Gifts

He twiddled a strand of her hair, weaving the licorice coloured silk between his fingers. She looked so peaceful. Crumbs from the slice of chocolate cake still freckled her parted lips. Evil bitch. He left her laying on the bed, and went to work on her gift. They didn't deserve gifts really, the people he took care of, but he always made them one of his bespoke jewelry creations; a chain with their name on. Each design was unique, though, like the individual it was made for. He was nearly finished when the alarm sounded on his phone, reminding him he only had half an hour before he was due to meet his friends at their local pub. He'd have to finish it later.

"Fancy checking out the new place after this drink?" Asked Jenny as soon as he'd sat down at their usual table. "241 on cocktails."

"Dunno, it's quiet enough in here tonight, don't want Lena losing all her business."

Kayleigh leaned over and hugged his side. "Our Toby, loyal as ever." She was teasing, but it was true. Anyone who knew him would agree that loyalty was his defining trait.

"Been that way since school, ain't ya bud." Said Jude, his best friend.

Toby was close with everyone in this group, but he and Jude went back the longest. They'd met Harry, Kayleigh and Jenny at Uni, and all stayed close friends over the 6 years since they'd graduated.

"Aaah come on. Just for a couple. Scope out the place, get a few free drinks, then we'll head back here, and probably spend way more than usual anyway because we'll all be pissed. Well, apart from Jude, he'll be sober, as usual." Jenny was hard to say no to. She had a knack for making any idea she liked sound appealing.

"Everyone else wanting to go?" Toby asked, surveying the table. His eyes paused on each member of the group as they nodded their decision. It was unanimous.

The new bar was less than a minute's walk away. They couldn't get a table, but that didn't bother Toby - having nowhere to put drinks down meant people finished them quicker, and he was keen to get back to Lena's as soon as possible. They were on their third, and agreed last, round of drinks, when he spotted her. Francesca Philips. He glanced at Jude.

"Yeah, I saw." Jude said. "Wonder what she's doing round here."

It wasn't a hunting night, but Toby knew he couldn't pass up such a rare opportunity. He didn't have to try take her home tonight, he could just lay the ground work. He downed his drink. "I'll find out."

Getting her number was easy; he knew the right things to say around women, and she seemed happy to see him. He confirmed he'd be in touch, then re-joined his group just as they'd finished their drinks and we're ready to leave.

"What did you do that for?" Asked Jude.

"I wanted to know why she was here. And if any of the others were around."

"And?"

"She's just moved here."

"So, what, you two are going to be friends now? I saw you exchanging numbers."

Toby didn't want to tell Jude he planned to see her again. It would lead to further questions down the line, and it was risky enough taking care of someone he actually had a connection to; all the others had been strangers.

"She asked what I did, and I showed her some of my designs. I'm not going to turn down business."

"Fair enough."

His lie seemed to have pacified Jude, for now. No doubt he'd ask in a few days whether she'd been in touch or commissioned a piece, but that would be easy to brush off.

The next day, Toby hurriedly finished the gift for Megan, the last person he'd taken care of, and fastened it delicately around her neck before adding her to his collection in his concealed walk-in freezer. There were 4 women and 2 men in there now. He'd need to do something else with the bodies if he was going to keep this up, but that was another day's problem. All he could think about now was Francesca. After a brief exchange of messages, they'd arranged to meet for a meal the next evening. He itched to get started on her gift, giddy at the thought of giving it to her. He usually made their gifts after he'd killed them, so that he knew them well enough to personalize the design, but this time was different. He'd never killed someone he already knew before. This time was an exception. He spent the afternoon and most of the following day working on Francesca's gift, only breaking off to finish a couple of other pieces he'd been commissioned to make.

Anticipation tingled through his body as he waited in the local restaurant he and Francesca had agreed to meet in.

"Francesca." He stood and leaned in to kiss her cheek as she approached.

"Oh, just Fran, please. I only get my full name when I'm in trouble."

He smiled at the irony; she was in trouble, for something she probably didn’t even remember doing.

They ordered their drinks and food before he launched into his usual seduction routine. The first step simply involved asking lots of questions, as people always seemed to love talking about themselves, but with Francesca it was different. Maybe because they already knew each other. She kept asking him questions, too, about what he'd done since school and what he did now etc.

"Wow. I would never have pegged you as a jeweler!"

"Yeah, I design and make bespoke pieces. Been doing it for about 5 years now. What do you do?"

"I'm a florist. I design and make floral arrangements."

