by Levi Fuller
I take a deep breath again and feel my heartbeat steady, the trill in my blood falling silent as the emotions brought forward by the chase patter out. I turn my back and leave the scene, taking all my usual precautions, retracing my steps exactly and collecting the cord I'd watched her break free from. It was never meant to keep her imprisoned, only to bring forward the self-sacrificing strength I wanted in my hunt.
On the edges of civilization, I loose my auburn mane from the confines of the tight hood, remove my gloves and unzip the body suit that had covers my head to toe, masking the tread of my shoes.
Folding it all neatly into the inner pocket of my handbag, I set off for home, walking along quiet streets, the mask in a gift bag swinging from my wrist. My thoughts turn to Kareena. She would still be asleep, a product of the drug I'd slipped into her drink. I don’t like to use my talents against her, but it keeps her safe, oblivious to my shadowed self.
4
Dhillan stumbled back as Violet bolted away from the body they'd been called to an hour after lunch, pushing past him with desperate force. He heard her vomit and resisted the urge to go to her. He didn't want to be another Jason in her life and so she didn't know how much he cared about her.
He looked back to Mark and saw his own confusion and worry mirrored there. Sure, the body of the woman before them had been mauled by forest animals, a whole arm torn off, but she was still mostly intact and nowhere close to the most gruesome thing any of them had seen. The body of the teenager they'd dredged from the frozen river last Christmas had been far worse.
Dhillan gave a sharp command to his squad, turning their attention back to their job, giving Violet as much privacy as could be afforded. Mark had moved over to her, his big hands stuffed into the pockets of his black trousers. Dhillan endeavored to keep his eyes away, focused on his work, but Mark's voice still reached him, as his ears strained to hear what had so upset Violet.
“You okay rookie?”
His soft brown eyes shot over to them of their own accord as, instead of answering, Violet heaved a broken sob.
Jesus Christ! What the hell was going on? Did she know who this was?
Mark was staring at her, looking at a loss as to what he could do as she cried on her knees, tears dripping into the forest floor.
Violet suddenly screamed and punched the soft soil, making everyone jump. Dhillan's voice was sharp as he ordered his techs back to work again.
Violet's eyes snapped to his as he issued his order and the loss in them broke his heart. She stood up and ran the backs of her hands against her wet cheeks, never breaking eye contact.
Dhillan turned to her fully as she approached him, looking like she was going to gut him as the loss hardened into rage. God she was beautiful, even crying, her eyes lit up with vengeful fire.
“You won't get away with some half-assed report this time,” she growled, jabbing him in the chest as he flinched. “You are going to give me something I can use, do you understand? You are going to help me catch the monster who did this.”
Dhillan watched the tears welling in her eyes again and his hands tightened against the clipboard he held. “I will do my best, Detective Turner.”
Something flickered briefly in her eyes, then she nodded, spun on her heel and stalked away. Mark met his eyes and nodded. He turned to his team, “Officers, follow Dr. Chais' orders.” His eyes came back to Dhillan's, “Search everything, Dr. Chais.”
“I always do,” Dhillan muttered as Mark hastened to follow Violet. Dhillan turned back to the others. “When we are done with the body, we are going to comb this area. Radiating spokes, teams of two. One officer, one tech.”
Dhillan ignored the hushed grumbles as his orders extended everyone's day into overtime. He always did his utmost to find any trace, but this time he would do even more. For Violet. For whomever this young woman had been.
****
I step up to the small building that has been made into the VCB's headquarters. The building is all red brick and so much smaller than its companions that it has been affectionately dubbed The Hut.
“Hi, Rose.”
The receptionist looks up from her magazine and smiles.
“Heya Dr. Mavros. Everyone's out, but Detective Decleor left the files in your usual office.”
“Thanks.”
I walk down the familiar hall, smiling to myself.
Out? Where to? Have they found my latest artwork already? Impossible. It hasn't even been a day.
Although I hadn't been as careful, she still should have been far enough from the trails to stay hidden for a few weeks, enough for scavengers to scatter her remains.
