THE EYEMAN

Dr. Paul Norman dictated a patient treatment summary in the Doctor’s lounge and helped himself to a cup of coffee. He picked up the New York Times from yesterday left by one of the other staff doctors. Monday’s news was better than no news. He scanned the headlines. President Reagan’s prostate surgery was a success. Norman then read a homicide report on the right lower column of the front page. It was continued on page five. His pulse rate went up. He began to sweat even in the cold lounge and wearing his thin scrub suit.

“Where is page five?” He spoke to the empty room. “Here it is.” The paper had been disemboweled and the different sections were mixed up. Norman read the rest of the report. “It couldn’t be.” Norman carefully tore the article from the front page and from page five. He read it again.

Hospital Worker’s Stabbed Body Found

New York City. Sunday night at approximately 11:30 PM, after a call to the local NYPD precinct by a friend, the police discovered the body of 26 year-old Mary Ling. Detective Hartley Grady directed the super to unlock the apartment after repeated calls from family and friends failed to get a response from Ms Ling. “A single fatal stab wound to the heart caused immediate death,” the on-duty medical examiner stated. “Stab wounds to the face definitely occurred after death,” the M.E. added.

Grady found no witnesses. “It was not like Mary to ignore her answering machine. We were also supposed to go out Saturday afternoon and Sunday Morning”, Detective Grady quoted Ling’s female friend and colleague from Cornell Medical Center. Ling attended an Inhalation Health Care meeting in NYC this past week, which ended Friday, the day of the murder per the ME.

Police ask the details of the stabbing remain confidential at this time. The crime is identical to two others in New York State over the past 6-years. “They are unsolved as are more than 18 others reported over the past 15-years in other states,” An Agent from the NYC FBI office added. “All victims were Asian. Almost equal numbers of males and females ranging in ages from 14 to 82 are documented.” FBI agents told this reporter of two other similar lethal stabbings in other states also involved healthcare personnel who had attended such conventions–“One in St. Louis and one in San Antonio.”

The FBI went public last year as profiling a serial killer targeting Asians only. “A single fatal knife wound was common to all victims. Identical facial knife wounds were also inflicted posthumously.”

Grady and the NYC FBI office have asked the Times for assistance. If any attendees of the Inhalation Therapy Meeting or friends of Mary Ling recall seeing her with someone during the week of the meeting and specifically last Friday, please call FBI Special Agent Kurdley Talbert at the New York Agency number (212-423-9539). All calls will be kept confidential.

After his office hours, Norman took the article home and read it several times. His wife and two children were watching television. He stuck his head in the family room and held up his attaché case.

“I’ll be in study for an hour or so, dear. I have some work to do.” They looked at him and immediately went back to the TV screen.” He opened the file folder with the other articles. When he was certain the family was in bed asleep, he made his decision. He called the NYC FBI office number. An answering machine gave initial direction to stay on the line for an operator. A different mechanical sounding voice ensued but it was a live human nevertheless.