The Cold Edge

2nd case in a week. Detective Miles was hunched over a file; it had several pictures of mutilated bodies.



“You gonna look at that all night?” said another officer also on the case.

“As long as I need to” detective Miles said in a strained voice.

The officer walked away almost annoyed at his dedication. There was a killer in this city, a city full of sin, and this is the only case that stands out to the detective, it reminded him of a similar case, but that was a different town in a different time. Most people think that every murderer is the same, kills for some half assed reason. But miles knew them. Because inside he was a killer, the only thing different was he had a badge and lived by a code.

The thing that made this case stand out to him, not only was the similarity but also the fact that the killer was so clean with his victims, no fingerprints, no DNA, but one thing was the same, there was always trace amounts of alcohol on the bodies, and the slash marks were always in the same spot; across the chest and one large one across the stomach making them spew their entrails.

The phone rang, another set of victims. Miles rushed over to the scene. Same slash marks, and a trace amount of alcohol. It was the same killer indeed but what was the motive, what did he have against these people? Not much else could be pulled from the scene so the detective called it a night.

Miles came into work prepared for more murder victims but surprisingly found his desk the way he had left it last night. He sat down and just as he did a call came through, one of the victims was barely alive. He practically flew to the scene, the victim was still on the ground, and the paramedics couldn’t move her due to the amount of damage her body had taken. The detective got close to her.

“Do you remember what he looked like?”

“He told me to…. Go... To... Sleep.”

It then hit him like a truck; he knew who the killer was, the case so many years ago, all the reported sightings of him, all of the witnesses that heard him. The detective knew who he was and he was hell bent on catching him.

3 days later a mandatory curfew was placed on the city 8 p.m. anyone who was out past then was a prime target and the police would know who to get to before the killer did. From then on it was a waiting game, watching, ready to act at a moment’s notice. Miles dozed off for a minutes when he was ripped from sleep by the phone, 4 teens out past curfew. He got to them as fast as the speedometer on his car would allow. When the detective got there they were already dead but the murderer was still in progress of leaving, miles passed the scene dead set on catching him. The killer was cornered off down an ally with no exit. Miles was out of his car sprinting at him.

“No more running, I got you right where I need ya”

The killer stayed silent in the darkness.

“Let’s see what you really look like under that hoodie”

As he directed his flashlight at the suspect he was stricken with a sight of shock. The killers face was pale white, his eyes beady, and had a smile that would even make a clown scared.

<p class="MsoNormal">“All those years ago and this is the ugly piece of shit that killed all those people”

<p class="MsoNormal">The killer gave him an angered look.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I think I hit a nerve”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Careful detective, standing high and mighty just makes you easier to stab”

<p class="MsoNormal">“You won’t be stabbing anyone after I’m done with you”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Well unfortunately for you that won’t be happening, until next time detective”

<p class="MsoNormal">He threw a knife at Miles piercing his arm.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Oh and so you can address me properly on those files of yours, the name is Jeff, I think you can fill in the rest”

<p class="MsoNormal">And like that he was gone.

<p class="MsoNormal">Several days passed, surprisingly no killings, but no sign of ‘Jeff’. Detective Miles was oddly the most calm out of all the police. He was thinking, he can’t quite place it but he remembers Jeff almost as if he had once been a normal person. He has a hunch, Miles looks up the town he used to live in, there was a murder of a family of three, they had moved in a year before they were killed. Their kid was sent to a juvenile hall for false claims, his name was Lou Woods, he also had a brother….. Jeffery Woods. Was this the killer, it had to be. That night Detective Miles gets a call, there is a crowd gathered by the old church, some guy is holding a young boy hostage on the roof.

<p class="MsoNormal">Miles knew it was Jeff. When he arrived the police had set up a perimeter.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Anything new happen” miles asked the officer next to him.

<p class="MsoNormal">“He’s still up there holding that kid”

<p class="MsoNormal">“I’m going up”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Are you crazy, he could kill that boy any second” the officer scolded.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Then I better move quickly”

<p class="MsoNormal">Miles reached the top of the church.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Jeff You gotta stop this, let the kid go!”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Of course”

<p class="MsoNormal">Surprisingly Jeff released the boy to the detective.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Why did you take him, what did he do to you?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“I only used him to get you up here”

<p class="MsoNormal">“And why is that?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“To end this of course, with you out of the way I won’t have you annoying me and messing up my victims”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Listen I know about what happened, all of it, your brother, those 3 kids, your parents, but I can help you!”

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeff looked at him both shocked and enraged.

<p class="MsoNormal">“What the fuck do you know; you don’t know anything about me”

<p class="MsoNormal">“I don’t know why you killed them but what I do know is that I can help you get better”

<p class="MsoNormal">“I don’t want to get better”

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeff gripped his knife and raced at detective Miles. It caught him off guard, he stumble back and kicked Jeff, making him land several feet back. Miles got up and drew his gun.

 <p class="MsoNormal">“Don’t do this Jeff”

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeff just gave Miles a completely rage filled look. He ran at miles. He aimed at Jeff and pulled.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeffery lay limp on the roof blood pouring out of his head.

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">The detective didn’t utter a word as he walked off into the night.

Credited to Decisivefactor