Author's Notes: Hey everyone, I hope you liked the last chapter and like this one as well, as always I own nothing.
Karl was stunned into immobility for a moment. There was another in the City! He supposed that he should not be so surprised at the existence of other werewolves, after all he had been told that they existed and he had been turned in a werewolf by one. Still, he had gotten used to being the only one; he had so many questions that he wanted to ask the other werewolf about their kind, all the things that everyone else could only guess at. Then he remembered why he was here, whatever else the other werewolf was he was a killer who was preying on humans and that was something that Karl could not allow, he would see these killings stop.
Taking a deep breath he pushed all distractions aside and focused on the matter at hand. He stooped down and examined the remains, it was not pretty. The woman was maimed and mangled so badly that it was hard to tell that it had, in fact, been a 'she'. The body had been torn apart and flung all about the area, looking closer it appeared to Karl that all her parts were still here, nothing had been eaten. Strange, why kill the woman if not to eat her? Karl snorted at that, he remembered his helping Werner with his investigations there, and there were lots of reasons to kill other than food. The memories made Karl decided to try to conduct his investigation in the same manner the monk would. He turned back to look at the thug who stood a few feet behind him.
"Where the other bodies in similar condition to this one?"
"Yeah, more or less, one mangled corpse looks about the same as another to me."
So, Karl thought; whatever your motive is, it is not food. So if it is not for food why are you killing? And why do so in such a brutal manner? He needed more information, about this woman and the other victims.
"Was she paying your boss for protection?" Before the thug could answer someone in the crowd spoke up.
"She was! Just like the others! And a fat lot of good it did any of them!" The crowd rumbled in agreement, a distinctly unhappy sound. The thug growled deep in his throat and his hand went to the short sword at his belt. This seemed to have the desired effect as the crowd fell into a sullen silence. The man turned back to Karl.
"Things are getting ugly." The man hissed at Karl. "And when things get ugly the boss gets unhappy and when the boss gets unhappy people get hurt. People like investigators who do a poor job of investigating. So if I were you I would job to it as lively as possible." With that he turned and headed off before Karl had a chance to respond. Karl for his part merely shrugged and got to his investigations. To start with he leaned in close, both to look for clues and to get a good smell. Yes, there it was, clinging to the poor woman's clothing was the scent of a werewolf, Karl marked it for later. Her clothing revealed nothing else, save for the viciousness of her death, if he wanted more information he would have to look elsewhere for it.
Rising he turned to look for the man who had been giving Pfeiffer's man attitude, the people in neighborhood were clearly frightened and might not be willing to talk about what stalked them but the man seemed bolder, or more foolish, than those around him. Fortunately the man had not left, Karl saw him still standing among the crowd of idlers. He was a man of middle years, of average height and build, dressed as a day laborer. The man saw Karl looking at him and his face took on an obstinate look, clearly not in a mood to be helpful.
"What do you want boy?" The man snarled at Karl as he drew near. Karl stopped a few paces away, trying not to look threatening, and nodded his head to the man.
"Good day sir, I was wondering if I might ask you a few questions." The man snorted in derision.
"Since when do Pfeiffer's bullies ask anyone for anything?"
"I am not one of Pfeiffer's men. I have been hired to find out who has been committing these murders and see them stopped."
"Yeah, wouldn't want his flock getting eaten while they still have some fleece on them that he hasn't sheared off would we?"
"I rather fancy that that is the case. Well, greed may be a more reliable motivation for him than affection for the residents of the district. At least you can count on his dedication. So, may I ask you a few questions?"
"You can ask, though whither or not I know anything is another matter."
"Understood; now, was this her usual spot?"
"Aye it was, been walking these streets as far back as I can remember. Was better looking then too."
"Did you hear anything last night? Yelling? Screaming? Sounds of a struggle?" He wanted to ask about howling but he really did not want to go putting ideas into peoples' heads.
"Na, I work so I am usually in bed before sundown. And I live too far away to hear anything anyway. You might be better off asking Butcher Bill across the street."
"Butcher Bill?"
"His real name is William but as he is the local butcher everyone calls him Butcher Bill. One word of advice: don't eat any of his meat."
Karl walked over to butcher shop, a small shop which reached to Karl's nose of blood and rotting meat. William the butcher was also a middle aged man, though this one was well on his way to portliness. Unlike the first man William was clearly about talking to someone he thought was one of Pfeiffer's enforcers. As Karl approached William smiled nervously.
"Good morning to you Sir. What can I do for you on this fine day?" Again Karl stopped a few paces away and smiled in an effort to put the man at his ease.
"And a good morning to you master butcher. Pfeiffer has charged me to investigate the killings that have plagued this community. Now, I must ask, did you hear anything out of the ordinary last night?" At both the mention of Pfeiffer's name and at hearing Karl's errand. Never the less, the man thought for a moment and then replied with an affirmative nod of his head.
"Yes…yes, I did hear something last night, or rather this morning. I had just gotten out of bed, I always rise before sunrise to get my shop ready for the morning customers, when I heard a noise. It was Elsie, the victim. She was screaming something awful and I heard," he stopped, shuddered and looked like he was going to be sick. "I heard a wet, ripping sound. I am a butcher, I know what makes that sound." Karl could all too easily picture what had happed and not just because he had seen the body.
"Did you look out? Did you see anything?" At the question the man gave a snort which was half self-dedicating half derision.
"You are obviously new to this part of town. Here, you hear something bad going on, you keep your head down, stay away from the windows and pray that whatever is going on passes you by." Though Karl spoke to several other people they all either denied that they had seen or heard anything or told Karl things that he already knew. At last he gave up and decided to heed his growling belly and get lunch. He asked around till he found a nearby tavern where he ordered bread, sausages and beer.
As he chewed his food he went over what he knew and tried to organize the facts in an orderly manner. The killer was a werewolf and was not killing for food but for some unknown reason. Though the werewolf was not eating, or at least not eating much of the victims, he or she was mutilating the bodies almost beyond recognition. Despite this the other werewolf had taken pains to conceal their identity. According to all those he had questioned it seemed that no one had actually seen the killer so he, for some reason Karl thought of the killer as a 'he', had taken precautions to ensure that he was not seen. Finally, with the exception of Pfeiffer's thugs and the street urchins, all the victims had been paying the gang leader protection. Karl was not sure of the relevance of that last part, pretty much everyone in this part of town was paying to Pfeiffer but it was still a point to consider.
He sat back and considered his options. Werner had told him that there was always a pattern in such crimes, though it may be one which only made sense to the criminal. He would have to place where and when all of the killings had occurred. By now the scent would have been too covered up with the smells of the city for him to track but if he could find the pattern then he might be able to track his prey to wherever he was hiding. As he rose a grim thought came to him, if that failed all he could do was wait for the next time he struck.
Author's Notes: Hello everyone, so sorry that I have not updated for so long, will try to update sooner next time. Next time I will be changing the format a little. Till then Merry Christmas. Till then as of now there is a friend of the family in South Dakota who is missing. She is around eighty and has dementia. The weather is turning nasty up there so I am asking you all to please pray for her, her family and all who need prayer. Thank you and may Jesus bless you all.