Chapter 1

The sound of the recorder clicking on echoed slightly in the sterile room. A young woman with a cold, soulless gaze lifted her head slightly to better meet the gaze of the man who sat across from her. “Please state your name for the record.” He said in a clinical tone the likes of which a man of his title had said countless times before,

“We are the Magnum Opus.” Her voice had a cruel edge to it not lost on the man across from her. He was by now accustomed to her manner of diction though her presents still sent a shiver across his countenance. “And would you please, for the record, tell us of when you first encountered Mr. Lazlo?”

At the mention of the name a venomous smile curled the lips of Magnum Opus, “Gladly...”

With a heaving sigh the man shut the door to his altima. He pulled a cigarette and lighter from his heavy coat pocket and grumbled quietly to himself, “That one was a fighter, gonna need more antiseptic.” Just as he went to light his cigarette there was a light tapping against the window. He went still instantly. Another light tap, somehow a little more urgent in sound and the man slowly turned his head and met eyes with a shivering young woman in a soaking wet gray hoodie. The two were locked in a gaze, one of shock, the other blank, for a few breaths before the man used the hand crank to lower his window. The silence between the two lasted a few moments before the young woman finally managed out a weak “C-cold.” as she shivered.

The unlit cigarette had by now fallen to the car floor and the man, in a confused daze, nodded and made his way out of the vehicle. Once out he looked the young woman up and down. She was small in stature wearing black leggings, worn out ankle high sneakers, and that soaking wet gray hoodie with a pigeon embroidered on it. Once more the two were just staring at each-other, as if sizing one another up. Finally the girl pointed at something in the back seat of the vehicle and softly spoke again, “Clothes?” to this the man’s gaze followed where she pointed. It was his gym bag, not that he ever used it for gym gear. He did have extra clothing in a suitcase in the trunk though. At her question he realized she was asking for dry clothing. ‘She must be a foreigner.’ He reasoned while silently moving to the rear to retrieve something from his suitcase for her to change into. He paused, holding the truck hood up, ‘Why am I helping her ... did she see anything?’ “Too tired for this bullshit.” he grumbled as he pulled out a pair of sweat pants and a long sleeved tee-shirt despite his misgivings of the situation he now found himself in. He held out the clothing and the young woman took them,”Thank.” she quietly spoke and immediately stripped down to change. The man stared in disbelief, not because this complete stranger removed all her clothing in front of him without hesitation, but because every part of her with the exception of her head, hands, and feet, was covered in scars. It was as if she was a human doll stitched together with the same colored skin. “What ... the...” he trailed off as he watched her pull on the borrowed clothing, gather her wet clothing in a bundle, and then slip into the passenger side of his vehicle as if it was the most natural thing in the world to her. If he had met her just a few hours earlier, she would have been the easiest kill in the world, indeed, kill. This man is Jester Lazlo, currently known to law-enforcement as the Monster of the Lakes killer. His true identity though has yet to be discovered. His current body count was at five, and this marshy area was his most recent body dump. The appearance of this strange young woman could be the foil to his current killing spree, however it was also so strangely surreal to him he was currently questioning his own sanity. Jester always prided himself on his mental prowess, he started as a conman, and graduated to killer when one of his marks had the audacity to refute his advances. No one had ever denied him anything he wanted and to have this whore laugh in his face was unforgivable. As he killed her though it awakened an excitement he had never known before. It was like a drug, hooking him instantly. It was a different level of power that stroked his ego. This was not going to be a one off he had decided.

Now he had made his way back into the vehicle and turned on the warm air-conditioning. He looked out the windshield and finally lit up the cigarette he was previously disrupted from. He looked over at the young woman, she wasn’t his regular type, but he did think about a quick kill with her. He shook his head, no, he had already satisfied his bloodlust for now. “What’s your name kid?”

The young woman looked at him thoughtfully. At first he thought maybe she didn’t understand his question, though just as he was about to speak again she responded, “Don’t know.” To this he nodded, “You can understand me?” he asked.

She thought for a moment, “Words, yes. You, stranger.” Her voice quieted at the word ‘stranger’ as if it was a secret that shouldn’t be spoken. Jester chuckled at the absurdity of it all, “Well, do you have any family or friends nearby?” Once more the young woman thought about it. Her expression morphed from thoughtful concentration, to child-like aggravation, “Don’t know.” she finally said. Jester nodded again, “Okay then, we should probably see what we can find out about you. Though, you need a name.” His eyes caught a quick glance at the crumpled pile of wet clothing at the young woman’s feet. Her hoodie had a pigeon on it, “What do you think of ‘Birdy’?” He asked. The young woman mulled it over and nodded, “Okay.” With this she had a soft grin.