Arm of The Law
Her lifeless body lay in the dirt, her torso ravaged like a turkey on Thanksgiving. The sadistic pig that did this was still on the loose, and Detective Andrew Thomas felt responsible for the killer eluding the law. He was supposed to protect and save lives, but the corpse that lay rotting in front of him proved just how unfit he had become.
This was the fourth young teen in a month, and each one had a family that missed their little girl. Sadly, she wouldn't be going back to a family safe and sound. Instead, the frail remains were placed inside a black bag and carried to the vehicle. An autopsy had to be done and quickly. The next girl's life depended on it.
This killer enjoyed kidnapping and toying with teenage girls before opening them up and mismatching their insides like a fucking jigsaw puzzle. Autopsy reports suggest that the girls are conscious and very alive when this happens to them, until they die from shock. Once the killer is finished having their fun, a clue is placed in one of the organs before being placed back into its original position. The bodies have no specific drop off, and they are never covered. The first was found in an alley behind a frequently open bar, the girl's body naked and decaying among the empty beer bottles and cigarette butts. The second and third were found on rooftops of apartment buildings, each one left to the elements and hungry birds to peck away at the nude flesh. Then there was this poor soul, thrown out into a ditch just off the highway leading into the city. A family of raccoons were feasting on the arms and legs when police arrived, and they didn't want to give up their free meal of skin and rotting tissue.
The city, Defiance, was polluted with crime. Killers were born here, raised in run-down homes with drunks for fathers and whores for mothers. There was nothing joyful or remotely good here, and the world knew it. When a body was found, there was little to do. The churches were abandoned, re-purposed as "temporary" prison cells that became all too permanent. Children wandered the streets to hide from abusive parents, broken lips bleeding from the most recent beating. Fires were started in dumpsters, broken homes all filled with hermits and wild animals. Most of the police force were either too drunk or too lazy when it came to fighting the crime.
The Detective was not cut from the same cloth, though. He took each loss of life personally, and would always vow to avenge it. Watching the emergency vehicle drive off towards the morgue, he rolled up the sleeve of his button-up shirt and it revealed scars from elbow to wrist. The blade at his side came out of the holster, and the steel sliced open a new wound. It was placed next to three other recent cuts, each representing the girls that were brutally murdered on his watch. Dozens of scars littered his forearm, and countless more on the other. Each one was a victim he never saved, a life he could never return home. This pushed him harder than any of his training in law enforcement, and it wasn't the first time he dealt with a serial killer.
Returning the cuff of his sleeve to his wrist, he glanced at the gleaming watch adorned on his other hand. 4:57. It wasn't even light out yet and the other officers were pulling out flasks, downing rum and whiskey and bourbon. Each one had a poison, but the toxic properties didn't stop them from drowning themselves in it. Every day, Thomas thought as he viewed the empty space a dead girl recently occupied. Every fucking day, I'm surrounded by retards. He returned the blade to his side, crimson blood still slick on the metal as the clip was fastened around the hilt.
Thomas gave the ground one last glance while buttoning the cuff of his shirt, then began walking to his car. It was time to meet the body at the morgue, and see who's little girl lost her life. With a scowl on his face, the Detective also realized a dark and haunting thought. Since this girl had been found, a clue had been placed inside. That meant the next victim had already been kidnapped. If he didn't act swift and strong, another slash would be etched into his skin.