Chapter II: What's with the pretty girls?

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MARTY TALONS:”The victim was Ashley Benet, 17 years old, lives at 47 Parkinson Drive, Ores Town, daughter of Arnold Benet an accountant at Kingston and Anna Sheldon Benet a nightingale at Ores County Hospital. Reported missing two days ago, hmm…this is interesting?”

ME:”What is interesting?”

MARTY:”Girl attends at Marry Knoll High, Isn’t that’s your Alma Mater?”

ME:”How did you know that?” I lift my left eyebrows at my partner. “I never told you my high school story.”

MARTY:”It’s in your file. Don’t you read files?”

I just nod my head. Marty’s reaction is kind of funny, his forehead was a bit wrinkled and he intersects his eyebrows. He’s sound a bit defensive though.

MARTY TALONS:”Same characteristics as the other two victims Ashley were adored by many, prom queen, blah, blah, blah, what’s with pretty girls?”

Marty’s question came back my senses. I shrugged my shoulder and took a better look at the victim.

Ashley was strangled; her body was in a vacant lot near the river. Ore is just a small town in a southeast part of Pennsylvania. I was born at Delaware. We moved here when I was 12 years old. When I started my job in this little town, my parents were worried. I was only 22 and their worried because of my job.

My mom freaked out when I entered the academy. As a kid my mom always told me that I’m going to be a model or an actress that was her teenage dream, now she managed the telephone company here at Ores. My father on the other hand wants me to take over his travel agency.

I obviously don’t want to follow my parent’s footstep so here I am; my job is to figure why there is blood, wounds etc, etc, on a dead person’s body.

MARTY TALONS:”You think pop candy had a tragic experience with pretty girls during his junior or senior years?”

ME:”His, are you certain that pop candy is a male?”

MARTY TALONS:”I don’t think a female can do such horrible thing.”

I again examined the body, the way Ashley was strangled it’s obvious that pop candy’s height would be 5’10 to 6 feet tops. There was a force and Marty was right, no woman can do this. Ashley was 5’10 feet tall.

Pop candy never have a killing pattern. First victim was drowned; the second victim died in high voltage of current, and this one was strangled but all of them had cigarette burns on their body. If not for the burns and the usual evidence stuff that sent to our office this would not be a pop candy case. I am terribly anxious and it appeared on my face.

MARTY TALONS:”Hey”

Marty slightly tap my upper shoulder. I look at him and observed him. He avoids my eyes and look at Ashley’s dead body. When he turns his head on me I’m still looking at him, I am trying to figure whether he might be the “pop candy”.

MARTY TALONS:”you don’t honestly think I did that do you?”

I took a deep breath and rise up. I look at him again, this time I have this convinced thought that he might be the pop candy.

ME:”What do you think of Ashley and the other two victims?”

MARTY TALONS:”They are my kind of girls during my senior year.”

ME:”And those kinds, do they like you during your senior year?”

MARTY TALONS:”I fucked the prom queen, they didn’t just like me. And I have no bad experience with pretty girls it’s the other way around. What is this huh?”

There goes Marty again his eyebrows where intersect and her forehead was wrinkled. And there was an angry look at his eyes.

ME:”I was just trying to figure things out.”

MARTY TALONS:”And you think I am the pop candy?”

ME:”Anyone can be pop candy, I can be the pop candy, Cpt. Fuller can be the pop candy for all we know.”

MARTY TALONS:”Un-fucking-believable. You are in deep fucking shit partner. I read your file, this case is turning you into a fucking nut case, and you know that?”

There was anger on his voice or maybe there was concern, I don’t even know what to believe anymore. I’ve been in the force for 6 years, six damned years of shit like this. I become numb; my cousin once said to me that since I became a detective I’ve been different.

I’m no longer the same sweet girl I was when we were kids. When we had our family reunions I would just sit at one corner, I hardly talk to anyone. I was very observant and sometimes paranoid. My grandfather said twice. “Quit your job Gabby, come back to earth.”

But I didn’t, I love my job there was no doubt about it. It’s just that sometimes when you see how the world really is, when you are aware of horrible things in this world, you can’t help but be angry and cursed the people who have such courage to do horrible things.

And when a case is something like this a case with personal agenda that really pissed me, and for four months I repeatedly wonder what to do to pop candy. I want to put the matter in my own hand, forget justice. There is no justice for people like pop candy.

MARTY TALONS:”This where found on the victim’s body.”

My partner hand me the rope used for the victim. I took a deep breath and look at Ashley Benet dead body. I called one of the forensic team and ask to check any leads on the rope that was used.

If not for the pop soda, pop candy and the note with the picture of the victim and the address, this case would be point out to a boyfriend or some people Ashley had stoop toes. But pop candy sends the evidence in our office. The same way he does on the other victims.

ME:”I’m so sorry I been acting weird.”

MARTY TALONS:”I understand, we will get this guy Gabby.”

ME:”How? We don’t have any leads; there were three victims with no prints and DNA’s. We are zero.”

MARTY TALONS:”Hey, don’t tell me you are giving up, what happened to you Det. Prescott.”

ME:”I am not giving up, I just can’t believe why pop candy need to do this. If I’ve done something wrong why not face me. Those kids they were innocent.”

MARTY TALONS:”Or they’re not, maybe these kids had done something that patterns pop candy’s experience.”

ME:”I figured that already, but whether those girls were nasty I don’t think they mean harm to other kids, I mean they were just kids having some fun. They don’t deserve this.

MARTY TALONS:”Gabby, sometimes being nasty can be harm to others. I used to be one of those nasty kids as I grew older I realized it’s not nice to bully.”

ME:”I don’t know, I never had any experience on either being a bully or being bullied by others.”

MARTY TALONS:”Really?”

ME:”Yeah, I happened to be the sweetest kid in town.”

MARTY:”No offense partner but I find that hard to believe.

That was my partner last word until we reached our car.

***

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