Little Red

by Justin Cairns

  ***

  Jack flipped the file open. The receptionist had carried it up to him on arrival, he had called previously to discuss it with her, requesting that it be urgent and brought to him as soon as possible. He had removed the sticky note that lay upon the front, the yellow paper held the words;

  To Jack

  Here’s what I promised, keep your end of the deal and catch this piece of shit…………..I’ll keep mine! X

  He placed the note upon his monitor; the warm feeling entered him as he thought about the possible date with his flirtatious Forensics friend. The first page was a brief rundown of the procedures taken within the autopsy of the second victim. He turned the page to find certain words circled with an aluminous green pen. The top corner of the paper held a key, a small green dash, next to the dash the words, Similarities from the previous, were placed. Jack now understood that Sally had saved him the trouble of reading the contents thoroughly, she had highlighted all finds that matched the first victim.

  His tired eyes scanned the pages of information, his notebook sat open by his right hand, the pen was poised as he jotted down the relevant details. Similar strikes were located on the body, the places where he had sliced at them for fun, bruising around the throat and arms was also found. The report showed that once again, no sexual intercourse or abuse had taken place. The chest had been ruptured with a sharp instrument and the organ had been removed as before, badly, according to Sally, the skin and muscle were gauged at, multiple incisions were visible. The body was found, as he was aware, with the same type of cloak, red in colour, buttoned around her neck. Reading the words had developed a shallow burning within Jack’s chest, he couldn’t believe that someone could do such a thing to a child.

  The final page offered some new information, Jack studied it.

  One thing I noticed upon this victim, compared to the first, was that the feet were damaged. The skin had been penetrated and torn by several items. When removed and tested they were identified as splinters of wood, the depth of the items was measured and judging by the size of penetration it showed that the splinters had been forced through the skin unintentionally. The victim appeared to have walked or ran barefoot, this would cause said damage listed above.

  ‘He was right’ Jack confirmed to himself. He thought back to Nathans display in the woods where the second victim was located. The show as Nathan developed an image in his mind, the dark vision of what the killer does with his victims before ending them.

  ‘He plays with them, he lets them run free and he hunts them!’

  He sat back, wanting to call his friend, but chose not to. If he’s right about that, I’m damn sure he’s right about the next kill.

  ***

  Nathan climbed into the dark green Mitsubishi Pajero as Richard sat behind the steering wheel. The phone call was received as Nathan began reading through more pages of the file he was sent, the information flooded his mind and concentration was difficult. Richard had asked him to meet, that they would take a drive and get some air. The traffic was dense and the horns from outside surrounded them.

  ‘Is there anything new I should know about?’ Richard began

  ‘Nothing, I’m still dissecting the file I was sent’

  ‘What’s in the file?’

  ‘It’s a brief rundown of all similar cases, something that may have reference to the Wolf, from the past twenty years’

  ‘You think he’s done this before?’

  ‘Possibly, but there may also be some relevance from another case to this one’

  ‘Lots to look at I take it?’

  ‘Oh yes, hell of a lot’

  The warm air soothed Nathans face as it blew from the vents in the dashboard.

  ‘How long do you think we have?’

  ‘Until,……..he does his thing?’

  ‘Kills her…..yeah, how long?’

  ‘Two days!’

  ‘You sound sure of that; she may be dead already, yes or no?’

  ‘No, no definitely not. He kills on a full moon that I’m sure of. The next full moon is two days away, what strikes me as odd though, is that he abducted Megan a lot earlier than the other two girls’

  ‘What does that mean?’

  ‘I’m not sure, it’s not sloppiness or accidental. He’s very precise and organised. The other two were taken only days before the full moon. Megan was taken, what, four, five days before……I’m just unsure of why!’

  ‘You’re the brains mate’ he assured

  ‘If you, we, find him…..what then, see, I know what you’re planning on doing, I see that now. But when it’s done,…..what then?’

  Richard shrugged his shoulders, the thought not crossing his mind. In his head he watched his own homemade video; this one consisted of him removing limbs and other essential parts from the Wolf’s body.

  ‘Not sure, I haven’t planned that far ahead’

  ‘You’d be on the run….for a long time. Is that what you want for your daughter?’

  ‘I want my daughter back where she belongs, with me. If it means dragging her around endless hotels or B and B’s then, I’ll do it. Look, we lost her mother, my wife, four years ago to cancer. It destroyed us, she was the reason I signed off from the military, I wanted to take care of them both. Now I just have the one to look after, and there’s no way in hell that any harm is coming to her!’ the anger building within, his face turned a dark red colour.

  ‘Okay, I’ll leave it there’ spoke Nathan softly, feeling sympathy for the man to his side.

  They sat in silence as the four by four drove around the outskirts of London, the day was slowly pulling to an end, thick tufts of grey formed in the sky.

  ‘Richard?’

  ‘Yep’

  ‘Where exactly are we going?’

  ‘I spoke to my source yesterday, he found several addresses for me, and we’re going to them’

  ‘Addresses,….belonging to who?’

