Bloody Souvenirs

Chapter 7

"Last night, the body of 19 year old Stella Brown was found in her parents' townhouse." I listened as the reporter rambled on about the latest doing of the Polaroid.

"According to her parents, Stella Brown had gone to the townhouse with some friends two days ago, with the intention of spending the night. All of her friends went home in the morning, with Stella saying she would too. But when the whole day passed and she didn't turn up at home, her parents got worried and went to check. What met them at their townhouse was every parent's worst nightmare."

"Stella's body was bound to a chair on the foyer, her head hanging back and her throat slit open. The police were called to the scene and since then they have only given the statement that Stella could possibly be the latest victim of the Polaroid. If so, then this would be their third murder in two months."

I grimaced. This Polaroid fellow was showing no intentions of stopping and his murders were only getting gorier. I tuned back in to the new channel.

"Like the other victims, her parents said that Stella too had mentioned about being possibly stalked by someone since weeks prior to her death. It wasn't considered anything serious so the Browns never bothered reporting it. As of now, the stalking incident is the only thing the investigators have found to be common among the victims of the Polaroid. According to sources close to the victims, they all had reported being stalked before their death."

As I heard the reporter say that, chills ran down my spine. I took a deep breath, "Calm down Kat. Maybe it's a coincidence. You don't even know for sure if..."

"Some people are even referring to the Polaroid as the Jack the Ripper of the 21st century. According to the police, this fellow is extremely clever and leaves no loose ends. This has caused worry to arise because the police would have to close the case if it turns cold due to lack of evidence, the same reason that caused the Jack the Ripper case to be shut down more than a hundred years ago."

I shut off the TV after that. I got up to make myself a cup of coffee before I went to work. It would be really bad if the case shuts down, I thought. After all, all those unfortunate people deserve justice.

After fussing around for a few more minutes, I finally got out of the house and locked the door after me. Turning around, I saw a boy emerging from the house across from mine, the same one whose window is visible from my room.

Looking a bit more closely, I recognized the boy as the same jerk from the other day. I scoffed, "So he's the one who lives here. Great. There goes my chance of making friends with the neighbours."

As I looked, he walked down his front steps and started walking, his hands jammed into his jeans pockets.

He had crystal blue eyes and messy brown hair. He didn't seem that much older than me. I would have found him pretty attractive, handsome even......if he hadn't been such a complete jerk.

Shaking my head, I started off towards the diner.

.............................

"Do you think crimson nail polish would go with that top I bought with you the other day?" Sara asked as I wiped the counter.

"I don't know, Sara. I don't even remember what color that top was."

"You can't be serious! You need to stop zoning out when you're with me, Kat. It's seriously-" Sara suddenly cut herself off.

I turned to see what I had done right in my life to get Sara to shut up, only to see Zac come in from the kitchen, searching for some supplies. Sara was standing dumbstruck, her cheeks blushing scarlet.

"Hey Sara, Kat." Zac said, flashing us a smile and I could practically see Sara swoon on the inside.

"H-hi Zac." she managed to reply after a while. I laughed at her nervousness. Zac got what he had come for and went back into the kitchen, leaving Sara standing with stars in her eyes.