Catch me if you can

The phosphorescence of the marches was visible from the window. Robyn peered out into the darkness and watched the flickering lights dance across the waterlogged ground opposite her hotel. She was hot and had stripped down to her bra and panties to try and cool down. Hotel management reported a problem with the heating system; somehow, the winter settings were being used even though it was the height of summer. Robyn wiped the sweat from her face and dabbed at her torso with a damp towel.

The lights in the marsh were hypnotic, flitting back and forth as if they could hear some tune to which the human ear was deaf. Robyn had never seen anything so pretty in all her life; she had to admit that being in the police force had enabled her to see some exciting, and often grisly, things, but nothing was this - she struggled to find the words to describe it, finally settling on beautiful and serene. She'd never been good at English. Give her a Colt .45 and then she'd be able to display a high level of skill.

Hoping that her assignment might take more than the scheduled two days, Robyn hummed a tune to herself as she watched. She began to go through the facts of the case in her head, trying to find the connection between the apparently disparate murders that had occurred in town over recent weeks. The only connection so far was that all the murders had been vicious.

The initial victim was a young girl, aged 18. Slashed to pieces with a sharp blade. The photos showed her skin hanging off her body like ribbons. The second had been strangled with her own intestines, suffering one of the nastiest - and according to the pathologist's report one of the longest - deaths. Then there was the local heart throb, Steven Neilson. He had been run over by a unidentified vehicle. But, it hadn't stopped there. The killer had got out of the vehicle and beat Steven with an iron bar. The local sheriff was sure it was more than one person, but the FBI weren't as easy to fool. Something linked these killings, it was just a matter of time before it was worked out and a local miscreant was hauled in for questioning. It was Robyn's job to find them before they killed again.

Just what was the connection?

Robyn shook her head. It was late and she wanted to watch the dancing marsh lights. The case could wait until the morning when things might become clearer. These lights, however, couldn't be ignored. They were so, so hypnotic, so entrancing, so...

--

The following morning, Robyn was lying in bed, the sheets pulled up to her neck. The curtains were still open where she'd been looking out over the marsh. An eerie mist hung, the opaque slabs of water moving slowly across the wetland.

There was a knock at the door, tentative at first and then more insistent. A voice called out, but Robyn didn't stir. A key was placed in the lock and the handle moved. The door opened slowly and a head appeared around the door. Still Robyn didn't shift.

The reason became obvious when the chambermaid pulled back the covers. Robyn's head wasn't attached to her shoulders.

The note they found alongside the body stated, simply: catch me if you can.