Page 5 of The Raven

Death By A Thousand Cuts

The Cop

I inhaled deeply, sucking in the last drag of smoke from my cigarette, and flicking the butt out the window. A dirty habit, but one I only indulged in when I really needed it.

Like now.

Ahead, flashing blue and red lights from cop cars and an ambulance lit up the street as residents milled around, doing their best to find out what the commotion was all about.

It was a wasted journey for the ambulance, though; there was no life to save inside the building, which officers now guarded for a forensic examination to take place.

If there was someone to be saved, I wouldn’t have been called out in the middle of the damn night.

I let out the smoke I’d held in my lungs, enjoying the rush when the nicotine hit my blood, and brought the car to a stop in front of the police tape with an officer manning the roadblock.

“Evening, Detective,” he said, leaning down to speak to me through the window I’d cracked open. “Looks like the Halloween fun and games have started a week early. Let’s hope it wasn’t as bad as last year.”

I pursed my lips. I didn’t need another reminder of what happened almost a year ago; the nightmares were enough.

“And no doubt it’ll get worse before it gets better, especially if Grim and his boys catch up with whoever was responsible before we do,” I replied glumly.

“Yeah, well, you better work fast then. The Vipers are already here.”

Of course they were. Nothing went on in the town of Hadleigh Peak without the Vipers knowing about it within minutes.

The gang believed they owned every single resident in the town.

The sad truth was, they did. No one challenged them, and despite how much effort I’d put into locking them all up, they were always one step ahead.

But it seemed tonight, someone had been brave, or stupid enough, to murder one of the gang members, something I was sure would have far-reaching repercussions if we didn’t find the culprit first.

The officer, whose name I couldn’t remember, patted me on the arm and returned to lower the barrier, allowing me to drive into the scene. A nervous anticipation swirled in my gut, the pressure to solve this case already weighing heavily on my shoulders.

I didn’t want to be responsible for anarchy, and that was exactly what would happen if Grim had his way.

Despite the downpour, locals continued to rubberneck from behind the line of police tape, manned by more uniformed cops.

I made my way along the road to where my colleague, Detective Nick Humphreys, waited, when my attention was drawn to a group of men huddled together but keeping their distance from any cop.

All five of them turned to stare at me, sneers on their lips as they eyed up my car. The Vipers and I were well acquainted, and if I’d had the backing of my Lieutenant to progress with the investigation, all of them would have been locked up by now.

Still, one was dead, and from the brief details I’d been passed before making my way down to the scene, it sounded like Boogie had received the comeuppance he deserved.

“Boss,” Nick said after I’d parked the car and stepped out, the glares of the Vipers watching my every move. Nick nodded in their direction. “They look like they’re gunning for blood.”

I twisted my head to look over my shoulder, meeting Grim’s narrowed eyes. The two of us glared at the other for a long second until he finally pulled his gaze away and began whispering animatedly to Butcher, his second-in-command.

“What do we know?” I asked, returning my attention to Nick.

He began walking in the direction of Boogie’s apartment block, the front door also taped off, and a uniformed cop standing guard, sheltering from the rain.

“Anonymous call came in claiming the occupant of the top-floor apartment was screaming for help,” Nick explained.

“The first officer on scene says the door to the apartment was insecure, so he went in and found Boogie. There were no life-saving opportunities; you’ll see why when we get up there. But brace yourself, it’s not pleasant.”

I doubted anything could be worse than what I’d seen a year ago, but I didn’t divulge that to Nick. He was still new to the team; he didn’t need to hear things that would turn his stomach.

The officer manning the main door stepped aside to let us pass, making a note of the time to record in the scene log, a bored expression on his face. Understandable, scene guards were boring as fuck.

Nick continued talking as he passed the officer, but as I was about to follow, the hairs on the back of my neck prickled, and the feeling that I was being watched crept over me. I paused before spinning around, my eyes scanning the street.

The Vipers were still in the same spot, but the five of them were in a heated discussion amongst themselves, no longer paying any attention to me. Locals watched on, no doubt exchanging theories with each other, but no one specifically watched me.

Figuring I was on edge because of who had been killed, I scanned the street one last time, doing my best to shrug the ominous feeling off when my gaze landed on a hooded figure lurking in the shadows on the other side of the street.

