Overkill

Four

"Agent Bennet, you in?" It was Wanda, one of the dispatchers at Jackson Police Department.

Sarah leaned forward and plucked the mic from the radio and pressed the 'talk' button to communicate, "I'm here, Mark and I just got in the car. I'm on the way to coffee, and then we'll be at the station."

"Change of plans. You're needed at the old mill on Hametown Rd. Detective Grey requested you and Agent White." Wanda stated.

Sarah narrowed her eyes in frustration but decided to keep what she was thinking to herself, whatever was going on at Hametown Mill was more important than everyone's evening cup of caffeine, otherwise she wouldn't have been called out first thing. She glanced at Mark; he was waiting for her to tell him what to do. He'd been letting her call the shots since he talked her into staying with him a few days ago.

"Alright," she sighed, "We're turning around and heading there now. What are we walking into?" She really just wanted her coffee.

The radio made a static scratching noise before Wanda's voice cracked through, "Possible underage party, there was an anonymous call about ruckus going on in the area and lights flickering in the building, but Sarah, kids never go to that Mill."

"Copy that, we're about five minutes out," she replied and popped the mic back into its spot on the dashboard.

"To the Mill?" Mark asked with a grin. With the past few days of working together and her staying at his house, he learned that Sarah was not a morning person, whether their shift started in the morning or after the moon was already in the night sky.

"Let's just go break up this party so I can get caffeine and we can get back to that murder case," she rolled her eyes and looked out of the passenger window wishing she had coffee in her hands.

Knowing not to press her anymore, he put the car in drive and headed towards Hametown Mill.

It was darker than normal tonight due to an overcast covering the moonlight. Sarah grabbed one of the two flashlights Mark keeps in his car, double checked the clip of her hand gun, and clipped a two-way radio to her belt. She called in to dispatch that they arrived and were now entering the building. She could faintly hear music in the distance and see the flickering lights Wanda spoke of. This told her the lights were either candles or some sort of hanging lights to illuminate the area. Her and Mark looked at one another and Sarah gestured silently for Mark to go around the back and enter that way.

Sarah followed the music, clearing each room she passed by on the way. She kept glancing over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't being followed. The closer she got to the music, the clearer it became. The music playing was from the 1940s, which confused her, if this was a teen party wouldn't they have the latest hits playing?

Reaching the door way of the room where the music and lights were, Sarah flattened herself against the wall with her hand gun held up in front of her. She slowly moved to peek into the room and gasped when her eyes rested on the table in the middle of the room. Forcing down the bile she felt rising in her throat, she quickly stepped into the room with her gun drawn, scanning the area for anyone hiding. She aimed left and aimed right as her eyes danced over the room. She studied every possible place to hide, double checking the darkest points.

Once she deemed the room was clear, she pulled her two-way radio from her belt and contacted dispatch, "Wanda, I have a 187 (homicide) over here with a code 100 (dead body). Send backup immediately. Suspect not found. Mark, stay alert, head my way."

Wanda's voice rang out through the radio, "Backup is on the way."

Sarah was in a state of shock looking at the room she was in, it looked as if a massacre had taken place here. There were blood splatters all over the walls, the ceiling, and puddles collecting on the floor close to the table.

On the table lay the body of a man, multiple stab wounds, flesh hanging as if the killer had been slicing it off piece by piece; his head had been bashed in with some sort of blunt object, burn marks on his chest, and all of his finger nails had been pulled off.

Sarah stared at the gruesome scene in disbelief, how is anyone able to do this to another person? It also seemed like déjà'vu. It was all too similar to the current cases she was working on. Questions were flooding her mind the more she looked over the body and the bloodbath in the room. She was lost in her thoughts until shuffling noises had her attention snapping to the doorway. "Mark?"

No answer.

