Disclaimer: We don't own FMA and we never will. This goes for this entire fic.
Warning: This fic is M rated for a reason. There are murders and will be at least one lemon, not to mention that it is a horror fic for a reason. Still we hope you enjoy.
Summary: Winry Rockbell, a prestigious journalist, has a new assignment investigating the death of a girl, only to learn that a serial killer is responsible for her death. As the killer continues to murder girl after girl, Winry is trying to put together every clue in an effort to discover just who this psychotic killer is. Things can only get more complicated as Winry's romantic life begins to bloom and things don't always go according to plan.
Chapter One: First Blood
Oh what a beautiful girl. Her eyes are so clear and pearly. Her hair so long and silky-smooth. Her lips so ripe. Her pasty white skin looking so soft. Her chest as it rises up and down. Her slight breath that escapes her rosy red lips.
The feel of cutting that soft skin and hearing that painful gasp through those red lips. Her eyes widen in terror staring at my face. My smile that will slowly spread as her bloody scent fills my nostrils. Her hands gripping anything they can to try and bare the pain. Hands usually find me. Her eyes plead for any mercy and in her gasps of pain she'll beg for mercy. She'll cry to God. Scream to the heavens to save her from the agony.
And I'll laugh.
A smile spread across my face. I can't wait.
I kept walking quietly with my hands stuffed in my pockets. The pretty little girl right up ahead of me. It was almost time. She takes this route every night. Walking on the sidewalk when the sun goes down, by the park, but never in it.
She makes this too easy for me.
She slowed her walking to a stop. I tried hard not to laugh. A man was leaning up against the wall ahead. He wasn't there in your past walks was he, was he! That's because I told him this is where he can get his goods. Druggies, they're so pathetic. Killing their own lives. They could be killing other people. Getting the joy out of it.
I couldn't help it, I laughed quietly watching as she started backing away obviously afraid of this man. The dog tugged at the leash to keep going forward as his usual walk. It doesn't know what's going on. It's so funny.
She pulled away and turned around to get away from the man who now noticed her. But as she turned she sees me. Oh she sees me. It's hard not to smile. It's so hard. I keep walking straight at her. I look up and make eye contact with her. She's knows I'm coming for her…she knows.
She looks across the street at the park.
Oh you won't go there. I know you won't go there. You never do.
She turned around and looked into an alley.
Yes! Yes! Go in the alley, it's your last hope to get away from the scary men.
She turned and dragged the dog in the alley.
She did it!
I let out an abrupt laugh, I couldn't hold it. I quickly bite it back but the smile wouldn't settle. It was wide and obvious to anyone who was watching. Why hide my enjoyment. Dogs don't stop their tails from wagging. Kids don't stop their excitement when handed a treat. I don't hide my eagerness to bleed this girl dry. But it isn't just the task, oh no. It's all about her reaction. Otherwise I'd just cut up dead people, now that would be insane. Where would the fun be if the scream, whine, and cries didn't echo in my ears sending me those tickling feelings of pleasure?
I quickly veer into the alley after her. She was already out of view.
"Tsk tsk, too bad this alley is a dead end." I say through my smile as I pull a small blade out of my pocket.
I take my time walking because she is going nowhere. She's trapped and I can't wait to catch her.
I put the blade against the brick wall and the scrapes are so delightful. I drag it across the brick lining as I walk down the alley. An orchestra of screams from past kills erupted in my head. I swooshed my right with the tune of blood in my head. The alley turns left and I tilt my body in the turn. I keep walking slowly and I can hear the dog barking.
The night sky is quiet. The stars are shiny bright twinkling in the distance. So safe and secure. I know she's looking up at the sky praying and wishing to get away. Praying to be taken somewhere far way. But it won't happen. She's stuck in the alley and I'm right around the corner.
I swung the blade away from the wall with one last loud scrape. I turned the final corner and I saw the blocked passage. The dog was standing in the middle staring at me. He titled his head.
"Where's your master buddy?" I asked sweetly. "Is she hiding?"
I did a little skip as I checked behind a trashcan by me. "Ollie! Ollie! Oxen free!" I called out.