A sense of familiarity washed through me.

The figure was a woman based on the way her leather pants clung to her shapely thighs, and the way her tight leather jacket showcased her tiny waist and the curves of her breasts. Frustratingly, her face was completely hidden in the shadows, not helped by the hood she wore.

Something about the woman had my feet moving in her direction without conscious thought.

Perhaps it was the way she was trying to keep out of view, or maybe it was that the feeling of familiarity had grown so strong that curiosity got the better of me, even though I knew it couldn’t be who my brain was telling me it was.

I kept my gaze on her as I tuned out everything going on around me, solely focused on finding out who she was. She didn’t move, didn’t make any attempt to run, and even though I couldn’t see her face, I could feel her eyes burning into me.

Watching me.

Brrrrrr!

The shrill blaring of a horn startled me from my daze, and I leaped back onto the sidewalk in time for the ambulance to pass by without making me their casualty.

The paramedic behind the wheel mouthed what looked like a curse in my direction, and I held my hand up to apologize for almost stepping in front of his truck.

It only took a second or two for him to drive past, but it was enough time for the figure to disappear.

My gaze roamed up and down the street, trying to catch the retreating woman, but she was nowhere to be seen. It was like she’d vanished into thin air.

Fuck. Was I seeing things?

“Boss, you good?” Nick called.

Taking one last look and confirming the woman was nowhere to be seen, I turned back to him. “Yeah, lead the way.”

The crime scene investigators were already hard at work, taking pictures and seizing evidence. Once Nick and I were in our forensic suits to ensure we didn’t contaminate the scene, I followed Nick up to Boogie’s top-floor apartment, adrenaline flooding my system.

I’d been a homicide cop for over five years, and during that time, I’d witnessed my fair share of gruesome deaths and gory scenes. I thought nothing would faze me, but nothing could have prepared me for the scene I’d faced last Halloween.

Pushing thoughts of that night aside, along with the eerie feeling left behind after seeing the woman outside, I crossed the threshold into Boogie’s apartment. The stench of death surrounded me instantly, a smell I would never get used to.

“He’s in the bedroom,” Nick said sullenly from behind me.

Ignoring him, I glanced around the living area. The place was a state. Crushed beer cans littered the floor, empty take-out boxes abandoned on the coffee table, and at least a dozen cigarette ends in the ashtray.

But no sign of a disturbance.

I tore my attention away and headed along the small corridor to where I knew Boogie’s bedroom was.

I’d been in his apartment following his arrest last year, and despite turning the place upside down, there hadn’t been the slightest piece of evidence to link him to the crimes I knew he’d been involved in.

The door was ajar, and using a gloved hand, I pushed it open. The tangy smell of blood hit me like a tidal wave, and my eyes almost bugged out of my head at what lay before me. If it had been anyone else who’d been murdered so viciously, I would have felt sympathy for them.

But not Boogie.

He deserved everything he got.

His outstretched arms were tethered to the headboard, preventing him from fighting his attacker, along with his feet shackled to the footboard. His face was contorted into a look of terror; the mask he’d wear for all of eternity.

Hundreds of slash wounds covered his body, some small, some long, his skin shredded like ribbons. Blood had seeped from every cut, coating his flesh and soaking into the bedding and the mattress.

Boogie hadn’t died from being stabbed; he’d died from blood loss, something that would have been slow and painful.

And still, I couldn’t find it in me to feel sorry for the fucker.

“Death by a thousand cuts,” I muttered, taking in his mutilated body.

“Yeah, it wouldn’t have been a quick death, that’s for sure,” Nick replied, his voice tinged with disgust. “What do you make of the crow?”

My gaze lifted to the drawing above the bed, my brows furrowing at the artwork etched above Boogie’s dead body. “It’s not a crow.” A knot tightened in my stomach. “It’s a raven.”

“Same difference,” Nick shrugged.

“No, it’s not.” I stepped to the side of the bed so I could get a better look, careful not to disrupt anything from its place.

The charcoal drawing was breathtaking, even with the blood stains smeared over it. Whoever had drawn it had taken their time, detailing feathers in different shades of black and grey.