The Case of The Criminal

The Grim Butcher

Abbie strolled into the office to find her partner hanging up his cellphone looking a very unflattering shade of green. He looked at her with an expression of pure horror mixed with sickly disgust.

"I hope you haven't just eaten," he said.

"I had a light breakfast, why?"

"Because it might make a return trip," he grabbed his gun, "we just go a call, a Jennifer Carter has been found hanging up and cut open . . . just like a pig."

Abbie paled, "not a happy ending . . ."

"No, the others are on route now."

They drove to the Colletti Butcher's warehouse a few blocks from the docks. The area had been closed off and they spotted three people talking to different officers who they assumed must be their first suspects. They walked up to the entrance and braced themselves for what they were about to see.

The warehouse was covered in blood. The walls, the floors and every table had pig's blood on it. Hanging from one of the ceiling hooks a young woman's body was stripped to her underwear, bound hand and feet with her ankle restraints connected to the hook. Blood dripped from her wounds onto the floor below her, the sound seeming to echo around the room for no one could bring themselves to speak.

"Who could do something so . . . horrible?" Abbie whispered.

"I have no idea . . ." Jones muttered, "but I'm scared to know who could be so... psychotic to do this."

Nathan walked onto the scene carrying a step ladder with him. He set it next to the body and got the body bag ready on the floor.

"Jones?" he asked, "will you hold the ladder?"

He nodded and grabbed its base. Abbie snagged a pair of gloves from the coroner's bag and slipped them on. She silently held Jennifer's shoulders while Nathan carefully removed her from the hook. He slowly lowered her to the floor while Abbie straightened her descent so that she touched the floor softly followed by her lower half. The two detectives stood over her on guard as Nathan moved her into the body bag and Jones helped to lift her onto the gurney. They wheeled her out of the building and the crowd that had gathered quieted as they moved her into the van.

"We better go look for clues," Jones said at last as the van drove off.

"Yes . . ." Abbie said fallowing him back inside.

They went back to where the body had been located and found a footprint in the blood on the opposite side of the table. Abbie decided to look through the garbage bin and found a bloody cleaver.

"The killer just threw the murder weapon in the trash," she held up the giant knife. Jones held out the bag and she dropped it in.

"That's all we can find in here, for now, let's go see our suspects."

They decided to start with Raoul Colletti, the owner of the warehouse.

"Mr. Colletti, did you know Jennifer Carter?" Jones asked.

"Yes . . . this is such a tragedy" the man replied down-casted, "she often came into my shop . . . she was a sweet kid, always smiling."

"Apart from you, who else has access to this warehouse?" Abbie asked.

Raoul thought about it, "well . . . my apprentice, Raphael Soza has a set of keys, and my daughter, of course, she was the one who discovered the body . . . it's really shaken her up."

"Thank you, Raoul, we won't take up any more of your time right now."

They found Trish sitting in the back seat of a squad car numbly sipping from a cup of coffee in her hands. She was the same age as their victim and was wearing a bright yellow sundress.