Little Red

friend being forced to leave the country and his name at the ready for the mincer, Lime, the man placing him in the awkward position, had held a better hand of cards, even if he did have aces stuffed up his sleeve. The outcome was he had let Nathan down, unable to fight his corner.

‘Jack, it’s not stabbing him in the back…..you had no option!’ he attempted to reassure himself.

The telephone made a shiver race down his spine as it caught him off-guard. He contemplated leaving the call to be answered by his machine, but then decided it would be wise to take it, he longed for someone to talk to.

‘Crawford’ he answered unenthusiastically.

‘Jacky boy, its Sally’

‘Sal, how are you?’ his tone improving

‘Good, very good actually. Look, I’m having the results of the autopsy and bodies from the barrel sent up to you as we speak, sadly, I don’t yet have the results of the teeth and who the skeletons were’

‘Cheers Sal, any idea how long it’s going to take for the John Doe’s? ‘

‘I’m hoping that they are back by tonight, I called the lab this morning and they said it’s being worked on today, so fingers crossed’

‘That’s great, thanks Sal’

‘Jack…..are you okay?’

‘I’m fine Sal, just tired, that’s all’ he sighed

‘You’ll get the sleep you deserve once you catch him. Maybe we should celebrate with a meal for two?.....I’m buying!’

‘Yeah, I’d like that, it’s a date’

‘I’ll hold you to that’ she laughed as she said her goodbyes.

Jack sat back, his chair creaked as he relaxed. The conversation had picked up him from the rut he was in. The thought of having the results to scan over had sent the familiar buzz back into his body, the thought of dating Sally had allowed another excitement to fill his core

***

The scraping of feet and shuffling of seats filled the room. William stood at the centre stage, he watched the reporters and news crews cram into tiny spaces as they all yearned for his update. The Clough family sat beside him, the parents were overwhelmed by the show. He had spoken to them briefly before the pandemonium began. He offered sympathetic words that were aimed to sooth, placing gentle hands upon their shoulders as a means of comfort, the whole time visualising his success and reputation reaching the summit of his dreams. The doors were closed as the last man entered; the room fell silent as the bulbs from the cameras illuminated. Show time William, now knock them dead.

‘Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen’ the greeting welcomed by the viewers.

‘I am pleased to see so many of you here today, it means a lot to me and the Clough family’, nodding to the couple by his side.

‘I’m sure you are aware of why I address you instead of Chief Inspector Crawford, if not then I do apologise. CI Crawford has stepped down from the position of Press and Correspondence Manager, I, Doctor William Lime have now taken his place. I am the leading Psychologist and cases Analyser, my expertise were called upon to help solve and prevent any further abduction. I assure you, I am working my fingers to the bone and I will give the results that Mr Crawford failed to deliver’ the flashes brought a power, the power surged through him.

‘In a moment I would like you all to welcome the Clough family as they make their speech. But firstly………’ the glass of water helped remove the dryness from his throat, ‘I have recently conducted a thorough Psychological screening of the persons selected to work the Wolf case. One individual, to my amazement, was found to be suffering severe trauma and mental issues whilst on the case, these dated back several years but were unnoticed when the said person was assigned to the case. I will conduct a private interview tomorrow, times will follow this conference, and I will disclose all details of the find with you then’ he had done it, the ball was now rolling.

‘Please, Mr and Mrs Clough’ he turned as they stood and ushered them towards the stand. He sat as they introduced themselves, the nerves began to shake them and words were broken by tears. William sat, his concentration elsewhere, he pondered the words he had used and came to the conclusion that it couldn’t have gone any better. He felt immortal.

***

Jack flipped the file open. The receptionist had carried it up to him on arrival, he had called previously to discuss it with her, requesting that it be urgent and brought to him as soon as possible. He had removed the sticky note that lay upon the front, the yellow paper held the words;

To Jack

Here’s what I promised, keep your end of the deal and catch this piece of shit…………..I’ll keep mine! X

He placed the note upon his monitor; the warm feeling entered him as he thought about the possible date with his flirtatious Forensics friend. The first page was a brief rundown of the procedures taken within the autopsy of the second victim. He turned the page to find certain words circled with an aluminous green pen. The top corner of the paper held a key, a small green dash, next to the dash the words, Similarities from the previous, were placed. Jack now understood that Sally had saved him the trouble of reading the contents thoroughly, she had highlighted all finds that matched the first victim.

His tired eyes scanned the pages of information, his notebook sat open by his right hand, the pen was poised as he jotted down the relevant details. Similar strikes were located on the body, the places where he had sliced at them for fun, bruising around the throat and arms was also found. The report showed that once again, no sexual intercourse or abuse had taken place. The chest had been ruptured with a sharp instrument and the organ had been removed as before, badly, according to Sally, the skin and muscle were gauged at, multiple incisions were visible. The body was found, as he was aware, with the same type of cloak, red in colour, buttoned around her neck. Reading the words had developed a shallow burning within Jack’s chest, he couldn’t believe that someone could do such a thing to a child.

The final page offered some new information, Jack studied it.

One thing I noticed upon this victim, compared to the first, was that the feet were damaged. The skin had been penetrated and torn by several items. When removed and tested they were identified as splinters of wood, the depth of the items was measured and judging by the size of penetration it showed that the splinters had been forced through the skin unintentionally. The victim appeared to have walked or ran barefoot, this would cause said damage listed above.

‘He was right’ Jack confirmed to himself. He thought back to Nathans display in the woods where the second victim was located. The show as Nathan developed an image in his mind, the dark vision of what the killer does with his victims before ending them.

‘He plays with them, he lets them run free and he hunts them!’

He sat back, wanting to call his friend, but chose not to. If he’s right about that, I’m damn sure he’s right about the next kill.

***

Nathan climbed into the dark green Mitsubishi Pajero as Richard sat behind the steering wheel. The phone call was received as Nathan began reading through more pages of the file he was sent, the information flooded his mind and concentration was difficult. Richard had asked him to meet, that they would take a drive and get some air. The traffic was dense and the horns from outside surrounded them.