Lux Brumalis: "The light of winter"/"Winter's light."
After defeating the Flag Smashers and conquering his inner demons, Bucky is trying to live a quiet life in New York City. While being Cap's sidekick has brought him (mostly unwanted) fame and at...
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A/N:I thought it was time for a bit more of a "reveal" - hopefully this can solidify some guesses. No smut this chapter, it's all plot.
"If a fear cannot be articulated, it can't be conquered." - Stephen King, "Salem's Lot"
Sam, Bucky, and Torres meet outside of the coroner's office. Charlotte is at work. Torres's investigation of Tabitha's phone and computer came up empty with the exception of a suspicious email that she sent Charlotte the night she disappeared, which Charlotte never told Sam about. Bucky defended her, saying she was in shock, so it made sense that she didn't say anything. She's never been in this kind of situation before. Sam should go easy on her.
Another girl turned up dead this morning. On the subway platform. It's not completely unusual for New York, but it's the way her body was found that disturbed Bucky when Sam gave him the details. She was completely drained of blood with a large "injury" on the side of her throat. There wasn't a drop found near her body, and no signs of a struggle. Her purse, phone, and wallet were all still on her person when she was found.
"Are you sure about this?" Torres asks as they head inside.
"Yeah," Sam says softly. "Something weird's going on. This isn't sitting right with me, and the cops not saying anything is..."
"Suspicious," Bucky mutters.
Sam nods.
"I agree. It's bad."
"Did you find a connection between the women? That victimology thing I asked you about?" Sam asks Torres. Bucky remains quiet as they cling to the desk. He rings the bell for the attendant. When one doesn't appear, Bucky taps it again. And again. And again - until Sam reaches a hand out.
"Will you chill out?"
"It said ring for service!"
"Yeah, and they're busy!" Sam hisses. "If your mother was here, she'd slap you!"
Bucky rolls his eyes and Torres chuckles.
"Didn't find anything," he replies. "They all work in different fields, live in different areas, it looks like this is random."
Sam shakes his head.
"There's nothing random about this. There's gotta be something going on. Some kind of connection."
"What if it's not one guy?" Bucky asks.
He's been entertaining the idea. Twenty women in six months is difficult for one person. Charlotte told him that even Ted Bundy couldn't kill at this rate. Bucky had to google who Ted Bundy was and was horrified when he did it. He erased his internet history immediately, not feeling right about having that on his phone.
"What do you mean?" Sam asks.
"It would be impossible for someone to be kidnapping and killing at this rate."
