fate or whatever he believes controls his life. I could be right that he is hunting humans because he is tired of hunting other things, the thrill of the hunt was gone until now. Or we could both be right. Or we could both be wrong. What he does with the skin could make a difference. Are they trophies? Is he disposing of it? Is it more about the act of taking the skin or is it about keeping the skin? If it’s the act, he’s disposing of it. If not, he’s keeping it. But where do you keep that much skin?”
“Ok, so we know nothing about him except he can skin a person and not be bothered by it,” Gabriel sighed.
“No, we know that it is a male, a female wouldn’t be able to skin another female like that,” I told them. “Besides, women prefer less messy ways of killing. Yes, there are exceptions, but not like this. Exceptions are always quick and easy and messy; usually guns. Our last female serial was using a cult to kill for her because she didn’t want to get her hands dirty with the gory work. Besides, I saw the hoist mechanism. There wasn’t a pulley system, just a rope looped around a tree branch. I’m one hundred and thirty pounds give or take and in pretty good shape. However, to pull another woman my size off the ground without a pulley against the grain of tree bark is going to take it out of me. After I get her lifted, I’m going to need a break. And as a woman killing other women, I’m not very tall. I’m going to have to hoist her and let her down and hoist her and let her down several times to get to all the areas. To get the precision needed, I’m going to need to keep almost everything at eye-level. This means if I start with her legs, I’m going to have to hoist her to five foot three inches off the ground and hope I can work with that. Then I’m going to have to pull her up more to get to her torso. After each time, my arms are going to be tired. I’m going to have to rest to keep my hands from shaking.”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” Lucas looked me over.
“I did when I saw the rope on the tree. I realized then that it would take me forever to do something like that. A man like you, it probably wouldn’t bother. A man like Xavier or Gabriel is going to get winded and Michael has less of a shot at it than I do,” I told him.
“So whoever did it is either built like a wall or they took breaks,” Gabriel said.
“Yes, it was a demonstration of both skill and strength,” I said.
“Actually, it might have been a demonstration of prowess,” Lucas said. “What if he climbed the tree and wrapped it around after he was done?”
“That seems like a waste of time,” I told him.
“But it makes it easier to lift and release,” Lucas answered.
“True,” I frowned.
“But you’re right, it would be a waste of time,” Lucas said after a few more minutes. “And it might not be stable enough.”
“We need to check the tree bark again on that limb,” I said.
“They cut it down, it’s at the lab,” Xavier answered. “However, given either scenario, we are looking for someone who is physically fit and good with a blade. Military?”
“Or Predator,” I smiled at him.
“Aliens aside,” Gabriel said to me, “would a military guy have the precision to skin a human being?”
“I wouldn’t,” Lucas answered, “but Xavier might. Of course, he is also a doctor.”
“So male, medical training and military,” Gabriel lit a cigarette. I was currently wearing a patch after Xavier decided that my smoking was bad for me. I had tried to convince him that not smoking was bad for everyone else. He had ignored me and for the last two weeks, I had been on the patch. However, I really wanted a cigarette.
“I don’t know if you would need military training,” I said, envying Gabriel.
“Why not?” Xavier asked.
“Why would he? Hunters don’t always have military experience. Doctors don’t always have military experience. I don’t have any, but I can hold my own with any of you,” I countered.
“No, Ace, we are all scared of you,” Michael stated, “Lucas might put up a hell of a fight, but the rest of us would just go down with slit throats or lots of bullet wounds. You wouldn’t need to hold your own because you are badder than the rest of us.”
“I see the point,” Lucas said. “Ace doesn’t think the guy needs to have military training because she wouldn’t need it. If she was willing to kill for the thrill, she could easily learn the tricks of the trade to skin a human being. She’s probably right.”
“She does know her personality disorders,” Xavier admitted.
“Fine, we’ll put a giant question mark next to military training. Anything else?” Gabriel asked.
