Two Sides of the Same Fence ~ Lams

1: The Overkill (John)

TW: mention of stabbing and blood

John woke up at 1:46am to rustling outside. Assuming it was raccoons, he tried to go back to sleep. When he opened his eyes, he noticed a light on in his neighbours home and someone talking loudly so he went to the window.

When he glanced out and over the white picket fence, he saw his neighbour, Alexander Hamilton. He was arguing with someone else inside his house.

"Liz? Again!?" He heard Alex yell. He walked towards the window a few moments later and scanned his surroundings. John ducked so he wouldn't be seen spying on Alex.

Alex shut the window in his small, run down house. He used to have a girlfriend but she left about 3 months prior. Now he lived alone. Or from what John could see, he lived alone.

He noticed him in the kitchen before leaving the house again, running down the road. Probably just going for some exercise... at 2am... in New York... smart.

John waited by the window for a little while longer, hoping to see the person Alex was arguing with leave the house, but no one left. No more lights turned on or off. No movement in the house at all. Whoever he was arguing with seemed to... disappear.

-----

John woke up again to the sound on sirens and flashing lights outside his home. He rolled over and checked the time. 5:35am. He groaned and got up, pushing back the weighted blanket he was under and made his way back to the window he was at only 4 hours before.

He rubbed his eyes and tried to see clearly. Police cars. Ambulance. Police tape. Blood. Body. Crap! He quickly threw on a tshirt and shorts then ran down the stairs, putting on his slides as he went out.

"Eliza!" He shouted and tried to get to her. A police officer held him back as he got a good look at her body laying in his lawn. Her clothes were blood soaked and she had multiple stab wounds to her chest and neck. An overkill for sure.

His eyes filled with tears as he saw the woman he loved dead. In his yard. He knew how this looked to the police but he was too overwhelmed by grief to really care.

He looked up as another man approached the scene from the opposite direction, not as broken as John was. He looked... neutral. He didn't care. He just wanted to see what was happening.

It was Alex. He was talking quietly with an officer, obviously about the little... situation going on outside their homes. He didn't show a hint of emotion. Oddly suspicious, in John's opinion.

He slowly got up once he got a hold of himself and walked over to Alex, trying to avoid looking at Eliza's body as a homicide detective examined the scene.

"This is awkward." John said quietly. He tried to force himself to give Alex a small smile but his brain wouldn't comply. He still had tear streaks down his face.

Alex sighed and ran his hand through his raven hair. He looked as though he didn't sleep. John knew he didn't. Who would be able to get a good nights rest when you were arguing with someone at 2am and awake again near 6am because of a dead body.

"This is not a convenient way to find out we were both dating Eliza." Alex mumbled to himself, not really wanting to talk to his neighbour. They didn't exactly have a rivalry... but they did hate eachother. A lot.

John looked at Alex blankly. How did he not know his ex was dating him. He knew his girlfriend looked familiar but he never saw her face. He sighed and looked over to the taped off area being tested for everything.

A policeman walked over to John and escorted him back to his own property. He started to ask him a few questions. Routine questions, if you will.

"Where were you last night between 2 and 3:10 AM?" The officer asked John. He didn't hesitate to reply.

"I was in bed. Not sleeping but in bed watching YouTube videos until about 3 then I fell asleep." He said and glanced behind the officer. Eliza's body was being transported onto an ambulance to be taken to the morgue.

The officer snapped him back to reality. "I gather you know the victim based on your reaction to seeing the scene. What was your relationship with Ms. Schuyler?" He asked.

John looked at his shoes. No! Stupid that makes you look guilty! He looked back up and shrugged. "We had a relationship for a few months last year. July to October. That was all." He explained as naturally as possible. It was a sore spot for him. Especially now.

"Did you still have feelings for her after you parted?" The policeman asked, writing down the information he learned as the interview went on.

John shook his head. "No sir... we ended on good terms with a good understanding that neither of us were ready for commitment. She hasn't been on my mind since." He said and looked at his shoes again.

The policeman wrote that down and tipped his hat, going to talk to Alex, assuming to ask the same questions. Alex crossed his arms and started yelling at the policeman about a warrant to search his house.

John sat on the steps of his house and watched as the ambulance left and some of the police tried to get into Alexs house. A detective walked over to John.

"Just a few more moments of your time," he said and opened a notepad to check over things he noticed. "When was the last time you saw Ms. Schuyler?"

"Last October... well I guess 3 months ago actually... so May. I didn't know the neighbour was dating her. I just knew he had a girl over a lot." He explained.

The detective nodded and moved onto the next question. "Do you know of anyone that would have wanted to hurt or kill Ms. Schuyler?"

John shook his head. "She was the sweetest girl in the world. I don't think she had any enemies." He looked at his hands just to not look at the detective.

"That's all for now. We will contact you if we have anymore questions." The detective said and went back to his car with the officers. They didn't get into Alex's house which he seemed pleased about. Not suspicious at all.

John finally was able to go back inside and made arrangements to not go into work that day. He had seen so much that day and it was only 6am. All he had to do now was find out who killed sweet, innocent Liza.

And he already had a #1 suspect.