Mr. Sandman

twelve

I was jolted awake the next morning to the sound of loud banging on my front door. I let out a soft grunt as I shut my eyes again, hoping it was just in my head. The knocking sounded again, this time, even harder. I ripped the white sheets off my body and kicked my legs off the mattress, letting them rest on the cold wood floor. The knocking came again.

"Just a minute!" I called, irritated that whoever was on the other end of the door was clearly rather impatient. I grabbed my black hoodie and pulled it over the old tee shirt I was wearing. I shuffled over to the front door of my flat and stood on my tiptoes, looking to see who was there through the peep hole. Two burley looking men stood on the other side, each adorning the same black jacket. I unlocked the door uneasily, pulling it open, but cracking it just enough to where I could stick my head out. "Yes?"

"Hi, Miss Kolten?" The taller man of the two asked me. I nodded and he pulled out a black wallet, flipping it open. Inside was a gold badge, indicating he was an important figure in law enforcement. "I'm Detective Morgan, and this is Detective Francis."

"Is everything okay?" I asked timidly. I couldn't think of a single reason two detectives would show up unexpectedly at my flat at some early hour of the morning.

"Yes, there's no trouble. Have you been watching the news recently?" Detective Morgan inquired as he pulled a piece of paper from his jacket pocket, but kept it to his side.

"For the most part, yes." I said, leaning against the door. The other detective was studying me, as if he was watching to see if I did anything sketchy.

"A young girl who went missing a few months ago, Jenna Hopper," He began, holding up the piece of paper to show me the photo of a girl with blonde hair and brown eyes. "Used to live in this flat."

I seemed to be lost as to what he was getting at. "I moved in maybe a month ago." I said and he nodded. "I'm sorry if I'm mistaken, but what does this have to do with me?"

"May we come inside, Miss Kolten?" Detective Francis spoke up from behind Detective Morgan. Something about Detective Francis's dark, beady eyes gave me the chills. Even though I was still at a complete loss, I opened the door further, allowing them access.

The walked in slowly, looking around my flat. "So, what does this have to do with me exactly?" I questioned again, hoping to get some sort of answer from them.

"Where is the bedroom?" The first detective asked, looking to me. He completely blew my question off. I pointed to the open doorway of my bedroom, and they both immediately began towards it. I followed quickly, hoping to find out what was happening. Detective Francis pulled out a plastic bag from his jacket and from that, removed what looked like several photos.

"No doubt, it was here." He said and he examined the photos, and looked back up to my bedroom.

"Excuse me?" I said, now feeling even more irritated than I was before. As Detective Francis continued to look at his photos, Detective Morgan looked to me. "What is going on?"

He sighed softly and put his hands behind his back. "Because this is an ongoing investigation, I'm afraid I can't disclose too much to you. Jenna's body was found yesterday, and these photos were found near by." He motioned to Detective Francis's photos. "Jenna was photographed in here by another person. We believe that whoever took the photos may have some connection to the killing. We had to confirm it was her bedroom."

I crossed my arms over my chest, suddenly feeling uncomfortable in my own space. I wanted to ask the question, but I was scared to even speak.

"Is it the same person who has been killing women?"

"Mr. Sandman? I'm afraid that's what we believe at the moment, but we aren't certain. Once again, that's information I can't disclose."

Detective Francis slipped the bag back into his jacket and nodded to Detective Morgan.

"We need to head back to the office, but we may or may not be in contact again." He said and handed me his business card with his phone number.

"Really sorry to barge in on you." Detective Francis smiled to me and I returned the action.

"No need to be afraid though," Detective Morgan nodded to me. "We're gonna find this psychopath soon and get him off the streets of London."

And with that, they left me to the now chilling confines of my flat. I stood in silence for a moment and looked up and down the white walls. I turned and looked into the kitchen and tried to imagine Jenna in there, rushing to work. Maybe sitting at the small breakfast bar to eat a microwaved dinner.

I was startled from my phone vibrating from my hoodie. I reached my hand into the pocket and pulled the phone out to see a single text illuminating the screen.

Dan: how about a proper date tonight?

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i'm moving in four days how do i adult help. thank you guys for all the feedback and votes. much love.