'till death do us part

2

"Hello, good morning, and welcome to the 6:00 News, I'm Steve."

"And I'm Owen. Recently, a dog has done a miraculous trick- caught on camera! Take a look:"

A clip of a golden retriever saving its "dying" owner. The dog jumps to its rescue, then begins whining when he is presumed "dead."

"What a good boy!" Owen says.

"In other news, two local teens are found in their houses dead. Further analysis of the bodies show this was a murder and that the two kills are connected. Let's take a look at the crime scene where a federal agent is briefing us on new uncovered information." Steve wrapped up, smiling at the camera.

"Hello Steve, Owen. I'm Special Agent Coles and I'll be discussing what I believe this situation was. This unsub- the person I believe killed these two teens- was completely unorganized. The first kill- which I believe was Samantha- showed hesitation in the stab wounds."

"Meaning?" Steve asked.

"Meaning he wasn't really sure he wanted to make this kill. The stabs are messy, shallow, and randomized. There are ligature marks on her arms and legs that show she was tied up to restrain her. There was no fight back, however, on her part. Her face was mutilated and almost unrecognizable and in the center of her head was a bullet."

"And the other victim?" Owen asked

"The other victim, Mike, shows that the unsub was more comfortable with this kill. The only damage done to the face was the bullet in the head. No ligature marks were found but the boy did put up a fight. The cause of death was the multiple stabs for both of these victims, which means the bullets in the heads are done post-mortem."

"He shot his victims after death?" Owen asked.

"Yes." Special Agent Coles said.

"How do you know it isn't a female unsub?" Steve cautiously questioned.

"This is the work of a man," Coles began. "He was brutal with the first one, suggesting that he  had known him personally. The forceful way this unsub stabbed the victims and the degree and angle of the stab suggests that it's a male."

"That's nice and all but is there any real evidence that shows this was the works of a man?" Steve scoffed.

"The girl was raped. Semen was found on her body." Coles said. "Moving on, I suggest that teens be on the lookout. Witnesses of the unsub leaving the houses have been brought down to the station and the sketch will be out by 7 at the earliest. The man is said to be in his late-30's to early-40's. Lock your doors and be safe today, kids."

The camera switched back to Steve and Owen in the News Room.

"Well, you heard him! Stay inside tonight and protect yourself as best as you can." Steve said.

"Goodnight, folks!" Owen said.

Both smiled as the television slowly faded out from their faces into blackness.

-

I shut off the television, shaking. Who could've done something as truly horrible as this?

Knock, knock, knock!

"Sweetie? It's your mom. Can I come in?"

I mumbled something that was along the lines of "mhm whatever" and she opened the door right away.

"How are you, sweetie?"

"That's a contradiction. I am in a rough position, quite clearly." I said.

She could tell that I answered this way to put up walls and push her out.

"Honey."

"Okay, okay! Fine! I'm devastated. I'm sad. I've cried all day. I'm on the verge of depression. Is that what you want?" I furrowed my eyebrows and smacked my hand down.

"No. I want you to get all of your mourning out of your system so you can be happy. I'm so sorry something horrible like this happened, sweetie."

"You're lying." I blurted out.

"What? That's ridiculous I'm not ly-"

"Honey." I sarcastically interrupted.

"What do you want me to say?"

"I want the truth. Do you know who killed them? Ca-"

"WHAT? I H-"

"Mom! Let me finish," I slowly said. "Do you know who killed them? I only ask because you faked sympathy towards me and my grieving. You make this face for a split second before you lie and it's almost not traceable but I always notice. Do you know? Do you know who killed them?"

Pressing her won't help, a part of my mind thought.

Keep going! Crack her! She would know!! That bitch knows everything..., the back of my mind whispered.

"Britney. I don't know who killed them-"

"That was a lie. Okay.... so you know who killed them. Who was it?" I gently pressed.

My mom's face turned a shade of red as she jumped off of my bed, flustered. "I am not going to be interrogated like this by my own daughter."

And she was gone.

She knows who the killer is.

So..

My God... who could this awful person be?