The Butcher Box Set

by Sian B. Claven

  This was what drove her to solve the case herself.

  Kalli was not a teenager anymore, but she remembered that fateful night. The last event she remembered was finding Tatum’s phone. She had known her sister’s pass code because she used it to make sneaky calls when her sister wasn’t paying attention. She unlocked the phone and went through the pictures, sobbing at the fond memories.

  She remembered going through messages, especially the messages between Tatum and Jacqui. Up until the fight, they had been so good for each other and Jacqui had been a dear friend. Kalli realised now how horrible she had been to her sister by not being there when she lost her best friend.

  Then the voice messages popped up and she listened. First she listened to the new ones, which were mostly telemarketers - she deleted those - and then she listened to the old ones. She didn’t know why her sister never deleted them, but listening to people she knew speak as if Tatum was still there tore her to shreds.

  Until she reached the voicemail from Roger.

  Kalli remembered that one clear as day and the words would haunt her forever. She never understood why her sister never told the police about the voicemail, but she was going to, after she wrote it down word for word.

  The last spoken words - ‘DEATH COMES TO THOSE WHO DO NOT SEE’ - were especially creepy.

  As an adult she stood in front of her board dedicated to Roger and wrote out the voicemail message next to his picture. A man and a woman had pushed him off the road. They then dragged him to a tree, cut off his head, and hung him in the tree as a display.

  The Butcher was back.

  Kalli regarded the time difference between Robyn’s murder and Roger’s. If The Butcher had been a teen when he murdered Robyn, he would have been a fully grown, possibly very strong man when he killed Roger. What stumped her was why he suddenly needed a sidekick in the form of a woman to assist him. A wife perhaps? Someone who shared his thirst for blood? It didn’t make sense. Kalli noted the woman’s voice on the voicemail, but didn’t include her in her main board notes.

  What delayed the killings?

  Sometimes killers couldn’t kill because they were imprisoned.

  She moved to her computer, relieved her office was again intact, and after inputting her access to the database, checked if any of the teenage possible suspects were arrested and jailed during that time. None were.

  Drumming her fingers impatiently, she sat up suddenly and switched over to access the registered drivers’ licencing site. She input all the names she had and discovered, of the one hundred and fifty teen suspects, ninety had moved away after school and had not returned. That left a total of sixty possible suspects.

  She got up and removed all those who moved away. She was closer. She reached for her white board marker to make notes, but found it dried out.

  Setting it down again, she sighed. She needed to get supplies anyway, so she called it a night, double checked the house was locked securely, and went to bed. She didn’t even notice that Robyn was standing in her bathroom, watching her sleep.

  Fresh the next morning after getting a good night’s sleep, she felt better and believed she had her emotions under control. She hadn’t seen Robyn’s so-called spirit in a few days and had gotten a large amount of work done.

  After a run and a cup of coffee, she jumped in the shower and enjoyed the hot water against her skin.

  She had a lot planned for the day, but her first stop was the mall for more supplies. Once dressed, she got into her car and reversed out. Driving down the road, she slowed to check out Mr Wild’s house, where she had once seen Robyn standing in the window.

  The house looked old and worn; clearly no one lived there or even took care of it. It was kind of sad; she remembered how much pride old Mr Wild had taken in his home, especially his garden.

  She had everything she needed, except something to fill her stomach. Kalli spent the better part of the last two hours shopping and now she regretted skipping breakfast as her stomach bubbled and groaned. She needed sustenance and decided to have something from the food court before she went home.

  Walking from one fast food outlet to the next, she finally decided on a Hawaiian pizza with a thick base. Almost drooling, she watched it being prepared. She loved pizza; it was her comfort food when her father died, and again when her sister was murdered.

  As soon as it was ready she thanked the cashier and went to sit and eat. It melted in her mouth. The thick dough and cheese instantly made her calm and happy and she didn’t have a care in the world. The ham and pineapple was just the bonus on top.

  She was halfway through her pizza when she realised she sat in the last public place Jacqui was seen in. She set her pizza down and wiped her hands, searching for her notebook.

  Trying to figure out exactly where Tatum and Jacqui had been seen, she glanced around … when Robyn caught her eye. She stood in a clothing store behind a woman.

  Kalli stared at her, tilting her head slightly to the right as she watched her. Robyn placed a finger to her lips and shook her head slowly. Kalli’s palms started to sweat and she closed her eyes, inhaled a deep breath, and reminded herself it wasn’t real.

  When she opened her eyes Robyn was still there, her mouth wide open pouring blood.

  It was time to confront her fear. There was nothing there, so she had nothing to worry about. Kalli left her pizza, but picked up her shopping, striding towards the clothes shop. She never took her eyes off Robyn and the ghost girl watched her approach, a wide smile spreading across her face.

  Kalli reached Robyn, and she just disappeared. One minute she was right in front of Kalli, the next she was gone. Kalli took a few deep breaths; she wanted out of the mall, now.

  She strode by various displays. The sensation of being watched nagged at her. She stopped and swung back. People walked around her and in and out of the stores, but there was no one she could see watching her. She walked on again, only to be plagued by that same feeling.

