The Butcher Box Set

by Sian B. Claven

  Darren rubbed her back lightly. “It’s okay, Jacqui, she is just traumatised. She’ll come around.”

  “I hope so,” she said. “I don’t know what else to do.”

  Clearly they didn’t care that much for Tatum or they would be by her side, day and night, trying their absolute best to make her feel better. Even so, he didn’t want them to, she was his prize, his game, and he wanted to break her in every way possible so that the final product would be perfect. He wanted them out of Tatum’s life, forever.

  He had seen enough and wanted to move away before someone discovered him. Instead of heading back to the road, he moved between the houses and ambled to the surrounding forest, his place of peace and quiet.

  While he wandered, he thought about how to get Jacqui alone. The only time she wasn’t with Darren or Tatum was when she was home. He would need to move on to Jacqui’s house for the next few days to discover the timing between Jacqui getting home and when her mother arrived from work. He knew from her file that Jacqui’s mother was a nurse, so she worked odd hours.

  He was going to kill Jacqui in her own house. The itch ignited.

  He left work early the next day. He wanted to make sure he had sufficient space and time to observe Jacqui’s house. He didn’t want any surprises once he was inside, especially because Jacqui lived in a dense neighbourhood, like Tatum. The chances of being caught were raised and so was the thrill of accomplishing what he wanted.

  From the woods he knew so well, he approached. The woods bordered most of the town, so he would be able to see into Jacqui’s backyard without fearing that he would be seen. He watched carefully.

  She stayed in a small house with windows on either side. If he sat to the right, he could just make out her front door and her bedroom window, which was nice and big and offered a great view into her life. The kitchen was at the back, and the back door could easily be picked if needed. It would be the best place to approach from.

  He heard shouting and raised his set of binoculars to his eyes, focusing on the kitchen. Jacqui and what appeared to be her mother were yelling at each other. At this distance, it was just noise, but the mother was cross, and so was Jacqui, who grabbed the garbage bag and stomped outside to toss it in the large bin. She went back in and left the door open, and this time when her mother yelled he heard it clearly.

  “You never close that goddamn door and one day a bear is going to get in here and eat you!” She slammed the kitchen door and he realised they didn’t lock it.

  He stayed there for the rest of the evening and most of the night, but from his vantage point he could see that they didn’t lock that back door. It was his perfect entrance and exit point. He could approach from and leave back through the woods and no one would ever find him.

  Now he just needed to know the perfect day.

  A few days later Jacqui and Tatum sauntered the school hall together while he mopped the floor. He overheard them talking,

  “You need to try and move on with life, Tat. I know what he meant to you and I understand the trauma, but you need to get out there again. Just come to the mall with me! Please?”

  Tatum seemed reluctant, but Jacqui looped her arm through her best friend’s and said, “Come on, it’ll be fun.”

  Tatum agreed and they made their plans to meet after school and walk to the mall together.

  He wanted to follow them; he wanted to see how they interacted. He now knew what he was doing that afternoon.

  Because he didn’t want to be recognised, he waited at the mall. At a shop near the main entrance where he thought they would enter, considering they were coming straight from school, he did some light shopping so the cashier didn’t complain. As soon as he saw them, he paid and made his way into the crowd. Even from a distance he could see that matters still seemed a little awkward between the two friends and took great pleasure in knowing it was because of him.

  Jacqui soon took it upon herself to end the discomfort and again hooked her arm through Tatum’s and discussed what she wanted to wear to prom. Of course, she made it all about her. She didn’t care about Tatum; she didn’t see her perfection, not as he did.

  They walked to the food court and ordered fries and a milkshake to share and sat right in the middle of the open space. He got a toasted sandwich and sat near them, watching them out of his peripheral vision, straining to hear them. Listening above the noise of the mall was worse than trying to hear over cars.

  He sighed, frustrated, when suddenly he realised that Tatum was staring directly at him. He tried not to panic or change in any way, but she was signalling for her best friend to look and he realised that somehow she had recognised him.

  His heart beat out of his chest and he started to sweat.

  Jacqui stretched, using the action as an excuse to turn around to look at him. Her face changed and went slightly red as she swung angrily to Tatum and slammed her hands on the table, making Tatum jump.

  “You freaking bitch,” she snapped. “That wasn’t funny.”

  The whole mall had fallen quiet when she slammed her hands and he could now hear her.

  Tatum was puzzled. “I wasn’t trying to be funny,” she said, glancing at him again. “Where did she go?” Tatum stood up and looked around the food court. “She was right there, Jacqui, I swear to God.”

  Angry, Jacqui pushed herself up. She retrieved her backpack, swung it onto her shoulders. “That was freaking mean, Tat! You spent all this time talking about how this skeleton creature is linked to Roger dying and then you pretend she’s right behind me.” She stormed off.

  It wasn’t him they had noticed.

  The mall became noisy again. Tatum appeared frazzled as she left.

