Chapter One

The knife blade, honed to a professional sharpness, traced the orbital bone and along the ridge of the nose, slicing open a neat fissure. The dead man was beyond caring. It circled the lips, bluish-purple in the early stages of lividity. The tip of the knife sank easily into the ridge between lip and chin. One swift motion and the lower lip swung free.

The knife moved upward and hovered over the body, laid prone on the floor. A slim shaft of moonlight glinted on the blade.

The tip moved down and found the knot on the lace of the right shoe. It sliced the knot open and worked its way along the loops, breaking the laces. The shoe came off.

The blade probed the ankle, poking and pressing until it found the indentation between the ankle bone and the fibula. The blade pressed until it encountered the tendon, rigid and tough. A small trickle of blood, aided by gravity rather than the pumping of the now-still heart, trickled onto the floor.

The knife carved through the tendon and sliced through the tissues until it separated the tibia from the calcaneus. The foot dropped into the blood below.

The tip plunged into the fleshy underside of the foot, skewering it and lifting it up and into the Ziploc bag that was its intended destination.

The blade wiped across the corpse’s shirt as it made its way to the dead man’s right hand. Once more, the tip poked the bruised flesh until the wrist joint was penetrated. The tendons proved less dense than those of the foot. A series of precise cuts yielded the desired result. The severed hand was removed to another Ziploc bag.

The corpse’s face was the next target. The handle pressed into the left cheek. Rigor mortis had set in. Considerable force was needed to turn the face to the side, exposing the left ear.

The blade meticulously outlined the soft fleshy junction between the skull and the ear. This final prize was the easiest yet. The ear came off with one expert cut and plopped into its own Ziploc bag. An oozing hole gaped in its wake. The three bags—with their heinous contents—were now ready.