Also just wanted to give a heads up, the degrees in this story is Fahrenheit, not Celsius. I will change it eventually...
Please read and review! Don't leave me hanging!
Jade looked over the body, seeing it exactly the same as the last one was presented. Nothing was changed and flawless once again except that there were two hands this time but no head.
"What does this body tell us?" Marshall asked with Parkinson and Thatcher standing beside him.
"The body is cold this time. Slightly colder than the one we found in King's Cross." Jade said.
"So? All dead things become colder." Parkinson said.
"Actually the temperature of an ordinary corpse is around 74 degrees or slightly less and that's only in normal room temperature but the body reads 45. It's well over 90 degrees outside so even if 'dead things become colder', it isn't so when it's this hot outside." Jade said.
"So you're saying that these parts were brought in cold?" Marshall asked as Parkinson and Thatcher kept trying to piece together whatever Jade just told them.
"Yes sir. Wallace was right; the killer is preserving the bodies in cold temperature from letting the cells denature." Jade said. Marshall nodded immediately.
"You're absolutely right. But how are we going to find this goddamn truck? There's over a billion trucks going in and out of this city, it'll take us months to investigate." Marshall said. Jade stood back up, closing her camera again.
"Excellent work Jade." Marshall said, seeing Jade give him a short smile.
Parkinson and Thatcher looked revolted and Jade left. She walked past Draco who thanked a homeless man for his cooperation.
"Hey, I have good news." Draco said behind Jade who didn't bother to turn around.
"You can forward that to the Lieutenant and your high school sweetheart." Jade said, opening the trunk of her car.
"Hah, you're a riot." Draco said as she packed her things neatly and in an orderly fashion. "What I said or even tried to do this morning was out of line. You have every right to take a gun and shoot me in the head." Draco said.
'I have better ideas.' Jade thought.
"It was just a routine operation we were supposed to do to make sure-"
"That's a pretty bold lie to say when you're trying to apologize, isn't it?" Jade asked, opening the door to her driver's seat.
Draco caught the door before Jade could close it.
"You're good." Draco said, seeing her look up from starting the car.
"On the contrary, you're bad. My nieces and nephews are better at lying than you." Jade said, seeing him grin.
"Well look who their Aunt is." he said.
Wordlessly, Jade closed the door and sped off, driving towards Cambridge. She was heavily considering putting Draco Malfoy on the table after she was done with Marleen Birgitta.
Jade stopped in front of a high end designer store where she saw Marleen smiling and posing in different shades of sunglasses. It was a little early for post mourning shopping for the ex-husband who died just about a few weeks ago…unless that's what women did.
Jade got out of the car and walked into the store. Marleen turned, giving Jade a onceover before turning back to try on the rest of her glasses.
"May I help you Madame?" the saleswoman asked.
Thanks to her years of acting experience, this one came easily.
"Ough! I want to buy every single goddamn thing in this store!" Jade said, taking out her wallet.
The saleswoman looked frightened and Marleen eavesdropped.
"Who the hell does he think he is anyways? I'm his fucking wife and he thinks he can just cheat on me and get away with it? If he can buy the whore thousands of dollars' worth of jewelry, I deserve to wear his account out." Jade said, pushing her credit card towards the saleswoman.
"I…er…" the saleswoman squeaked.
"Don't do that!" Marleen said immediately.
Jade looked up, seeing Marleen set her sunglasses down and walk towards her. Her hair was perfectly bleached but the amount of plastic surgeries that were on her face, Jade wondered if there would be a chance to draw any blood if she cut her cheek.
"Look for some more glasses for me will you?" Marleen said to the saleswoman and sliding Jade's credit card back to Jade. The saleswoman nodded and left, leaving Marleen and Jade alone.
"What? A girl can't take what she deserves?" Jade asked as Marleen patted her back.
"I know how you feel but you're doing things all wrong. If you make a huge charge on his credit card, he'll take the cards and account from you and won't leave you any bloody change." Marleen said.
"Then what am I supposed to do?" Jade asked, trying to seem upset. Marleen looked around to see if anyone was listening or nearby.
"Think of the big picture if you know what I mean. Plan ahead, do you get it?" Marleen asked. Jade made a face.
"What the fuck?" Jade asked.
"I know your situation all too well. Men aren't supposed to be trusted and they don't deserve a single pound. Now here's a question, does your husband have a will?" Marleen asked. Jade sniffed.
"Of course he does, he's like…rich." Jade said, seeing her nod.
"Suppose something happens to your husband, who gets everything he owns?" Marleen asked.
"I do." Jade said. Marleen smiled and tapped her own temple.
"Give him what he deserves and settle yourself for life with his millions. Then that whore will come crawling to you and you can kick her wherever you please." Marleen said. Jade looked at Marleen who stood back and pointed to her shirt and pants. "And honey, when you do get your millions, make sure you get new pants and a new shirt." She said.
Xenophilius always taught Jade that preparation was key when carrying out a task that demanded perfection and caution. Setting up the kill room was particularly easy for Jade and in a way a ritual for Jade. What better place to kill a woman who made her husbands suffer in their own bedroom?
