To Catch A Killer (Part I)

'You sure?'

'Sure about what?'

'That that's how she feels about you?'

'I…well…yeah, I mean, she…'

'Sin, my boy. What if this girl is what you've been waiting for?'

He pulled his back from the couch. 'Mama, you have no idea what she did to me.'

'And what did she do to you? Help me understand, my son.'

He became quiet.

'Sin, if you continue thinking the whole world is against you then you will never find peace…love…the break you've needed for so long. Have you considered that maybe…just maybe Clarissa genuinely cares about you?'

He moved his hand to his face again. 'At this point, I don't know what's what, mama. I'm so confused and lost.'

She rubbed his cheek with her thumb. 'Forget the world, Sin. It doesn't care about me, you or anyone else for that matter. But this Clarissa girl…' she smiled at him, 'Maybe she's the one good thing this wretched world is trying to give you. One of the many good things it owes you.'

He hugged her tightly. 'I love you, mama.'

'I love you too, my son.'

He got up and headed for the door. He opened it and just stood there, staring back at her. Those eyes. Those gentle eyes. He had almost forgotten how much he missed them. How much he needed them. He gave her a nod, a smile trying to hold back his tears.

She smiled and nodded back. She wiped one off her socket before it made it out.

He turned around and walked through the door. Nurse Bethany closed it behind him.

In Malrich, there was only one police station. It was at least four kilometres North-East from Sineas' home. The building was only twice the size of your average flat. It was surrounded by a small lawn with countless patches as if someone had repeatedly and illegally tried playing golf there. A small electric fence barricaded the premises. The building had very few and small windows. When you walked through the entrance of the building, the first thing you would see was the receptionist's desk on your right. To the left was inspector Charles' office. A few more steps further into the building and you would find yourself in a very big and open room where criminals were processed and further down were the restrooms. To your right was where the officers had their breakfast and lunch and shared a few laughs.

Inspector Charles was in his office, sitting behind his desk and going through some files scattered across the feeble, wooden structure. His room was quite dark, despite the fact that it was still in the afternoon. The room only had his small desk, a small open window behind it and some metal cabinets to his right, along the wall.

In an unexpected fit, he swept all of the files onto the floor. He ran his fingers along his shiny, balding head. 'Peggy! Peggy!' he shouted towards his door.

A short, chubby woman with glasses peeked through the door. She was the receptionist. 'Sir?'

'Get me Deputy James.'

'Yes, sir.' She disappeared.

A few seconds later Deputy James walked through the door. He took off his hat.

Charles directed him to the small chair in front of his desk.

'You called, sir?' asked James as soon as he sat down.

The inspector leaned back in his seat. 'These cases, James. These darn cases!' He slammed a fist onto the desk. The old desk shook, promising to buckle under the pressure.

'We'll catch them, sir,' James assured him, placing his hat on top of the desk.

The inspector laughed. 'Them? Them, James? How do you know it's not him or her? Two people, butchered like that and all we can tell Malrich is "we'll catch them"?' He ran his fingers along his head again, his elbows planted firmly on top of the desk.

'Whoever they, he or she is, we'll still find them, sir. All killers make mistakes, remember?'

'Remember what, James? You watch too many crime dramas…This, is the real thing! There has never been a murder in Malrich; ever! And worse, the murder of youths: an eighteen year old boy and a twenty-eight year old woman.'

'At least we know that these murders could be connected, sir,' answered James. 'I don't believe the murder of these two can just be narrowed down to coincidence.'

The inspector nodded, thoughtfully. After a brief pause, 'And if these murders were committed against two people, both from the same school…'

'A Biology teacher and a Biology student…' James pitched in.

They stared at each other, as if they both knew what the other was thinking.

The inspector got to his feet. He began to gather all the files he had thrown onto the floor. He picked one that looked familiar and began to scan it up and down. He squinted. 'Justin Foyer was eighteen years old, correct?' he asked James rhetorically.

James nodded once.

'And Brittany Bale was twenty-eight?'

He nodded again. Twice this time. 'What are you getting at, sir?'

He rubbed his chin, his eyes lost in the door. 'James…these two were very young. I'm sure it's possible they may have…' he made a small shrug.

One of James' eyes twitched. He took the hint.

The inspector began to pace the room up and down the room. He said, 'Now, we've interviewed just about the entire twelfth grade classes, James. Everyone came out clean, even the last people to see Foyer alive, at Ocean's Tavern. None of them seem to have had any motive for wanting him dead except the guy he got into a scuffle with at the bar. What's his name again?'

'Eubert Green, Sir.'

'Yes…Green would have been our man if he didn't have an airtight alibi. Now, if we retrace our steps back to the victims, what else do we know about them?'

James got lost in thought. 'Besides Biology, sir?'

'Yes, James. These two had chemistry…at least that's my theory. I have seen it before; teacher and student relationships aren't a new thing to me.'

James placed a finger on his chin. He was obviously pondering, staring at the scattered papers on the desk. Finally, he said, 'But, sir, if your theory is true, who could stand to gain from the deaths of these two?'

The inspector slammed his open palms onto the desk and grinned wickedly at him. 'Exes, James, exes!'

'Axes? Isn't that the weapon used to kill the victims?'

'No, no, James. We both know that the autopsy revealed that an axe was used to kill the victims. I'm talking about exes; ex-boyfriends and ex-girlfriends.'

'I think I'm still lost, sir,' James said shaking his head. He looked greatly confused.

'James; think, think. If my theory, that Brittany Bale and Justin Foyer were in an intimate relationship is accurate, then it's pretty obvious that someone wasn't particularly happy about that.'