  He followed, keeping a big enough distance between them. The only time she stopped was to pause at Jacqui’s road and gaze longingly down at her friend’s house. Without another word she went home and, as he approached the corner, he too looked down the road.

  The time was right, he could feel it, and therefore he went home to fetch his tools. His itch was going to be satisfied tonight.

  He approached the house from the woods as planned. He didn’t want to go in too early, at least not until he had made sure the mother wasn’t home and Jacqui was definitely alone.

  Then he heard yelling.

  It was Tatum screaming about a girl being in Jacqui’s room. He didn’t understand - why was she here? What had she come for?

  He would have to wait.

  While he waited for Tatum to leave, he pulled out the cheap disposable cell phone he purchased at the mall earlier. He dialled the hospital Jacqui’s mom worked at and pretended to be a florist, checking what time she would be home so he could deliver a bouquet to her house. The head nurse promised to keep it a secret, and informed him she would only be home in three hours. He thanked her and hung up.

  He heard the girls fighting again, their voices carrying clearly across the neighbourhood. He would be surprised if there was anyone that didn’t hear it. Jacqui was calling the cops on Tatum and wanted her out of the house.

  Another delay.

  He didn’t like Jacqui before, but now he was starting to despise her. The itch was burning a hole through him and she kept creating delays. He breathed deeply, doing his best to calm himself. The police did arrive and he saw them make a sweep of the house before they left.

  Now was the time.

  He hesitated though. He saw her enter the kitchen and took another deep breath, willing her to return to the other side of the house.

  She collected the rubbish bag and brought it outside to the big bin before going back in, shutting the door but not locking it. She went back to the other side of the house.

  He crept forward.

  The time was now.

  He managed to open and close the kitchen door without making a sound. He marvelled at how skilled he was at this. He had the katana strapped to his back, his gloves on, his handcuffs clipped to his waistband and his sharpened knife in the waistband of hi
s pants. He walked up the stairs slowly, hearing her singing along to a song, probably in her room.

  She had no idea he was there.

  Approaching the door carefully, in case she was facing him, he was ready to take her on. She was small and easy to overpower, so he wasn’t worried about her getting away.

  He peeked into her room and found her with her back to him, lying on her bed with an open book, studying. Music played on her radio and she was blissfully ignorant that these were the last moments of her life.

  Getting as close to her as possible without drawing her attention, he approached from behind. Only when it was too late, did she look behind her and see him, her mouth opening to scream. He gripped her hair and shoved her face into the bed, cutting off her oxygen.

  He was patient. He held her there until she passed out, but wasn’t dead, and turned her over, running his hands along her body. He hated her, but he would make her a piece of art anyway.

  There was a strong looking steel pole holding up her clothing in her closet. He threw her clothes to the floor, not caring where they landed, and then positioned her body against the door.

  He drew his katana.

  She stirred and, as she opened her eyes, the blade cut through her neck, severing her head from her body.

  He sheathed his blade once more; absolutely aroused by the way he had timed the stroke, the way it had sliced through muscle, sinew, bone, tendons and skin perfectly. There were no flaws with the cut.

  Getting to work immediately, he began by cuffing her one hand and picking her up. She was lighter than Roger had been, and he didn’t struggle as much to hoist her body up. He swung the free handcuff over the pole, shifted her body to guide her arm up to the cuff and snapped it on without too much effort.

  Once done, he knelt by her head. This was going to be his favourite part with her. Removing her tongue was removing all the annoying things he hated about her. The way she spoke, the way she flirted, the sound of her voice. He removed it and put it in his pocket before placing her head at her feet.

  Satisfied, he left.

  He couldn’t wait to see what Tatum thought of his new little gift to her.

  Chapter 12

  Kallista

  Jacqui’s picture went up on her board and Kalli couldn’t help but smile. Jacqui had been a good friend to her sister, and was always nice to Kalli and Sylva, especially after their father passed away. She had been sad when Jacqui was murdered, she only wished that she had been there for Tatum, or had spoken to Tatum about it.

  She jumped when a hand reached over her to touch Jacqui’s picture lightly.

  “I loved her so damn much. We were young, but I knew I was going to marry her.”

  Darren’s voice was mournful and Kalli was touched by the way he looked at the picture. The undying love that shone in his eyes for this one girl was unquestionable.

  Kalli hugged herself, feeling awkward. “Yeah, we really liked her. She would have wanted you to be happy, you know.”

  “I know” he said, swallowing hard, “but sometimes in life you meet that one, the person who just makes everything in this world bright, and I mean everything.” He looked at Kalli and smiled. “And no one quite measures up after that.”

  “You didn’t try?”

  “No one wanted me,” he explained. “Everyone still blames me for the murders. I’m hoping that once we figure out who The Butcher is, where he is from and beat the shit out of him before we arrest him, I can put Jacqui to rest properly. Maybe then … maybe then I’ll try.”

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He withdrew a photo strip of four images. In each it was obvious how Darren looked at Jacqui as though she was the beginning, the middle and the end of his world.

