The Wratner Interview

Chapter 1

Day 1

I sit at my desk and drink my cup of black coffee. My eyes were heavy already, and my brain was trying to process the new cases that kept flooding in, I heard my co-workers talking and turned my head to one of them. I saw Matthew there. "Hey, Matthew!" I got up and went over to him, he looked at me with a look I only saw on his face when he first began the investigation. "Hello, Jon."

"What's the matter?" I said, stuffing my hands in my pant pockets. I was concerned for my co-worker and wondered what got him riled up. I cocked my head to the side. "Want to talk about it over some whiskey?" I said calmly, all he did was calmly nod his head. So, we went to the bar and asked for a couple of shots, I set my shot glass down after the second one, and he folded his arms. "I'm just terrified of that freak; he is not a sane man..."

"Can you tell me what you saw there?" I was intrigued now, what got Matthew all shaken up like this?

"I don't know if I even have the stomach to talk about what I saw there, I mean the case was gruesome and somehow he even knew about the case involving himself," Matthew said, looking at his empty shot glass. He frowned. "It's been a few years since the case has been open... Since you were a child." He spoke calmly.

"I remember it vividly," I said calmly, he looked at me. "Are you working on the case?" The questioning tone made me nod my head sadly. "Jon, whatever happens, be careful... I heard he still lurks around the case... You know the myth of a ghost or something haunting a case." He rubbed his neck as I chuckled and took another shot. "I don't believe in ghosts really, it's a waste of fear." I smiled; I wasn't to be fooled by some simple myth. Wratner killed himself years and years ago, yet the case was still open due to Mr. Afton's request. He paid hundreds and hundreds of dollars just to keep this case up and running, he wanted men to figure out why Wratner attacked Crystal Afton. I opened a note that was written in black ink. Wratner found himself angry at everyone. He wrote that William and Henry were feeling a case of Begrudgery against him... I didn't understand what it meant, but next to the writing was.

James seemed upset at the fact that we wanted to take over his business since he was a much older man, we... in all honesty, wanted to take his company and he wasn't okay with that, which lead to the death of my daughter. I found this odd, he killed himself with her. Their bodies were right beside each other with wounds on their bodies, I heard faint chuckles in my mind, assuming that it was me chuckling. I wanted to catch him more than expected. I hated Wratner more than anyone else did, he ruined my life and everyone else's around me. I ran my fingers through my hair and clenched my jaw. I thought about what Matthew said and I paused. It was odd. Why did he say that Wratner lurked around the case was it something that was in the case? Was it the weapons? I shook my head a little and turned my head to the clock, it was late now. I got up and closed the file, slipping it into a drawer and locking it, setting the key in my pockets, and clocking out. The office area was empty. I was the last one to leave, usually, that was how it was. I called David and he told me he was busy. I shrugged, he must have been asleep or doing something important. When I went home, I sat on the couch and watched some television, Afton was all over the news, his famous companies ran twenty-four hours on the news. What stuck in my head was a memory I tried to block out for years... I ran my fingers through my hair again, the memory was dark and disgusting. It involved the thirty-seven-year-old murderer.

I smiled brightly as Crystal was seen giggling, holding my hand tightly. She had beautiful eyes, blue and green. Her giggle brightened the room up and made others around her, smile with joy. "What is your name?!" I said enthusiastically as squeaked. "My name is Crystal Afton! My papa is Mr. Afton! That's what he likes to be called by others, I call him papa!" I smiled at the girl, and she hugged me. "What is your name?" Her voice was gentle and quiet, she wasn't like the other kids, and she seemed a little tired, I adjusted my glasses and spoke. "My name is Jonathan; I like to be called Jon!" I was shy, I wasn't used to being hugged by a girl. Most of my friends said girls had cooties! Was that true? Would I get cooties from her? She didn't seem to have them... However, I rose my eyes up and saw a man, an older-looking gentleman in his thirties looking at me with some spark of jealousy, he turned his head away and went inside a room. I saw Mr. Afton looking at us with a small smile, he was a protective man! And hardly anyone saw him outside of his office.