110 Budding Serial Killer (1/2)

I didn't hear what they were saying but I saw her smile drop and she glanced towards the coffin. It was a closed casket, so I didn't know why she was glancing back.

A few weeks go by and I look over the files over and over again. The drive to crime scenes and back, I couldn't help but go over all the faces I had seen.

”I just can't figure it out!” I exclaimed as I sat beside Sebastian on the bed. He was leaning against the headboard and browsing through a file.

”Tell me why you are feeling this way,” he looked up and asked me. ”Tell me about your reasoning. I trust your gut but you need to understand why you are feeling that way.”

I processed my thought for a bit and gave him the facts. ”The site where the body was found was not dusty enough to cause an asthma attack. Even if it did, it wouldn't be so severe as to incapacitate him. Moreover, he has no prior record of respiratory diseases.” Sebastian nodded.

”What else?”

”I have been reading up on forensic sciences and... if someone strangled the victim gradually, there wouldn't be proper signs of strangulation or any type of force. On a child, it would be easier.”

”Good. That's a great point. Then tell me. What do you think happened?” his eyes were glowing.

”It was someone the child knew. Someone who took him into that house in broad daylight and didn't cause others to even notice. There were no signs of struggle so they probably told him it was a game or something and then strangled him.”

Sebastian's eyes flickered with emotion. ”That is a good scene. Any suspects?” he asked.

”None. I couldn't think of a single person. I first thought it was one of the parents, but I closely watched them. Their emotions couldn't be faked. Furthermore, in cases of child abuse and homicides, the methods are rather different. They usually don't strangle a child above the age of two. Usually, children who die at the hand of their parents have prior marks of abuse on their bodies.”

”You can't exclude that,” Sebastian said softly.

”I am sure because they let us perform an autopsy. A normal person doesn't know how advanced the police are. And they wouldn't be conscious enough to not leave marks. Then...” I just couldn't tie it together.

”Who do you doubt, then?” he asked.

”Good. You are on the right track.” He smiled.

”Why aren't you helping me?” I asked incredulously.

”You haven't needed my help in the past two months, Evie. I am not going to start helping you now that you are independently solving every crime that comes your way. You have to be proud of how capable you are.” I rolled my eyes.

”I could figure this out if I talked to you. Give me a clue!” I asked.

He chuckled. ”Evie, I wasn't there at the scene. I can't tell you what happened. You were the one who saw everything. Dive back into your memories and find the people who looked suspicious to you. You are good at recognizing intent, remember?”

I hissed as I dropped onto the bed.

”Who could it be...” I kept thinking but no answer came to me.

The next evening, another boy was found. It was in the same neighborhood.

As we drove, I looked over to Nash. ”I told you. It wasn't an accidental death or some freak disease. These are murders and by the look of it, serial murders.” I looked out of the window. The street was still buzzing with activity. Like none of them saw what was happening in their community. There was a killer hiding in plain sight and I couldn't tell who it was.

This time, it was in the shed of someone's house. The old lady who owned the house never went to her shed. Kids would often play in her yard, so she never thought much about anything. She hadn't seen anyone come or go but a teenage couple who had sneaked into the shed had found the boy, lifeless.

I knelt down beside the boy and looked at his lifeless, pale face.

”It's a serial killer,” Nash confirmed. ”This shed is clean but still this boy is dead without a visible cause. If I guess properly, he died from a lack of oxygen, as well.” The same medical practitioner came in and a look of grief passed over her head.

She opened the mouth of the little boy, crossing her hand in prayer. ”Definitely choked to death.” The tongue was proof. Same as before. Only, this time, there was a marked difference.