Page 35 of The Cute Psycho

True to his word, Vlad approaches Mother Superior and has a word with her, returning to confirm she'd allowed them at the crime scene.

Not surprisingly, Marcello tries to make us wait outside while they investigate, presumably wanting to preserve our delicate sensibilities. Lina and I, however, are having none of it and eventually he relents and lets us join them.

All throughout this, Vlad is silently trailing behind, just watching. Every time those eyes of his settle on me, though, I feel like I'm on a bed of needles, all of them pricking at my skin.

Stepping inside the church, Sister Elizabeth's corpse is fully displayed behind the altar. Her entire body had been desecrated in such a manner that even I'd had a hard time recognizing her.

While my initial reaction had been one of shock, since the first thing that had greeted my eyes had been her displayed womb, empty of her organs, her ribs flaring out into the open, I'd quickly become entranced by the sight.

I'd spent a little time studying her form and how she'd been laid out like an offering, the entire spectacle intriguing and a little... alluring. There had been brutality in her death, but the way in which everything had been arranged spoke of someone highly organized.

More than that, the fact that the organs had been carefully placed on the altar table in a symbolic manner was even more captivating. Because even with my novice mind, I could recognize that this wasn't the work of a mere killer.

Even now, as we step inside, I can't help but be drawn to the entire ensemble, a certain beauty creeping from death.

"Who would do this...?" Lina gasps, her eyes wide with horror as she glances at the body.

I try not to show just how fascinating I find this entire scene, but my own body betrays me as my eyes focus on Sister Elizabeth's open carcass.

"This looks eerily similar to what happened to Father Guerra," I point out, almost absentmindedly. "His insides had also been tampered with. Well, not inthismanner, but quite similar."

Both bodies had been dealt with the same type of care... It may not seem like it with how grotesque everything looks, but there had been a great deal of consideration for every piece of the scene.

"But who would do that? We still don't know who dug up Father Guerra and put him in the grave..." Lina intervenes, shaking her head. "And why? Why the C?" I can see the way her lips tremble ever so slightly as she looks upon Sister Elizabeth's face, the C angrily glaring at us.

Vlad moves behind us, and his presence is like a thick smoke infiltrating the entire room; you feel it in your every atom. Even now, the awareness is unnatural as I feel his slightest movements, or the way his eyes seem to bore into my back.

Taking a deep breath, I try to focus on the body, something deep within catching my eye.

"Wait..." I say, frowning. My feet move of their own accord until I stop in front of the body, my eyes roving over her form.

"Assisi, what are you doing?" Marcello asks, almost exasperated.

"I think I saw something glint in there..." I trail off, catching sight of something inside her body. I don't even think as I stick my hand into her chest cavity, squinting to get a better look as my fingers move around.

To my surprise, whoever's done this did a marvelous job. The organs have been smoothly removed.

"Assisi," Marcello calls out again, but I don't mind it.

Then, I hearhim.A sound resembling a pained groan escapes his lips, and my eyes are immediately drawn to the back. He's looking at me with a strange expression on his face, his black eyes unfeeling, yet exuding a strange warmth.

Shaking myself, I return my attention to the body, trying to ignore Lina's cry of outrage, or the way Marcello keeps calling out my name.

"Damnation!" I mutter when my fingers finally grasp at whatever's inside the body.

Holding tightly, I take out my fist and dump the contents on the altar table.

"What...?" Marcello exclaims, his gaze unwavering from the bloody teeth on the table.

Vlad, on the other hand, seems a little perturbed as he removes a handkerchief, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

Odd. He doesn't strike me as the squeamish type.

"Now, this is an interesting turn of events. Wouldn't you say so, Marcello?" He bends low to study the teeth. His voice has an added charm to it. It's in his lilt as he pretends to be wholly unbothered.

Once again, I find my attention entirely focused on him, and I don't like it. Scowling, I return to the body.

"There's something else. I couldn't grasp it before." I take out the other bit, trying my hardest not to look back at Vlad.

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