Fear Me, Dear (Fransykes) - Part 5

The front door slams shut as I jog through, making my way towards the stairs with the envelope Hannah gave me held tightly to my chest. To my great misfortune, the guys want to talk to me first. This isn't be being an arsehole or anything, I'm just impatient and just want to get on with trying to piece the puzzle of the murderer's mind. I haven't even really started yet, and it's like a two hundred and twenty-six piece puzzle. I'm not even good at puzzles.

"Was Hannah helpful?" Max asks as I walk into the living room, dragging my feet.

"Very helpful actually." 

"Hey, what's that?" Matt asks.

"What's what?"

"That. You know, that big ass envelope you are holding." Matt says, pointing to the envelope.

"Oh, this. This is an envelope which contains photographs of the bodies of the victims."

For a moment there was silence. All eyes turn to me, even Chris who sets down his guitar. You could hear a pin drop...that is, if a pin was actually dropped which it wasn't as everyone seems to have frozen.

"And Hannah gave you that?" Dan asks, finally breaking the silence.

"Why yes, sorry I didn't clarify that earlier." I answer with a hint of sarcasm in my voice.

"I'm not even going to ask." Chris sighs, picking up his guitar again and continuing to play.

"Ah yes, I believe you should all follow Chris' lead and leave me be, I have stuff to do."

With that, I turn on my heel and walk out of the room with a slight spring in my step. Weird I know, but I'm just excited at the possibility of finally getting some answers, putting some pieces of the puzzle together. Plus, I am rather interested to see the photos...okay now that is really weird. I can hear the other's talking in the living room, and I hear my name mentioned a few times, but alas I simply do not give a shit. Kicking open the door to my room, I step in and close it behind me. Pulling the chair out from my desk, I sit myself down and place the envelope on my desk. Grabbing a notebook, I open it to the next clean page and grab a pen. Opening the lid of my laptop, I turn it on and as soon as the screen lights up I go straight to Google. First, I need to find out about the victims to see if there is a pattern. Grabbing my pen again, I look up the recent newspaper reports on the recent killings. Numerous results appear, and I click on the third one which has all the published articles so far, even Suzie's. 

The first victim: Henry Wright. He was twenty-two when he was murdered. The photo attached to the article shows a man with light brown hair styled into a messy quiff with brown eyes, and what I find interesting is that the photo is a mug shot. It seems that this man, Henry, had anger issues and had a tendency to lash out at other people. According to the article, he was arrested around three months ago for beating up his girlfriend, but was released a month later.

The second victim: Zelda Hardy. She was twenty-six. Again, the photo which shows a woman with messy bleach blonde hair with dark roots that reaches her shoulders is a mug shot. It says that she was arrested for possession of drugs and threatening a man with a knife. Her disheveled appearance, bloodshot and sunken eyes, and pale blemished complexion shows the effects the drugs have had on her. According to the reporter, this woman also hung out with the wrong crowd, and to be honest I'm not surprised. She was released from prison forty-two days later, and murdered hours after her release.

The third victim: Mitchell Smith. Eighteen years old and a university student. Mitchell was one of Max's friends, but Max seems to be friends with everyone. It's weird. Mitchell had straightened black hair that just went past his chin with a fringe that hung over his eyes. He wore those glasses that everyone seems to have nowadays, and he was a pretty awkward guy. I met him a few times and he was very quiet but a pretty nice guy. He was always quiet, but when his dad died of cancer a year or two ago he spoke even less. He worked at HMV in town, and he was studying film and music at university. Such a shame he died.

And obviously I know about the fourth victim: Suzie Pax. Seventeen, college student. Dan was pretty good friends with her, and from what I have heard she did a lot of charity work and was one of the nicest people you could meet.

Taking notes quickly, I put the pen back down and turn back to the envelope. Carefully, I lift the flap of the envelope and pull out the A4 photographs. They're...gruesome. What is intriguing is that the same wounds have been inflicted upon all of them, and they are all positioned identically. They are all positioned as if they are lying in a coffin, hands resting on their stomachs. Their faces are covered with something that looks similar to a white napkin, and I can see that their faces are cut up seeing as parts of the napkins are stained with blood. Their arms are covered in marks as well. The weirdest thing of all has to be their chests. On all of their chests, the killer has carved the word 'bother'. Weird...wait, I thought of a better word yesterday, why don't I ever use it? Unusual, this is all unusual. Yes not weird, unusual.

Why does the murderer kill these people though? Grabbing my pen again, I scribble as I think, making sure to take note of everything that goes through my mind at this point.

First things first: is there a pattern. I analyse the photos and look at each individual detail closely, and scroll through the articles and read them twice. As far as I can see, there isn't really a pattern. There is one thing that the murders have in common. All of the victims are from around this area. Their ages are rather close, but that could be just mere coincidence. 

