Nov 3
Noon
Bella sat at the lunch table with Sam and Heather. They were all in a panic.
"Listen they don't even have any leads." Sam said.
"They will find some. They have all that scientific shit." Heather replied.
"They only barely found who's skull it was. They don't have any leads or else they would not be asking the public for information. It has been like a few weeks and there have been no arrests." Sam said.
"Well something needs to be done about this! I mean someone's dead." Heather said.
Bella was deep in her own thoughts. It troubled her that no leads had been found. No one had been arrested either. No new clues, nothing. How could there be nothing? She had seen all these forensic shows that had made breakthroughs on a single strand of hair! How could they find nothing?
It was all across the news. Fiona's family had come across the screen many times. Crying big tears on the news trying to find any information on their daughters killer. It had torn Bella up every time she seen it. It was a terrible thing to even contemplate. It was a miracle that they had identified the skull at all. The news reporter had spent ten minutes going over the public details of the case. The teeth had all been sanded down. No dental records would ever match. The killer had been careful of his tracks. The skull had been identified not by DNA but by luck. The killer had overlooked something. Fiona had a head injury when she was a child. Her skull had been stapled back together. That was the only clue that had linked the two together. The skull found had indentations that were in the same spot that Fiona would have them. It had been pure luck.
It was scary to think that there was a serial killer on the loose. Though it was not certain at the time whether it was a one time murder or a serial murder. There were not enough clues on the case. It was a bizarre and creepy thing to think about. Fiona had been alive and well not even a month ago. Her life was taken out as quickly as a flame dying out. Bella did not know what to make of it. There were too many speculations and rumors going around.
Someone had said that Fiona was mixed into drugs really bad, others discredited that. There were no clear facts on what had happened that night. Fiona hadn't been reported missing for ten days. Her skull was found eighteen days later. The fact that she had been missing for ten whole days was staggering. Nobody had even questioned her whereabouts. The city was in a panic. Rumors were flying high and they would continue to rise. With no new clues the case would eventually die down. Would they catch the killer or would he continue on his rampage? No one had answers to this question.
Detective Cain was sitting at his desk. He was looking over the clues from the case. Fiona was last seen walking home from her campus university. The university was twenty miles away from where her skull was found. Had she been lured away? Had the killer grabbed her off the streets? There was no way to know what happened that fateful night. Fiona's classmates had defined her as a well liked girl. She went to school, had a part time job, and paid her rent on time. She was not known to have any enemies or violent boyfriends. If there ever was a poster child for a perfect American girl, Fiona was it.
It saddened Cain to think that this girl was violently taken from the streets. She had a family and a steady life. In two years she would have graduated and moved away. Instead her skull was found and there was a possibility that the rest of her would stay missing. The poor family could not even get an open burial for the poor girl.
Cain had been working for ten hours straight. He knew there had to be something that he was missing. Things just did not make sense. He worked in a Unit that was native to Pittsburgh. Murders happened frequently down in that area. He was used to large city violence. This was DuBois, Pennsylvania! Things like this just did not happen around here. Girls just did not disappear and then reappear in pieces. It was a sadistic ritual that the killer was prone too. He had wanted that skull to be found. He had deliberately set it up for shock value. It was almost as if he was taunting us.
It said a little about his criminal profile. He was sadistic in nature. Probably had great intellect. An amateur would not have went into that great detail to hide any trace he might have left. He had left the skull because he knew no evidence was left behind. The killer was smart. Probably came from a wealthy background. There was no body so it was hard to tell much more. Cain wondered if they would ever find one.
He sighed and rubbed his hand across his weary eyes. This was going to be a long night. He pulled out the forensics report.
Fluoroantimonic acid had been the sticky substance located all around the skull. Fluoroantimonic acid was a highly corrosive acid. It could burn through skin in a matter of minutes. It reacted with the water in your blood to produce higher corrosive results. A head submerged in this would have no chance. All skin would be burned off in a matter of minutes. The killer had been smart. He had to have a background in chemistry. Bones could withstand more contact with the acid but would eventually break down. The killer had dropped it in for the right amount of time and produced a solution to break down the acid. Allowing the skull to be anatomically correct but leaving no trace behind.
That led to the question as to why the killer didn't just destroy all the evidence? What was the purpose in placing the skull for the world to see? Fiona would be just another missing person if he would have done that. The police would have no inkling of foul play. Instead he had placed it in a manner that would easily be found. What was he thinking?
Cain knew the perpetrator was smart. He would just have to be smarter to catch him. He could not go on his streak for long without leaving a clue somewhere. Cain just hoped that he would catch a break, and soon.