A Striking Death — David Anderson

An elderly retired French teacher is found brutally bludgeoned to death in his bedroom. With very few leads to go on and no witnesses, Detective Sergeant Nicholas Drumm of the Violent Crimes Unit with the York Police Services is faced with a difficult task in finding the killer. One surprising event follows another, as Drumm finds himself in a race against a killer with a violent and twisted agenda.

EXCERPT FROM A STRIKING DEATH

The human head was like an egg. The killer had read about it. Done his homework. An egg had a thin shell which protected the chick inside. Shake the egg and the life inside would bang and rattle about until it was extinguished.

The killer looked down at the old head with its thin grey hair resting on the pillow. Shaking might be the way to go: thumbs into the scrawny neck, jerk the head up from the pillow, throw back down. Repeat. Shaken baby syndrome, only with an old man. The killer considered it briefly, rejected the idea.

Eggs could also be shattered, like with a hammer. Much faster, much more effective. The killer grimaced. It would be messy, very messy. Could it be done? Was the necessary determination there?

The killer picked up the baseball bat, found the right grip, knew the answers.

The bat came down slowly, stopped just above the forehead, measuring. A fractional adjustment. The bat ascended steadily until it was behind the killer's head, then came down much more quickly.

The killer had been right. It was messy.