Authors Note: Omg another update so soon?? Anyway, hi everyone. You may have seen with the last chapter that I finally updated after a whole year. If you're still here, thank you so much. I love seeing all of your comments and receiving messages from you all. It really does help motivate me when I'm in a slump. I'm planning on trying to finish this book as best I can so please be patient with me! I love you all <3
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(Y/N)'s POV:
I was worried about EJ.
He just watched the chief murder his family and was following him to who knows where. What if he caught him and murdered him too?
I sighed as I tapped my foot impatiently.
I wish I could say I knew he would be okay, but the files I found told me things would be heating up soon.
The moment I had the chance, I went through every last file.
I almost wish I hadnt.
It was page after page of pure horror.
Every murder that had ever happened was detailed graphically with pictures in case the descriptions weren't enough.
There was even one murder where apparently the killer had left a bunch of empty Sunny D bottles laying around the victim's body.
It was unsolved, much to my disappointment.
I would have liked to know why the killer chose to binge drink a knock-off orange juice of all things after committing murder.
I sighed as I scrolled through the files again.
It had taken me about three weeks to process them all.
Three weeks of blood and gore.
I was almost desensitized to it at this point.
It may sound dark but after seeing so many basic murders, I almost began to applaud the killers who did so with taste. Writing messages in blood, turning bodies into chandeliers, stuffing limbs into clown cars, you name it. They intrigued me.
My thoughts were cut off by the sound of my phone buzzing next to me.
It was EJ.
EJ: Chief is at some office building. Just watched him walk into a room on the 6th floor and put a robe on. Its all candles and spooky shit. Five other guys with robes on too. Or girls. People. Five other people with robes on.
I chuckled at his attempt to be inclusive.
Me: whats going on? what are they doing? and how are you watching them? you arent inside are you?
How was he seeing all this if it was on the sixth floor? Going inside the building with these people would have been risky, even for EJ. I admired his skills, but I wasn't sure he could safely be in the same room to observe these guys without getting caught.
EJ: uh. Im outside. on another building. dont ask. theyre sitting at a table and talking. I cant hear a word theyre saying but Im going to see if I can get one of my contacts to hack their phones to listen in.
Me: okay. keep me updated.
I sighed. I would just have to wait and hope EJ could get his contact to hack into the room. Still, it was all really suspicious. What were six people doing on the sixth floor of some office building. It was kind of funny how the numbers matched up though- a coincidence I was sure. Six people on the sixth floor. I wonder if they were at building 666 or 6th street or something too.
I allowed my mind to wander for a few minutes until my phone buzzed again.
EJ: Hack is a no go. Theres no tech in the entire building. No phones. No computers. Nothing. Fuckers.
Me: shit. What do we do then?
EJ: This seems like a place they meet at often. Ill have my guy bug the place after they leave. The next time they meet we can listen in.
Me: have they done anything else besides talk?
Surely the chief wouldnt have murdered his family and then left to crack open a cold one with the boys. Why were they in robes? To conceal their identity? A cult? EJ did say it was a spooky setup. But shouldnt the chief be worried about someone finding the bodies he left behind? EJ never mentioned him burying them or anything.
I sighed in frustration. I felt like I was missing something but I just couldn't place what it was.
EJ responded.
EJ: Nope. Meeting is over now I think. Ill follow the chief back home. Laterzz.
I giggled at his goodbye and tossed my phone aside.
I needed to get back. My birthday was in less than a week and I was tired of letting my parents hold me back. Things were heating up in the case and I knew I'd solve it faster on the front lines.
Without hesitation, I logged onto my computer and booked a flight.
I would go back to my aunts house and set up base there. Maybe EJ could even stay with me.
To work of course.
It would be more convenient if he was staying with me so that we could communicate faster and brainstorm together.
And um, safety in numbers?
"Fuck me," I groaned, falling back onto my bed and staring at the ceiling.
I think maybe I needed to start paying attention to the facts. And not just the ones in the case.
I liked EJ.
The time I've spent apart from him has made me realize that I care about him and that I want to get closer. I wouldn't say I'm in love or anything, because it's way too soon for that but I think at some point he managed to become something a little closer to me than just a friend, without me even realizing it.
I sighed and buried my face in my pillow, letting out a soft scream as I attempted to suffocate my feelings away.
"It's just a crush," I muttered.
Thats all it was, really.
EJ was nice and cool and funny and so smart too and also caring and just.. well it made sense to have a crush on him. Anyone would, really.
That's all I would let it be though- a crush.
After we both get the justice we want, we'll probably go our separate ways. I mean, why would he want to keep talking to me?
I'll start working at the station again and maybe it'll even become a long term job for me. I could build my life in the same town that saw my aunts life taken and work to prevent any more lives being lost.
Or something like that.
Images of the murders I had seen on the files flashed through my mind.
Do I really care about the lives of people I don't know? I mean, of course I do, but I'm not Batman. I don't think I want to risk my life every day for people who might not even deserve it, but of course I feel kind of bad when people get hurt.
I sighed.
Since when did I start thinking like this?
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1109 words
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