Chapter 1
POV: Caleb
December 1st. Most people were excited when the calendar flipped to the last page, for most people, it signaled the official start to the Christmas season. It usually meant parties, presents and family, cheerful decorations and lights. It was the time of year most people showed love for one another. However Caleb Beck dreaded it.
Not because he hated all of those things, and it wasn’t always that way, he used to love this time of year, buying gifts for his family, the food, the memories. That all changed 3 years ago when a serial killer took up residence in his city, hiding among them and he had yet to catch him, starting the countdown again, when the calendar flipped to the end.
Caleb knew he had a couple weeks before the first victim was found, the pattern was always the same. 3 women, found days apart, all the week leading up to Christmas Eve, with the final victim found on Christmas Eve night.
All of the victims were eventually connected to a relationship with a married man, most of which were long term affairs. The affair partners were cleared, as was anyone else in the victim’s life, friends, family, coworkers, all checked out and all were accounted for in the days leading up to the killings. At this moment they were no closer to catching the psycho, than they were when the first young woman was found.
Caleb looked out the window across from his desk. The Chicago skyline illuminated by the setting sun, a beautiful mix of pink and orange, breaking through the dark clouds moving in, glinting off the windows of the buildings, snow flurries swirling around in a hypnotic dance.
He glanced over at the 9 file folders on his desk. The previous year’s victims. This seemed to be a yearly tradition for him. Re-living all the murders in hopes that something would jump out at him that hadn’t before, helping him get ahead of the killer and hopefully put an end to the Holiday terror that gripped this city. It’s this time of year he wished he had chosen a different career path.
He opened one of the folders and began the yearly ritual of reading the notes, and looking over the evidence photos, looking for that tiny clue that would piece it all together for him. Every woman was found outside, laying on the ground, usually in the snow. Always in a peaceful position as if she was sleeping, one single Poinsettia flower was always on the body or near it.
No blood, no trauma. The only thing the coroner could find was a single needle mark on the victim’s neck. Though the tox report came back clean. That was a puzzle piece that Caleb couldn’t figure out where it fit, yet, but he knew it was important.
Caleb looked at his watch and realized he needed to head home soon. He had plans for dinner that he didn’t want to be late for. He stacked the folders back together and placed them in the top drawer of his desk. Turned off his lamp and put on his coat, then headed to the elevator. His thoughts turned to his life and how it had changed in the last 3 years.
He and Alison, his ex-girlfriend, rekindled their on again and off again relationship a few years ago, while he was seeing someone else. When the guilt was too much for him, he made the choice to be alone, and break it off with both Morgan and Alison. He loved them both, but he had hurt Morgan deeply by cheating on her and he knew things would never work with Alison. It would just be back and forth, just as it had been since high school, they were no good for each other and they both knew it.
Even though he and Alison were happy most of the time when they were together, he would remember about 6 months into the relationship why they had broken up in the first place, she showed him the part of her personality that he hated. The real Alison would come out, he would say to his friends.
Morgan tried to tell him this was what would happen, that over 20 years of trying to make a relationship work with Alison, it always unlikely that it was going to end differently this time. It always ended because of her wanting to change him, not thinking he was trying hard enough, he didn’t show her enough attention, and was always with his friends too much. She told him that part wasn’t going to change, and she would only be able to hold it off for so long before it came out, but he didn’t listen, he couldn’t stay away.
He tried to fix things with Morgan, and for a couple months he did good. No contact with Alison, but he was pulled back to her over and over, hurting Morgan again and again, until he had to make a choice. He chose to let Morgan go, he couldn’t watch her cry and blame herself for his weakness any more. He missed Morgan, he loved her, always will, but she deserved better than how he treated her. That was partly why Christmas wasn’t the same for him.
This asterisk in his past is why this case was so personal to him. He felt a connection to the men involved, imagining how he would feel if Alison was one of the victims. Though they weren’t together now, they tried a few times in the last three, getting back together and breaking up a few months later. He knew it wasn’t right to try another relationship after seeing how badly Morgan got hurt by his inability to stay away from Alison.
Caleb stopped at the curb and looked up the broken walkway to the small brown brick house. He opened his door as he grabbed the bouquet of daisies out of the passenger seat and got out. He walked up the walkway to the front door of the tiny house and knocked on the turquoise door, noticing a few spots he had missed when he painted it last weekend. He pulled his coat collar up to block out as much of the cold icy wind as he could. He could see someone making their way to the door through the lacy white curtain covering the window on the door.
Caleb smiled as the older woman opened the door with a huge welcoming smile. “Caleb!” she said as she reached for his face with both hands, holding both cheeks in them and planting a big kiss to his forehead.
“Hi Mom.” Caleb replied with a smile as he handed her the flowers and watched as the graying haired woman put them to her nose.
“These are so pretty. Thank you dear.” she said as she led him into the warm house.
“Come on in, dinner is almost ready. I want to tell you all about my friend from my group as I put these in water.” she said as she continued on through the archway that led into the kitchen.
Caleb smiled as he removed his coat and hung it on the coat rack by the front door. His mom was doing much better since she joined this online support group for widows and widowers after his step father died earlier that year. He was glad she had support from others who were going through the same situation. He couldn’t imagine how she felt. Well he did in a way. He lost the love of his life, but she was still alive, and it was his doing that caused her absence.
Caleb wondered how Morgan was doing? Was she happy? Did he do the right thing? Pain stabbed his heart, he really missed her.
POV: The killer
The killer placed the box of syringes and bottles of potassium chloride in the black back pack along with the roll of duct tape. It was always important to make sure you had the proper supplies when you went hunting, they thought as they zipped the bag shut before setting it aside. They walked over to the poinsettia plants on the plant stands by the front window.
Touching the dirt on top, checking the soil to make sure it had plenty of water. Glancing up out the window, they watched the snow falling gently, wondering which of this year’s contestants would be first to get caught. This year they had found 3 particularly horrible ones. They all had the same excuse, he said he loved me and not her, he said they were separated, or he promised he was going to leave her. What kind of woman has a relationship with a man that has a pregnant wife at home?
A dead one.