  Sticking the strip next to the photo Kalli had of Jacqui, he said, “Remember her that way. Not from some school photo she had to pose for. Remember her as the fun, life loving, shining star she was. That is what motivates me.”

  He touched the photos one last time before he turned to leave the room.

  Kalli put a hand over her heart and silently resolved to solve the case for Darren, more than for herself.

  Once finished with her preliminary notes, she decided it was time to visit Jacqui’s old house. Arabella, Jacqui’s mother, still lived there. She wasn’t sure how receptive she would be to letting Kalli explore the house and ask questions, but she had to try.

  She came downstairs to Mike and Darren at the kitchen table talking about what avenues they could still explore.

  “I’m going out, boys. Be good while I’m away,” she teased.

  She had come to like them in the few days they had stayed with her. They were as dedicated to solving the case as she was, and they were extremely helpful. She might even claim they were friends, although never out loud.

  “Where are you going?” Mike asked, pouring himself another cup of coffee.

  “To visit Jacqui’s mom. I have some questions I need answered.”

  “I’ll go with,” Darren said, standing up.

  “That’s not necessary.” She grabbed her car keys. “I’m a big girl.”

  “It’s not that, it’s just that she’ll be more helpful with me,” he explained, shrugging on his jacket. “She’s the only one who never believed I was a killer.”

  Kalli nodded. “Okay, then. Mike, what about you?”

  “I’m going to go over old newspaper clippings of the first two murders to see what I can find out. I’ll meet you guys back here.”

  “Great.” She led them out the house.

  Mike got into his car and left, waving as he did so. Darren clambered into the passenger seat of her car, strapping himself in.

  “Thanks for coming with.”

  “I told you, I would do anything to solve this,” he said, giving her a sad smile.

  She nodded and started the car.

  “I don’t understand. Why do you need to see the house?” Arabella asked.

  Darren put a gentle hand on her arm. “Because Kalli will be the one who figures out who really killed her, Arabella.”

  The years had not been kind to Arabella. The death of her daughter had taken a major toll and she seemed much older than she was. She looked a lot like Kallista’s mother.

  Her hands shook as she looked up at Darren, bewildered and frightened and, when he put an arm around her shoulders and reassured her again that it would be fine, she found solace in his touch and words.

  Kalli’s heart swelled with admiration for how gentle this bad boy actually was. She realised that was probably why Jacqui loved him so much.

  Arabella looked at Kalli and nodded. “Okay. Do you need me to go with you?”

  Kalli gave her a smile. “If you can, please? It will help if you share little things about Jacqui.”

  Arabella nodded and led them upstairs. “Jacqui has always had the same room; she never wanted to change it.” She preceded them into the room on the right. “She wanted the street facing room because she said the window let the life of the city in.” She choked up slightly and Darren rubbed her back. “Take your time,” she added.

  Kalli glanced around. She went to the window and stared down. “It would be too hard to climb up through the window without anyone noticing,” she said, making a note in her notebook. “Also, the cops were here that day and did a sweep of the house, which means no one could have been hiding inside.”

  Arabella nodded and led them through the rest of the house until they reached the kitchen. “That girl,” she said fondly, “never had her head screwed on. Her mind was always in the clouds. She was always forgetting things.” She looked at Darren. “Remember?”

  Darren gave her a warm smile, followed by a short squeeze. “Yeah, I remember. Never remembered to pick up her clothes.”

  “Never remembered to take out the trash,” Arabella said, “or close that damn back door.”

  Darren and Kalli’s eyes met and they seemed to be thinking the same thing. Kalli quickly asked, “Wh
at did you just say?”

  “She was forgetful?”

  “She never closed the back door?” Kalli prompted.

  The sudden truth dawned on Arabella and she teared up. “Oh, god. That’s how it was done. The back door. I locked it when I got home … before I found her. I never thought …”

  She burst into tears and Darren took her in his arms, rubbing her back firmly while shushing her.

  Promising to catch The Butcher, the two of them made sure she was okay before they left.

  Mike was unpacking boxes of fried chicken when they walked in. He looked up and sighed. “I didn’t find anything except comfort food.” He shrugged and went back to unpacking the sides and cold drinks.

  Darren went to help him while Kalli sat at the table. “Well, we found something,” she said, causing Mike to stop what he was doing and look at her.

  “And?” he asked.

  “We found out Jacqui never locked the back door.”

  Mike frowned. “But it was locked when I processed the scene.”

  “Because her mom locked it when she got home,” she said, “and Darren and I spoke on the way here - she didn’t normally lock it either. Sometimes they would forget to lock it for days.”

  Mike ran a hand through his hair, which he did whenever he was stressed and, without knowing it, was the thing that made Kalli’s stomach do flips. He was so good looking, but she was going to stay focused on the case, so help her.

  They sat to eat and Kalli tapped her foot on the ground.

  “You can make your notes after you’ve had something to eat,” Mike teased. “You cannot function …”

  “… if I don’t have fuel to function,” Kalli finished his sentence for him with a smile.