The dog waddled up to me. I petted it on the head. "Where is she boy?" He stared at me dumbly. "Why don't you answer me?" I grabbed its collar. "Answer me! Where is she!" I rammed the blade into his side and pulled toward me. The dog let out a great yelp as his side was opened up.
Not only did he let out a yelp…but she did as well.
The dog fell to the ground crying and whimpering. I didn't care about him anymore. I bent over and looked to my left. My head was almost upside down with my hair falling over my eyes.
"There you are," I smiled. "Hiding in the trash are we?"
"Oh please, no!" She cried.
I quickly walked over and she tried to run. I grabbed her arm and pulled her back to me. I pulled her into my chest and held her tightly. Her hair smelled nice and her skin was smooth. She was crying all over the place. Her tears falling on my hands as she struggled for her life.
It was beautiful.
I threw her to the ground and she fell on her dieing dog. She quickly scampered off and backed herself into the corner. I stepped slowly closer just drinking the whole scene in. Her crying and holding her knees with her back against the wall, while her dog was bleeding to death in front of her.
I took a deep breath. This was my drug.
And I slowly came closer.
"Please you don't have to do this!" She cried clawing her knees with her nails.
I can't even imagine her reaction when I start the process.
"Please!"
"Stop saying please it doesn't do anything," I sighed, "Why do people think saying please will stop a murderer from killing a victim? We obviously don't care for manners and politeness."
She let out another fit of hysterics. "You don't have to do this!"
I knelt down in front of her. "You're right, I don't…but I want to. Oh how I want to. This little blade-" I held it up in front of her face so she could see it more clearly. "-Is going to make the best sound and give me the best feeling as it rips apart your flesh."
"Help!" She cried.
In a flash I was on her with the blade in her mouth. "Do not, do not! Do that."
She cried more and it was funny cause she cut herself. She didn't want to swallow the blood so she spat it out. All down her chin and my hand. Her chest rose heavily up and down. Her eyes wanting to look anywhere else besides my own eyes. Yet they couldn't look away.
"That's what you get," I told her withdrawing the blade.
"I can give you money." She whimpered.
I gave her a nice smile. "All I want from you is your blood."
She closed her eyes and bawled again. I grabbed her arm and she shook me off. I grabbed it again more firmly and pinned it to the wall. I pressed my other arm with the blade in it, against her neck.
"Shall we begin?" I whispered to her since I was right next to her face. I pressed the tip of the blade against her bicep.
She cried more than before, I don't even know how.
"Hey, hey…shh shh." She I put our foreheads together trying to look into her eyes. "If you cry to much your eyes will get puffy and you won't be able to watch."
She didn't stop and she just started screaming and screaming…I didn't even do anything yet.
Oh this one was going to be fun.
-Winry's POV-
Sixteen. Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen. Oh that one's not quite whole, the wall cuts it off. Do I count it as a half or a whole? Damn it! Am I seriously counting ceiling tiles?! This is just pathetic.
Sitting up in my chair, I looked around trying to find something to do. Anything for Pete's sake! This was just ridiculous. It was – I glanced at my watch- 2 P.M. on a Friday, and I had nothing to do. Nothing!
One would think that the top writer for a prestigious newspaper would have something to do in the middle of the day like, I don't know… write! But no, they can't just give me any assignment. Oh no, my boss only will let me have the best of the best.
Damn it! I would be happy with anything to research and write at this point. Even something like the construction work occurring just outside the city. Yeah, I was that desperate.
"I'm so bored," I whined to no one in particular. When only silence met my voice I felt foolish. Talking to myself, that's just great. The first sign of insanity I'm sure.
Resting my chin on my desk I watched the hustle and bustle outside my enclosed office. In a newspaper office there's never a dull moment. After all, there is always something happening in Central, the capital of Amestris, and being the Central Times… well, we had our work cut out for us.
I sighed. Not for the first time I wished I was back out there with everybody else, doing something. I was so bored. Working in the information business was supposed to mean that I was always researching, always working, always doing something! My hands twitched to pick up a pencil and write, no wait scratch that. They itched to type up a scoop. Not just stay ideally in my lap doing zilch.
As it was, I wasn't doing anything and I hated it!
Well, I was sitting, and resting my chin on my empty desk, and breathing, and blinking, and… this has to be another sign of madness. Once again feeling like an idiot, I buried my head in my arms and on the desk. Maybe I could take a nap.