It is clearly obvious that the killings are the work of a serial killer. All of the bodies are found in alleyways, and looking at the photographs I can see that they are all left in nearly identical states. The word 'bother' carved into their chests is a dead giveaway as well.

Does the murderer believe he is morally right? I mean, this explains the murders of Henry and Zelda. They were both arrested and weren't the nicest and most civilized of people, I assume. It's a pretty sound assumption though, seeing as beat his girlfriend and the other almost slit another man's throat. Yet this doesn't explain the murders of Mitchell and Suzie, those two were pretty harmless. If I take into consideration the note I found in the alley though, perhaps he began trying to be morally right. Yet as the 'deadline' got closer he just wanted to reach it, suggesting that there are great consequences from a third party if the murderer doesn't reach a victim count of five.

Perhaps the victims were in the way of another target? Wait...that doesn't make sense seeing as all of the victims were alone, plus if they were in the way of a target I doubt the killer would put so much...effort into their murders, for need of a better word. This could suggest that the murderer works alone, although to be honest it never crossed my mind that the murderer could in fact be a duo. Maybe the victims had some sort of link to potential targets, you could apply this to Zelda seeing as she hung out with the wrong crowd. This doesn't really explain the other three victims though. Maybe the murders are just random...no, I think that would be highly unlikely. Surely if the murders were random they would be...sloppier, not so well executed. Plus, if he or she was trying to take the moral high ground with the first two murders, that surely couldn't be random.

Something in my head clicks, what if the killer possibly feels a sense of remorse? This is possible, considering the position that the bodies are left in. If he didn't give a shit, then he would just leave the bodies sprawled carelessly across the cobblestone floors of the alleys they are found in. Leaving them as if they are lying in a coffin may be a sign of...respect? No, not quite, because if he or she were respectful then they wouldn't kill people in the first place. Glancing at the pictures again, it seems as if the killer is laying their victims to rest. Yes, that's it. Also, the way they cover the faces tells me that maybe the murderer doesn't want to see the faces of the people that are dead at their hands, so if they don't look into the faces and dead, lifeless eyes of those people it may lessen the feeling of guilt. I mean, it makes sense...sort of.

But then if the killer has a sense of remorse, why do they kill in the first place? Do they want the bodies to be found so that they can be arrested for the terrible act they have committed? The bodies are left in alleyways where they are isolated, yet bound to be found at some point (which is proven, seeing as all of the bodies were actually found). That is a possibility, but I don't think that's quite it. There's something else, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Wait...the note, the possible threat being made to the killer. It could be that the killer is being made to kill people.

The fact that the word 'bother' is carved into their chests is what really strikes me. It's as if they want the police to know that they are responsible, as if they are signing off their work. It is obvious that all of the murders are connected, unless there is a copy cat killer though I doubt it. It doesn't take a top detective to figure out the connection, but why make it so obvious? Does the murderer want to be caught? No...no, the murders are too well thought out, they're too careful. The killer makes sure that the victims are alone, and the killer makes sure to not make a mess. Plus, the police have found no fingerprints, nothing to point them in the direction to finding the killer. No, this person doesn't want to be caught.

Why the word 'bother' though? 

Opening a new tab on my laptop, I look up the dictionary definition of the word. I know what it means of course, I'm not stupid, but maybe there is an in depth reason as to why the killer has chosen this particular word. Once the page has loaded, I browse through the numerous definitions, some completely irrelevant to the matter at hand. A few do catch my eye though.

Bother (v.) Cause trouble or annoyance to (someone) by interrupting or otherwise inconveniencing them
Bother (n.) Effort, trouble, or difficulty 
                     (a bother) A person or thing that causes annoyance or difficulty

For a moment I think, but alas it is all for nothing as I draw a blank. What is so significant about the word? Let's see...cause trouble...maybe it is a hassle for the murderer to have to kill these people, again linking to the note I found yesterday. Inconveniencing...what if the victims are a sort of inconvenience to the murderer? How it is inconvenient for him to have to go and kill people. That makes sense...in a way. I chuckle to myself as I scribble down more notes into my notebook, having used up almost ten pages.

"I should be a fucking detective."

Placing my pen down on my desk, I push my chair back and walk out of my room. Hopping down the stairs, I stride into the kitchen and grab a can of Fanta from the fridge before making my way back upstairs, deep in thought. So deep in thought that I didn't hear the guys trying to convince me to play Fifa with them, or notice my door frame when walking back into my room. A few curse words later, I shut my door and return to my previous spot at my desk in front of my laptop. Opening the can on Fanta, I take a sip before returning to what I was doing.

They say that curiosity killed the cat, but I'm not a fucking cat. Trying to find out as much information as I can won't do me any harm, plus I can share my findings with Hannah if I see her at college tomorrow.