Blood Wolf’s Path

The killer raped victims with foreign objects, then strangled them – often with nylon stockings. The culprit was Albert DeSalvo. After the series, he spared one woman – only raping her. She described him to police, leading to his arrest. DeSalvo had posed as a detective to gain entry, then assaulted her. His conviction rested on his own confession. Nine years later, he was stabbed to death in prison. In 2013, DNA tied him to one of the murders. Case closed.

Today was the second murder. When I pulled the old dates, I froze – they matched exactly: June 14 and June 28.

The first victim of the old Strangler was Anna Schlepers. The first of the new – Anna Stern. Same name. Both killed on June 14, both strangled with a bathrobe belt.

The second victim of the old Strangler – Mary Mullen. The new – Linda Brown. Killed June 28. Different names – good. Maybe the first-name match was coincidence.

Both of the new victims wore stockings – likely brought and put on by the killer. And the “left-handed” clue might be a ruse – he could be right-handed. The planted underwear? A distraction.

Then there was the formula: DH + HS = DH by 01.01. Interesting.

And the poem:

The monster will come

And you it will slay.

At night I shall pray

And live through the day.

Also – the power outage at midnight near the second murder. Could be a lead.

Alright, Boston Strangler – you picked the wrong guy to play hide-and-seek with. I’ll crack you before I crack Crooked-Dick’s brother’s case – the one who turned into a wolf twelve years ago.

The next two murders in the old series happened on June 30. Two women, different districts, raped with foreign objects and strangled with stockings.

That gave me two days to prepare.

Chapter 6. A Difficult Decision

After reviewing the case, I gathered Cherry, Quark Doug, and Herner.

“Well, guys, this killer is exactly copying the murders of the Boston Strangler, who terrorized the city back in 1962. But this new Strangler miscalculated – this isn’t the 20th century anymore. We’ll catch this bastard and punish him! According to the old case, the next murder will happen in two days – June 30. Today, I remind you, is the 28th. And this time it will be a double murder. Two women will be strangled with nylon stockings. Those stockings are bothering me. I feel like this bastard brings them with him, just like the robe for the first victim. I don’t think he’s counting on the luck that all this clothing would be in the victims’ homes.”

“So what are you suggesting, Jerry?” Herner asked.

“We need to find out exactly what kind of stockings and robe these are. Probably the Strangler bought an entire batch at once in some Boston store. We need to find out where these items are sold… Maybe we’ll get a lead. You and Cherry will handle that. Quark Doug will take on the surveillance footage.”

Quark nodded.

“That’s it, you’re all dismissed,” I said.

Cherry and Quark left, but Herner stayed.

“And what are you going to do, Jerry?” Herner asked.

“I’ll keep analyzing. This killer started a game with me, which means it’s someone who knows me well. A lot of people know me – but not the whole damn city of Boston!” I exclaimed.

“Do you think it’s Fred Johnson?” Herner asked. “And why do you think these murders are being committed just to piss you off?”

“Well, I don’t think it’s Crooked-Dick. This is too subtle a game for him. As for the maniac – there were initials written on that couch: mine and those of my murdered partner – D.H. and H.S.”

“Does the chief know about this? Technically, you should be pulled off the case,” Herner said in a perfunctory tone.

“He doesn’t know. And he’s not going to. We’ll solve this before he finds out. Or do you want the case handed back to Fox? He’ll screw it up for sure!” I put an end to our sluggish argument.

“All right. We’ll do it,” Herner sighed.

I got home right at sunset. The operator kept urging me to hurry and suggested detours around the evening traffic. At one point, I noticed a silver van with Washington plates following me. Probably that same armored vehicle in case I didn’t make it home before sunset.

From the chamber I’d gotten used to calling “the cage” – though it wasn’t a cage – I asked the operator to connect me to Cocksucker.

“Hey, Cocksucker! Got anything extra on the Boston Strangler case?” I said cheerfully.

“I do, Jerry. But this is classified. All right, I’ll tell you as a friend – but you’ll owe me,” Cocksucker said, and I already owed him for not sending me off for experiments.

“Anything you want… You know I’m busting my ass – literally – to solve the Crooked-Dick mess,” I said, trying to sound convincing.

“As you already read in the archive, the killer turned out to be a certain DeSalvo. In 2013, DNA testing supposedly proved it was him… But, Jerry, through my own channels I found out that test was fake. In reality, the killer was not DeSalvo,” Cocksucker paused.

“Then who?” I asked.

“Well, according to the latest data, the killer was never found. They locked up an innocent man. Looks like DeSalvo talked himself into it back then. Maybe they tortured him…”