Atoned for Nothing: His Death Ploy

When I came to, I was a ghost hovering in a police station.

Lightning flashed outside.

Robert stood there in his uniform. His eyes were full of sorrow. Young forensic guys hovered around.

On the table was a bag of chopped-up meat. Captain Daniel Carter and his team had taken great trouble to find it before the rain washed it away.

I never thought they'd track me down so fast. Maybe God pitied my misery.

A homeless guy had rummaged through the trash to find the bag. He thought he had hit the jackpot with free meat until human fingers came into view.

A storm kicked off this grisly murder case.

Thunder boomed, and rain hammered down. The police and their dogs tore through the city.

Daniel couldn't keep it in. This hacked-up mess matched the Rain Mire's style from eight years ago.

"What do you say?" he started. "Doesn't this remind you of Rain Mire from way back?"

Robert's face went grim.

The Rain Mire struck on rainy days. He got off on torturing young women and ruined tons of families.

Back then, Robert almost nailed him with hard evidence, but the man fled.

For revenge, he messed with James's plane, and they both perished in a crash. Neither of their bodies had ever turned up.

Daniel put it together quickly. If that nutjob wasn't dead, he would come back to settle the score.

"If it's him, keep Susan and Emily locked up tight," Daniel said. "Especially Emily. She is his type."

When my name came up, Robert's panic turned to ice.

He snorted, "She should've been gone years ago."

That hit hard, but I had to admit that these eight years were stolen.

Knowing my deal, Daniel wanted to say something but eventually held back.

After James died, Robert and Susan scoured the crash site for three days straight. They came back with bloodshot eyes, begging God to bring him back.

Losing James broke them.

"Don't brood," Daniel sighed. "The higher-ups are all over this case now."

Robert got it and started working.

He pulled the meat chunks out of the bag carefully. Then he cursed, "Screw this psycho! This is inhumane."

A rookie forensic kid saw the body and teared up. They knew they needed to identify the victim as soon as possible.

After the police hauled back every piece they could find, Robert stitched my skinless body together. It took a whole day.

I floated next to him, glad he wouldn't know it was me. At the same time, I was relieved that my guilt-soaked life was over.

Daniel eyed the raw corpse. Even after years on the force, he couldn't take it.

He asked Robert if the killer did this to dodge evidence or just because he was sick in the head.

Robert remained silent for a while. Then he croaked, "Not about evidence. Tests show she was skinned alive."

He clutched his fists, then pointed at the body. "It's pure hate. See this? There's even salt damage on her. He sliced her up bit by bit to make her suffer."

His voice cracked. "And she's just a teenager. What kind of beef justifies that?"

I hovered by his side, impressed by his precision. He was worthy to be called the best forensic scientist in town.

Daniel narrowed his eyes. "What a freaking psycho! He is damned!"

Taking a deep breath, he added, "We're checking missing girls aged 16 to 20 from the last couple of days. Hope we identify her fast."