Prologue
As he stood over her admiring his work with sweat dripping down his forehead, not just from the physical exertion but the excitement that was tingling through his whole body. She truly was perfect, a great piece of artwork. He took a look around him to just double check that he was alone he bent down to brush her hair from her face. Making sure that it was in perfect place, he re-applied her lipstick and blusher to her cheeks everything had to be perfect for them to find. For his first piece of this collection she was fantastic but then again they do say every artist is a perfectionist. Because that is truly what he was many people didn't see him for that but now this young girl definitely did. She completely understood the meaning of being pure now. He had bled her out, washed away all her sins because this is what she needed. The young girls of today were riddled with dirt, sex, and drugs and drunken, nothing that a young girl should be involved in. This young one that he had saved was only 17 and at a college party. How easy it had been to slip her some drugs she was open to everything. Why her people would ask just a child, innocent but there was no such thing. He had learnt from a very young age that innocence in childhood no longer existed it was always snatched away. It had for him and now every other "innocent" child had to learn the meaning off being an adult.
But you see where many people think he just chose this girl at random he had not, he did have a method, it was a gift from God, a very strong olfactory system he could smell the sins in their sweat. God had given him this gift to help wash away the un-pure. He had a job to do a messenger of God and now they must listen. He must show her what he has become. He has accepted his fate. He is no longer the confused young man that she had once met but a confident man one with a mission, one with a purpose. His mother told him he was destined for great things and the responsibility of that had rested on his once young shoulders. But now he could see it as a blessing it would lead him back to her.
Chapter 1
Detective Jane Sparrow lay awake in her bed contemplating the meaning of life and death. She had managed to smoke her way through a lifetime of cigarettes and drink enough whisky for 10 men but still the images of last night’s crime scene lingered in her memory. For all her years as a Detective she had never seen anything so brutal, a person that had been subjected to so much pain, it really was disgusting. With the stench of stale smoke lingering in her hair she heavy heartedly pulled herself from her slumber to take a hot bath. Wondering where her day would begin and what miseries lie ahead had kept her up most of the night.
From what only felt like a few minutes of soaking in the bath letting the tension slip away the phone began to ring waking Jane from her stupor.
“I'm sorry Detective I know it was a long night and I don't mean to disturb you but I thought you would like to know the coroner has finished his preliminary report. Did you need me to swing by and pick you up or would you like me to meet you there?"
"Already wow that was quick no need to apologize Amy would you be able to swing by and pick me up in ten minutes we have a lot to do today, better get some coffee."
"Yes boss I’ll pick some up on my way see you in 10.'
Amy was there in ten minutes with a steaming cup of black coffee and a running update of everything that had been done so far since the body had been discovered. Now considering the fact that they had only discovered the body late last night around 11pm the field police had worked fast and made a lot of progress. By 10am the next morning the local area had been canvased with all potential witness statements having been taken. The forensic lab was working on the tyre treads and boot prints at the scene as well as running the victims DNA and dentals no official ID had been made thus far. Amy had just finished filling her in on all the progress when they pulled up at the coroner’s office.
"Amy have you ever been in the coroner's office before?"
"No but don't worry I’m not squeamish type I’ll remain professional and I’ll try not to get in the way."
" Don't worry just prepare yourself it's the smell more than the sight of anything, it doesn't feel like you ever get used to it down there."
As they stepped into the dimly lit coroners office straight away they were greeted with a smell that was overwhelming. Not just the usual smell you would expect of decomposing flesh from the young girl splayed open on the examination table but also that of a very strong cleaning detergent, as though they were trying to mask the odor. Sitting at a small desk in the corner that was lit only by a small table lamp was a hunched up old man with deep earnest blue eyes that were filled with the look of deep sorrow. Jane pondered for a moment that perhaps it was a coroner's choice to have their office and workspace in the basement of buildings, they more so than anyone else truly came face to face with the horrors of the world, the pain and suffering that we humans inflict on others and ourselves. Perhaps maybe she considered they were trying to hide away from the world, not that she would ever mention her theory to Dave.
" Hi Dave good to see you again this is PC Amy Wilkes I don't believe that you two have ever met. We got the call that you had finished your preliminary report on last night’s victim. What can you tell us?"
" Yes I have and unfortunately it was very much a terrible ending for this fair young lass. I'm waiting upon toxicology results and confirmation of ID but I can tell you she died from exsanguination basically bleeding out. Unfortunately she suffered a lot before she died and she didn't pass quickly either. There is a lot of evidence of torture."
" Like what please don't tell me we are dealing with a sadistic bastard here Dave I really didn't think this could get any worse the media is already having a field day. Some cop from the scene let slip that because of the victims small build and stature we could be dealing with a minor, is there any way you could approximate age for us without having an ID for her?"
