The thunder woke him from his sleep. He looked at the clock. It was 11:23. "Ugh, working late again." He started to gather the files on the case. "Four victims and not a single police officer has caught this guy. They call him the Black Rose killer because he leaves a black rose on the body of his victims." As he started to gather the files he heard a knock at the door. "Who could that be at this time of night?"
He answered the door to his office and saw a woman standing there. She was medium height with black hair and light blue eyes. She looked like she was in her early twenties and she was beautiful. She was wearing a red jacket and she wrapped it tightly around her body to prevent the rain from getting on her. "Is this the office of Harland Drake the private detective?" she asked. "Yes it is. Come inside ma'am, I can't leave you out in the rain." Harland said.
"Now,I don't mean to be straight to business, but what are you doing here at this time of night to see me for?" He asked while crossing his arms and smiling softly. "I didn't mean to disturb you Mr. Drake but I have something that might help you. My name is Jill Mccarthy and I work for the press." She stepped inside and Harland saw that she was the reporter from channel 12. "Yeah,I've seen you on TV before. What is this about helping me?" he said. "I was the one that interviewed the ex-wife of the last victim. They were recently divorced.
She was still pretty torn up about it. They were only apart for about 3 or 4 months." she spoke softly as she paced in the hallway." I can't imagine what that feels like,I've never been married myself. " she paused and turned to look at him "I'm sorry, I'm getting sidetracked Mr. Drake." Jill apologized. "Anyway, I was interviewing the ex-wife and after we were done she walked away and she dropped this letter. It was addressed to her husband. I think she found it after he had died. I can only assume so much from it. I thought that you could make more use of it more than I could." "That's very nice of you Ms. Mccarthy but why are you helping me?" Harland asked.
"Well Mr. Drake, the police haven't been doing a very good job of catching the Black Rose killer. He has claimed four victims already and they don't have any leads on who might be doing it." she said. "You did work for the police force for about six years right?"she asked, unssuredly "I sure did Ms. Mccarthy." he responded. "Please call me Jill, Mr.Drake." she said while smiling. "Well you're a private detective so you can work alone. You're not restricted by the law and you have enough experience to know what you're doing." "Have you showed this to anyone else Jill?" he asked. "No. You and I are the only ones that know about it." she responded. "I would appreciate if you would keep it that way." he said.
"I understand. Not all reporters are bad. I just hope that you can catch this killer. Just do me a favor and keep me updated on the case if I ask you ok?" she asked. "I can't promise anything." he said. "Well then ,you can't have the letter." she retorted. "Fine. You win. We can work together on this. If I have to give you information about my investigation then you have to give me information you get through your connections in the press." he said. "It sounds like we have a deal then." Jill said with a tone knowing that she had gotten her way.
"Thank you for your time Mr. Drake. I hope our partnership is most benficial for both of us." She handed him the letter as she walked toward the door. "Excuse me, one last thing Jill." he said. "Yes, Mr. Drake?" she responded. "Call me Harland." he said with a smooth voice. "I sure will Harland." she said sweetly. She walked out the door into rainy night. Harland closed the door. She seemed like a nice woman,an extortionist, but a nice woman.
He thought about his partnership with her. He knew having someone on the inside of the press would work to his advantage. He was a little taller than most men. He had light brown hair and light green eyes. He was small,not scrawny,but he was certainly more of a runner than a heavy weight kind of guy. He was 27,not too old but still very young. He thought about how Jill looked. She was a petite woman which made her perfect for TV. It's no wonder she was a reporter. Harland couldn't see why anyone wouldn't look if she was on screen. He was excited about working with her and even more excited about getting another clue to catch the Black Rose killer.
