Power of Will, a SAW Fanfiction

Ch. 32 Pre-SAW: Showdown In The Woods

Peter Strahm

What is a partnership, Peter?

The message was scrawled in black, the red card stained in what appeared to be dried blood. He flipped the card and scowled down at the words. This had been the latest note the Heart Stealer had left at the crime scene. It was a cryptic riddle pinned to a bouquet of tilia leaves.

The only reason they knew what kind of plant it had been was because the forensic botanist happened to be dropping off some files to Erickson and she had noticed the leaf shape while standing around by Strahm's desk. The branches had been in a dented cardboard box.

The Heart Stealer mailed them another one of his packages, straight to the Behavioral Sciences department.

My home is loud. I am quiet.

But for us, God fashioned our fate together.

I am faster than my home.

But when I rest, my home still runs.

I will stay at home as long as I live.

Should we be separated, I will die.

What am I and what is my home?

"And yet he gives us the answer?" Lindsay was pulling at her necklace, pursing her lips. "A partnership?"

Strahm narrowed his eyes. "That doesn't seem right. Do partnerships run?"

"Yes?" Lindsay grimaced.

"I'm with Strahm," Kerry was digging through the various notes from previous crime scenes. "Like this line - 'I am faster than my home'. Who would be the runner and who would be the home in the context of a partnership?"

What does this mean? Strahm looked back at the bouquet. Every single detail meant something. The Heart Stealer was too methodical. Too precise to allow a single action be wasted. What did this bouquet of tree leaves mean?

"The tilia leaves. What do they represent?"

"With respect to the riddle?"

He shook his head. "By themselves. What are tilia leaves?"

Nobody answered. Strahm fumed. "Get me an encyclopedia." He rubbed his temple. "And bring me back that botanist."

Lindsay was on the phone, contacting the forensics division. Kerry had left the room. He continued to glare hatefully at the riddle. He never liked The Riddler in Batman. Apparently, this guy thought himself akin to the villain. So what did that make him? Bruce fucking Wayne?

Great. It certainly fits the profile of exuding traits of narcissism and delusions of grandeur. But this means that he wants someone to play with. Someone to help validate these delusions. In a perverted way, Strahm was flattered to be perceived as a worthy adversary to the bastard.

He wondered what made the Heart Stealer fixate on him and his team. He had a bad feeling in his gut that warned him to be vigilant. He looked over at Lindsay, who hung up the phone.

"She's coming back."

He flared his nostrils to inhale sharply. "We can't go on like this, Linds."

She had her arms folded. "You're telling me. I just want to catch this guy." There was an edge in her voice and the shadow of defeat was on her face. She was beginning to bend to the pressure. "I feel like such a fish out of water on this one."

He didn't blame her.

He, too, was at a loss. Never had he felt so little and weak as he did with this case. He felt he had met his match. Whoever this bastard was, he was just too smart for them.