" Well I can approximate from my experience I would say she was somewhere between the ages of 16-25 so not strictly what you would class as a minor but still very young indeed for a tragic end."
"Well least we know not to waste time looking into the missing children database that only tell us victims under 16. How long will it be until we get confirmation? And I suppose we should get down to the details. What can you tell us Dave?"
" Confirmation of ID wont be much longer I’ll probably have it within the next two hours or so. He seemed to be experimenting with the body like he wasn't sure how or best to kill her. There was some deep gashes to the flesh on the upper thighs, abdomen and chest area but none of which would have caused her to die but would have created a great deal amount of pain. There also seems to be some evidence of burns from what looks like a heated up screwdriver. There was burning to the inside of her mouth and throat and as you follow it leads right down to her stomach he poured some kind of cleaning fluid down her throat my best guess bleach."
"Oh my God he really was experimenting the poor girl must have been in agony the whole time. How long was she dead when we found her?"
" The amount of rigor mortis that had set in showed she had been dead between 12-18 hours when we found her. The content of her stomach or what little of it paints a bit of a grim picture she hadn't eaten for at least 2-3 days. There was also evidence that he may of spent time with her after she had died. I noticed it when I came out to collect the body from the scene, for a body that had been exposed to the elements she had neatly brushed hair sprayed hair and freshly applied lipstick and blusher. So to put it how quaintly you did Jane a sadistic Bastard.
"Sorry to interrupt but there was something you said earlier about her lack of stomach content, you said no food for at least 2-3 days does that mean he
had her for that whole time?"
"Amy wasn't it yes unfortunately I had come to that same conclusion as well that was the only logical explanation for no food, keep her weak so she didn't fight back. Plus it would take a great deal of time to carry out the amount of torture he did. Oh one other thing there was some scrapings under her nails I passed them onto the lab as well as samples of the makeup see if there is anything the lab can identify there for you. I will call you when the toxicology results come through and if I get an ID from medical records."
"Thanks Dave were be off now take care thank you for your time."
Chapter 2
Jane and Amy arrived back at the station looking a little worse for ware after the horrific report that they had just heard on the young victim. They were just coordinating with field police about next steps to take with witness statements when the phone rang. Doctor Dave Berry had called to say he had confirmed the victims identity through medical records, a fracture she had received to her left arm that had been surgically repaired when she was 12, her name was Jennifer York she was only 17 years old. She had been missing for four days when they had found her she was taken on her way home from a college party. They were going to have to tell the young girl' parents sooner or later as much as Jane would of preferred it to be later she knew that every second ticked by it would only make it worse for them. Telling a parent that their child was gone especially in such circumstances was never easy; they all reacted so differently so Jane was never sure how to approach.
As Jane had drifted off into thoughts of dread of informing the parents the new found buzz in the station had reached an all time high, everyone was flitting around trying to collaborate evidence and statements, this station hadn't seen a case this size in years. They were all trying to make up reports to give one piece of paper to look at with the information that was needed, they wasn't even sure if they had a description of what this guy looked like. Surely they must he had dumped her body in a public park somebody must of seen something. The one good thing everyone seemed spurred on by the identification of the young girl. For most of the men in this station she was similar age to their own daughters.
"Right guys let's stop and take a break and a breather for a second. Most of you have been working non stop since we found her and as much as that is appreciated by me it wont do us any good if we are working in circles. Eric you have been her since 10am yesterday stay for this little briefing then gets yourself off home for a few hours ok. Let's go through what we know and work out where to go next so we can catch this creep. We know from the coroners report that the victim bled out so we cane assume where we found her she wasn't killed because lack of physical evidence so that was just a dump site so we still need to find his primary location. Now for the amount of torture this guy inflicted and the amount of time we suspect he held her for he would definitely live by himself. Most probably in a rural location away from any nosy neighbors and prying eyes. Also the amount of time that he spent with the victim there is no way he would be able to hold down a 9-5 job, which tells us he either works from home or is currently unemployed. He dumped her in a local public park which tells me he wanted her found, he wanted us to know what he done to her this man has a message and no doubt a mission. But he is too proud for it to go unnoticed, keep a look out for any person from the public that offers just that little bit too much help or asks too many questions, he will try to interject himself into the case to see if we understand his message he may even communicate. But by doing so he is giving a lot of himself away and risked being spotted by somebody living in the vicinity of the park or somebody within the park grounds. What about the two joggers that found the body did they happen to see anybody on their route, anything out of the ordinary?"
