The Narrows

Yugoslavia or Iraq.
    "Why is that unusual?" Alpert asked.
    "Because what we most often see is that the killing plan evolves. For lack of a better way of describing it, the killing gets better. The unsub learns from victim to victim how to do it better. That is usually seen in the data we have."
    Rachel noted that Coxe had used the word unsub. Short for unknown subject. It most likely meant she was out of the loop and didn't know that the subject was very much known to the FBI.
    "Okay, so the methodology was set from day one," Alpert said. "Anything else, Greta?"
    "Just that we will probably be finished with the excavations the day after tomorrow. Unless we get another hit with the probes."
    "Are we still probing?"
    "Yes, when we have the time. But we've gone sixty feet past the last hit with the probes and haven't gotten anything. We also got another flyover from Nellis last night. There was nothing new from thermal imaging. So we feel pretty comfortable at this time that we've got them all."
    "And thank God for that. Harvey? What have you got for us?"
    Richards cleared his throat and leaned forward so that his voice would be heard by the electronic pickups, wherever they were.
    "Greta's right, we have all eight excavated so far in the morgue at Nellis. So far the veil of secrecy is holding up. I think people there think we're bringing in aliens off a crashed saucer in the desert. This is how urban legends start, people."
    Only Alpert cracked a smile. Richards continued.
    "We've conducted full autopsies on four so far and initial exams of the others. Similar to what Greta said, we're not finding a hell of a lot of difference from body to body. This guy is a robot. No variation on theme. It's almost like the killings themselves are of no import. Perhaps it is the hunt that juices this guy. Or perhaps the killings are just part of a larger plan we don't know about yet."
    Rachel stared pointedly at Alpert. She hated that people working so closely on the case were still working in the dark. But she knew if she said anything she would quickly be on the outside looking in. She didn't want that.
    "You have a question, Rachel?"
    He'd caught her off guard. She hesitated.
    "Why are the bodies being taken to Nellis instead of hereorL.A.?" She knew the answer before asking the question but needed to say something to escape the moment.
    "It's easier to keep a lid on things this way. The military knows how to keep a secret."
    His tone suggested an unspoken final line: Do you? He swung his view back to Richards.
    "Doctor, go on."
    Rachel picked up on the subtle difference. Alpert had called Richards Doctor, whereas he had simply addressed Greta Coxe by her first name. It was a character trait. Alpert either had trouble with women in positions of power and knowledge or he didn't respect the science of anthropology. She guessed it was the former.
    "Well, we're looking at suffocation as the cause on these," Richards said. "It's pretty obvious from what we've got. There is not a lot left to work with on most of them but with what we've got we're not seeing other injuries. The unsub overpowers in some way, tapes wrists and ankles and then puts the bag in place over the head. The taping around the neck we think is significant. That is indicative of a slow death. In other words the unsub was not holding the bag in place. He took his time, pulled it over the head, taped it and then could step back to watch."
    "Doctor?" Rachel asked. "Was the tape applied from the front or back?"
    "The ends are at the back of the neck, indicating to me that the bag may have been pulled over from behind, possibly when the victim was in a sitting position, and then taped in place."
    "So he-the, uh, unsub-may have been ashamed or afraid to face his victims when he did this."
    "Quite possibly."
    "How are we doing on identification?" Alpert asked.
    Richards looked at Sundeen and he took over.
    "Still just the five that were included in the Las Vegas investigation. We assume the sixth from their group will be one of the final two excavations. The others we have nothing on so far. We've got no useable prints. We've forwarded the clothing-what's left of it-to Quantico and perhaps Brass has an update on that. Meantime, we-"
    "No, no update," Doran said from the television screen.
    "Okay," Sundeen said. "We have the dental data just going into the computer today. So maybe we'll get a hit there. Other than that we're just waiting for something to happen."
    He nodded