Elysium Dreams

Eight

We had less than twelve hours of daylight.  By 7 o'clock that evening, the sun had set.  I had taken a bath in very hot water, then a shower, because I'm like that.  The second bag had contained men's pajamas, one size too big for me, that were crafted from the finest silk.  The pajamas were also impractical; silk is not the warmest material on the planet.  In his defense, he had purchased ladies' style long johns to go with them, but they were two sizes too small and wouldn't come up past my thighs.  To fix this, Lucas had gone out a second time and purchased more practical pajamas.  They were still men's pajamas, but they were dark red with black and grey striping and made out of heavy flannel with an insulated lining and had a matching robe that tied at my waist.  I also had new snow boots that were made for Alaska and came up past my knees.  I found them uncomfortable, but at least my toes wouldn't freeze off.

"Tell me about the first three," I said as we finished up dinner.  We were assembled in the Marshals' conference room.  Arons had been very quiet since I had gone off on him earlier.  Gabriel and I had made a trip back to the motel-- me to get warm, him to check in on Michael or at least that was the excuse.  The real reason was so that I could quietly and casually be reprimanded for going off on the Special Agent who was trying to be helpful.

I hadn't argued or pleaded my case.  I had sat and let Gabriel tell me all the reasons I was in the wrong without saying a word.  I considered it amazing personal growth because I really wanted to tell him where to shove Special Agent Arons.  He rubbed me the wrong way, but that was probably just because I didn't know him or trust him or want to be around him in any way, shape, or form.  I was like that with new people.

Now, we were back at the Marshals' building.  My badge was clipped to the pilfered cord and hung from my neck.  Which was good since my pajamas didn't have a lot of pockets.  They got me some interesting looks when we returned.  I guessed suit and tie was standard dress for US Marshals in Alaska.  I thought they should consider themselves lucky that I had bothered to put on a bra.

"Because they don't have the expertise and precision of the last thirty-eight victims, I have doubts it's the same killer," Xavier stood up and walked to the board.  "See, with victim one, there are hesitation marks.  The killer does not maintain equal pressure on the blade, making some of the patches too deep and others too shallow.  He comes out early in a few places and has to start again.  The legs are definitely not as cleanly skinned and he seems to have issues with the kneecaps, which isn't present on any of the victims after his break."

"I've been thinking about the break," Lucas jumped in.  "This kind of training would take years, not weeks.  I don't know what he was doing during that time, but you aren't going to gain that much proficiency skinning deer or moose in that time frame.  I'm not sure you'd gain it skinning humans in succession."

"Why kill three, then stop only to be replaced by another killer?"  Arons asked.

"Partners," Lucas answered.  "If they were partners, one of them might have killed the other and taken over.  The one that takes over has greater skill in this department, but without his partner, he has to find a new way to hoist the bodies.  Maybe that's what the break was about."

"That might explain part of it," Xavier agreed, "but not all of it.  Because while I see the work of two different men, I do not see a difference in the methods, just the skill level."

"But a partner might not change his methodology," I told him.

"True," Lucas said.  He looked at the board.  "His victims also change.  Not much, just a little.  The age goes up."

"That it does," Xavier said.  "The first three were all in their early twenties.  The rest have been in their late twenties or early thirties with an outlier that was almost forty.  And their physical appearance changes a little as well.  The younger women are all less 'natural', I can't think of a better way to put that.  The people that were interviewed said they wore make-up, lots of jewelry, one even had implants.  The rest of the victims are plain Janes-- no make-up, no excessive jewelry, and while their clothes are name brand, they aren't two-hundred dollar jeans or eighty-dollar shirts."