Forgetting about the rest of the scene she'd need documented, she moved quickly, following the sounds that turned into running footsteps; she hesitated for a moment, remembering her past. Not wanting the person to get away, she ignored the silent screams to stay put and ran after the suspect as fast as she could while being cautious of her surroundings. As she ran, she pulled her radio from her belt and called in that she was in pursuit of a possible suspect.

Wanda's voice wasn't the one to respond. The voice to respond was Detective Grey's, "Stand down until backup arrives, they should be pulling in now."

"Sir, Mark hasn't checked in with me," Sarah argued.

"Your orders are to stand down, Bennet." He demanded.

Sarah stopped in her tracks and leaned against the wall behind her as she fought to catch her breath, she thought about the case back East, the one she was captured on. "Done, sir," she responded and waited to hear the footsteps of her fellow officers. "Mark, where are you?" She quietly asked herself.

After the crime scene was documented, evidence preserved, and she knew she wouldn't disturb undocumented evidence, Sarah found herself walking around the room once again. She began looking over the splatters, the lacerations, burn marks, and the stature of the man. The man wasn't a small man, he had to have been at least 225 pounds, maybe 6 feet tall. It would have been a struggle to get a body up on the table for one person. So, possibly more than one suspect, strong enough to lift a man of this size.

"Sarah," it was Mark's voice over the two-way radio, "Sarah, I'm almost back to the Mill. I was following a possible suspect on foot, I lost him."

Closing her eyes, she shook her head before she responded. She should have kept running after the person. "Copy. I'll meet you at the car."

This is the same perp involved in the other two murder cases, she was sure of it. She exited the room and found an officer taping off the hallway, "Collins, I want to see all of the evidence collected and notes that were taken here."

A crew walked past her with a stretcher and a body bag to take the body back to the medical examiner.

"Ma'am, they were all taken down to the station with Detective Grey." Officer Collins stated.

Sarah nodded and immediately headed out of the building find Mark to get back to the station, so she could talk with the detective on the case.

----

As they walked into the room, there were agents profiling possible suspects and poring over the reports and notes already. Detective Grey looked up when the door closed and motioned for Sarah and Mark to come forward.

"Bennet, is there something I can help you with?" he asked her, nodding a greeting towards Mark.

"Sir, I'm not sure how far you have gotten yet, but I feel this case is almost identical to the two murders you had here a few weeks ago. The two I was called in to work on. I also stand by my conclusion that there is more than one perp."

Detective Grey smiled, "You would be right in your assumption, Bennet."

"I'm on those two cases, I've already connected them. If we get the files from the two previous cases, we could compare the reports and notes and find more information. There are shoe prints in one file, and a glove print in the other. Today, I found a very similar bloody shoe print and what looks to be glove prints on the table. The same wounds that were inflicted are on all bodies, looks as if the same sort of weapons were used to make them. This would tie the three cases together, if we can connect them, we can be positive that you have a serial killer in Jackson." She spoke so quickly that she had to breathe in a deep breath after she was done talking. She was shaking from the adrenaline pumping through her veins.

The other agents grinned at her as they listened. She wasn't sure if it was because they already pieced this information together or if they were arrogant enough to think she had no idea what she was talking about. Sarah didn't care. She had a hunch and wasn't going to stay quiet.

"Sir, the two previous bodies both have burn marks, lacerations matching this vic, and if the number of stab wounds on this man is thirteen, I'd bet money this is the work of the same person or people. I'm going for people. One person couldn't lift bodies like this onto tables by themselves."

"Why couldn't they?" One of the agents asks.

Sarah turns her attention to the agent and answers, "Because if his autopsy comes back the same as the others, he was still alive during all of this torture."

Detective Grey studied her. Impressed with Sarah's ambition, he addressed his team, "It looks as if this case has just been given to Agent Bennet and Agent White. If any of you have any information that needs to be discussed about the case, do so now. If not, go about your daily jobs, Sarah and Mark will be taking this case over." He glanced at Sarah once more, "Sarah, grab your partner a chair and sit, they're leaving, you have work to do."