A Case of Frost

Chapter 1: Attracting Attention

"I've found us a case."
Two men, brothers, were sitting in a motel room. The man who had spoken was at the tiny table in the corner of the kitchenette, his nose inches from a laptop screen. He was the taller of the two, and his height often made strangers believe him to be older. The other man, who actually was the older brother, was lounging on one of the twin beds, his shoes still on and a bottle of beer in his hand. He looked up, away from the television, when the first man spoke.
"A case?"
"Yeah," said the taller-but-younger brother, "Listen to this. Town called Burgess, just a few hours from here. A couple of months ago, William Jones was found dead on his bedroom floor. He bled out when his feet were ripped off. And then again, just the other night, a man called David Greenberg. Same thing."
"So, what," said the shorter-but-older brother, "serial killer with a foot fetish? You get weirdos like that all the time."
"I don't think so. All doors and windows into the houses were locked. And this is weird - the most recent victim had his wife in the room with him when he was killed. She claims to have heard nothing, no struggle, and she didn't even realise what had happened until the next morning."
The older brother raised his eyebrows over a mouthful of beer. "Okay, that is weird," he agreed, "Any connection between the vics?"
"Uh, they were both men in their thirties, but apart from that… Different ethnic backgrounds, different jobs. Lived on opposite sides of town. Nothing I can tell."
"Married? Any vindictive girlfriends?"
"Greenberg had been with his wife for close to ten years, but Jones was single after he divorced four years ago. Wait…" He scrolled down the screen while the older brother watched him impatiently. "Both men had a kid under twelve. It says here that Greenberg's son Mark had to stay with his grandparents while the wife was questioned by police, and Jones's daughter Leah was the one who discovered his body. Leah has since moved out of state to live with her mother."
The older brother pulled a face at that. Cases always seemed messier to him when kids were involved. "So are we going to go check it out?"
"If we leave first thing tomorrow we can be there by midday." He shut his laptop with a gentle tap and turned in his seat.
"Great. Well, I'm going to try and get at least a few hours sleep before we head out. See you bright and early, sunshine."

It was past midnight when winter came to Burgess.
The streets were silent, all the town's inhabitants retired to bed for the night, and dark. Keen eyes might have been able to spot thin threads of glittering gold snaking into bedroom windows, if they were really looking. But there were no such eyes about.
Then an icy chill swept across the edges of town, breezing quickly through the streets. The wind was soon followed by dark clouds that brought the first snowfall of the season. The snow dropped lightly but surely, slowly gathering in small piles in gutters and windowsills. Meanwhile, ice blossomed over every damp surface, and frost spread across streets and gardens and walls and windows. Quiet but enthusiastic laughter followed the frost wherever it sprung up, seemingly so spontaneously.
By dawn, the entire town was blanketed in white ready for the early risers. And above it all, floating amongst the flurry of snowdrops, was a cheerful young man. He was small and skinny and very young, more of a boy than a man, really, and didn't seem to be dressed at all appropriately for the small storm that raged around him. Nevertheless, a wide smile lit his pale features, and as he floated on the cold wind he whooped and cheered. When the sun had risen enough to soak the town in pale blue light, the boy dropped down onto a rooftop, landing lightly on his bare feet, and surveyed his handiwork.
"Not bad," he said to himself proudly. He held a long wooden staff in his hand and dragged the hooked end along the rooftop, where more ice appeared instantly. The boy grinned. He settled himself into a more comfortable crouching position by the chimney, his staff rested over his shoulder, and just watched as the town woke up.
Initially there came the adults ready to head off for a day of work. Just a few, at first. It was a Saturday, so the streets weren't as busy as it would have been earlier in the week. Some of them saw the snow and ice awaiting them and their faces lit up underneath their winter hats and scarves. The boy atop the roof smiled. Other adults were less pleased by the weather, stomping their way to their cars and cursing angrily when the too-cold engines took several minutes to start. The boy scowled at seeing his work be unappreciated. The grumpy adults found the roads they took especially icy, and they were forced to drive slowly, unaware of the mischievous laughter overhead.
Slightly later in the morning, the boy's happiness only grew when he saw the children begin to wake up and run outside to play in the snow. He launched himself off the roof, catching himself in the wind, and flew another lap around the town, dropping another bout of snow as he went. A few children caught sight of him, and waved enthusiastically. The small gestures made the boy happier than his earlier fun ever could. He saluted back at the kids with a wide smile as he soared above them.
Winter had arrived.

A/N: Another short one, as an introductory chapter. Future chapters will be longer.

Critique and reviews welcome! Thanks for reading!