Then again, seeing as it was the middle of the day and my window seemed to be strategically placed where the sun shinned right on my desk… yeah I wasn't gonna be able to get to sleep anytime soon.
Seriously, could this day get any more lame? I could hardly wait for tonight when I would get to go to Governor Mustang's party. But until then, I was officially bored out of my mind.
Thankfully, what I heard next was pure bliss, the sound of the door to my office squeaking open. I knew there was a reason for me not ever getting that irritating sound fixed.
See now my boss, Maes Hughes, was gonna swing in that door spouting something about his daughter and flashing the newest pictures he has of his family for no apparent reason, but then he'll sober up and give me my newest assignment. Just wait for it. Wait for it…
Okay something's wrong. Usually Hughes is a bit quicker about showing pictures and doesn't tend to stay quiet too long after entering a room.
I already knew I was gonna be disappointed when I looked up, but what the hell why not.
I looked up.
Yep, I was right. Groaning I buried my head in my arms again.
"Well, good afternoon to you too," my best friend, roommate, and coworker Elicia Hughes said obviously amused with me.
I pulled my head up to look at her said, "Sorry," before I let it flop back down into my arms once again. It's not like she cared that much anyway; she had her camera in her hands and obviously was going to pay more attention to it than me.
She took after her Dad, Hughes our boss, (Yes, she worked for her Dad) in that way, always seemed to have a camera in her hands and loved pictures more than life itself. Granted, her job dealt with constantly taking pictures but still, away from work I hardly ever saw her without her camera in hand, and I lived with the girl.
"I take it you aren't having a good day?" she asked though it didn't sound too concerned. Not that she had anything to really be worried about.
"I'm just bored," I admitted finally sitting up and wiggling the mouse to my computer. It was against company policy to play games during work hours, but hell if I cared at this point. I was gonna play some solitaire. Anything has to be better than just sitting here.
"Don't you have some sort of assignment to work on?" Elicia asked as she took a seat at her desk that was to the right of mine and faced the center of the room as well.
"Finished and gave it to Hughes hours ago," I said practically growling at my game already. Not even a few clicks in and already I couldn't figure out any more moves to do. Pathetic. I clicked the mouse hard closing the window. It may have been childish but it sure made me feel better.
"Man Winry didn't you just get that today," Elicia asked. I heard her mouse clicking numerous times. She must have been messing with pictures on her computer.
That's why we share an office; she's the photographer to my writer. Yeah, saying we saw each other a lot was a bit of an understatement.
"Yeah," I admitted slightly embarrassed for my extreme work ethic at times, I started twirling my long blonde hair around my finger fidgeting, "but there really wasn't much to it. I mean just another random shooting . I haven't had something really interesting to write about since those Tringham brothers a couple weeks ago when they managed to practically cure an epidemic all the while in hiding."
Nodding Elicia responded smiling, "That case was fun. I can't believe you managed to not only figure out the Tringham brothers were the ones responsible for saving so many lives, but also figured out how they did it. Especially since they had managed to remain anonymous for years, even to the police."
So I tended to be able to figure out mysteries before the police, not that big of a deal. At least not to me.
Smiling devilishly I rested my head in my hands and my elbows on my desk. "You just liked that case cause that's how you met Fletcher."
Elicia's ears immediately went red at the thought of her boyfriend. "N-no it's n-not," she managed to stutter out as I just shook my head all knowingly.
"Oh come on, just admit you are head over heels in love with him already," I said smirking at her. She was so easy to tease.
"Whatever," she said whipping her head back around to concentrate on her computer. Probably editing pictures to distract herself.
Damn, now I didn't have anything to do again.
Idly, I began poking around on my computer opening old articles I had written over the last few years since I had started working for Central Times. Reading over my old work I smiled at how much I had improved.
The first few articles I had written seemed to be a bit dramatic and two or three of the assignments made me physically cringe in all honestly. But at the same time, it made me proud. It was material proof of my progress.
On the other hand, some of my bad writing I could blame on the topics that I had been given. I mean seriously, what could be interesting about cementing a road for the eightieth time. No matter what, it's just going to be boring. But that's how it goes.
