The Crossbow Cannibal (Cliffhanger)

Crossbow

Prologue:

I was hoping when I woke up this morning all the things I had tried to forget yesterday would be completely wiped from my memory.

Wait... Don't get me wrong, I'm not justifying how I've been dealing with this. My job can be very taxing and sometimes I don't handle it well.

I woke up to the sound of my obnoxious alarm. Moe, my precocious pup, jumps on me and starts furiously licking my face. I try to clear my eyes enough to see my screen, intent on finding the snooze button. I see two text messages, one from Katy, "call me!" and one from my old partner Sam, "I'm still holding that P.I. position for you - let's talk more."

After 10 years of faithful service to the FBI, I have to say that these past few months have definitely been the hardest by far. I used to enjoy the rush I felt chasing a killer, but now after seeing so much, all I feel is nauseous. They don't train you to handle the aftermath of each case at the academy.

I "rescued" Katy when she was a cop, and we've been partners for six years; she's always wanted to be out in the field but she was stuck behind a desk because the chief didn't think she had what it took to protect the people of DC. To be honest, I think she's the only thing I would miss about this job. One day I hope that the weekends we spend together won't be spent at a crime scene. I haven't always been able to protect her, but I hope I can continue to try for the rest of my life.

But for now I'll be satisfied with her by my side, just as a partner. Agent Katy Miller and Special Agent Jack Keene protecting the city from cutthroat killers.

I hurry to get ready for the long day of work ahead of me. I let Moe outside and hurry to make breakfast. I was flipping my omelet and sipping my orange juice when the vibration of the phone in my pocket nearly gave me a heart attack. I swear one day this phone will be the death of me. It's my boss. He never calls me.

I answer, "Keene."

I was on the phone for at least twenty minutes. They found a body. He didn't tell me much, mainly what the witness said, our number one suspect is a certain serial killer who escaped from a mental institution in the late 90s. He calls himself, the Crossbow Cannibal.

I'm in my car with the siren on blazing down the highway at 10 AM. My phone rings and Katy's name pops up, I wait for three rings and answer.

"Keene."

It only took four words to make my stomach fall out from under me;

"they found another body," I could hear her tremble through the phone. I take a moment to regain my composure,

"Make sure no one disturbs the scene until I get there, I'm on my way."

***********************

I actually didn't get to the scene until 11:30, even with the siren on I couldn't get through the traffic. I pull up to the entrance of Legends National Park where Katy and the head of the FBI forensic division, Nicole, are waiting for me in big yellow hazmat suits that make them look like Astronauts.

"Here ya go, put this on," Nicole said handing me the yellow suit.

"What the hell?"

"The remains were found in close proximity to some runoff from the nuclear plant, it's just precautionary," she replied.

"It's such a fashion statement," Katy said laughing. I chuckle a little, give an annoyed groan, and go behind my car to change.

"The first body was called in this morning while a woman was walking her dog, nearly gave her a heart attack," Katy told me as we walked through the woods to the little clearing.

"So our number one suspect is that Crossbow guy?"

"Cannibal," she corrected.

"Well, when I was asking her some questions, in between sobs she said that the girl had an arrow perturbing from her head and her hands were tied together with that parachute cord stuff."

"So?" Nicole asked.

"So, tying his victims' hands together is one of his tics, and he always shoots his victims through their head whether their dead already or not," I replied feeling my stomach churn as I said it.

"Don't forget the flowers," Katy said. "At every single body find, there's always some type of flower on or around the victim, and they always mean something.

"I didn't know flowers had meanings?" Nicole said confused.

"The last known case she had a rhododendron in her hands," Katy replied.

"What does that mean?" Nicole asked.

"I am dangerous. Danger. Beware."

"Yeah, that's not creepy," she replied.

“The area is basically in the middle of nowhere, understandable why he chose it to dump the body.” Did I really just say that? What is wrong with me?

Everything is taped off even though no one comes back here (well, almost no one). Coroners and the forensic division are taking pictures of everything, including the victims, and putting things into evidence bags.

I make my way over to Nicole and Katy who are squatting by the body.

"Victim is female, early teens most likely," Nicole says holding the girls neck up. "And judging by the wound on her temple, I'd place death at at least 36 hours."

"Any flowers on her?"

"Not that I can see, I'll have them comb the area and we can have a better look at the lab," she says.

"Poor thing looks like she couldn't be more than fifteen!" Katy exclaims covering her eyes with the palms of her hands.

"Uh, didn't y'all say there was another set of remains found?" I asked trying to not look at the decomposing girl in front of me.