  ‘I’ll tell you when we get there!’

  ***

  The pictures he had taken earlier that morning had been observed and judged. He found himself feeling slightly disappointed at the results. It was the first time he had taken his snaps without the mask or glove. Usually the girl would be overwhelmed by fear, the sight of the beast moving in and clawing away normally struck them from the moment they laid eyes upon it. This time was different, the girls face held no emotion, no signs of the terror his others displayed. He studied each one carefully, digging deep into the details, searching for a slight resemblance of fear. He couldn’t see any.

  They fear the Beast….not you!

  ‘I am the Beast…..it’s me they fear!’

  His words were drowned out by the sudden realisation. The statement from his invisible guest had kicked him hard. He self-modified his appearance, he ate live animals and drank their life…..he had felt the power of what he was becoming. But this girl had not seen it, the beast had not appeared to her.

  He heard the voice, again, taunting him. He tried to block it, to remove its fierce words.

  You are NOT becoming…You are NOT becoming…

  He refused to believe the repetition of insults. He had seen it with his own eyes, through the beasts eyes. He had started to transform….he was becoming what he longed to be. He sat quietly, blocking the inner voice.

  ‘She is the reason!’ the thought coming to him

  ‘She refuses to see me….she thinks she’s tough, that she can handle what I am….she will see me……….she will see me now!’

  The door had opened, the light turned off. His shadow was cast into the room as the stairs light shone behind him. Megan looked up, her body aching from his last visit. He stepped forward and grabbed the Polaroid camera. His filming equipment remained poised for shooting, the lens aimed at her face. He moved in the darkness, their surroundings had swallowed him from view. She searched frantically, he had disappeared. The shuffling sound came from behind; she turned to see what had created the noise. Nothing app
eared.

  Her attention was brought back to the door as the beast came into sight, it’s head, larger than before, the hair spiked up before the light behind it. Its head turned to the side, the long nose becoming prominent; the sharp teeth caused a rush of panic through her heart.

  Seeeeee meeeeeeee…..Fear meeeeeeeeee.

  The room was illuminated and her focus became slightly blurred. It moved with speed, striking her face several times. The blood ejaculated from her mouth, the spray struck wall and gave a dripping sound as it fell to the floor. The cries fell on deaf ears; they were alone, the girl and the Wolf.

  Her head hung limp from the beating. He stepped back and watched his prey weep tears of pain. The music boomed through the speakers, the record button was pressed on the camera’s side.

  Hooowwwwwwwl…………Who’s that I see walking in these woods...why it’s little red riding hood …..Hey there little red riding hood….you sure are looking good…you’re everything, a big bad wolf could want….hooowwwwwwl.

  The pictures were captured, he felt no need to check them right away….he could the see the fear; he could smell it oozing from her pale skin.

  Now she seeeeeeees me…….now she does!

  ***

  Richard pulled the vehicle onto the curb and switched off the engine. The night had pulled in as they drove to the East end of London. They sat under a street lamp, the orange glow felt warming to look at.

  ‘So, are you going to tell me what we’re doing here?’

  ‘I said I would Nathan’ removing a smoke from the packet, he offered one to Nathan and he accepted. The window crept down slightly as Richard lowered both sides, a vacuum was created to allow the smoke to exit the interior.

  ‘My source did some homework for me. I told him about the situation with Megan and he offered to help’

  ‘What does your source do Richard?’

  ‘Look, like I said when we first met, there are things I can’t discuss with you, you know that!’

  ‘I do, but it’s nice to be kept in some sort of loop’

  ‘I agree. Okay, he works for the Government, a good friend from my army days. I’ve done him favours in the past, he owed me one’.

  ‘Government, like….MI5?’

  ‘Maybe’ he smiled, ‘Anyway, he came up with an idea that could possible help with finding a location of the Wolf. He said it was a long shot, but it had worked before on previous investigations’.

  ‘Right, go on’

  ‘You may be aware, as an ex-copper, that there is a team that monitor certain internet sites and chat sites for any illegal behaviour. This team can type a specific word into the computer and it will run a detailed search of all known illegal sites, coming up with any addresses that have used that specific word. It can be back-dated for months, so they do find many old messages that may hold no relevance’.

  ‘You’re talking about pornographic material aren’t you?’

  ‘Yeah, the sick stuff though Nathan’ the fag burned to the filter and was thrown from the window.

  ‘Well, my source had typed the word, Wolf, into the search bar. It came up with three addresses within London, these were people who had accessed an illegal and monitored Child pornography site and were chatting on a forum’.

  ‘Hang on a moment. You’re saying that the Wolf may have been on one of these sites and discussed his intentions?’

  ‘Not likely, but someone who may know of his intentions could have blurted it out onto one of these sites. They may know where he lives and who he is!’

  ‘Jesus, is that legal, you know, to watch what people are accessing?’

  ‘Nathan, I know you’re getting on a bit, but the internet is the best source we have for finding and tracking suspects. It tells us everything. The internet has all your personal information on it, mad I know, but someone can look up anything they want about you…if they wanted to!’

