The Heart Collector (Under Editing)

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Discovery

Fare quickly sat on the floor and pulled out the ribbon along with a black case file. Novus joined her and gave her light when she opened it. She immediately went to the page that the ribbon was marking.

"How do you know that this is it?"

She held up the blue ribbon, "This is Kila's good luck charm. She was chasing it down the street when it came out of her hair on the day, she found me. She claimed that it wanted her to find me."

Novus grew quiet as she looked at the page. After a few moments, she felt him began to read over her shoulder. The file was about a Fae-man that was executed by the council for a series of murders. He took about thirty lives and the lives of many Truth-Falls during his arrest.

"Wait a minute," Novus said, "I remember this case."

Fare looked at him, "What?"

"I remember this case from when I was a kid, delivering newspapers around town. It was very hush-hush. The newspapers were even vague on the whole thing. They didn't release any personal information or legal details. They just said that the murderer was caught and put to justice." He looked back at the page, "Huh, this doesn't give any details either."

"I thought that the Trial Houses were required by law to record everything, even if it wasn't supposed to be released to the public."

"They're supposed to." He reached for the file, "Why doesn't it have any of that?"

She noticed a loose piece of paper out of the corner of her eye, "I think Kila may have answered that for us."

Fare unfolded it to a scribbled poem: 

There is a story that few know.

About a man with a malice heart that only grows.

As each day passes, his heart cries out in hunger

Coaxing the man to find hearts of the younger.

When the bodies are found, there isn't a trace

That the heart was ever in its place.

No one knows how he takes them from their chests

Without leaving a single mark on their breasts.

He was named the Heart Collector

And no one knows what happened after.

They say that the murders will begin once more

Plunging society to what it was before. 

Fare and Novus turned to each other once they finished reading. She could not put her finger on it, but Novus had a strange look in his eye.

"What is it Novus?"

He stood up and put his hand on his chin, "I feel like I've heard that poem before, but I can't remember where."

"What? Really?"

"Relax Fare. I said it sounds familiar, but I have no idea why."

"Do you think that it could be related to the case you remember hearing as a kid?"

"Its definitely possible. Given that your sister left it here in the file, she must have found some sort of connection."

Fare nodded in agreement. She turned back to the file and flipped through the other pages. She realized that they were not from the same file; they were from several other files.