The Grey Suit

Marcus was bending over the table which was covered with photographs from the crime scenes, forensic reports, press cuttings and a bundle of files. His shoulders were aching and his spine felt like it has a dagger stuck in it.

 Hannah was the third girl to get killed in the last thirty days. But the police were unable to find the murderer who was becoming more vicious and brutal.  The whole town was shrouded with the sheet of death and horror. A great public uproar was raised over the failure of police. Marcus was immediately assigned on this case as a special agent and given access to every file and information that the police had on these murders.

 Hannah had dark hair, ancient eyes, jutting collarbone and discoloured cheeks. She was the most beautiful girl who died in the most terrible and hideous way. Her eyes were gouged out, torso split from neck to groin. Marcus leaned back on his chair and a darkness spread across his weathered face. He shook his head, put the photo back in the file and picked up the half-empty hipflask of whiskey. All the victims were killed in the same way. There bodies were dismembered, torn apart and then carefully sewn together. Not a drop of blood was found at the crime scenes. Victims were killed at a different place and then crucified at a different place. All the bodies were found in different city chapels.

He was studying the case files when he noticed something and his eyes flickered.

Sarah Hamill – killed on August 1, 2001.

Linda Travis – killed on August 11, 2001.

Hannah Bill – killed on August 21, 2001.

So, our killer has a pattern. He pulled out a calendar. He had two days before the possible murder on August 31. But Marcus couldn’t find out how the killer was choosing targets. The victims had no connection between them.

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Next morning he was trying to connect the dots when he received a call from the forensic department.  Dr Clark told him that he had found something that might be useful for the case. He rushed out of his office.

He was staring at the initials L. J on a piece of fabric. It was carefully sewn at the back of each victim’s skull like a monogram of some clothing brand is being sewn on the clothes. Marcus was trying to understand why did the killer feel the urge to brand the victims. What made him do that?  And he had just today to catch the killer.

In an hour, Marcus was asking questions from the workers and owners at different clothing stores. He was inquiring an old man who was the owner of the store about the initials when a salesgirl approached him. She probably overheard him. She looked at the initials and told Marcus something that fractions of a moment before she could say anything else he was running towards his car. He was driving home.

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Marcus was standing in front of a dress maker for a custom fitted suit. After he was done choosing the fabric and colour for his suit, the dress maker started taking his measurements. He adjusted Marcus’s shoulders and pulled the tape snugly but not too tightly, and measured from the neck down to the waistline with precision. He was one of the finest dress makers in the town.

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Marcus was talking to the police who had arrested a man in his forties. His biological father left his mother before his birth. And his mother abandoned him when he was just nine years old. Identity crises and abandonment issues turned Liam Jones  into a gruesome murderer. The victims were her clients and so was Marcus.

When the salesgirl told him that it might be a dress maker, he felt a shiver down his spine. He went straight to his house pulled out every drawer in search of a card and turned his wardrobe upside down. He felt a shiver down his spine. He was looking at the dress maker’s card and his metallic grey coat. A look of pure hatred flashed across his face.

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