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was reserved for information on Marsh's background: age, occupation, marital status, employment history, family tree, reputation, criminal record, health, habits, fears, politics, personality, and social relations. Where the victim was last seen alive is crucial. The section was almost bare.
    "Brigid Marsh," Chan said. "Professional feminist. One of the angry type. All men conspire to enslave women. Made her living writing and doing the lecture circuit. Mannequin, Amazon, and Witch Hunt are her books. All were bestsellers. We've ordered copies. Flew here Sunday from her home in New York. Was to speak at this week's feminist convention. Left her hotel Sunday night and didn't return. No one knows where she went."
    "Could be someone didn't like her politics. Someone here or in New York. She might have been stalked to foreign ground to hide a U.S. motive."
    "The NYPD's doing a background check. That'll take a day or two, but said they'd fax something by late this afternoon."
    "Who's available to go to New York?"
    "Politically, Spann would be the best choice." Chan glanced at the protesters on the street. "She's bogged down in Thailand, and won't be back till Monday. Davis is free."
    "New York'll do a thorough job once this hits the air." DeClercq indicated the NBC crew working Heather Street. "Let's see what they come up with, then decide. Who caught the squeal?"
    "Corporal named Craven. North Van GIS. Keen fellow, hungry for his Sergeant's hooks."
    "Have him assigned to Special X for this case. Bad for morale to shut people out. Ask Craven to meet us here at eight."
    The last section of the wall was thick with police reports. They filled in the surrounding details of the crime. The time of day or night an offense occurs may shed light on the killer's occupation or lifestyle. Was the victim approached, murdered, and dumped at different sites? If so, the killer probably owns or has use of a vehicle. What does each location say about victim and offender risk? A low-risk victim snatched under high-risk conditions, such as a woman grabbed at noon on a busy street, shows the killer needs excitement from his crimes. How much sophistication is revealed by the offense? The answer reflects the killer's emotional state. And—the most important question in profiling—how much control was exercised by the killer over his victim?
    DeClercq returned to the photos of Marsh hanging from the bridge. "Reminds me of the Headhunter case," he said. "This hanging's staged. For whom? Us?"
    "The entire crime scene's out of whack," said Chan. "The killing screams fantasy-driven ritual to me. Stabbing combined with strangulation. Skinning the face for a skull and painting crossbones beneath. Hanging the naked body from a bridge."
    "What's the problem?"
    "Problems," said Chan. "First, the computer failed to find a match. When I tried to link the murder to others here and in the States, every query drew a blank. A ritual like this doesn't hatch overnight. So why does Marsh compute as a single homicide?"
    In profiling, homicides are classed by time and place. A single, double, or triple homicide is one, two, or three victims at one location. Four or more bodies at one site is mass murder. Mass murder subdivides into classic and family. Classic mass murder is often committed by an unbalanced person whose problems have reached the point where he lashes out at those unrelated to him or his stress. Whitman, the Texas tower sniper, and Huberty, the McDonald's killer, are examples. Two or more killings at different locations with no cooling-off period between them is spree murder. Though not committed at one site like mass murder, the deaths are still one event. Serial murder is three or more homicides with a cooling-off period between them. The interval may be days, weeks, months, or years. Cooling-off distinguishes serial murder from other multiple homicides.
    Classifying a murder correctly is essential, for each class profiles a different type of killer.