Black Christmas

Chapter 3

The North Pole is a generally pleasant place. It's never needed police to solve disputes. It's never had any need for Crime Scene Investigation to check something out. It's simply never needed anything to uphold the law. Santa is the law, and now the law is dead.

Workshop security is checking out the scene, but there's not much they can do. Greg's told them everything he knows, and they've basically decided he's in charge. As second in command to the big man himself, it's been established that this should lie in his jurisdiction.

He has no idea what to do. He tells security to keep the scene exactly as is, until he figures out what the next step will be. He goes on a walk around the workshop to sort out his thoughts.

As he looks around at the toy making community in disarray, Greg knows that someone has to find out who did this. Someone has to step up and find the killer that has terrorized the otherwise peaceful North Pole.

He knows it has to be him, but honestly all he can think about doing is breaking down again. He's been so mentally stable for over ten years now, but his mind wanders to the dark recesses it has seen before.

Just like that, he remembers what got him out of it last time. His companion Gordon fills his thoughts with just a brief moment of happiness. He thinks about the good times, the bad times, and everything in between that he's seen with his lifelong friend. Finally, his last memory of Gordon hits his mind and brings him back to reality.

He can think of only one thing now. Gordon's dead. So is S.C. I have to keep it together to find the killer.

Greg's head is finally clear as he begins his walk back to the second floor. Before he reaches the crime scene, he'll have a plan; he knows it.

One step at a time, the pieces of the solution to this horror surface in his mind. The most important realization that hits him is that he can't do this alone. He begins to think of who can help him find the killer.

The North Pole does not have detectives or private eyes. Greg needs to find ordinary elves to help him solve the case. Who are the smartest elves he knows? Of course, Gordon comes to mind, but he shakes off the thought like a last drop of piss. A few others reach his thoughts, and he decides that he will consult them.

After the case is solved, though, how will Greg and these geniuses find who they're looking for and bring him to justice? The team he's building in his mind needs some muscle, and he knows exactly where to look for that.

Finally, teams need a hierarchy. Greg thinks about every sort of group he's ever seen in a movie. Sports teams have a captain answering to the coach. Crime teams have a sergeant answering to the chief. Even in political films, the candidate has a running mate. Greg was always Santa's second in command. Tonight, he's going to need one of his own to find the killer and possibly save Christmas after.

Greg alters his path. He's not heading straight back for the crime scene now. Instead, he's going to assemble his task force. It's a time like this in which he realizes he's glad to live in the North Pole. In the classic "Everybody knows your name" town, Greg's not going to have a problem finding everyone he needs and putting the team together in under an hour, as long as everyone cooperates.

Walking out into the cold, he flinches. I swear to God this weather is what made me go crazy last time. He heads on the path toward his first hopeful teammate, never ceasing to think about the mission he has for the night.

Greg looks at his digital watch to see that it's just hit 9:30 now. In two and a half hours Santa would be taking off to deliver presents. He cringes at the thought of the unhappy children waking up to nothing, but he knows that's far from the most important thing to worry about tonight. If the Africans can go without water, the rest of the world may just have to deal without presents for one Christmas.

Thinking back to the most important part of his mission – finding the killer – Greg can't help but finally think about the justice he's going to bring.

To keep his mind occupied, he tells himself exactly what he's going to do. When I catch this motherfucker, I'm going to do far more than what he's done to my friend and my hero. I'm going to build him up when things look down. I'm going to convince him that he can be forgiven when he at least feels the guilt. I'm going to look into his eyes, promise him that everything will be okay, and then end his pathetic life just as I've given him the slightest bit of hope that I would let him live.

Greg's mind is sadistic now, but his thoughts are still clear. Thinking about what he will do to the killer puts the rare smile of the night on his face as he knocks on the first door.