My dad steps out of his parked car holding Bob's Burgers bag in his right hand and chocolate shakes in his left.
"No ones! Here why don't I help you with that!" Leo says loud enough to make my dad suspicious.
"Thanks! Now, why don't we finish this conversation and food in my office." He says opening the door to the police station.
We enter into the old police station with walls lined in wood paneling. Each room a different shade of green or beige. The carpet of each room matches that room's color. Then we head into my Dad's office. The entire place is covered in wood paneling, with no color at all. His desk and chairs are covered in papers, so we decide to eat on the floor like usual.
"How's the case going," I ask
"Well, we had another murder last night." my dad replies in a concerned tone.
"Really? How come I haven't heard about this till now?" I reply in an even more concerned tone.
"Well, the family of the victim wanted to keep the death on the down-low until tomorrow so that they can grieve before all the reporters and press surround them," he replies while checking if they put mayo on his burger. (They do, every time.)
What's the point? They are dead. Everyone will die eventually! Most are better off anyway. I thought about saying this out loud but, I didn't want to seem completely heartless to Leo and Stephanie.
"Anyway, what was the name of the victim?" I ask annoyingly.
"Makela Knight, age 12." My dad stops and stares at his burger.
"She was home alone and was on the phone with her mother when it happened. Apparently, whoever killed her used a pre-recording of a baby crying to get her out of the house, and stabed her in the stomach."
When my father finishes, Stephanie and Leo are close to tears, while I just stare, not knowing what to say. The entire room remains quiet for about 3 mins until my dad says,
"We couldn't find her body at first, because her mother had thought she heard her daughter get stabbed right after she walked out the door. This could not have been though, because we found the victim in the woods right behind her house. She was so far into them it would have been a good 15 mins between her leaving the house and getting stabbed."
Stephanie and Leo sit confused.
"What if the murderer dragged her there?"
"We only found her tracks, so she must have walked there by herself."
"Odd, what was her age again?" I ask.
"She was 12 years old"
"Perfect!" I exclaim. Steph, Leo, and Dad all look at me concerned. "No, I mean, the ages that is the pattern!"
"What in the world are you saying?" My dad asks.
"I'm saying to look at the age of each victim," I say as I pull my Dad's Whiteboard in front of them, running over some papers in the process.
"Victim 1. Name is Matthew Arnold, he is also 12.
Victim 2. His name is Ethan Thorn, he is 24.
Victim 3. Name is Evangeline Love, she is also 24.
Victim 4. Name is Tate Adams, he is 15 years old.
Victim 5. Name is Makela Knight, she is 12."
"Okay," My father says needing further explaining.
"It's a cipher! Well, kinda. Look, if we take the ages in order and only write the repeating numbers once we get 12-24-15. Next week Thursday." I say showing them and writing it down in red on the whiteboard.
"How do you know that that was on purpose? What if that is just a coincidence?" Leo asks
"I don't. And it very well could be, but what if it was on purpose, right now this is our only lead."
"Then, what is going to happen that day?" Stephanie asks.
"I don't know," I say truthfully.
YOU ARE READING
When I Met You
RomanceEmma Allen is a smart quick-witted girl, who has learned only one thing from her parents, "There is no such thing as love." That is until a new serial killer pops up in her small town. Along with a mysterious, shy, and poetic boy at her school. Can...
