When the first body was found, swollen and misshapen in an abandoned building, the police had labeled it a random killing. Four months later, the skeletal remains of another woman were discovered in a deserted warehouse, and the same conclusion was reached. Unnamed, unclaimed and unidentifiable, both had been buried in pauper's graves on the edge of town, but when Jane Doe number three turned up, the police realized the killings were not random...they were serial.
A small task force was formed to work the case, but all the murders had taken place in sections of the city where people made it a habit of looking the other way. With no witnesses or clues, other than the strange, triple-track wounds on the victims' bodies, after months of investigation the police reached a dead end. But a few days before Christmas, in the wee hours of the morning, a call came into the London Road police station in Glasgow from a woman stating she knew the identity of the man The Weekly Sun had labeled "The Red Light Slasher."
Believing that the woman had consumed a bit too much Christmas cheer, at first the police simply jotted down a few notes. Ever so politely, they smiled into the phone and listened to her story, but when she made mention of a belt, its buckle fashioned with three prongs on the back...the police stopped smiling.
Undaunted by the weather, even though it took the two Detective Inspectors nearly four hours to travel to Nancy Shaw's home, it was time well spent. Lying on the floor in her lounge was a weapon covered in the blood of a man who more than once had left his DNA on a brutalized victim.
It took nearly two weeks to find him, but when they did, he wasn't what they had expected. Courteous and polite, Cameron went with them willingly. He was smart enough to know the beast could not be seen, so keeping it hidden behind compliance and a gentlemanly air, he moved through the months of remand, trial and imprisonment with not so much as a harsh word entered into his file.
It was the way it had to be. He was smart. Bide his time and conduct himself properly and his sentence could be reduced, and so far time had been on his side. There had been ten, but only four had been discovered before the ravages of exposure and rodents had erased the scars of a buckle and the semen of a monster.
Sentenced to life, all believed he would live out his days behind stone and steel, listening to men bellow about their aches, their pains and their victims, but he had other plans. Yes, he would spend years behind bars, but that would give him the time he needed to control the beast...and to think about her.
Black hair and eyes of cinnamon were not easily forgotten, and if he had his way, he would see those eyes again.
The End.
Thank you for reading Give Me A Reason. As an Independent author, I have no publicity department to depend on to spread the word about my books, so if you liked Give Me A Reason, I hope you can find a few minutes in your busy day to return to where you purchased it and leave a comment or a review. If you want to contact me personally, please drop me a line at Lyng227@gmail.com Lyn.
Acknowledgements.
If you've finished GMAR, then you know it's not exactly a short story, so a tremendously large "Thank You" goes out to those who spent their days, nights and weekends reading my words. Some may label them editors and others may label them betas, but they are so much more than that. They are my friends. So, to Susan, Marian, Mike, Joyce, Bron and Candice...I simply could not have done this without you. You kept me true. You kept me sane. You guys rock!
Other Titles by Author.
Ice.
Ice begins when a boy is kidnapped from a London park and Detective Inspectors Alex Blake and Maggie Campbell are brought together to work on the case. While their goal is the same, their work ethics are not. Intelligent, perceptive and at times disobedient, Alex Blake does what she believes it takes to do her job. Maggie Campbell has a slightly different approach. She believes that rule books were written for a reason.
Unexpectedly, their dynamics mesh, but when her feelings for Alex become stronger than she wants to admit, Maggie provokes the worst in Alex to ensure that they will never be partners again.
Three years later, fate brings them together again. Their assignment is simple, but a plane crash gets in their way. Now, in the middle of a blizzard, they have to try to survive...and fight the feelings that refuse to die.
Mistletoe.
Four-year-old Diana Clarke sends her wish to Santa Claus, but lost in the lining of a sack, it isn't discovered for thirty years. Now, Santa has a problem. No child's wish has ever gone unanswered, but the child isn't a child anymore.
Believing there is nothing in Santa's Village to satisfy the little girl's wish now that she's an adult, he calls on a Higher Power and is given a suggestion. Although most of Santa's workshops contain only toys for boys and girls, there is one that holds a possible solution to his problem. Learning that Diana will be attending three upcoming Christmas parties, Santa calls on his lead elf to deliver three sprigs of mistletoe, hoping that under one, Diana Clarke will find what she asked for thirty years before.
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end.