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one of the best detectives in the bureau. When the time finally came to beef up the Special Victims Squad he was handpicked by the commissioner to lead one of the teams. He was big, black, and very smart, with a gentle manner that endeared him to women who had been victimized, and with an equally tough attitude that signaled to defendants that this was not a man who would brook any nonsense. He was so good at working on these matters that most of the big ones were assigned to him, no matter how heavy his caseload.
“Hey, Alex, Chapman told me about the murder and whatever. Are you-‘
”Mercer, do me a favor, let’s not even talk about it. The best thing for me is to get to work for a while, otherwise I’m out of control.“ I knew he’d understand, and so we began to talk about the pattern that had been developing on the Upper West Side.
”This here’s our man, Cooper. Fourth hit. Victim’s twenty four years old, freelance illustrator, which could be a big break for us. After you get what you need from her, I’ve got an appointment at headquarters with the artists. She’s pretty sure she can help us with a sketch.
She’s really good on detail, and that’s what the guys need for a good composite.“
    I told Mercer I would interview her briefly. It had not even been a full day since she had been attacked, but the same rapist was responsible for at least three other assaults in the last month based on his distinctive M.O. Mercer and I were certain of two things: he would continue to rape women, and possibly become more violent, unless we found and stopped him; and he was likely to be someone Mercer and I had met before, a recidivist, a sexual predator who repeated his acts with the same language and sexual interests he had used in the past.
    He was much too accomplished and much too professional to be a first-timer, so Mercer and I were looking for the key, the little slip he might eventually make that would lead us back to him. In reality, as we looked, we were praying for a lucky break, which was the far more likely way the case would be solved.
    Laura Wilkie knew that I would not take any calls while I was interviewing a rape victim, but I reminded her that she had to hold everything, as Mercer came back around the corner with Katherine Fryer and ushered her into my office.
    I came out from behind my desk as Mercer made the introductions, and we sat on three chairs djawn into a small circle. It was a way to avoid the appearance of formality imposed by a desk between subject and interviewer, and it encouraged the intimacy occasioned by the topic of the conversation. I didn’t do it in every instance, but this was a case which needed that rapport established immediately.
    There was no time to develop a relationship politely.
    Katherine Fryer’s night had been even worse than my own, so I was struck by her composure and apparent calm.
    “Do you understand why you’re here today?” I asked her.
    “I’m sure Detective Wallace explained it to me, but I’m not sure I absorbed everything. Everybody’s been wonderful, but I was at the hospital for hours and I’m a bit dazed at this point.”
“I know that. I just want to explain what’s going on. My name is Alexandra Cooper, and I am the assistant district attorney who’s going to handle your case. I’ll be with you from today through the day Mercer catches your attacker and we convict him. I know he’s already asked you a lot of questions, and I’ll have to ask most of them again.
But from now on we’ll be working on this together, and my job is to get you through this as comfortably as I can. Do you want to ask me anything before I begin?”
    Katherine Fryer wanted the normal assurances that her name wouldn’t be in any newspapers and that her parents in Pennsylvania wouldn’t have to be told about the rape.
    “And if there is a trial, will they be able to question me about my personal life, about my sexual activity?”
    “No, Katherine, there have