~~Chicago~~

Mr. and Mrs. Stanton sat in their suburban home, watching a good horror movie, and cuddled up. the movie is unimportant, everything else is probably evidence. the entire living room was coated in fresh blood, belonging to the couple. huddled together, sewn together, similarly to how the couple in New Orleans was, but not quite as... grotesque. these were sewn at certain points on their bodies to keep them in the state the killer had wanted them to be in.

the woman appeared to be pregnant. sad, really, that the baby hadn't had a chance at life. well, kind of sorta. upon full investigation, it would be found that the baby was fully developed, and a quick search would show that the baby had been born a month previous. sick. It had been placed back in the womb, like it was still growing inside the mother.

the faces of the couple were frozen in horror, and the killer made no attempt to try and change it. he loved it, so why should he change it?

on the back of the woman's neck, that familiar mark. "Lucy" on the back of the man's neck "Danny", just as the couple on the bayou. on the kitchen floor, a note to the person who would find this scene, written in the blood of the infant.

"Innocent blood must be shed. What other purpose does it serve?"

the Christ must have cried as he watched a madman destroy something so precious. a perfectly new, perfectly beautiful family taken for the sport of a lunatic.

------------------------------------

*Another phone call, another body. Another pair of corpses sewn together, though not as intricately as the previous pair. As usual, interviews were conducted, parts tagged and bagged, evidence sent back to Annie. It was just another morbid routine, and they were no closer to catching the Lucy slayer.* In repetition of another cycle, it was time to talk to Annie and Tim about their results. First, to the lab. When Claire arrived, Tim and Annie were discussing something, seemingly unrelated to the case. They quickly quit talking when Claire walked in and greeted her in unison.* ~Hey Claire.~

Hey guys. What's the word?

*Tim pointed to Annie, who smiled, nodded, and started.* ~Well, they're sewn together, but not as much. The hands, face, groin, feet yes, the rest no. Clothes were left on, etc. Mrs. Ruby Stanton was pregnant. So pregnant in fact that the baby had been born a month ago and forced back into her uterus. ~ *Annie paused briefly.* ~The baby was alive when he started, but dead when he finished. Fortunately, both Ruby and Martin were dead. I can't imagine how much that would have fucking hurt.~ *Another pause, and Annie checked some notes she'd scrawled.* ~Same writing of the words Lucy and Danny on the back of the heads, bloody writing on the~

*Claire had to interrupt.* Wait. The same names? Danny. And. Lucy. *Annie nodded, then paused, eyes widening.*

~Danny's the gloves guy! So who's this Danny?~

Good question, Annie, and one we need answers to. Now you can continue.

~Bloody writing on the floor read 'Innocent blood must be shed. What other purpose does it serve?' The blood was matched to the infant's, which was AB. Funny thing is, Mom's A and Dad's O.~

/Which means that the baby's dad isn't Mr. Stanton./ *Tim interjected. Annie smiled and nodded.* ~Exactly, Tim.~

Ok, so how does this help us?

~I don't know that it does. It could be another dead end like the cop thing.~

True. Tim, find anything on Lucy?

/Sure if you want to know about Lucy from Charlie Brown, Lucy Ricardo, I Love Lucy, Lucy, Daughter of the Devil, Lucky "Lucy" Penniweather, etc, etc. Nothing violent, or bloody, or even suggestive. I've spent five hours searching so far, and came up with nothing./

Check for Lucy and Danny.

/Claire, those two names are amazingly common. That could take hours, days even!/

And? Give me a better idea, then, Tim. I'd be more than willing to entertain one. *Her voice was sharp, and she knew it.*

*Tim paused, and after several aborted attempts to form a response gave up, shrugged his shoulders, and left.*

Annie, let me know if you find anything about who that baby's father is, or anything else. I mean -anything- else.

~Will do, boss.~

*With the matter settled for the moment, Claire went for more coffee.*

~*~Back~*~