  ‘I don’t even own a computer’

  ‘It’s probably better you don’t. Trust me, if you knew what can be done on a computer, from the people I know, you would think twice about accessing an Ann-Summers web site!’ he laughed

  ‘So, you said your source gave you some names or addresses?’

  ‘Addresses, yes, no names’

  ‘Okay, so what now?’

  ‘Well, the first address is that building to your left’

  Nathan looked across at the block of flats. The dark grey walls were showered with graffiti and dried urine. Several windows were lit up, others were boarded up with ply-wood.

  ‘Wait, that is one of the addresses…right there?’ he spat

  ‘Yep, we’re going for a chat with mystery guest number one!’ he smiled.

  Nathan shuffled in his seat, an uneasy feeling choked his body.

  ‘Richard, if these details you have been given are correct, that there is actually someone who may know who the killer is, then we need to give it to the police!’

  ‘I said that it was us, on our own Nathan!’

  ‘Yeah, but this is crazy. The police could be round these places and searching them, what are we going to do, what if they fuck us off and then do a runner?’

  ‘Nathan, what exactly would you tell the coppers? That someone you know who knows someone that works for the Government gave you these addresses and that the occupants may have info on the Wolf?’

  ‘I could tell Jack!’

  ‘Bollocks mate and you think that what, they’re going to fly down to these locations tonight and search them all? What about warrants?’

  Nathan sat with a blank expression. He knew Richard had a point, it would take a day, possibly two to get the warrants as there was no solid evidence to establish that the locations had occupants that knew the Wolf’s whereabouts.

  ‘Also, didn’t you say that we may only have two days to find Megan?’

  ‘Okay, you have a point Richard. I just don’t like it, it’s out of my hands and well above the boundaries I abide by’

  ‘I don’t mean to be crude, but fuck your boundaries Nathan. We have an opportunity to do something, yeah it may not amount to anything, but we would kicking our own arses if it did, wouldn’t we?’

  ‘What have you got in mind? I can’t believe I’m going ahead with this!’

  ‘I’m just going to have a chat, you and I Nathan; we are both going in to ask a few simple questions, that’s all!’

  ‘Simple enough, yeah?’

  ‘Simple Simon!’ he smiled.

  Chapter Twenty One

  Lime sat in his office, the events of the day passed through his mind. He was proud of himself as he had achieved what he had planned. The teaser for tomorrow’s interview had sparked serious interest from the reporters. He would delve into great detail with the cameras aimed at his face, the file holding Nathans personal information would sit on his lap, the most interesting details explained in his professional terms. Nathan would burn and Lime wouldn’t urinate on his body to aid the extinguishing of the flames. He decided to celebrate and removed the small bottle of Famous Grouse from a drawer in his desk. The empty tumbler sat upside down on the screw cap of the whiskey. The smell stung his nostrils as he removed the lid.

  ‘Mmmmmmmmm, well done William….well done’ he congratulated himself as the brownish liquid was poured. The over generous measurement slid down his throat, the dry flesh was stripped from his mouth; the distinct taste engulfed the orifice. He poured another, it had been a very successful day and he wanted to celebrate.

  ‘I think a little night on the town is deserved…..yes Doctor Lime, you’ve earned it!’ talking in the third person.

  ***

  The boot clicked open and Richard climbed out of the vehicle. Nathan pushed his door open and the chilling wind, which was brought by the looming darkness, rattled his body. He had a sudden worrying feeling, his heart raced with anxiety. He stood under the street lamp, his dark figure imitated a spy from an old comic book, as if he were stalking someone in particular. He noticed this and stepped
aside quickly, his body now hidden in the blackness. The interior of the boot had lit up from the internal lighting, Richard’s face glowed in front of the white light. He removed a gym bag from the back of the vehicle and closed the lid; the clunk told him it was fully shut.

  ‘What’s that?’ quizzed Nathan as he approached him.

  ‘What, this?’ Richard replied, holding up the black bag.

  ‘Yeah, that thing in your hand, what is it?’

  ‘Nothing much, it’s just in case the person we interrogate doesn’t talk’ he began walking to the flats.

  ‘Hang on a minute; you said we’re just going to talk!’ he trotted to keep up, his hands wedged firmly into the coat pockets.

  ‘I know, this is for if he doesn’t want to talk!’ he smiled, lifting his black eyebrows.

  Nathan felt the surge of anxiety intensify. It was if he was walking into a trap and couldn’t stop himself. Richard entered the door, the yellow paint had been peeled from the surface in mass clumps. The initials, L.E.C were written badly with black spray paint. Their footsteps echoed up the stairwell, the cold air swarmed them as they climbed.

  ‘What floor is it on?’

  ‘I presume it would be the third, it’s number thirty three that we’re after!’

  They reached the next doorway onto the third floor, the door squeaked as they passed through. The platform was thin, the two of them could barely walk side by side as they searched the numbers of each door. Nathan gripped onto the cold metal railing that followed the walkway on the left side. The block of one-bedroom flats were quiet, no noise could be heard from the homes as they walked passed.