The October Killer...

The sound of something crashing from right outside my window wakes me. Nigh-lights glowed dimly in the late-night darkness, my tired eyes tried to stay lucid. A twenty-five-year old woman who was still terrified of bumps in the night and had just about fallen asleep when... whatever that was happened. Since in the classic horror movies, after loud crashing comes a hand out from under the bed or someone standing in the doorway, I quickly grab my phone from the floor and avoid looking towards the door as I check the time. Three A.M... Great.

As I decide it’s nothing and just my overly paranoid self; causing unnecessary panic, I start to hear a weird scratching sound. "You live in a one-bedroom apartment with windows facing towards the front doors idiot!" Trying to remind myself that no way someone was in my tiny 750 square foot apartment. I turn my lamp on, and wearily look around my bedroom. I shake my head and allow a small laugh at myself as I throw the covers off of me. I grab my hoodie off the floor and pop my head through as I start looking for my keys and smokes.

My keys and Marlboro Red’s are sitting on the counter closest to the door. “I could have sworn I left them on my nightstand last night…” I rolled my eyes at myself as I figured it must have been my boyfriend last before he left work. Probably couldn’t find his keys or smokes at first and grabbed mine in his half-awake morning routine before waking up a more and finding his own. I head down the stairs to the first level to light one up and jump as someone rounds the corner to the first flight of stairs.

“Sorry!” I exclaim as I hold the door open for the gentleman and his dog to pass through. He didn’t say anything back and continues on. I continue down the stairs and light my cigarette as I get to the grass. I don’t usually smoke so close to the apartment but still being jumpy from earlier I decided I wanted to stand more in the light and as close to the door as possible. My free hand in my pocket holding the security key to the door for faster access if need be. I shake my head at myself at yet another absurd reaction to my paranoia. I finish and head back inside. “Like every other night…” I say out loud to myself, disappointed that yet another night I can’t just magically snap out of my fears since birth, it feels like.

As I reach my apartment and turn to lock the door behind me, I notice a few pairs of shoes pushed off to the side. As I start to analyze the situation, I immediately shut it down with a harsh “STOP BEING PARANOIDE” grunt to myself. I head back to my room and start to take the hoodie off. It’s hard to get over my head because it’s so small on me now. Two years old and forty pounds later, it may be time to give it to Good Will. I get it over my head and start to turn around only to see something black shoot across my vision and then sharp pain to my head. I tried to yell but I was caught so off guard I was only able to manage a shocked grunt as I feel my body hit the bed. I try to turn my head but now a cloaked looking figure is on top of my swinging again something at my head. I see some sort of handle, maybe a gun? A knife? I try to look at my attacker only to be face to face with a skeleton. I try to scream again but whatever was in his hand met my face, this time the world warped into nothing and everything went black.

I sigh as I pull up to yet another victim’s house. This was the third murder just this week. It started October first. It’s been three weeks since the first murder and only getting progressively worse and more frequent.

I open my car door and take the coffee my partner, Detective Roger is handing me.

“Detective Marcus. How are you this morning?” I sigh, he knows exactly how I am. It’s been days on end out in the field and at the office trying to capture this perp and they seem to be a ghost in the wind. He looks over at me now, I can see worry crossing his face. It was my first month back since having been on maternity leave from my first born and the welcome gift I got back was sleepless nights and a new serial killer/rapist to try to track down, all while trying to raise a baby on my own. Never will I drink tequila and one-night stand again.

Though I didn’t gain any baby weight and literally got my body back as soon as I popped my daughter out, I did know that I looked like I was about to fall over. My five foot five, fit and usually tough looking frame was barley at tough position. “I’ll be fine once we catch this guy”, was all I could manage to say as we approach the house and he’s filling me in. I notice one of the police officers talking to an anxious looking young man. His finger nails were practically non-existent as I see him gnaw at what must be his last full nail on him. We stop for a second as he fills me in on our victim, Debbie Jurgs.

I nod over in the guy’s direction “That the boyfriend?” we continue upstairs.

“Yup… Jared Krusser. He works over nights for UPS and left at ten P.M, got home at six A.M and found her like this…” He trailed off as we make our way through her apartment and into the bedroom. Five years of seeing bloody scenes like this and somehow it still never seemed to get easier. I look around the bedroom. Blood spatter on the ceiling and walls suggested knife and gun were used. Like the others, the scene was bloody, no prints, no signs of forced entry and there was always a candle, lit, sitting on the windowsill.