"Yes! But I'm just warning you, this guy is not as fleshy," Nicole says waving us over about 45 feet from the young girl.

She was right though, there's nothing left to this guy but his bones.

"Looking at the pelvis, the victim is a male, probably mid-to-late twenties to early thirties," Nicole informs me.

"His victims aren't typically men, are you sure this could be the Cannibal guy?" "Are you ever gonna learn this guys name?" Katy asked.

"Does he really deserve that?"

"Anyway, he does have an arrow through his head and his wrists are tied together..." Nicole said.

"So this guy could've gotten in his way and was just collateral damage?" Katy asked.

"It wouldn't be the first time. Probably in the wrong place at the wrong time," Nicole replied.

"Alright, let's get everything bagged and tagged and sent back to the lab."

**********************

After a month of countless dead ends and pointless questioning, we finally got a lead.

We issued an arrest warrant for a kid who claims to be the wannabe Hannibal Lecter's apprentice. (In my opinion, he's probably just some knucklehead kid who wants attention.) But he did have some information that was scary accurate.

So to check out his story, Katy got the security footage from the drugstore that the girl we found at the crime scene was last seen at. Sure enough, there he is lugging a motionless girl into the back of his car. We made the arrest and started the interrogation process, it was pointless. He didn’t give a shit that he could very well stay in his little cell for the rest of his life or be sentenced to death if it were to make it to trial. We offered him a plea bargain if he told us where Crossbow was hiding out and what he did to the two victims we had already found. He refused and flashed a cocky grin. He didn’t even lawyer up.

I'm meeting with Nicole at the diner downtown to discuss her findings so far, hopefully their results have come in and we can put names with faces; or better yet, know exactly what the psycho did to them.

**********************

"John Doe's dentals came in on Tuesday," Nicole says sliding a dental X-ray across the table. "Named Chase Reeves, age 25. His wife, Lauren reported him missing seven months ago. According to remodeled fractures, he has been deceased for approximately eight months."

"Did they have any marital issues? Any police reports filed?"

"No police reports, but he filed for divorce about 11 months ago. Although his lawyer confirmed that he had changed his mind about a week before she reported him missing. Apparently Lauren had been cheating on him for months," she replied.

"Do you know cause of death?"

"He was beaten. His wrists had fractures that are commonly seen when people are bound for a long period of time," Nicole says.

"So was the arrow through the head cause of death? Or just for show?"

"Show. Cause of death was a stab wound to one of his major arteries in his side, he bled out, and then he shot him through the head," she said putting her face into the palms of her hands.

"Did he... eat him?"

"He cut the skin off his thigh and gnawed on the bone," she replied.

I felt like I was going to be sick.

"Erm- what about the girl?" I ask.

"Facial reconstruction matches Caroline Bowmen, 16 years old, reported missing by her widowed mother almost two months ago when she disappeared a Walgreens," Nicole said.

Her face is as white as a ghost. I wait a minute or two so we can both compose ourselves.

"So do we know cause of death?"

"Um, yeah, sh-she was simply shot through the head. It seems as if he just killed her to kill her. He made sure to torture Chase and make his death long and painful. Like he had some kind of grudge against him," she replied.

"What about flowers? We're any found on the victims?"

"A violet on Caroline, which means 'faithfulness' and on Chase, a rhododendron, and that means 'beware'," she said.

"This guy definitely had something against Chase."

"But our bug and slime guy found something that finally gives us an advantage." She said.

"And what would that be?"

"He found some kind of mosquito in the parachute cord on both Caroline and Chase that is only found about 200 miles west of where they were found," she said.

"So, there's a possibility that that is where the Crossbow Cannibal is hiding out?"

"Worth a shot right?" She shrugged.

"Fantastic! You call for backup and head up there, I'll pick Katy up and we'll meet you there."

I run out to my car and start the engine. I pull out into the road and head towards Katy's apartment and ring her cell. No answer. Weird. I come to the gate and buzz her apartment. I lean over to open up the glove compartment to get my wallet. A little brown box tumbles to the ground. I open it and almost puke in my own lap. Inside the box is something wrapped in what used to be what I assume white tissue paper. I grab for my tie and hold it over my nose trying not to gag due to the horrendous odor that filled the car as soon as I opened it. A severed finger. But it's not a clean cut, it looks like a carrot after you bite, there's something written on a small purple scrap of stationery. My stomach plummets to my feet. I've seen this before, in her apartment. Dear God no...

“Roses are red, violets are blue. I've got the one you love. Now what are you willing to do?” -CC

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