When you first get started in the writing business, you aren't just going to start at the top. No, I had been the bottom of the totem pole being so young and fresh out of college. Not to mention I had no experience what-so-ever. I would have to work my way up to get where I was today… or I would just do an incredible job on an article that would even get the president of the company's attention, which would be Hughes.
It was my second year as a writer for Central Times and I was still at the point of juggling photographers. This particular incident wouldn't just make my talent noticed, but also Elicia Hurhes's as well, who happened to be my partner for the task.
We were on a simple assignment on the new construction of a governor's mansion. Governor Yoki, a strange man with an even stranger mustache that poked out peculiarly, but none the less, Elicia and I did our job without complaint. He personally brought us on a tour of the house pointing out the extreme amounts of money used in every aspect of its construction. Then we were even allowed to sleep one night in the fancy place so that we could write from "personal experience" of its comforts.
While some might have just relaxed and enjoyed the whole thing as practically a vacation, I found myself disliking it. I guess sitting still wasn't exactly an easy task for me.
Anyway, the whole situation and how much money had been spent on the house just didn't sit easily with me. Governor Yoki almost seemed too accommodating, as if he was hiding something. So I followed my gut and well snooped.
Maybe Elicia and I broke a few laws that day but honestly it was a bit exhilarating ignoring the rules for a while, not to mention that it produced results too. Looking through his files, it turned out, Yoki had been laundering money from the federal government for years for personal gain.
"Hey Elicia," I said feeling nostalgic. "You remember the Governor Yoki job?"
She looked up smiling from her computer. "How could I forget, you were brilliant in that case."
"You mean assignment," I interjected.
"Whatever," she answered waving me off as she began messing with something on her computer once again. "All I know is that we wouldn't be here today if we hadn't followed your instincts."
I might have blushed at the compliment if Elicia wasn't one to hand them out quite frequently and to just about anyone. Still… "Thanks Elicia, though without your pictures side by side with my article there's no way the whole thing would have been near as affective on the public."
Her ears flushed red once again as I giggled at her visible embarrassment. "Thanks Winry but really-"
"No buts," I interrupted. "Well unless it was Fletcher's I guess," I added acting thoughtful knowing it would cause a ruse out of her.
"Winry!" she squealed.
I laughed, "Okay okay, but really, your pictures are amazing. I mean that article on Yoki was only the surface of how good they really are and have become."
Elicia had calmed down at this point and just smiled sweetly back at me, I couldn't remember how it was to go photographer hopping like I had in the beginning. "That case was one of our best," Elicia said pure joy shining on her face, "It was our first and will always be the most important."
I knew exactly what she meant, "The assignment that made us partners in crime… or whatever."
She giggled lightly, almost airily. "Why do you always insist on calling it an assignment and not a case?"
"Because to us, it is more like a case then just a job, but we shouldn't let everyone else know that," I answered resting my head on my clasped hands as my elbows rested on my desk.
Elicia just rolled her eyes, "You are so weird and make no sense. I think you just like to argue with me."
It's simply amazing at how perceptive Elicia could be at times. But I was unable to comment anymore because at that very moment the one person in the world I wanted to see most burst into the room.
"I've got a case for your girls, and I think you are going to like it," Maes Hughes my boss and Elicia's dad said holding up a thin vanilla folder before slapping it down on my desk.
I picked it up carefully trying not to get too excited, but it was hard seeing as if Hughes was this excited about an assignment then something had to be good… or bad.
Opening up the folder, I deadpanned. "Isn't she just adorable," Hughes practically squealed at the picture of Elicia when she was just two years old and hugging a gigantic teddy bear.
Looking up at Hughes and making a face that clearly said 'Really, this is what you burst into my office for,' he just kept smiling at me. I sighed feeling a migraine coming on; they always seemed to go hand and hand with Hughes when he got in his 'Shoving Pictures in Your Face until You Faint' kind of mood.
He must have realized that I wasn't in the mood because next thing I knew he said, "Oh fine, be that way. Here's the real file," and with that he handed me a new, but just as thin as the first, vanilla folder.
Opening up the real folder I found only a page of information. Hell, not even a full page. It was just about a paragraph of information basically stating that there was a murder of a young girl by the name of Nina Tucker.