I shrug. It doesn’t really matter. They'd never linked the bodies anyway and I have never left any traces. I'd learned my trade slowly, making some mistakes, but still, I’d escaped the net, allowing another to take the fall for my inexperience once I was sure I knew how to keep myself off the radar. Now it’s nearly fifteen years on and my life is perfect.
I stop before a plain door and punch my security code into the keypad on the wall.
The office is small, reserved just for me. They'd even let me decorate. I smile at the decorative mask hanging behind my desk, the demon's face leering back. I'd replaced it early this morning, when I came for the usual brief, before going back to check on Kareena who was home, her hay fever playing up again.
I sit in the plush blue chair and pull the file towards me.
Case: 836628
Victim: Ellis Cadeen, 43
Status: Unsolved.
Leads: None.
The forensics report is laughably short. Dhillan is brilliant, but I am better. I have to be or I won’t survive.
I smile again, probably looking more like the mask behind me than a person as I pull my notepad alongside and begin to write.
Perpetrator Profile for case 836628...
****
Dhillan rubbed the back of his neck as the day turned to night and the Hut came into view. He heaved an enormous sigh. Nothing. He'd found nothing useful. His only hope now of helping Violet would be if one of his teams had succeeded where he had failed. He stepped through the front doors on autopilot, barely hearing the beep as he automatically scanned his ID card.
“You look worn out.”
Dhillan's brown eyes snapped up and landed on an identical pair.
“Hey Reena. I thought you were home, kept prisoner by the pollen.”
“I was, but I felt better after a while,” Kareena answered, her voice subdued. “I thought I could work a bit more on the reconstruction for the shooting last week. Then Violet came in with Mark and, well—”
Dhillan looked up as his little sister shuddered. “Did she say who she'd lost?”
Kareena glanced behind her, up the still empty hallway. This late, even Rose had gone home.
“Jane Luton, 24. She was going to marry Violet's cousin David. They'd known each other in primary school, lost contact afterwards, then reconnected because of David. She was a friend.”
Dhillan swore in his head, even as he wrapped his sister in a tight hug. He'd tried to stop her following him into this side of law enforcement. She hadn't listened, determined that no one should live their life without answers or justice as they had after their parents were killed in a drive by in Charleston when they were barely teens. They'd been sent to live here in Marmet with their aunt.
“We'll catch them. You'll see.”
The sound of heels clicking against the tiles echoed up the hall and Kareena pulled away.
“Hey, babe.”
Dhillan watched Alma smile at Kareena and resisted the urge to shake his head. He didn't know why he had never warmed to Alma. She treated Kareena well, was on friendly terms with just about everyone, and had helped them close more than one difficult case that had come across their tables. She was a renowned criminal profiler and had a knack for seeing connections in evidence most missed. She could probably have gotten a job an
ywhere. Instead, she was here, because of Kareena, because his sister had never wanted to leave the green of Kanawha Forest behind. Dhillan gave them both a wave as they left the Hut, then, hitching his evidence bag up a little higher and turned towards his lab. It wasn't too late, yet, and he was eager to see if anyone else had found anything useful.
5
Violet sat on the small, tatty, grey sofa outside Forensics and hugged her knees to her chest. Although her tears had dried up hours ago, the empty ache in her chest was still there. She couldn't get the image of Jane's body out of her head. It didn't make sense, didn't fit with the myriad of other images there, Jane grinning at her as she'd pulled her chosen wedding gown from her closet, the happy laugh in her eyes when Violet had joined them for supper, and her unbound happiness last night.
It had been her bachelorette's. Violet cursed herself again for leaving early. She had gone to the meal, and had laughed with everyone else as Jane was paraded around the restaurant in fairy wings, top hat and a bride-to-be sash, all lurid pink and sparkling. But when they'd all left to carry on the party with drinks at the local club, Violet had made the excuse of an early work-day schedule and had gone home. She hadn't been much in the mood to party, having spent an hour on the phone earlier, yet again dealing with Ellis Cadeen's wife. She didn't blame Mrs Cadeen, but an hour of tears and no answers was depressing and exhausting. So she'd gone home and Jane had gone to the club, still surrounded by friends.
