The Feeder by Mandy White

Louie had been small game; a practice kill to prepare me for the big game. If Louie was a gazelle or impala, Diamond Vinnie was the elusive white rhino. I needed to be at my best if I was going to succeed in taking him down.
    I went shopping for a few necessities. My room was a kitchen unit, so I planned to stock up on enough groceries to keep me fed in case I had to hole up in my room for a while. I didn’t know how long I was going to be there or where my safari was going to lead me next but I believed in being prepared.
    I stopped in the pharmacy section of the supermarket and picked up a few more items. A package of disposable razors, some shaving cream and a bottle of lotion labeled Eye Makeup Remover. I also bought a tube of waterproof mascara. That eyelash shit was a pain in the ass to put on, and it ran into a big mess the moment water touched it. I hoped the waterproof stuff would work better.
    As an afterthought, I added a large bottle of isopropyl alcohol to the basket. Human blood was a nasty thing; if I was going to be coming into contact with it I wanted to be able to adequately clean up afterward. As satisfying as it had been to carve Louie up, I’d felt a little squeamish about having his blood on my skin. The funny thing was, I’d never felt that way on any of my hunting trips back home. Many times I’d been up to the elbows in entrails and emerged from the woods covered in moose or elk blood without giving it a second thought. Comparing my human hunt to a safari was my way of disconnecting my mind from the horrific nature of my mission.
    Back at the motel, I took a hot bath and soaked my tired body. My feet still hurt from wearing Camille’s pointy-toed boots. They were the right size but I wasn’t used to them. I made a mental note to look for alternative footwear that was easier on my feet but still made me look sexy. I shaved my legs and armpits, then lay in the tub and cried for Cammie until the water went cold.
    I ate a simple dinner of tuna sandwiches while leaning back in bed and watching the evening news. I sat upright when an image of the Dufferin flashed on the screen.
    They had finally found Cammie.
    The police held a press conference but they refused to release the victim’s name or confirm that her murder was connected to any other homicides that had taken place in the city recently.
    One reporter asked directly if it matched the M.O. of the serial killer known as ‘The Feeder’. The LAPD spokesman, Detective Barton, once again refused to confirm that the recent killings were the work of a serial killer. He insisted that nicknames such as ‘The Feeder’ were just hype created by the media with no basis in actual fact.
    The reporter was a persistent one.
    “Is it true some of The Feeder’s victims have been mutilated and had parts of themselves inserted in their mouths?”
    The detective looked a little uneasy but maintained his cool.
    “I don’t know where you heard that, but it sounds like something you might have seen in a movie. As I have already stated, none of these rumors have any basis in fact. I assure you, we have our best homicide detectives on the job and they are investigating this and every homicide with the utmost care and professionalism.”
    The reporters continued to shout out questions but the press conference was over. No more mention was made of the murder at the White Surf. So far, nothing at all had been said about Louie, which led me to assume they hadn’t found him yet.
    I hugged a pillow to my chest and curled up on my side to get some sleep. I wished I had a real person to hold in my arms. I’d had someone once, but like everything else in my life, things didn’t work out the way I had planned.
    * * *
    I dressed to the nines the following day, in preparation for my visit to the white rhino, Diamond Vinnie. I had to admit, I looked hot. The black leather corset I found in Cammie’s suitcase still smelled like her, and it made my heart ache. Putting it