Marleen came back home very late. Jade watched from the window, wearing her long sleeved black shirt and brown pants…hopefully Marleen would be able to appreciate her coffee stained clothes better now. Marleen unlocked her door and opened it walking in. The mansion was dark and quiet, giving Marleen the chills. She reached for the lights and flipped them to turn on but the lights never came.
"What the fuck? I told that dirty low life to fix the fucking lights." Marleen growled.
Jade emerged from the shadows behind and swung her arm over Marleen to put her in a headlock. Marleen choked, dropping her purse and keys as Jade tightened her hold against her neck. Flailing her arms around miserably, Marleen grew limp in Jade's arms from the lack of oxygen.
"The only bad bulb that's going to be fixed is you." Jade said.
Marleen slowly came back to consciousness. She blinked, seeing that she was on her back and naked. She moved her head around, realizing that she couldn't move the rest of her body and started to panic.
"Someone save me! Help me!" she started to scream.
"I'm afraid they can't. I've soundproofed your mansion because I knew you were the loud type." Jade said, appearing over Marleen.
"What the fuck? What are you doing to me?" Marleen asked.
"Not much right now. A lot in the next few minutes though." Jade said picking out a scalpel. She made a cut on Marleen's cheek as Marleen screamed her lungs out.
"Ah, she bleeds! And I was worried that silicon would come spilling out." Jade said, extracting the blood with a tube.
"Why are you doing this to me? What did I ever do to you? I tried to help you!" Marleen screamed.
Jade cocked her head to the side, placing a drop of blood on the slide.
"You didn't do anything to me. Don't worry, this is nothing personal. I just do this because I like it." Jade said, placing the cover on the slide, seeing the drop of blood expand. Marleen made a small sound.
"You like it? What kind of sick bastard are you?" Marleen asked.
"That's the very same question I'd like to ask you. What kind of sick woman would enjoy watching her husbands suffocate to death just to enjoy a few dollars or pounds?" Jade asked.
"There were millions at play here. Smart women know how to get their money and by looks of it, you were going to do that too." Marleen spat.
Jade smiled, placing her elbows on the table, leaning over Marleen's face.
"I don't have a husband." Jade said.
Marleen laughed in disbelief, looking away from Jade. "Oh God…you're a good actress." Marleen said.
Jade nodded. "I've been a veteran at acting for so many years now. And I only do that to seem normal and unsuspicious because truthfully speaking, I don't have anything inside. It gets exhausting from time to time, playing a sister, friend, co-worker etcetera, etcetera. But being here, seeing a victim on my table is when I get to put all my roles aside and be myself." Jade said slowly, looking at Marleen who felt a new side of terror.
"Please don't do this to me. I'll give you all my money, all of it." Marleen cried.
"I don't believe you." Jade said, seeing Marleen nod vigorously.
"I will give you my entire net worth. 500 million of it." Marleen said.
Jade took out a few papers and set it next to Marleen's hand.
"Sign it and date it." Jade said, placing the pen in Marleen's hand whose wrist arm was still bound to the table.
"I can't believe this is about money." Marleen sobbed, signing the places where it required her signature. Jade took the papers away from her and walked away, setting the paper aside.
"This really isn't about the money Marleen. It's about feeding my addiction and giving you what you deserve." Jade said, picking up a syringe.
"What kind of person are you? Stealing, lying, cheating killer!" Marleen screamed.
"This is Botox, I'm sure you're familiar with it. It's going to paralyze your trachea and prevent you from breathing." Jade said. She stabbed Marleen in the throat, injecting the Botox. "You get to feel what you put your husbands through." Jade said, pointing to pictures of the four men who were smiling from across the room. "And that money never belonged to you." Jade said, seeing Marleen start to choke. "And it certainly doesn't belong to me either. I'm going to do something I've never done since the last eight years. I'm going to make you die a hero…well…somewhat. That 500 million is going to charities all around the world…to people who need it and deserve it." Jade whispered into Marleen's ear.
Jade drove back home, feeling accomplished and the dark hole in her plugged up for a while. It was different tonight, the way she had fed her addiction. For once she left the body out in the open than throwing it in the North Sea. Tomorrow morning, Jade was going to get a call from the department to determine Marleen Birgitta's death in the tub. Jade would find the syringe with Marleen's fingerprints and rule it out as a suicide. Then she would have a delicious meatball sub sandwich and worry about the mysterious killer who stored his victims in the cold.
The noise of a rumbling truck pulled up next to Jade's car as she waited on the stop light. Jade wasn't looking at anything in particular but when she turned her head, she saw a large boxy truck that read 'Ice King- Royalty Best Served Cold!' with a picture of a cartoonish King with a short brown beard.
'No way.' Jade thought.
She looked up to the driver's seat which had been higher because of the truck. She couldn't see the driver at all, only his silhouette. The truck drove away and Jade drove after it. Possibilities were that this wasn't even the truck but what was it doing out and about at this hour of the night? Jade followed the truck for about a half an hour, wondering if it really was worth it. The truck drove onto a bridge, pacing faster than usual. Jade followed and checked if anyone else's car had been with them.
When Jade finally returned her eyes to the front, it felt like the world had suddenly stopped and the only thing moving ultra-slowly was her car and the two heads flying towards her, crashing into her windshield. Jade was so startled, she lost control of the car and crashed into a metal guardrail.