Excerpt: Red

Detective Richard Brixton puffed silently on his cigar as he surveyed the body of Natalie Bright. Shaking his head, the detective turned away from the corpse. For it was a gruesome sight; the killer had tried to dismember the body, but had not succeeded. Bits of flesh hung off the body, barely attached to the cold half-sawed bone. Only the coroners report would say, but Richard had guessed she had also been raped. But of course, it would be hard to tell, seeing as how the victim was a known prostitute. “Daniel!” the detective’s green assistant, Daniel Lestrage, came scurrying over. Richard watched with good-natured humor as the young man made a wide arc around the body. “It’s dead, man. Stop acting like it will jump at you and get over here!”
“Yes, sir, right away sir.” Daniel straightened his path a little, but ran to make up for lost time.
“Get my glass.” Bobbing his head meekly, the assistant drew out Richards magnifying glass from his black leather case. Without thanks, Richard took it and crouched down to examine the victim’s skirt. Rusty red in color, it looked as though it had suffered a geat deal. Leaning over more, the detective spotted something unusual. “Captain, you better have a look at this!” Captain Joe Rache walked over and took up a position beside the detective. “Right there,” Richard pointed to a blue spot at the top of the woman’s skirt. “What do you see?”
‘I see blue cloth,” began the captain. It took a moment, but then the idea dawned on him. “You don’t mean that…. no, look at all of it on the street…. there wouldn’t be that much unless….” Richard nodded, and, using gloves, lifted the victim’s skirt. There was a jagged cut across the lower abdomen, totally severing the body in half except for a single shred of skin. The captain rocked back on his heels, shaking his head. He had just assumed that the skirt was red; never did he think that it might be stained with blood! “So much anger…. a crime of passion… but to do that to somebody…. we’re looking for a monster.”
“A monster that’s not finished yet,” added Daniel. The two older men turned to him.
“What are you talking about, boy?” asked Richard, dreading the answer. Daniel just pointed. Painted on the wall a few blocks down were the words ‘I’ll be back’. Chills crawled up the detective’s spine. “Look at the color. It’s painted in blood.” The men stood up. “So, let’s review. What do we know about the victim?”
“Born Natalie Bright, 21, parents deceased, known prostitute, called Naughty Natalie on the streets, last seen Thursday night leaving with a customer, wearing blue skirt and white blouse, customer unrecognizable. No recorded residence.”
“Well, she had to live somewhere. Daniel, track down all know associates and try and find a residence. We know that she died Thursday night around 1 am, and she’s wearing the same clothes. Is that all?”
“Yeah. Strange, isn’t it? Supposedly, she was liked by everyone, never refused a customer. Who would want to kill her?”
“That’s what we need to find out”
“So will you take the case? I’ve got a lot on my plate right now. Three robberies and a murder down on Plumaria. Plus about a million and one domestic violence cases. These stupid city boys aren’t happy unless they’re knocking somebody around. Can I count on you?” They clasped forearms.
“Of course. You can always count on me, friend.”