"As you can see," Hughes chuckled looking over my shoulder at the piece of paper, "You've got a lot of work ahead of you. I looked over at Elica smiling, only to find she was already packing her camera and film in a bag looking equally excited.
"Thanks Hughes," I said whipping out a few things I might need and packing them up in my bag before starting to bound out the door with Elicia close on my heels.
"Wait!" he called making us freeze in our tracks.
"Yeah Dad?" she asked as I just stared trying to keep myself from flying out the door. Did he seriously not know how bored I had been all afternoon? … scratch that, he probably didn't.
"Well, I just have these pictures that I haven't shown you of our family! There's group shots and singles as well. I even got some that-"
We were out the door before he even finished.
"Your dad and my boss, is so weird," I said as I drove to the location of the body indicated on our paper.
"Hey hey," Elicia protested although it was halfhearted. "He's a little eccentric yes, but he means well, and really his pictures are quite good. I wish I could have looked at them before we left, or at least borrowed a few of them from him for the road."
"Amazing."
"What," she asked truly confused by my disbelief.
"Just that your dad tries to shove pictures down our throats everyday and you don't care." I shrugged, "Like father like daughter."
Elicia looked at me questioningly, "Should I take that as a compliment or an insult?"
"Neither," I watched the road carefully noticing how traffic was already beginning to slow; we had to be getting close to the accident. "I'm just saying be careful not to get to be too much like your father, though it might be too late for that."
"I resent that."
I laughed, "You should." We turned on to a large street that it was clear the murder was just ahead seeing as there were police cars blocking the right lane near an alley.
Elicia stuck her camera part way out the window and was already taking pictures as I passed the crime scene. I couldn't quite understand what she was taking pictures of seeing as so many police cars blocked off any kind of view of the crime scene. However, Elicia was the best and so I didn't even bother arguing with her about it.
"I mean, sure my dad is a bit daft at times, but he's one of the smartest people I know." I raised an eyebrow at my best friend's remark. She didn't notice though seeing as she was still focused on the crime scene as we passed it. "You know, sometimes you kinda remind me of him."
"Oh really, how's that," this ought to be good.
Elicia finally pulled her camera back in the car and rolled up the window as she replied. "You two always have the inside scoop on people. You always know everything about everyone."
"And you don't?"
She sighed, "Not like you guys do."
When her comment was followed by silence I realized that she wasn't going to enlighten me any farther, well not at least until she was asked. "Care to explain to me how so?"
"You guys just have the right intuition for figuring out things, plus the patience to do all the research. I just take extremely good pictures to go along with your scoops," she said as I looked around for a good place to park that my car wouldn't be towed, something extremely difficult to do these days.
"I guess," I admitted honestly not really knowing how to take that type of compliment. Even if Hughes seemed a bit off his rocker at times, being more obsessed with his pictures than real life, he was one of the few people I truly looked up to because it always seemed to me like he really did know everything about everything.
To be told I was a lot like him, I couldn't find a much better compliment, though I still felt like Elicia was downplaying her talent. "Still don't think I would be near as much of a success without your pictures," I said as I finally parked the car.
We got out of the car and I made sure to lock it seeing as we weren't in the best neighborhood in town, then again if someone really wanted something from inside my car then would just break into it anyway. "How bout we just both agree that we are perfect investigator reporters that are highly sexy as well," she said with a little giggle.
"Damn straight!" I said perhaps a little louder than I should of but who really cared.
With another giggle, Elicia and I had hooked arms and it was on to the crime scene.
"Why on earth do we have to park so far away from every crime scene we investigate?" Elicia asked pouting a bit at me. We hadn't even been walking for five minutes.
"Because we don't need to advertise that we were here, it's better for most people to think we are geniuses or something," I said smirking as Elicia rolled her eyes. "Plus it gives us time to go over all the details of the murder before we get there."
She groaned at that and I smiled. "Might as well get it over," she said prompting me to start.
Unlatching myself from my friend, I pulled the empty folder out of my bag and opened it to begin reading the small amount of information we had on this case.
"Our victim was a Nina Tucker age eighteen, a Central University student still living at home with her father. Apparently she was taking her dog, Alexander, for a walk when she was attacked last night. Nothing else is known about her, but her father is a well known scientist especially well known on his findings in animal mutations."
