Beep.
He chuckled inside, this sound has become one that soothes his nerves.
Beep.
Soothing sound, he thought, it calmed him just like wolves howling, he remembered the first day he encountered a pack on his way home, he was eight,it was dark he stayed late in school he was enjoying the silence, he was terrified, he thought they'd eat him. They just sat there, looking then after some minutes, the alpha male who had icy blue eyes and a , came up to him, he was larger than him, he was eight after all after staring him in the eye, he licked his face, he collapsed. He woke up in his home, people told his parents that the wolves sat around him till someone came to pick him up, he later found out, wolves lick the faces of those they accept, as one of their own.
"Mr Michael? "
"doctor, why do you like waking me up and then try to make me sleep, isn't that a waste of effort"
"sorry, i know you have to rest but it's urgent, a family was murdered and also a doctor who is the mother of a five year old too"
"you woke me up from my sleep" Michael snapped back.
"i am sorry it's just that the CIU asked me to call you in, Chief Mackenzie asked for you, it's just terrible, how can you kill a mother in front of her husband and only daughter, then decapitate the father and leave the head on the kids lap"
Michael sat up
"i would have to go now"
He hated murder cases that any officer should be able to solve, but this case seemed similar to one he attempted to solve, he couldn't catch the murderer.
"where is he when you need him?" Mackenzie shouted, his voice echoed through the CIU.
"sir he just woke up,go easy on him" Sophie said trying to calm him down.
"he's not dead yet" Peter said, jealousy reeked in his reply.
"Mackenzie, your voice, i could hear it from the beginning of the street" Michael came in beaming with smiles.
"ah, Michael you should answer your calls, and that's a bit exaggerated, the entire" Mackenzie chuckled. No one has ever made him chuckle. This was the first time Sophie and Peter saw their boss make any other expression than the straight face.
"oh that's because from the beginning of the street, the occupants are all dummies, and like i always said, your words can lower the IQ of an entire street" They both laughed. Peter and Sophie just sat there frozen. No one has done that too and got away with complete body parts, the last person that told the chief to stop barking orders went home with three broken fingers.
"you know this case better than anyone Mike" Mackenzie said as they sat "this was the only case you couldn't solve as your entrance exam"
"entrance exam?" Sophie asked
"yes, this lad walked into my office and said he needed a job, but we don't have the office or the post and he'd create it, to prove himself, he asked for our top ten unsolved cases, the deal we made, was if he solved five he can join, nine he can create the office, ten, he can become the new Chief" Mackenzie said to the bewildered Sophie and Peter.
"i let him do it because when i moved for the development of this division, the governor gave me the ten cases, if i could solve them, he'd allow the development of the department, Michael here solved the top nine cases which were national level"
"they were very obvious"
"but you couldn't solve number ten"
"Touché" Michael replied.
"how could he not solve the last one?" Peter asked in a mocking tone
"it was almost as though the killer stopped as soon as Michael came in, we named him the Reaper, he goes only after couples,he kills them and leaves only the youngest child alive" Mackenzie said
"we need to look over the files again" Michael said.
"you've looked over these files for days and came up with nothing" Mackenzie said
"Chief how about we check their family history,medical history...."Peter was interrupted by the loud laughter Michael was making.
"i think i have an idea of who our Reaper is" Michael said trying to control himself.
"how? You couldn't find him then, and now you find him in just some hours?" Peter was doubting.
Michael only grinned.
"so how do we catch him?" Sophie asked
"by baiting him with fresh meat" Michael replied while looking at Mackenzie, Mackenzie nodded to show his approval.
It had been two weeks since Michael had thought up this plan, he hadn't told anyone but the chief, he's probably stalling, Peter thought to himself sarcastically. And he has been stalking me too, Peter had noticed him hovering around him, even his home, he caught glimpses of him from his window. Today Michael even bought him lunch. "this is very creepy" Peter told Michael.
"oh thank you very much, you are very kind " Michael replied.
"it was not a compliment"
"aren't you just cute"
"what do you want?" Peter was disgusted
"i want the same thing you want, you love Sophie don't you?"
Peter went red.
"why haven't you told her?" Michael remembered her face but immediately erased it.
"sometimes not stating how you feel can be dangerous"
"why does it feel like you are talking to yourself" Peter was confused
Michael smiled and thought touché
"my point is, you need to set yourself above all these human males that ask her out" Michael placed his hand on Peter's shoulder, he cringed.
"you need to do something other than take her to eat, she hates dates that end up in a restaurant " Michael continued
"how do you know?"
Michael smiled "i read people"
"i don't understand"
"of course you don't,now Sophie loves a man that's good around children, so I'd suggest you take her and her little sister to an opera you see, she'd be very happy with you, you place her happiness first don't you?"
Peter hated to admit it but he was right, he had to do something before someone else... He shook off the thought. By the end of the day Peter asked her to an opera and added he'd love to take her and her kid sister. He had never met Isabel Robins in person, she was young, around 12. She was adopted. After the opera, while he and Sophie talked and laughed she just walked quietly in front of them. At some point, they decided to take an alley which would be closer to Sophie's home. At the end of the alley, they saw an ice cream man who offered them to have three for the price of one, they'd be his first couple customers, Peter blushed at that. He told them to taste it and tell him how it was since he was new to the business, Isabel was the first person to fall, Peter panicked he wanted to move but he's knees were weak, he fell, Sophie tried to struggle but in time she succumbed too.
Then it dawned on Peter as he slipped into unconsciousness.
The ice cream had been drugged.
Michael.
That bastard.
He had used them as bait.
