Elysium Dreams

Eight

Everyone looked at me.  I stared only at Lucas.  He pinched his face up and frowned at me.

"You think he did something different with the body?"  Lucas asked.

"I'm saying that if I was serial killer number two and I wanted complete control, I would kill serial killer number one and make sure that his body could not be found.  I would chop him up and use him as bear bait or fish bait or something.  I am sure there are tons of disposal methods around here," I met Lucas's gaze and held it firm.

"How would you dispose of the body?"  Lucas sat down on the table, it gave a slight groan under his weight that he ignored.

"Me?  I would use acid, but if I did not have access to such a thing . . .," I shrugged.  "Bears would be hibernating. Most of the lakes would have been frozen over in December.  There are carnivorous fish in Alaska and the food levels would be dropping along with the oxygen levels.  I would go drill a hole, weight the parts, and drop them in.  That would give me at least three months to make sure that the corpse was unidentifiable.  I'd know the area, I'd know which lakes held things like white sturgeon.  They'd make short work of it, good chance even the bones would be chewed on to some degree."

"It's late and there are extra patrols out.  He hasn't grabbed a woman yet, nothing more we can do tonight.  We'll go back to the hotel and get a good night's sleep and revisit everything in the morning," Gabriel stood up.  "We'll be back here at eight, barring something happening during the night."

I followed everyone out to the SUV.  The dashboard clock read that it was just after nine at night as we began the drive back to the hotel.  It would be late in Missouri, but I had a feeling I needed a dose of humanity.

Once I was locked inside my room, I dug out my cell phone and dialed Nyleena's phone number.  It rang six times before her sleepy voice came over the line.

"Are you alright?"  She asked.

"Define alright?"  I said back.

"Where are you?"

"Alaska, it's a bad one.  I did a poor job of faking it tonight."

"The guys all know," she was starting to wake up.

"That may be, but there was another person in the room and he did not.  Does not know?  I'm not even sure how to word it."

"Are you feeling bad that you let it slip or that you couldn't connect?"

"Both perhaps."

"Talk to me Aislinn."

"I can't.  I just needed a dose of humanity."

"My humanity?"  I could hear the smile in her voice.

"I'm knee deep in dead bodies.  My killer is probably out hunting at this very moment.  I'm tucked safely away in my hotel room waiting for another woman to die and my only thought is, I wish he would hurry up.  Another body means more clues."

"Yep, sounds like you need a dose of something.  I know you want to capture him, but sometimes, waiting is all you can do.  No matter how bad it is.  Have you gone through the case files?"

"Yes, they were unhelpful.  I think the locals are holding back from us.  It would not be the first time."

"They called you in."

"Actually, no they did not.  The FBI did because the agent in charge up here felt like he was also being kept out of the loop.  He used a breach by a reporter to call us in.  Can you believe some idiot reporter found the body before the locals?"

"That's not good."

"How was your day?"

"Knee deep in killers and trying to figure out what sort of deals could be made.  I had one of your cases come across my desk today.  He pled out for a life sentence in The Fortress, but he probably won't last long in there.  They are moving him to the secure ward, but sometimes things happen inside that place.  I imagine he will have a nasty accident or something," I knew she was talking about a child killer that we had caught a few months ago.  He had molested all the boys before slicing out their tongues and removing their eyes.  She was right, he wouldn't last long in The Fortress.  A needle in his arm would probably be a blessing compared to what the serial killers would do to him, even in the secure ward.

"Do anything not work related?"

"I went and had dinner with your mom.  She's doing good.  Worried about you.  She said you hadn't called in a week."

"Yeah, I rushed from one case to another.  I will call her when I have a few minutes."

"You won't wake her in the dead of night then?"

"It's only 9:40 here," I smiled at the phone.

"Have you felt the calm lately?"

"Yes, but not often."

"That's good."

"I suppose."

"It is, Aislinn, it means that just because you let your humanity slip, it doesn't mean you are out of control."

"Do I really value animals more than people?"

"No, you just have a different attachment to them.  If you really valued animals more than people, you'd be tracking down poachers, not serial killers.  Can you imagine yourself tracking down poachers?  You'd be the scariest game warden around."

"I cannot imagine being a game warden."

"I can see you as a game warden.  You'd be like Ranger Smith, talking to the animals and trying to ignore the humans.  You'd drive a supercharged ATV with machine gun turrets to take out multiple poachers at one time.  Possibly anti-aircraft missiles to take down hunting blinds that were illegally put up."

"Would I have to wear the tacky brown uniform?" I asked.

"Everyone has to wear the tacky brown uniform, but you could liven it up with dead lichen and the pinky bones of poachers."

"Thanks, Nyleena.  I needed that."

"Aislinn, you may not always be on the same level as everyone else, but your dark moments are fleeting.  You aren't Malachi or the killers you track down.  You do value human life, even if you don't understand the human condition as it applies to the rest of us."

"Thanks, Nyleena.  Go back to sleep."

"Will do, try to sleep, Aislinn," she hung up the phone.

The conversation had lasted less than ten minutes, but I was feeling somewhat better.  Perhaps I couldn't relate, but I did believe life to be sacred.  It was part of what motivated me to do this job day in and day out.

I pulled out the case files to see if I could glean anything new from them.