"Sounds…enlightening?" Elicia questioned and I didn't blame her. Science never exactly was my strong subject.
"Or boring," I commented dryly before continuing with what information we had. "Not much is known about the murder besides it happened while she was walking her dog and in an alley."
"That's not a lot to work off of," Elicia remarked looking over my shoulder at the paper for herself.
"Yeah, the rest is just directions on how to get here, and one other thing." We turned the corner and the crime scene was in sight. "On a scale of one to ten, one being fairly clean and ten being downright nasty for a murder."
"Yeah?"
I looked at my friend with a warning in my eyes, "This one's supposed to be around a seven."
I could hear Elicia swear under her breath. "So no full pictures, just partials right?" she asked adjusting her camera from where it hung around her neck.
"Bingo."
"I don't know whether I should be dreading this or be excited about it," Elicia confessed as we finally neared the yellow tape clearly marking the crime scene.
A few people gathered around the scene, but it seemed that most only stopped for a moment before moving on when they couldn't get a very good view on the body. From where I stood, nothing was clearly visible. I was definitely going to have to get a closer look.
"So who are we going to ask this time to get across this notorious yellow tape?" Elicia asked me looking a bit uneasy.
I didn't even bother answering as I spotted just who was going to help us. "Havoc!" I called an officer who exited the alley. I wasn't surprised that somehow, even on the job, he was smoking.
Sauntering over to us with a half grin on his face many might have been intimidated by the look, but I knew better. He was in a flirting mood, then again he always was.
"What can I do for you fine ladies?" he asked suggestively wiggling his eyebrows. I ignored the motion while Elicia tried to smile back but it turned out to be more of a grimace.
"You can get us behind this yellow tape so I can check out the body of the deceased," I answered with a coy smile.
Havoc frowned slightly. "I don't know Winry, you know I'm not supposed to let civilians look at a crime scene."
I wasn't really listening though as I ducked under the security tape. "But I'm not exactly your normal civilian," I said lifting the tape as Elicia stooped under it nervously looking around.
But just as I already knew, no one tried to stop us. With Havoc so close by not preventing us from entering, everyone else seemed to just think he had given us permission whether he had actually done so.
"No you certainly are not," he said watching me as I walked away into the alley.
"See, no big deal," I said once out of Havoc's earshot. "As long as we look like we are supposed to be here, no one will think otherwise."
Elicia sighed which I could only assume meant she was just a bit frustrated with me, probably because unlike her I didn't seem to worry about authority figures. "Let's just get this over with," she said referring to examining the body, she never was a fan of this part, then again neither was I.
As the body of the young girl finally came into my sight I filched at the sight.
By no means was I a death virgin, being a prime reporter for the Central Times made me investigate many murders, but I had yet to see so much blood in one place. It was everywhere, on the brick walls, the floor, and pretty much covering the young girl's body. It was almost hard to believe that it was all just hers. For her sake, I hoped it wasn't. Finding the blood of the killer would make it so much easier to catch the murder.
The girl was just lying there in the middle of the alleyway in a puddle of her own blood. Her clothes, or what was left of them, were moist with red and I couldn't even tell what her original hair color was unless it was supposed to be dark red. Somehow I got the feeling that it wasn't, or at least not that shade of the color.
Elicia began snapping away pictures as I started looking at the details. It really was quite sad. She was just laying there with her eyes closed as if she was sleeping, if it wasn't for the blood caked on to her face. Looking at her body I could only imagine what she had gone through.
It seemed as if every place was cut and it was no wonder that there was this much blood in the surrounding area. Quickly pulling on two latex gloves on just my right hand, I was careful not to step in the red liquid as I squatted down to check some things.
"Two gloves?" I heard Elicia ask as her camera kept snapping away pictures. She wasn't only taking pictures for the newspaper, but for me as well so that if I missed anything we could look back and figure it out without the police's help.
I didn't even bother to look at her as I answered. "Fingerprints still can travel through just one sometimes and I'm not going to take my chances.
Besides the constant snapping of Elicia's camera, silence engulfed us as I concentrated on my work.
Carefully I pulled up a bit of her clothes still left on her body. When I found cuts beneath it, I could only shake my head in disbelief. Who was this person, to have cut her on almost every inch of her body? It was sickening. It was disgusting. It was evil.
