.
"And how will you know if he's a killer?"
"We'll set a trap." Larry thought of many ways to uncover the truth.