"Well Detective we canvased the local area last night and from what we learned an old lady that lives across from the park said that she saw a dark Ford escort pull up about 9 and left at about half 10 when she went up to bed. She noticed it because nothing else had parked there for the whole day. There was a man walking his dog through the park, he lives in the flats around the corner and was walking his dog one last time before bed. He said he saw a man in his 40's walking through the park at 10:20 he was Caucasian male with glasses going slightly bald on top. The dog walker's name was Graham Watts he said the bloke seemed really friendly and polite for a stranger. He stopped and said hello even commented on how beautiful his dog was, he thought it was rather odd that he was walking through the park that time of night without any pets seen as the park doesn't lead to any where or come from anything in particular. The couple that found the body hadn't been in the park that long when they found the body at 10:45. The only people they saw were we when we turned up and by that point they were both rather freaked out and couldn't get much sense out of them. Other than that Detective nobody else has come forward, its November it's dark, cold and damp and unfortunately all people want to do is get home and shut the door on the world."
"That's good Ian the only thing that confuses me is they found tyre treads at the scene, in the middle of the field he must of drove on dumped the body out the back drove back of the field and parked. Went back over to the dumpsite posed and groomed her for her to be found and walked away calmly and nobody saw him do it. I was confused at first from the amount of torture and what seemed like confusion as to what to do to her I thought he might be young, as well as leaving tyre treads to be found it screams disorganized. But he is far to cool, calm and collective for that. He is patient this guy appears normal on the outside but he is twisted on the inside. Do you know if the old lady got a number plate off the car at all?"
"Just that it started with an S was a 58 plate but that was all she could see. I made sure she was certain of the make and model, she said she was her son used to own one but she couldn't be certain of the colour all she could tell was that it was dark."
" Ok well that's something Ian get hold of the lab tell them about the make, model and year of the car and see whether it's a possibility that the tyre treads can belong to that car. If yes start running the partial with the description of the car through the DMV database just include male between the ages of 35-50 that live in the area. I'm aware that is going to be an exceptionally long list still but it gives us somewhere to start, something to cross off from. Amy your with me were going to go see the parent's and inform them. See if we can get any useful information about Jennifer anybody in her life that she was worried about things like that. Ok can some of you get over to the college talk to her friend's, tutors, people that were at that party. Thanks’ guys you have all been doing such a great job keep it up and before you know it will have this perp in custody before anybody else gets hurt. On a serious note I have an important message that you all need to hear. Now I know last night was a rough night for everybody and the act that was committed I don't believe was done maliciously or with intent and no action is going to be taken against the person. But in the heat of the moment and with the sate of the body somebody had let slip to the media that because of the victim small size we are probably dealing with a minor. As you can tell it has left us nothing but swamped with phone calls from concerned parents. So no more talking to the press, no media statements until we are ready. We don't want to entice or irritate this guy in any fashion so until we got a handle on him media blackout people. This guy wanted her found quickly we know he has a message and until we know what that message is we say nothing. You may want to become familiar with this comment because you will be approached but all you can say is NO COMMENT. Right guys let's get cracking."
Chapter 3
Jane and Amy drove over to the York's house in silence both dreading the events that were about to ensue. Jane never knew how to deal with grieving parents with never having any children herself, and never seeing the attraction, she never knew what was best to say. They pulled up down a nice looking street the York's house was a little set back from the rest, it was detached, well maintained house with a driveway and a garag
e, white in colour with a porch and hanging baskets with brightly coloured flowers, this was a picture perfect house. Jane and Amy stepped out of the car both exchanging the same wary expression as they approached the door with heavy hearts.
"Mr. and Mrs. York may we come in please?"
"Oh my God is this about Jennifer have you found her, is she ok, she isn't in any kind of trouble. Please let me see her you don't understand it's been four days I have to see my baby, please where is she?"
"Please Mr. and Mrs. York let us come in."
Mr. York pretty much had to carry Mrs. York into the living room she had collapsed in the doorway and they haven't even told them about Jennifer yet. As they stepped into the living room the one thing that was apparent above all else was their overwhelming love for their only child. Her photo taking pride and joy center place on the mantelpiece, a whole cabinet full of photos and trophies that Jennifer had been awarded over her successful 17 years, such a waste of a life cut to short. Mrs. York spotted Jane staring at the photo on the mantelpiece and clutched it to her chest as if trying to shield her daughter from any more harm. Mr. York looked as though he had aged by about 20 years in four days. Mrs. York; who Jane thought was a well respected woman probably never even set foot outside this house without fixing her hair and applying her makeup looked a though she hadn't even bothered to change her clothes since Jennifer had been missing. As fast as Jane was clocking this so was Amy this was going to be a lot harder than they first had thought.
The Organisation (Detective Jane Sparrow Book 1) Page 1