  Kalli stopped again and glanced around, nearly bumping into someone as she did so. She quickly apologised and, as she moved on once more, she saw Robyn in place of her reflection in the glass of the store window. Kalli stared at her and then walked.

  Out of the corner of her eye she saw Robyn beside her, staring at her, matching each of her strides. It was seriously freaking her out and she could feel her chest closing as anxiety built up.

  She walked a bit faster; she needed to be outside for some fresh air. She glanced to her left and saw Robyn walking beside her still, faster as well. She started jogging and then running with Robyn matching her every move. Kalli had no reflection, only Robyn staring at her and mocking her.

  She ran through the glass doors that led outside, seeing Robyn briefly in the one in front of her, and then she slammed into two people. She fell to the floor, her shopping spilling everywhere.

  “Oh, hell, Kalli, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you. Are you okay?”

  It was Mike and he held a hand out to help her up. She was beyond help though, as she was having a full-blown anxiety attack. Her breaths came in short rasps and she shivered uncontrollably. Tears threatened to spill as she looked up at Mike. Standing beside him was Darren, the other person she had run into.

  Mike took one look at her and immediately sank to his haunches. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. You’re okay, Kallista.” He stroked her hair away from her face. Kalli tried to pull away, but he shook his head. “Shh, it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you; I’m not going to let anyone hurt you. Come, let me help you up.”

  Kalli took a few deep breaths and then with Mike’s help she stood up. He led her to a nearby bench and sat her down, sending Darren to get her a soda.

  Mike sat beside her and rubbed her back gently. “It’s okay; just focus on breathing, okay? Don’t worry about anything.”

  Kalli did just that, focusing on taking deeper and deeper breaths. She ignored the closed feeling in her chest and just concentrated on inhaling and then exhaling, repeatedly.r />
  Mike, in the meantime, picked up her shopping for her.

  Darren returned with the soda and handed it to Mike before sitting on Kalli’s other side. “What happened?”

  Mike shot him a look, which Kalli caught, and said, “Leave her be for a minute, Darren. Let her catch her breath and calm down first and see if she wants to tell us.”

  Kalli was grateful; she needed just that. A few minutes to calm down, regulate her breathing and sip the soda to get sugar back in her system.

  Once she was calm, she looked at Mike. “Thank you so much. I really appreciate your help again.”

  “Not at all, I’m always happy to help. I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

  He offered her a reassuring smile and it did something to her stomach - maybe it was just the pizza though.

  “What happened?” he asked.

  “I had an anxiety attack and saw something that made it worse. That’s all,” she said, rather matter-of-factly.

  Darren shook his head. “You saw Robyn.”

  “It’s purely psychological,” Kalli responded, looking at him. “My trauma counsellor has explained why and how it happens.”

  “Then why did we see her too?” Darren asked, looking at her. “Why was she running with you? Why did she appear on the glass door as you were exiting?”

  “Why didn’t you move out of the way when you saw me then?” Kalli retorted.

  “Because we didn’t want you to run into traffic,” Mike murmured. “I saw her too, Kalli. You had no reflection of your own. Only Robyn. How can three people be having the same psychological reaction thing or whatever it is you call it at the same time?”

  “We can’t,” Darren chimed in before she could answer. “Even you have to know that.”

  Silence followed as Kalli digested what they were saying. They had seen Robyn replacing her reflection, they had seen her run alongside Kalli and they had seen her appear to her as she went through the door. It wasn’t rational that all three could experience the same psychological hallucination simultaneously, and it certainly would be hard to guess exactly, in detail, what Kalli had seen. But they could explain what Robyn was doing, exactly.

  Kalli’s chest started to close again and anxiety built up.

  “Breathe, Kalli, just breathe. Listen to what Darren has to say and try and remain calm, okay?”

  Kalli nodded at Mike, taking a swig of soda and regulating her breathing.

  “There was more to Robyn than the files had to say,” Darren explained. “One of the things is that she comes from a long line of gypsies known for their work as mediums. Not that carnival crap that rips people off - these were genuine mediums able to speak to the dead.”

  Kalli looked at him.

  “I believe, because of this, she was able to communicate with certain people after she died. I haven’t been able to figure out why she picks those she picks, but she chose Tatum, she chose Mike, she chose me and she has chosen you.”

  “What does she want?”

  Kalli couldn’t believe that question came from her own mouth. She was all about facts and here she was buying into Darren’s stupid supernatural mumbo jumbo. Still, she didn’t have a better, more logical explanation, so she had to know what he knew.

  “From what I can tell, she is trying to prevent others from dying. I don’t know why she didn’t show herself to Roger, or Jacqui or Mr Wild, but I do know the people she has been seen with were all eventually murdered by The Butcher. So, I deduce, if the three of us are seeing her …”

  “He’s after us next?” She recalled the person that had been in her house, and the feeling of being watched. Was Robyn trying to warn her?

  Mike ran a hand through his hair. “Look, it took a lot of convincing for me as well, but Darren has really done his research. Even if you don’t believe him, he has a lot to offer from his own findings.”

  Kalli looked at Darren and then at Mike. “Meaning?” she asked.

