Trouble in Toytown

Might be part 1, maybe not. I was told to write a story about crime instead of fantasy. Well…

The Serial Killer

“So, it’s a 10-30 gone wrong, Sergeant?” asked Captain Cody. He adjusted his bowtie for the tenth time. He knew the press would be all over this one.

“Negative, sir,” said Sergeant Snowball, turning the wheel of the police car. “No valuables were reported missing. A suitcase full of money was found at her feet, and it doesn’t look like any was taken.”

“Damn it.” The Captain adjusted his bowtie again. “This is the third homicide in as many weeks. It’s getting out of control.”

“Uhh, I thought we weren’t officially calling them homicides, sir?”

“Of course we’re not, ‘officially’.” The Captain made quotation marks with his paws before returning them to his bowtie. “But we all know what’s going on here. We’ve got a serial killer on our hands.” The police car picked up speed. “Some sicko out there is killing teddies.”

Detective Duke stood in the centre of the crime scene, his glass eyes darting from corner to corner. He tried to block out the yellow tape and the camera flashes and the other officers. He needed to see the scene without distractions. Something very violent had gone down here only hours ago. He closed his eyes, deciding to use another sense. He could smell the booze and the drugs the victim and her friends had been using before her murder. He could smell the victim’s fear in the air. He could smell…something else. Something…familiar.

“Hey Duke, the Captain’s here!”  His eyes snapped open, his train of thought shattered. Turning around and pushing past the officer, he walked out into the morning light.

“Duke! Good to see you!” The Captain heaved his bulk out of the car. He’d been in the Force a long time, the Captain, and he wasn’t quitting just yet. Duke had heard the Captain had several operations to repair some of the decades old stitching that held him together. Hospital visits or not, the big grey teddy was still able to throw his weight around.

“Thank you, sir, it’s good to be back at work.” Duke smiled, ignoring the Captain’s eyes as they quickly scanned Duke’s leg, fixing right on the spot the knife had gone through not six months ago.

“Nasty stuff, Duke, nasty stuff. We’re still working on finding the perp, you know.”

“I know, sir, and thank you. Now, if we can get to work…” Duke’s smile didn’t falter.

“Of course Detective. Please, lead the way.”

Captain Cody followed Duke into the motel room. Sleazy place just outside the city, it was known as a place where a teddy could go about their business with no questions asked. That said, in the Captain’s eyes, no teddy should ever need to do business that required no questions. Any teddy that was doing business here, thought the Captain, probably deserved what-

“Oh my god!” The Captain stopped in shock. The floor and walls of the motel room were covered with white fluff. Forensic teddies in suits and masks moved carefully around the room, marking large clumps of stuffing with numbers. They’d already started attaching lines of red string to the walls for spatter analysis. The bed was covered with empty bottles, indicative of a large party. An officer walked past carrying a large suitcase in a plastic bag, with a few banknotes poking out. Sergeant Snowball, following the Captain in, began dry-retching. The Captain himself pulled out a bright yellow handkerchief and placed it over his mouth.

“Who…who was the victim?” he stammered through the cloth.

“That’s why we called you, sir. Female, early 20′s,pink felt,” said Duke. He pointed to the bathroom. “She’s in there.” The Captain and the Sergeant slowly moved towards the door.

She lay in the bathtub, her legs dangling over the side. A large jagged cut, running from beneath her chin to between her legs, had been sewn up with bright blue string.

“The killer…cut her open and sewed her up?” asked the Captain, going pale.

“We’ll need to get her back to the lab, but yeah, looks that way,” replied Duke. “Look at her eyes.”

The Sergeant threw up. The victim’s glass eyes had been removed, and in their place, big black buttons had been sewn on.

“Oh god…” The Captain pushed past the Sergeant and ran out of the crime scene, out of the motel, into the bright morning sun. He’d seen some sickening crime scenes in his long career, but this was the worst. Duke followed him outside.

“You missed something, sir. That isn’t all.”

The Captain didn’t want to answer, but he knew what Duke was talking about.

“All that stuffing…and yet she’s not just a pile of fabric. What did they do to her, Duke? What did they do?”

“They re-stuffed her, sir. They took out her insides…”

“Duke…what did they re-stuff her with?”

“Meat, sir. They stuffed her with meat.”

-cg