Farther examination of her body from head to toe only made me want to puke in disgust. "Well, I'm done I think, so what were you able to figure out?" Elicia suddenly asked waking me from my thoughts.
I grimaced, "Well about a million bad things and only one good thing."
"Start where you want," Elicia said squatting down next to me camera still ready. "If there's anything important visually I'll capture it on camera too."
"Well, see here," I said pointing to a few cuts on the body. "They all angle just slightly making me think that the person who did this used their right hand, though that will need to be checked by a specialist."
"So the murderer was right-handed?" Havoc suddenly asked walking up to us. "Sorry ladies but you're gonna need to wrap this up pretty quickly, the body needs to be taken to the forensics lab."
"Don't worry, there's not much left to do anyway," I said with a sigh. "And anyways, no the killer wasn't right-handed. Well, not for sure."
Seeing Elicia and Havoc's confused faces I knew I would have to clarify. "The killer used their right hand to make these cuts on the body, but a lot of left-handed people use their right hand just as dominantly."
"So basically you are telling me it could be anyone?" Havoc asked with his cigarette dangling dangerously from his mouth.
"Exactly!"
"Geez Winry don't sound so chipper about it," Elicia said frowning at me. Looking at me she would know I had more to explain on the subject later out of Havoc's range. It's not like I was purposely hiding facts from the police… okay I was a little, but it was only because one person alone and under the law often could do more than a whole gang of officers following it.
"Then looking at all the cuts none of them are that deep, but I would have to estimate over sixty of them on her body." I said disgusted by the number but also knowing there were much worse things, not that I could think of any at the moment.
"When you say 'deep,' what exactly do you mean?" Elicia asked.
"None of the gashes are stab wounds, from what I can see," I explained, "But several were deep enough that had the girl lived, she probably would have needed a lot of stitches." I continued on with my assessment of the girl's body. "No apparent cause of death strikes me seeing as there is no massive trauma to any part of the body, I have to assume for now that she bled to death."
I frowned at the idea. "Any one of these cuts alone would not have been close to fatal, but all together she bled out slowly and most likely very painfully. I believe that most of these were made premortem."
"Which means…" Havoc asked making me remember once again why I didn't care to share such information with him.
"It means that the girl was tortured to death and that all these cuts were most likely given to her before she died and none after as a hate crime or such. Then again, seeing how much blood there is around here, that was probably already obvious."
"The poor girl," Elicia whispered.
"Poor girl is right," I agreed pulling Nina's jaw down before it became too ridged to do so. "There are even cuts on the inside of her mouth meaning he probably forced his knife in it."
"But why?" Havoc questioned making me remember he was even there in the first place. Geez, I wish he would just go away for a while and let me and Elicia be.
"He likes blood, there's no other explanation," I said standing back up. "Judging by how much blood there is on the walls of the alley as well as all over the ground, I can only guess that he really likes the sight of the stuff."
"Didn't you say something about good news?" Havoc piped up after a moment of silence.
I sighed, "Yeah, she wasn't raped."
"And you know that how?"
I turned towards Havoc very seriously. "Trust me, she wasn't. You'll tell me if you find anything else right?"
"Uh, yeah sure," he answered and I knew he wouldn't keep that promise.
"Can we see the dog she was walking?" Elicia suddenly asked catching me by surprise. I couldn't believe that I had forgotten about that.
Staring at the girl trying to see what I had seen so easily, Havoc answered automatically. "Yeah, he's right over there," he said pointing it out for us.
I looked around confused not seeing a dog in sight. "Wh-" Elicia began to ask before gasping in surprise. Once again I felt the urge to puke as I realized just what Havoc was pointing to.
I sighed walking over to the dead dog that had bled out all over the ground just like his master. "They killed the dog too?" Elicia said in slight disbelief.
Kneeling back down, I checked the big white dog for wounds noting the large stab wound left in his side, probably inflicted by the murderer of the girl. "I hope they killed him because he attacked them. Havoc get over here," I yelled.
Trotting over to us, Havoc already had a big grin on his face. It seemed out of place in such a dire setting. "Geez Winry, you certainly are bossy. He then leaned down to whisper in my ear, "But you know I like a strong girl in bed."
