✔️ Only I Can Feel You | Hannigram | Rye Ambrose

21

Hello, everyone! There wasn't an update last week because it was Christmas Eve and I was spending time with family. Hope you enjoy this late Christmas present! ❤️ Also, Happy New Years in advance!

"We have two girls left," said Jack, dropping a file on his desk for Will to see, whose brows furrowed in confusion. "Grace Mirrors was caught by state police a day before Ana Wilson was killed. Alibi checks out." His face fell grave, and Will glanced up as he took the file in his hands.

    "Elise Nichols, however," he vaguely motioned to the file, "was killed last night. Near Maryland this time." Will's eyes widened, and Jack gravely nodded. "Turns out she didn't stay in Virginia like we thought."

    Will  looked down and began sifting through the file. "Unbelievable. Second kill with only a few days in between." He shook his head. "She still has to be tired. She's probably resting somewhere—maybe even hitchhiking."

    As he looked through the file, grotesque pictures of the murder shimmered under the office lights.

    "Face carved out and body near the forest," said Jack as Will examined the evidence. "No antlers this time, but another message."

    Will's eyes lingered on a shot of Elise Nichols top half, completely blank and open. Save for the spray-painted letter 'N.' It seemed to echo through the laminated photo, ringing of a sad emptiness.

    "The body's in the lab," said Crawford, standing. Will followed after, and as they walked to the lab, Jack spoke further.

    "Evidence shows no signs of struggle or fight. We later found that she'd inhaled chloroform—knocked her out."

"Wanted to give her death a sense of peace. The killer... perhaps cared for her."

Jack nodded. "It definitely looks that way. She was administered a lethal injection. Mutilation occurred afterwards."

They entered the lab, and Will circled around the body, uncovering it. Like the previous murder, her face was skinned off—ripping her of her identity and laying it in the hands of the killer.

"Any records of other murders like this? Disappearances?"

Jack stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I'm having Price and Zeller check that now. This killer seems to be recently killing, though. Perhaps took an intermission between victims."

"Too experienced," said Will, pulling the cover completely off. "She may be young, but she's done this before. Enough to develop this signature of hers."

He stooped over the body, ignoring the large, stark letter 'N' on her chest, and examining the rest of her. Graham lingered at the junction of her sharp hip bones, brows furrowing.

"She took another prize."

"It's a clean cut, but she took out the large intestine. Odd prize, if you ask me."

Will hummed in thought, unable to shake the suspicion from his soldiers. "This..." He carefully breathed in, catching the faint scent of—his brows rose.

Death?

"The killer didn't do this herself." He stood up straight, meeting Jack's incredulous gaze. "How else could she have administered the injection? Even had those medicines on her in the first place?"

"You live on the streets, you learn some things." Crawford vaguely waved his hands. "Maybe she's a user, too."

Will's brows furrowed, and he tilted his head. "Possibly... possibly, but..." He glanced back at the body, staring at the incision. "The cut is too clean." He looked over his shoulder at Jack. "Surgically clean."