“Your mother is getting a re-trial in hopes of only receiving a life-long sentence and not a death sentence,” the doctor said. “There’s not much hope, but if there is any evidence that the murders were not done while she was in her right mind, she could be sent to a psychiatric institution instead.”

Death sentence. It hung over me, a reaper cloaking me in and suffocating me. It was like a nightmare, one where you can see and feel everything, but you cannot change anything. The question came to me, do I help Mother stay alive but locked up forever or do I let her go? Other than Jinhwan, Mother was everything.

I allowed silence to reign for a little while longer though I already knew what my decision would be. The decision to not speak for myself I could make with a clear mind but my mother was different.

“I will tell you what I know of the murders,” I said.

Hanbin’s POV of the past

13 murders scattered over a little more than a decade. All killed the same way, all female, yet not a single connection. They were happy mothers, girlfriends, wives or individuals in general. A serial killer with seemingly no pattern, on average one murder a year. Fortunately or unfortunately, these murders did not seem to spark off any media attraction so the fear of the criminal was relatively low. Well, it was until the last four murders which were far more complex and done under 2 years.

I only know about the last four murders. A sloppy job was not the reason why we were caught; but simply because there were too many in too short of a time. The investigators became harder and the best were sent out. Another factor would be the last murder…

6 Years Ago From the Present

“Watch her Hanbin,” Mother commanded.

I looked at the girl, she was busy preparing the orders of coffees but she smiled while doing so. She seemed like a good girl, pretty but innocent. “Why, Mother? What is wrong with her?” I asked.

She turned like a predator studying the movements of their prey to plan how best to capture it. “I can see it in her movements and the way she lifts the corner of her lips. She’s one of them. Don’t question Mother, Hanbin, you will see,” she replied coldly.

So I watched over the barista, followed her from whence she came and whence she left. I noticed nothing for a week until I saw her with a man one day during lunch. At first I assumed he was a friend or older cousin, but after closer observation, I realised they were lovers. Nothing wrong in that, nothing at all. Except, of course, the man was married. Married with a baby on the way, was the information I gathered after following him home. I understood then what Mother meant. I was amazed at how she knew. I stopped questioning her after this.

I continued to study the barista and her movements. I applied for a job at the bakery opposite the café and I often had to make deliveries to the café. She always greeted me with a smile and thanked me for the delicacies. If I had not known what she did, I would never have suspected that behind that dimpled smile, she was ruining someone’s life.

A few month’s passed before Mother called me to a room away from Jinhwan. “It is time. We have proven her guilt. You mentioned that she goes to the gym every Thursday at 9 in the evening?” Mother asked with an inquiring look.

“Yes, she goes to the Shinhwa gym. She is never late,” I replied.

That night we planned her trial and her punishment.

The night of my first murder

Mother was determined that I would not participate more than necessary. She did not want to dirty my hands. I would not harm the girl at all.

We watched her enter the gym, she wore her black tights and a pink top with her bag slung on her shoulder. An hour and a bit later, she walked out and once she got close to her car, I pulled her by her arm and covered her nose and mouth with a cloth soaked in sedative. I carried her to an alley close by and put a black bag over her head.

Mother tied the barista’s arms behind her back with a unique and intricate knot around her wrists. We waited for her to stir and awaken. This was her trial, she would have no chance to right her actions. It was too late, we had to terminate her before any more damage was done. She was lucky that the pregnant wife of the man had not found out yet. The barista woke, fear filling her eyes. She looked around and saw me. I could sense the pleading in her countenance, I felt nothing, she was the same and the other had mutilated me enough.

“Don’t bother looking at me with big doe eyes. You don’t deserve any mercy or sympathy,” Mother said. Mother took out a dagger and studied it. “Women like you are all the same. Taking what you fancy and giving not a thought to the consequences. Tonight, you have been found guilty and I will be your executioner.” A soft smile appeared on Mother’s face. “The world does not need you to pollute it any longer.”

The girl looked confused and tears escaped the prison that was her lower lids.

Mother raised the dagger and struck the girl’s heart. The girl slumped and Mother pulled the dagger out. She readjusted her grip on the handle of the dagger and with great precision proceeded to carve, on the girl’s sternum area, the shape of an hourglass with a cross through it. On the edge of the sharp apparatus, droplets of burgundy dripped and thinly coated the rest of the blade.

I stared at the dead body, blood now stained onto the girl’s top.

Mother turned to me and looked at me. “We have rid the world of another one. Jinhwan is safer because of this. You have done well, my son,” Mother said with a quiet pride shining through. It was not the first time she had this look but it was the first time since the divorce that she had given me this look.