I think I finally did puke a little in my mouth. Now I have nothing against flirts, in fact I can enjoy them very much seeing as I have a tendency to flirt right back. But really. This was neither the time nor the place, and from Havoc of all people…I mean he smokes like a chimney.
"I don't date smokers," I said giving it to him straight and frankly holding myself back from berating him for his tactlessness.
"Bet you would change your mind if you saw me in my birthda-"
"Havoc!" I interrupted annoyed at the mental picture he just gave me. Elicia seemed flustered and I was pretty sure her ears were red again in embarrassment. "Just get your forensics lab to check the dog's teeth and claws for anything. I'm hoping the dog attacked our killer prompting him to kill the dog," I explained without even waiting for him to ask why.
"Let's go Elicia, we're done here, thanks for letting us on the scene Havoc," I said before walking away with Elicia close behind me. Hey I had to give him some kind of credit as much as I wished I didn't.
"Remember my offer still stands!" he called after us making me make a disgusted look at Elicia who shot me back one of sympathy.
"Disgusting," I muttered stamping away from the crime scene and only slowing to duck under the crime scene tape.
"Havoc or the murderer?" Elicia asked in a tone that I knew wasn't joking.
I took a deep breath in order not to snap at her though. She may have not been joking but the same question from anyone else and it would have seemed like it. "Well both are but I was talking about Havoc honestly."
"Yeah his flirting is pretty embarrassing," she admitted.
"Understatement much," I sighed with frustration. "Let's just get back to the case."
"I agree, I can tease you about Havoc later," Elicia added cheekily.
While Elicia wasn't ever very mean, sometimes I got the feeling that she liked to act as my own personal devil teasing me about such things. Then again, I always teased her about Fletcher so maybe this was some sort of retribution for that.
"Whatever," I answered trying to act as if it didn't bother me.
"So what's up with this hand thing that you were saying earlier?"
I suddenly felt a lot better. I was back in my element, my mojo, my field, the place that I belonged, whatever you wanted to call it. "Basically I was saying it could be anyone seeing as a lot of left-handed people use their right hand for manual tasks, but if we are down to two suspects"
"And one is right-handed while the other is left, then we go after the right-handed first." Elicia finished for me.
"Bingo."
"So what else do you got so far?" Elicia asked with newfound excitement. I didn't blame her in the least, even if the case was disturbing it was a lot more interesting than anything else we had gotten around the office lately.
"Well putting my thesis together at this point for what happened, I would say that the murderer had a personal feud or grudge against Miss Nina Tucker."
Elicia nodded following along with me, "For so much damage to be done to the body, I have to assume her death was planned in advance and wasn't just a crime of passion done spur of the moment. Her killer obviously had taken advantage of her and put her through a lot of pain, especially if all her cuts were inflicted before death."
I froze for a moment, "Somehow I have a feeling that they were."
"For there to be so much blood in one area," my best friend said sadly, "I would have to agree."
"Still, we'll have to wait for the forensics lab to finish examining and testing everything to be sure," I added already making plans to go by the police station in two days time, approximately the amount of time they would have to wait for the forensics lab to get a detailed report to them.
"Sounds good to me," she agreed along with me knowing better than to jump to too many conclusions.
"There's only one thing that bothers me," I admitted slowly unsure if I really even wanted to admit it out loud. "Killing the dog, if there is some sort of trace of human skin on its nails or teeth then we know why the murderer killed it, but if there isn't…"
I didn't know how to finish. I mean, if the dog didn't attack the killer then why did they kill him? It's not like the dog could have told anyone, and likely if it was a personal crime against Miss Nina then the killer probably knew the dog as well meaning it's highly unlikely that the dog would have attacked them anyway. It was all so confusing, then again it might have been pretty simple and I might just be looking much too deeply into it all.
Still, this was me.
"What exactly are you saying Winry?" Elicia asked me thoroughly confused with my previous statement.
I felt like my stomach was tied in a knot. "Either we are dealing with a personal vendetta against Miss Nina, or we are dealing with a psychopath."
This is a joint fic between Freyjadour and Fantasy Fan Girl. Sorry if updates are slow, hope you still enjoy.