“Damn it, Jane. What the hell happened at that club? How did no one notice?” Even Nikki, who was meant to take you home.
“You still down about our new corpse?”
Violet's head snapped up and she felt all her anger swell and zero in on the lean figure in the door way.
“Get off me, Jason.”
Jason smirked, smoothing back his hair in an unnecessary gesture that reeked of vanity. “I could make you feel better.”
“She said leave.”
Violet found her lips twitch up as Jason jumped a foot in the air at Dhillan's deep voice speaking out of the shadows behind him.
Jason straightened his tie, trying to look unperturbed.
“This isn't any of your—”
“If you can't remember the way, I can help you out.”
Violet's smile stretched further as Jason met Dhillan's unwavering gaze and swallowed hard.
Although she was enjoying his discomfort, she couldn't fault his reaction. Dhillan was exactly the opposite of what most people imagined when you said Lead Forensic Analyst. He wasn't weedy, bespectacled, or nerdy in any way. She looked over Dhillan's muscled, tall frame as Jason squeezed past him, eyes on the floor.
“Well he's a nice guy.”
“Yeah, he's a bastard,” Violet agreed as Dhillan turned to face her. The softness that flooded his chocolate-coloured eyes made her look away, her aching chest the centre of her thoughts again.
Dhillan took a hesitant step forwards then rocked back on his heels. Violet almost laughed, despite her loss. He'd been so confident as he faced down Jason, but alone with her, he had become timid and uncertain. Things that spoke of a kind heart and gentle soul.
“Is there anything I can do?”
She met his eyes and felt another small smile appear at the genuine offer.
“Did you find anything?”
Dhillan mouth twisted into a frown as he shrugged. “I don't know yet. I sent out teams in radial spokes to cover the area but I haven't had a chance to go through the finds. That's where I was heading now.”
Her eyes followed his big hand as it gestured towards the sealed double doors that led to the forensics side of the building.
“Shouldn't you be getting home? It is quite late,” Violet said, wanting him to work, but knowing that he probably had a life outside of the Hut and her personal tragedy.
“I'm good for a few hours. Keme can take care of himself for a while,” Dhillan said, his easy manner coming through as he turned back to her, a small smile on his full lips.
“Keme?”
“My dog.”
Violet nodded and rose from the sofa, glancing back at the doors, beyond which lay the body of her friend who, less than a day ago, had been full of life.
She paused beside Dhillan and tilted her head to look up at his face, placing a hand on his forearm. “Thank you. For all of it.”
Dhillan smiled again, his eyes glinting with determination. “You're welcome.”
Violet left, feeling Dhillan's eyes following her. She found another smile come to her lips. Dhillan's gaze wasn't oily like Jason's. It didn't make her skin crawl. It made her feel safe. Her resolve hardened. With Dhillan backing her, they'd catch Jane's murderer.
****
“To hell with the rules!” Violet said, smacking her hand into the conference room table, ignoring the rest of their unit, eyes locked on Mark.
Mark sighed, the early morning sunshine making his silver hair shine. “I'm sorry, Violet. You knew the victim so you're off the case. No discussion, no exceptions.”
Violet clenched her fists and tried hard not to shout again and focused on her breathing.
“Again, I'm sorry, but this is over my head. You're being brought in as a friend, a witness to her last night.”
Violet flinched at the genuine apology in his voice and bit her tongue. He hadn't said it, he didn’t need to, but she was a potential suspect, too.
“Fine.”