  “We want to help you, Kalli. We want to work with you to bring this sick son of a bitch to justice,” Mike explained.

  Kalli sat back and sipped her soda, digesting everything she had just heard. There was a ghost warning her that she was a potential next victim, and the detective who didn’t solve the case and the previous suspect both wanted in on helping her.

  “Okay,” she said eventually, “I think we can try to do this together.”

  Both men seemed surprised, ready to continue convincing her, certainly not ready for her willingness to accept their proposal.

  Mike nodded. “Okay, then, what time do you want us?”

  “If you’re in on this, you’re in. You don’t work anything else until this is solved,” Kalli said, looking at both at them. “I want to know who he is and I want him to pay for what he did to all of them, not just Tatum. Also, if we’re all targets, it might be safer if we stick together.”

  “What do you suggest?” Darren asked.

  “I suggest you two stay at the house, which I have made my headquarters, until this is over. There is more than enough room and that way we can really focus on this.” Her mind was made up and this was what she wanted and how she wanted it to happen.

  Mike looked at Darren and then back at Kalli. “I’ll pack some stuff and be over tonight.”

  The men stood. “I’ll be over as soon as Mike is there; I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable,” Darren said.

  “No, come over as soon as you are ready. The sooner we get started, the sooner we can find him.”

  Chapter 11

  The Butcher

  He had never liked Jacqui. She was obnoxious, arrogant and didn’t deserve to have Tatum in her life. She was always flipping her hair over her shoulder or giving boys flirtatious smiles. He loathed her.

  Often he would follow her home as well when he was following Tatum. Her house was on the way to Tatum’s, so he knew where she lived. She and Tatum would walk ahead of him, giggling and joking about boys.

  Until Roger died, they were extremely close, but afterwards, after Tatum started speaking about seeing some Skeleton Girl, they didn’t walk with each other as much. He always knew she was superficial. She didn’t deserve Tatum.

  Tatum, however, hung on to the friendship, while still trying to convince Jacqui that she was seeing this Skeleton Girl everywhere. She was traumatised and he knew with a few pushes in the right place she would be his perfect project.

  Their talk of a skeleton someone recalled the girl with the face paint to mind, but as Tatum could not know of that, he figured trauma caused her to hallucinate.

  First he had to eliminate Jacqui. The only question was how. She didn’t drive, so mimicking Roger’s death was not on the cards. When she wasn’t with Tatum, she was with the gruff boy Darren, moaning about Tatum, and he didn’t want to take a chance and attempt to kill both of them at the same time - there was always the possibility one could escape and he would get caught. He needed to get her alone.

  He decided that more observation was required.

  The first day thereafter that he followed her from school, she walked with Darren. He had to keep quite far back to not arouse suspicion, especially because he lived in the opposite direction.

  He had overheard that they had a date planned. Knowing them, the kind of teenagers they were, they were probably just going to sneak off somewhere to kiss. He didn’t care. He needed to observe their routine so he knew when the best time to strike would be.

  When he cleaned the offices the day before once everyone had left, he checked Darren’s file and now knew the boy lived with his mother in the poorer part of town. He needed the address in case he had to fall back or lost them along the way. Their destination, apparently, was Darren’s house.

  Wouldn’t it be poetic if this Blackwood also got blamed for a murder he didn’t commit?

  He didn’t lose them, however, and they didn’t notice they were being followed. They spoke in low voices the whole way, and Darren had his arm around Jacqui’s waist most of t
he time.

  Once they were inside the house, he had to locate where they were, so he could watch them, out of sight of anyone who might see him. He didn’t have to worry; a few short minutes later they emerged out of the back door and put a blanket down on the lawn in the backyard to have a picnic.

  He quietly made his way around the fence until he was within listening distance of them. He found a small hole and made sure that no one could see him where he would be crouching, and made himself comfortable and watched the pair.

  Jacqui poured soda to drink while Darren cut sandwiches for them. Once they had eaten, they laid back in each other’s arms. Jacqui was comfortable in the crook of Darren’s arm, resting her head against his chest.

  He had to strain to hear what they were talking about.

  “Have you been to see him?”

  “Not this week. I’m supposed to go on Saturday, but it’s Roger’s funeral.” Darren’s voice sounded heavy, as though the world was burdened on his shoulders.

  Jacqui stroked his chest. “It will get better, I promise. It will just take some time.” She was so gentle with him.

  “He was my best friend.”

  Darren coughed and sniffed, and Jacqui instantly sat up and pulled him into her arms, where she stroked his head. He sobbed into her neck, holding her tightly.

  “I promise, it will all get better. I will never leave you.”

  She was murmuring and it was hard to hear, especially whenever a car passed or someone yelled in the street. The two teenagers ignored the world around them. He was fascinated with the way Darren sat back and looked at her, as though this one little human was his entire world. It made no sense why someone would rest all that happiness on someone else.

  The boy was clearly a fool.

  “How was Tatum today?” Darren asked, reaching to pour himself more soda.

  “Better, I think. I just don’t know what to say to her, Darren. I want to make her feel better, like I want to make you feel better, but you’re not raving about a Skeleton thing that you see everywhere.” She hugged her knees.