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Killing Tony Tucci had been one of the hardest decisions Dexter ever made. Usually, he didn’t have trouble making decisions. He had the code of Harry to fall back on, but the code of Harry had never covered anything like this. Tony was begging for death; surely it wouldn’t be wrong to kill him. Harry had told him to ‘put the poor animal out of its misery’ when they went deer hunting together for the very first time. How could this be any different? Besides, Dexter didn’t want to refuse his new friend’s gift; that would be rude.
Dexter didn’t know if he should hide the body. He didn’t want to run the risk of getting caught, but he also wanted to ensure that the Ice-Truck killer would see his handiwork. It was so exhilarating to be seen and not have to hide in the shadows. He ultimately decided to leave the body there, untouched aside from a gash he left on Tucci’s cheek.
His new friend had thoughtfully provided glass slides for him to use; he must have found Dexter’s collection when he broke into his house. This was definitely a kill Dexter needed to remember. Breaking his typical ritual, he drew a small ‘v’ of blood on his glass slide. When he pressed the secondary slide on top to preserve Tucci’s blood, he was left with a small, bloody heart. The perfect symbol to remember the perfect present from his new friend.
The symbol was a reminder of the heart Dexter didn’t have; his heartlessness made it hard to connect with people. Now he had a heartless friend, someone just like him, and he had just given his new friend a heart they could share.
Dexter didn’t have friends; he had people who considered themselves his friends, but if they knew who he really was, they would run for the hills. He didn’t realize how lonely he was until the ice-truck killer came into his life. But he wasn’t going to be lonely anymore. The death of Tony Tucci would link him to his new playmate forever.