She was thankful when Mark shut down the biting comment Jason was, no doubt, preparing and let her go. Her thoughts chased each other around in her head. She'd already been asked to offer any thoughts as to why Jane might have been in the forest at night. She shook her head again. Jane had hated the woods, ever since they'd gotten lost on a camping trip. She remembered the sleep-overs afterwards, where Jane would startle awake, crying, from a nightmare of being lost in the woods, this time without a friend to hold her hand. Of all the ways Jane could have died, this was the one she'd probably feared most. How was she meant to focus on the infrequent and far more minor violent crimes of Kanawha County with this still hanging over her?
She looked up in momentary confusion. Her feet hadn't brought her to the office space as she'd expected them to. Instead, the plain metal door to the basement storage stood before her. If she wasn't allowed to help find justice for Jane then she'd see if she couldn't find it for someone else instead. Swiping her ID card and punching in her code, Violet descended the stairs to the Freezer and the files of cold cases it housed.
****
Violet drummed her heels against the floor as she waited in one of the interrogation rooms. She'd nearly lost it again when Will had come to call her in. She reminded herself again that they were just following procedure and that officer Will and everyone else really did not actually think she had killed her friend.
She sat up straight as Mark eased himself into the room, followed by Greg and Harry Orlo. Twin brothers and the other detective team the VCB had to offer. She frowned as Mark moved to lean against the wall, a clear indication that he was here as an observer, not an active participant.
He met her eyes but didn't smile.
“Violet Turner, you have been called in to be questioned regarding the murder of Jane Luton. Do you understand your rights and obligations regarding this interrogation?”
Violet turned her grey eyes on Greg and sighed. “Yes Detective Orlo, I understand.”
Violet took a breath, silently asking for strength as the litany of questions began. Being on this side of the table was crap. She sincerely hoped to never find herself here again.
“How long have you known Jane Luton?”
“Since we were kids. We lost touch after she moved away, but reconnected again about five years ago.”
“When did you last see her?”
“Last night, around nine. I had been to her bachelorette dinner. They were heading to a club afterwards. I didn't want to go. I went home.”
Viole
t had to take a deep breath, feeling the tears building up again as her heart ached.
“Can you think of any reason Jane would have gone into Kanawha Forest last night?”
“No. Jane is… was frightened of the woods. We got lost, once, in first grade. She had nightmares ever since. She would never have gone to a forest willingly and certainly not at night.”
She took a few more steadying breaths as they scribbled on their note blocks, stifling the urge to just get up and leave. She didn't want to be talking about these things, didn't want to face how scared Jane must have been, how badly she failed her.
“Where were you between the hours of ten and two?”
“At home.”
“Can anyone corroborate that?”
“No. I live alone.”
They paused, their pens scratching out a discordant rhythm in the silent room.
“Is there anything else you want to add?”
“No.”
“Then we're done here.” Greg rose and nodded to Mark.
“We may need to call you in again. Stay reachable.” Harry added.
Violet gave them both a stiff nod. She watched them leave and heard Mark shrug himself off the wall.
“Thanks for being here,” she said, not turning to look at him.
“If you want some time off,” Mark began, his voice soft and kind.
“No. I want to work. I need to keep busy.” Violet rose, gave him a curt nod and left the room, her heart hurting, filled with guilt.
****
“Dhillan rubbed his eyes, leaning away from the microscope. This was the ninth late night in a row he'd been working on the Jane Luton case. He looked at the clock. It was only half-past eight. Every night at half-past nine since the night he'd kicked Jason out, Violet had shown up with coffee and a small smile. She'd told him flat not to tell her anything about the case, so, instead, they would spend half an hour or so just chatting. His best friend had ribbed him about all the extra hours when he'd cancelled their usual weekend kayaking. He laced his fingers together and stretched, enjoying the cracking along his knuckles. His friend was only partially right. Yes, he was here because this case was important to Violet and he couldn't stand to see her so helpless and in pain, but it wasn't the only reason. The toll of unsolved murders in Marmet was getting ridiculous. This was a small community. It was supposed to be quiet, no dramas. The worst he should be expecting around here was a neighbourly dispute about the state of the lawn. Instead, there was a steadily rising body-count with no apparent link between any of them. Solving these cases shouldn’t have been this hard.