chapter word count: 552

noir heart: ninety-one

Tossing a scrunched up piece of paper in the air, slumped into his chair with his feet on the table, Jack asks tiredly, "Okay, so, what do we know so far - this guy - not saying his name - hits once a month, right?"

There's the sound of leafing through paper as Aster peruses his notebook, uttering a rather long hmmm as he does so. "Right. Once a month, he abducts two people on a Friday, where he seems to keep them for the weekend, and disposes of them early Monday morning. Naked, no IDs. Why won't you say his name?" he says, takes his coffee and leans back into his chair for a relaxed sip.

Pulling his feet down, Jack straightens up in the chair and rests his elbows on the table, tossing the paper ball between his hands. "Overkill on the male, but efficiency on the female. You know - there's something bugging me about that."

Mid-sip, Aster raises his brow and gestures with his hand for him to continue.

"Remember what Hiccup said about the male stab wounds, how some of them are hesitation-strikes? Why is he being so nervous about the guys, but cold and efficient with the girls? Doesn't make sense - and I keep telling people; Zodiac. BTK-"

"Jack the Ripper," Aster points out, smirking.

Glaring healthily, Jack continues, "You give a killer a name, you give them fame. Popularity's the last thing you want to give a serial killer."

"Maybe most of his rage is with the chick, and he doesn't really wanna kill 'em." Aster offers.

"But why go through all the trouble of abducting both people, if you're gonna get nervous at the last second? No, this guy - there's a reason for it. Just like there's a reason for the scopolamine. Just need to figure it out." Jack says, holding the ball in both hands while his arms form a wide A, fingertips meeting under his nose as he looks off in thought.

Unfortunately, the silence that follows due to Aster not having anything to offer means that the lack of sleep the night before catches up with Jack, ignoring the equivalent barrel-ful of coffee he consumed prior to that point. Bouncing ideas around and listening to lengthy medical examinations has been, while illuminating, mentally exhausting - so even if he wants to, the cavernous yawn is impossible to stifle.

"Mate - go home. I'll cover for you," Aster says, smiling crookedly before having to stifle one of his own, "You're no good half-asleep. Get some rest - I'll let you know if anything comes up."

Much as he'd like to argue, Jack doesn't want to. Sleep sounds fantastic. Murmuring his gratitude, he rises from his chair and makes toward the door. "Besides," Aster shrugs, and steals another sip to avoid another yawn, "I can try and figure out if this joker is the kind that takes trophies or not."

Trophies. The word hits him like a truck, even while half asleep. Of course! A ring on a chain, in a paper bag.

As he leaves the room, the next yawn that graces his face has to do battle with a devious smirk - because now he knows how to beat Elsa Black.

I just want to mention - Cupid was the killer's name from the story's inception. I'm poking fun at myself :P Elsa next (hopefully).

special thanks to: lunasnoir, doomstone, vrupd.1992, oninoko, hornedgoddess and invisible me for the reviews!