“Well, it’s the same guy…” I say looking at Rogers, almost feeling defeated. This killer came out of nowhere. On the first, the examiner put time of death roughly around one A.M. Then there was nothing. We only had one body and with how bloody and thought out the rape was we assumed it was personal, and the first victims’ boyfriend had an alibi, similar to our current vic’s boyfriend. Worked an over-night job, left at night and didn’t get home until early morning. The second week, the perp killed two more people somewhere around two AM and with this third week, the examiner put all three victims around three A.M.

“So, we obviously know we are looking for someone who is preying on victims with no one around to protect them, maybe he’s not that strong in reality” I say as I lift the white blanket off the victim’s face and look into the cold lifeless eyes underneath.

“The examiner said they all have the same head wounds… maybe attacks from behind to try to… disorientate them, make them less able to fight… cry out” Rogers responded, distractedly as he looks closer at our victim. “Defense marks…” He points out and I look too. None of the other victims had defense marks. “So, he tried to subdue her as he’s raping her, she wakes up.” I say looking at the bruises over her arms. “There was also a weird waxy substance found under the vics nails.” Rogers says as he takes one last look over.

“Shall we go talk to the boyfriend?” I ask as I return the white sheet over the vic. Rogers nods and we both turn to head back downstairs. I already knew what he was going to say. He walked in, the door was unlocked and he found her there. Slaughtered and left like trash.

“We are missing something…” I say as I look at seemingly endless photos of bodies. No murders for the last two days so we had time to focus on the six victims in three weeks… “Where’s the pattern? He goes from one victim one week to three?”

“Maybe he’s getting more confident as he goes?” Rogers offers as we both stare at the photos. “He never seemed unconfident... All the murders were organized, all seemed personal.” I say, shaking my head at myself. “All victims had boyfriends, none of the victims look the same… he started with one victim… on the first at one AM and moved to two… now three…”

“What days were the victims found on?” Rogers asked, all of a sudden sitting up with more attention on the photos.

I start with as I flip through the file. “The first body was found on the first, the second and third were found the first and second day of the second week and the last three were found on the first three days this week…” I say trailing off now noting the times as well. “The time of death matches the number of bodies found…” I start piecing it together.

Rogers turns and looks at me with a quizzical look. “You said all the girls had boyfriends. What were the belongings found on the body?” I start flipping through the files to each victim and notice they all had engagement rings on.

Rogers looks back at the photos then takes the file away from me and flips through. “Or they were all newly engaged and catholic, going to couples therapy through the same priest?” he replies trailing off. I grab and flip through the file and notice all victims were catholic. Rogers is already on the computer, looking up what church they went too.

“Marcus…” He trails off as he shows me a computer screen with a picture and name attached to it. “Looks like we’re paying Father Jeffers a visit.” I say already turning to grab my jacket.

We arrive at the church and I can’t help but notice a car that looked familiar. I gulp as I realize why. “Roger… what did Debbie’s boyfriend drive?” I say, nodding towards the car. Rogers cursed and we both bolted out of the car, drawing our guns from our holsters. We call for backup and as Rogers is prepared to wait, I start up the stairs.

“Marcus! We need to wait for backup!” Rogers hissed at me but I ignore him. He doesn’t take long to reach my side and we both enter the church.

“Jeffers? Jerad?” I call out. “It’s Detective Marcus and Rogers…”

I hear a gun shot from the Fathers office and we both head that way. We hear the Father pleading for his life as Jared is yelling for him to shut up. “WHY?! Why do you get to keep yours when you stole hers?!” I hear him sob.

“Jared. It’s Detec…” I start to say but Jared cuts me off.

“I’m going to kill him! He was supposed to help us! We were supposed to get married!”

I start to say stop as he raises the gun at the Fathers head and hear two pops go off as my partner shoots Jared. He falls, Rogers goes to Jared and I go to Father Jeffers, calling on the radio that we need an ambulance.

I let my head hit the back of my office chair as Rogers knocks on my door. I turn to him. “Does it ever get easier? Make sense?” I ask. He just looked at me shaking his head. “Go home…” I sigh nodding and can only hope my daughter will never have to know the horrors this world has to offer.