Closing In
by Leareth

published 2003

It hadn’t taken long. After half an hour of watching her dance, he decided that she was The One. He always made his decisions impulsively.

Like all the others before, she was gorgeous. Long straight black hair, a perfect figure, pale skin set off by the black dress just right. She danced well, too, twisting and curving in time to the music as if it would lift her away. In the club’s erratic lights and shadows she seemed almost other-wordly, detached from the rest of the frenetic crowd dancing away the night. Or maybe they were there trying to hide. Yes, that was it. After all, no one wanted to be alone on the streets. Not when there was that serial killer still prowling the urban jungle out there.

The hunter smirked and lit himself a cigarette.

It was so easy, though. So many lonely people, lonely women in these clubs looking for come company, whether they be easy singles or whores. All he did was give it to them. Good-looking men are irresistible, especially so when there’s the added bonus of a caring personality. Just a pity that pretty faces didn’t always mean a nice person. Oh well, their fault for judging by appearances.

The song shifted into something minor with a throbbing bass. The woman arced her neck back, letting her hair cascade down her back. The hunter let his eyes rove down the skin revealed there, the flawlessness of it, imagining its softness and how easily it would give under a knife’s edge. Or maybe he wouldn’t use the knife. Maybe this time he’d strangle her and listen as her breathing stuttered and gurgled into silence. It’d certainly be something different.

She must have noticed him watching her, for without warning in the middle of the song she stopped dancing, frozen in a pose reminiscent of a bird in flight, and looked at him. He smiled at her and raised the glass he was holding in a silent greeting – it was pointless trying to talk over all the music. She blushed prettily and started dancing again, but not quite as unrestrained as before. Her grey eyes kept moving to meet his.

Perfect.

Patiently, he waited. Sure enough, once the current number began to wind into the next she retreated from the dance floor and approached him. He smiled and gestured to the barstool beside his.

"You looked good out there. Can I buy you a drink?"

Red lips. Most striking against the black and white.

"I’d love a drink."

He waved the barman over, and, after the usual hassle of trying to make his order heard, finally sat back and began to charm. She succumbed to it all too quickly; it was almost boring. It didn’t matter too much. In the end, they all bled.

The noise level in the club was the perfect excuse to lead her outside. He helped her on with her coat and offered his arm, which she took willingly. She stumbled once in her high-heels.

"So what do you do?" she asked as they walked. The night breeze blew her hair like a curtain of silk.

He pretended to think for a moment, then smiled. "I find ways to keep my life from getting boring."

"Oh?" She giggled. "Is life that boring?"

"Not at the moment." He slid an arm around her waist. "You’re here."

Another giggle. She leaned against him, paying no attention to the fact that he was leading her further away from the lights. They passed a pair of policemen who gave them no more than a cursory glance. After all, they seemed no different from any other couple spending a night on the town together.

A darkened alleyway provided the right location. He pressed her up against the wall and kissed her, feeling soft curves beneath his hand. The other hand was reaching to where the knife was tucked inside his clothes. Deepening the kiss still further, he drew it out –

– and choked as something cold slammed into his gut.

The hunter collapsed to his knees and tasted blood on his lips. He pressed a hand to his stomach. There was a scalpel embedded deep in it.

Wildly he looked up. The woman smiled down at him. Then she pulled the scalpel out and pressed into his throat.

"Hey," she said sweetly as his choking whimpered into silence. "Now you’re not bored anymore."

 

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