"Oh cool. So, we're both creators then." This was another of his tactics; make them think they were alike, and therefore compatible.

"Yeah, I guess we are. And both using nothing we learnt at school."

"Ha, very true."

"Do you still see anyone from school? I thought I saw Jude in that bar the other night."

"Yeah, we're still good mates. Went to Uni together and everything."

Francesca's eyes dropped to the table as she fidgeted with her wine glass. "He's lost a lot of weight. He looks really well."

"Yeah, he's doing great." They were getting into unsafe territory here. Toby couldn't reveal the anger and resentment he still held about how people treat Jude in school.

"Has he had many more, um, incidents?"

He needed to get her off this topic. "He manages his diabetes well now. How come you-"

"I've always felt awful, about that day. I shouldn't have laughed at the things those dickheads were saying."

No, you shouldn't have. They shouldn't have been tormenting him, and you and all the others shouldn't have encouraged them by laughing. The only reason his blood sugar dropped so low was because he'd been skipping meals and exercising like crazy to try and lose weight, so people would leave him alone. He needed it, but he wouldn't take even a bite of that chocolate cake while you were all laughing at him. If he had, he wouldn't have lost consciousness, he wouldn't have slipped into a diabetic coma, he wouldn't have almost died.

Francesca, all the others, and particularly that day, were why he did what he did now; he gave the bullies of the world the karma they deserved. It was taking all of his effort to keep his face pleasant. He took a long slow sip of his drink to choke back the anger before he spoke.

"Well, it's all in the past now. He's doing great." He smiled as forgiving a smile as he could muster. "Anyway, I want to know more about floristry. How did you get into that?"

He succeeded in ending their conversation about Jude and that day in school, and after a few hours of deploying every charm technique he'd perfected over the years, he managed to persuade her to come to his place for a drink - on the promise he'd show her his workshop and some of his designs. In that sense, the evening had been a huge success. In another way, it wasn't; he had a strange feeling. He kept trying to tell himself that it was just because he'd never done this to anyone he had history with before, but truthfully, he kind of liked her. She was funny, easy to talk to, beautiful... It didn't matter though. She was rotten inside. She was part of the reason he did this. She was the type of person that this world needed less of.

They sank down a glass of wine each before she made him come through on his promise to show her his workshop. He didn't usually drink while hunting, but he was breaking all the rules with this one.

"Oh wow, you have a client called Francesca?" She asked during the tour as she softly cupped the necklace he'd made for her, the charms spelling out her name resting on the palm of her hand.

Shit!

"Erm, yeah, I have. That's for a customer."

She eyed him with playful suspicion. "Did you make this for me?"

Technically he had. What harm would it do giving her it before he finished her? She was here, in his house now. She was never leaving.

"Yes, I did. I forgot I'd left it out. I didn't expect to have you in here."

She smiled deeply and unreservedly, and moved close enough to him that he felt lost in her. Before he knew what was happening, they were kissing. Gentle at first, then deep and passionate. He broke away as soon as his logical mind was able to, but his eyes opened straight into hers. He'd never seen such deep green eyes before. Dark and light shades danced together like leaves in the breeze. She moved away, and cradled the necklace again.

"May I?"

He nodded, and she picked up the chain and secured it around her neck.

"It's beautiful. Thank you."

He'd never been thanked for one of his gifts before. He'd been thanked for commissions, but his gifts were reserved for bullies he'd taken care of, and they weren't able to thank him when they received them. He needed to get her out of here, regain some control over the evening.

"Would you like another drink?" He asked.

She nodded, and he led her back upstairs into the kitchen to refill their glasses.

"Do you have anything sweet?" She asked, her eyes scanning the small kitchen. "I always do this, never have room for dessert when I eat out, but I always want one when I get home."

All he had was the chocolate cake. He'd bought it ready for tonight; part of his routine when he was planning to bring someone back from the hunt. It was a slice of chocolate cake that Jude wouldn't eat to save his life because of the bullies, so Toby liked to watch them enjoy a slice before ending them. Her asking for something sweet should have been the ideal opportunity to give her what he'd planned would be her final treat, but he was hesitant. The way this evening had gone - her company - her kiss - it was messing with his head. He didn’t want to end her. He thought of Jude. He remembered how weak he was that day. He remembered how scared he'd been at his hospital bedside, praying he would wake up, promising any god that was listening that he would rid the world of those bullies if Jude survived. He had to do this. He opened the fridge and pulled out the chocolate cake, then turned to Francesca and smiled.

"It's your lucky day. I'll cut you a slice."