“I imagine he is unimpressive,” Lucas said. “He works his job and is good at it, but it will be something benign. I’d add he was a hunter, but that would include most of the male population in this area, so that would be worthless information. He has some medical knowledge, might be just an anatomy class or two in college while getting a degree in something else. Physically fit isn’t necessarily going to help, because I’d guess he’s also a psychopath and therefore, better at physical feats than most. He wouldn’t have to be my size for it not to exhaust him, just crazy enough.”
“That is not a very helpful profile,” Gabriel grinned.
“Well, give me a crystal ball and we’ll see what else we can dig up for you,” I smirked at him.
“I think we’ll leave Predator on the list of possible suspects for now, at least we have a physical description of him,” Gabriel stood and left. Michael followed behind him.
Tedium
His cell phone rang as he left the morgue. His wife’s shrill voice came over the line. She was upset because their daughter hadn’t come home yet. He assured her that the girl was probably fine and that he’d check her normal hangouts before hanging up.
He didn’t bother to mention that he already knew where the girl was; he had driven to her location while talking to the harpy he considered his wife. As he sat inside his Cadillac Escalade, he could see her through the large plate glass windows that spilled light into the darkened street. The SUV lights were off, but the engine was running. He lit a cigar. It was one of two places he could smoke; his wife hated the smell of cigar smoke. However, he had bought the Escalade himself, so she allowed him to smoke in it and in the backyard. As long as he picked up the stubs of course, if he let any fall into the yard or left one on the patio, there was hell to pay.
As he smoked, he watched a group of teenage girls inside a pizzeria. The youngest was only fifteen. She was supposed to be home over an hour ago. Her mother was going to be livid. There would be shouting and screaming. After all, there was a serial killer on the loose.
This girl though, wasn’t his target. She wasn’t his type. She was too young, too wild for his tastes. He preferred them to be prim and proper and full grown women. Besides, she was his daughter.
No one else in the group fit his purpose either, but their waitress, she was a different story. Her blond hair was pulled back in a very severe ponytail. Her face was hard set as she disapprovingly served the group of unsupervised girls. They were a little unruly in her opinion and it showed on her face.
Then again, the fifteen year old currently shoving a slice of cheese pizza into her mouth, ensured that the waitress was safe, at least for the night. His wife had been insistent that he go find the girl and bring her home. If he didn’t return with the girl, there would be hell to pay.
But he would give her a few more minutes to enjoy her pizza and her friends. He finished his cigar, put the stub in the ashtray and got out. He adjusted his suit, smoothing out the invisible wrinkles.
He walked inside and made his way over to the girls. They were giggling and smiling. He was touched by their youth and innocence.
“Grace,” he said to the fifteen year old.
“Hi daddy,” she smiled up at him.
“You were supposed to be home by dark,” he reminded her.
“Oh yeah
,” she blushed.
“Hi,” one of the girls waved at him.
He smiled back, “hi Emily.”
“Just one more slice?” Grace looked up at him with a smile and wide brown eyes.
“I suppose, slide over,” Henry moved into the booth next to his daughter and grabbed a slice of pepperoni pizza.
The girls in the booth with them, Emily, Kara, and Brittany, were all seventeen. Grace was on the basketball team with them and despite being two years younger, the girls all clicked. As a result of the age difference though, he and his wife insisted that most of the sleepovers happen at their house. Their daughter was still not able to drive and they weren’t ready to let her start dating or participate in any other rites of passage.
This meant the girls were at ease with Henry too. Just a week ago, they had thrown a neighborhood block party that everyone had attended. Henry was still proud of the block party with a bonfire and grilling in the snow, it had been a huge success.
Grace and Henry finished the pizza. Henry stood up and handed Grace her coat. He left money on the table for the three pizzas the girls had ordered as well as a huge tip. He would see the waitress again.
“Do you girls need an escort home?” Henry asked as Grace finished putting on her coat.
“No, my dad is coming soon,” Emily told him. “It was the only way we could convince him to let us go out tonight.”
“Maybe we should wait for him,” Henry looked out the