Page 5 of Seth
“Don’t move!” Gustavo repeated the order, seeing no point in getting mad. The moment was broken, and no anger in the world would return it. Pushing a breath out, he willed himself to calm down and fished the phone out of his pants pocket. He turned on the flashlight and gave his surroundings a new, evaluating look.
In such a huge, littered space, it was impossible to believe someone could melt into thin air without a sound. Small stones, sand, and metal scrap lay around. For a heartbeat, Gustavo doubted his sanity.Did I imagine him?
He took a few steps forward. The beam of light settled over the crimson splashes on the concrete floor before flicking to the crime scene.
The broken form of a naked man lay on a thick layer of white powder that covered a large piece of plastic wrap spread over the ground. The caramel hair stuck to the man’s high forehead, strands blood-scabbed. Everything in the man was delicate, soft, and smooth. Even his pubis had been shaved. Gustavo wondered if the beast shaved his prey before killing him or, perhaps, the victim had expected a fun night.
Where the body touched the ground, the white coat stuck to the deaden skin. The powder absorbed the blood and turned black beneath the corpse. Gustavo squatted. He took a pinch and brought the pure powder to his nose. It smelled like nothing.
Interesting…
Ignoring the slit throat and gaping chest, he turned the corpse’s face toward him.
So young...The boy was still in his early twenties. Plump, pale lips were slack and covered in blood, yet, even in death, he remained beautiful. With the sinuous lines of his body and a distant gaze, he reminded Gustavo of a sculpture “O Desterrado” by Antonio Soares dos Reis2.
The hazel eyes fixed on him, pupils clear. Without thinking, he reached out and squeezed the boy’s eyeball. The pupil resisted the pressure, never changed form, meaning not even ten minutes had passed since death.Did he cut him open alive?Such a horrible death.
Gustavo’s palm ran over the still-warm face, lowered the eyelids, then closed the mouth.
Someone whistled. The voice belonging to Gustavo’s friend and lieutenant, Diego, reached him from behind. “We left you alone for five minutes, and you already murdered someone. You can’t be trusted.”
“Hilarious.” Gustavo straightened. He hated when beautiful things got broken. This one looked like a ruined masterpiece, like a victim of unforgivable vandalism.
Diego approached the dead boy, shamelessly ogled his body. A white lollipop stick stuck out of his mouth, cheek bulging. “He’s a cute one. I bet a hundred he’s gay, a bottom, and into BDSM. A slave.”
Curiosity scratched. “Why?”
“Just a hunch.”
“You’re on.” Gustavo extended his hand, and they shook on it.
Unceremoniously, Diego pulled out his phone, took a few snapshots. With his interest in the victim exhausted, he said, “I can’t believe that I’m saying this, but we better call the cops.”
“Cops?” Gustavo snorted. His imagination had already provided the upcoming headlines, ‘Gustavo DeSilva, a top dog of the S-Syndicate, is the only witness of a brutal murder.’
Diego is right. I can’t just leave the body here.
“Yeah, call the cops.” Gustavo turned to stroll to the nearby café where he intended to wait for the police when the white powder drew his attention again. Pure and smooth, it resembled the finest sand.
Why bother with such a complicated scene? It’s not easy to prepare and even harder to remove. All this sand and blood… Such time-consuming work, which adds to the risk of being caught. Did he know there would be a power cut and no security?
Carefully planted on the plastic wrap so it doesn’t get dirty, the powder must have served a specific purpose.
To absorb the blood for one,and for something else.Whatever this powder was, it looked expensive.Did he mean to collect it? Use it for something?
“Wait…” He raised his hand. “I changed my mind. Don’t call the cops.”
He turned around to meet Diego’s curious gaze.
The lollipop stick shifted from one corner of Diego’s mouth to the other. “You touched the body. It’s better if we call the cops, or I bet my yearly income you will be the main suspect.”
“No, I have a better idea.” Even in his head, his thoughts sounded insane. He didn’t expect Diego to understand him or share his enthusiasm, but the simple recollection of the wicked smile filled his blood with excitement.
“Care to enlighten me?”
“What do you see?”
Diego looked at the boy again. “I’d say a psycho’s work. The murder was planned, not spontaneous. I see no signs of a struggle. Either he was drugged and carried here, or they knew each other. I don’t think anyone would go with a stranger to a construction site, undress, and lay on the sand bed. Unless he was a rent boy, but I don’t think he was.”
