Short crime stories

Ususpected

I gazed into her eyes, they really were as green as spring. Her soft, pale skin, dusted with freckles, was now cold to touch. The hands that once clawed, scratched, tried their best to fight back with, were now limp and lifeless. I smiled at that thought. I had won. I had outlived another person. Slowly, with a shaking hand, I placed a single white rose into hers - making sure to add in a few sniffles for effect... I turned and walked away from the coffin with a face filled with sorrow, exiting through a small doorway. The fresh air hit my body - causing the bottom half of my coat to billow in the wind, displaying my black suit and tie.
I was approached by a man who I believed to be her father. He was a tall man, approximately 6'3" with a stocky build - the kind of look a bouncer or security guard might have - but he had greying hair, deep bags under his eyes - assuming he had not slept in days due to grief and the stress of the funeral. He spoke with a soft and fragile tone; thanking me for the work I had done, allowing him to get closure. With watering eyes, I told him that his eulogy was beautiful, I was sorry for his loss and that he was welcome - I was just doing my job. Unsuspected.

Sat in the armchair of my Davies Street flat, I marvelled in my brilliance and how stupid those who I worked with could truly be. All they needed was a little convincing and that was no hardship. I stared at the wall in front of me, covered by a large map of London with areas circled and different coloured push-pins indicating the movements of each of the eight women in the last two months. I could now forget about the blue, the cyan, the orange, the yellow, the green, the pink and the white pins and only focus on the red. The others were child's play - simple. Easy targets. Vulnerable. However, I could already tell that this one would be different. Her name was Thana - she was tall and slim, about 5'9" and measurements that most women could only dream of. She had dark hair down to her waist but she always tied it up for work, trying her best to look professional with a clearly cheap blazer and skirt set; indicated by the loose threads and brass-painted pieces of plastic, one could only assume are meant to represent gold buttons. Despite this, I could not ignore the fact that she was after all as businesswoman. Smart. She knew how to get under people's skin, I had seen her in action myself. Obviously not in person - I could not be that stupid - but through her security cameras in her offices and through her microphone on her laptop. A wonderful thing technology, she would never even have known who was watching due to a VPN - buries your actual location. She could not have seen it coming even if she tried. Completely unsuspected.

11:39 pm on a Thursday, a perfect time for a murder - genius actually. No tourists. No rush of busy workers. No drunks. No one. One could walk the streets of London, unnoticed. Unheard. Unsuspected. So that is what I did, I followed Thana as she locked up the building for the night, I followed Thana as she walked down the silent streets in the dark, I followed her all the way to Embankment - where she received a call from an unknown number. Little did my gem know, but in her answering the call, it would trigger all cameras within a five mile radius to turn off, simply stop recording for forty minutes; allowing me to time to clean up after the mess I made. She played the vital role in her own demise. As I calculated, I was home in Mayfair with ten minutes to spare - her body displayed on the steps of New Scotland Yard, prepared for the morning shift to discover. Her body cleaned. Her clothes safe with me. Vehemently, I flicked through the photos on my phone - a burner of course, one gifted by a sponsor - and laughed at how my brilliant mind had managed to outsmart one of the brightest in London.

They used bleach, I could smell it amongst the petrol and the stench of grease coming from a hot dog van nearby. Must say I was impressed, taking the necessary photographs and samples before removing the body - all within an hour. I suppose they did not want any members of the public - those with simple minds - to speculate or call the press. That was a shame, I rather enjoyed the attention I usually got, it would have been a lovely treat to have received it a few days early. I scanned my warrant card and walked through the gates to continue about my day. Unsuspected...