The night was dark and humid. The lightening bolted across the sky. In the distance, there was howling. A dry, sinister howl that reaped of devastation.

　　It was on this day that a murder had taken place. The family of the deceased scorned and mourned at home. The force could not take another murder so soon. A horrific murder at that. The body had been found chopped into tiny little pieces. The teeth and nails of the deceased had disappeared. The body was found bruised and buried deep within the woods of the Forest of Dean. The body belonging to a resident of the West Midlands.

　　Detective Spooner sat down in the office. He had bore the burden of informing the family of the deceased. It had been a difficult day. From the discovery of the body to the identification of the deceased, Detective Spooner was drained. Not only did he have to worry about this but the first forty eight hours following a murder is vital in identifying the perpetrator. He stared at the drawing board. He had worked over five hours already but this was the role he had chosen. Nevertheless, he loved his job but days like this were the most difficult. A discovered body and no suspects. Detective Spooner had been one of the first on the scene. He was uncertain of what to expect. When he had arrived, he had found a mutilated corpse. The teeth, fingernails and toenails had been taken. This did not appear to be an impulse killing but this did not lead Detective Spooner any closer to identifying the culprit. A mutilated body would soon stir up the attention of the press. He was tired. He couldn’t leave without finding some kind of lead. Something for him to work on in the morning. Something for him to inform his inspector of that could lead to the identification of this person.

　　The deceased was a middle aged female. Lacey Allison was thirty five years of age. She was around 5ft 9in and had long blonde hair that hung below her shoulders. She was married and her husband had appeared devastated to discover the news. She had two children aged five and eight. All Detective Spooner was glad of was that, due to their tender ages, they would not understand the severity of the injuries their mother had suffered. The family members of Lacey had been devastated to hear the news. The piercing shriek of Lacey’s mother Mavis rang in Detective Spooner’s ears even now. The look of shock and dismay on Lacey’s father’s face. The siblings of Lacey who had appeared to not believe the news. Mavis had to identify the body as Lacey’s husband Mark had not been available. Detective Spooner sat for a while and thought about the scene that had unfolded before him when the death was discovered. He knew that identification of the individual responsible would not alleviate the pain that Lacey Allison’s family members were feeling but instead deliver the justice this female received. Before he knew it, a further hour had passed. He was still no closer. He awaited the results of the post-mortem anxiously but knew these would not be delivered til morning at the earliest.

　　Detective Spooner specialised in these kind of killings. The sick type. He had a background of psychology and often built criminal profiles. Now, he found himself as the first on the scene and with sole responsibility as lead investigator in these kind of incidents.

　　With the information presented, Detective Spooner knew he was dealing with a clever killer. A person capable of first degree murder and clever enough to leave a scene devoid of any kind of DNA traces. Had the murder occurred under the West Midlands? Why did the individual responsible decide to keep the teeth and nails of the deceased? Was this a sexually motivated killing? If so, how was there not a trace of DNA left at the scene? This individual was skilled. A skilled and incredibly intelligent murderer. The family had appeared so genuinely distraught at the news that he could not suspect one of them. Detective Spooner had watched Lacey Allison’s husband curl into a ball on the floor in grief and sob. The husband is normally a prime suspect in these kind of incidents but, to see a man with such grief, Detective Spooner did not feel that he could be responsible. It had been too early to interview the family members to find out information vital to the case. The family were still so grief stricken, it would be wildly inappropriate. Had Lacey wronged somebody? Where did the murder take place? There was no need that he knew of for Lacey to be hanging about in the Forest of Dean when she had a day planned of going to work and nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.

　　Detective Spooner sat with a world of questions, limited information and a pending sense of doom for the case. He had worked hours over his duties and was still no further forward. Detective Spooner turned off his desk lamp and started to pack away. He left the office switching the lights off behind him. He drove home feeling dazed, dejected and discouraged.

　　Tomorrow would be a new day. Hopefully, tomorrow would hold the answers he so desperately needed