The atmosphere was exceptionally chilly tonight. It sent shivers down her spine. Detective Mara Bennett didn't know if it was the midnight fresh York breeze or the gruesome sight before her, but she had an eerie feeling. "This is truly barbaric" the uniformed officer beside her mentioned. She couldn't agree more. The flashbacks of her sister struggling to grasp any fragment of life while her soul slowly left her body passed through her mind. She had vowed that her sister's killer wouldn't remain intangible.
She exhaled through her teeth, forcing herself back into detective mode. Focus on the details. Leave the feelings out.
Tugging her coat tighter around her shoulders, she moved forward stopping just outside the yellow tape, notebook in hand, studying the single glint of silver that caught the streetlamps' light.
On the victim's left wrist, rested a locket. It was old-fashioned, rare, and only found in antique shops. It wasn't something a person would use as simple jewelry, so why was it here? The questioning going on in her head was interrupted by Dr Allen Park, the forensic pathologist who was carefully examining the clasp.
Inside the locket was a pressed violet, brittle with age. It was strange. Not a photo or a portrait, but an aged violet? This was intimate. Intentional.
"This is the third one mara", he said. "It's identical to the last two. Same position. Same make. We might be looking at a serial killer trying to get our attention here".
Mara picked up her pen and slowly noted the words: same position, left wrist, intentional. Her pen hovered, then circled trying to get our attention.
He wants them to notice?
She turned around and looked up, trying to catch her breath. A small crowd of onlookers had already gathered. "Fucking great", she mumbled under her breath. A man in a black coat quickly caught her attention. He was standing a bit further from the crowd. He was looking straight at her. When Mara's gaze caught his, he dropped his eyes and immediately moved away, disappearing into the night.
"Detective?" Captain Miller's voice cut across her thoughts. "I don't think I can keep the media off our backs for long, they are pressing for answers. Three bodies in two months!! And we don't even have as much as a suspect. I need progress."
Deep down she knew he was right. This case was taking too long." We'll get the progress. Whoever's committing these murders is not hiding, he's communicating with us. Like trying to tell us something. We just don't understand what he's trying to say yet" She said.
As she turned to take a second look at the locket, she saw a makeshift reflection of herself on the silver surface, distorted by the curve of the metal. She got that eerie feeling again. Whoever placed it there was careful, intentional. And they didn't leave this as a clue, they left it as a message.
And messages always had recipients.
She suddenly remembered the strange man she encountered. She quickly pulled out her notebook and wrote down; mystery man in a coat. This was the only lead she had so far and she couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something suspicious about the man.
As she walked down the narrow alley that led to the somewhat abandoned car park, she noticed someone was following behind her, at a safe distance. She picked up her pace, silently begging her legs to move faster. She noticed that the person had also picked up their pace. She dared not look back. She had concluded it was safer not to show fear and keep on moving forward. As she could now see her car in the distance, a sense of relief washed over her. The person following her had also taken another path.
She unlocked her car and took a break to catch her breath. As she opened her car door, from her side mirrors she caught a figure behind her.
Fear gripped her. It was the mystery man she had encountered. Was he the killer? Was he here to finish her off before she could figure out his identity? Was this the end for her?...…