I Love Her and I Mean It

INTRO

In a quiet house in the suburbs, a couple stand on opposite ends, preparing for bed as the sun sets on the city of New York. But it was clear to see there was more tension than love in the air between the two lovebirds. The husband looked over his shoulder at his beautiful wife who stood tensely by the vanity and she could see him walk over to her in the mirror before her. She took a deep breath and her muscles grew tighter as he approached. She didn't look in his direction or pay him any mind as he walked up right behind her. She just pretended like he wasn't even there. He stood directly behind her, and he put his hands on her shoulders, which caused her to freeze in her place.

"Hey babe," he started, "Look I'm sorry about last night. It won't happen again. I promise." This wasn't the first time that he had made that promise. And she knew it wouldn't be the last. But she was afraid of what would happen if she said those thoughts out loud. So she just simply forgave him.

"It's okay Chris," she said, "You don't have to apologize. Everything's okay."

"Good," Chris answered. Just then they were interrupted by the sound of breaking glass. Chris walked away from his wife, who was now filled with new fears. He walked out their bedroom and down the halls of their one story home, and was confused. Maybe it was the lack of lighting masking the mystery that was lurking in their home, but his bare eyes couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. But looks are deceiving. And soon a dark figure came out from the shadows and appeared right behind the oblivious husband. And the last thing his wife heard from him was the piercing sound of his terrified scream.

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The next morning had arrived for the unstoppable city that saw a different light shine that morning. The boys were off at school, his father was a work and his grandfather was having breakfast with some old friends from his cop days. So the morning was left to detective Danny Reagan and his wife Linda. And there they were at a table for two enjoying breakfast at their favourite café. It wasn't often now a days with their increasing workloads that they had time to spend together alone, so they were cherishing it. He couldn't take his eyes off of her as he sipped his coffee and the two had their hands intertwined the entire time. It was indescribable how much love he had for his wife, and how lucky he felt to have her in his life.

"This is nice isn't it?" she started finishing up the rest of her breakfast, "Just the two of us."

"Yeah," Danny agreed, "If only we could always do this."

"Wouldn't you get tired of doing the same thing all the time?" Linda asked.

"Get tired of starting my days with my beautiful wife, looking into her eyes and appreciating every moment?" he questioned brushing his hand through her hair, "Not a chance." Just then the beautiful moment between the two was broken up by the sound of Danny's phone buzzing and he knew immediately what it was for. He pulled it out to see a text from his partner.

BAEZ: Found another one. Sending you the address.

"Uhhhh," he groaned at the sight of the message.

"Got a case?" Linda asked, already knowing the answer to her question.

"Another body found," he grumbled. He looked up at his wife and saw the same disappointment that he felt on her face. Then he started thinking.

"How 'bout if I pretend I'm sick for a while and then miraculously recover?" he joked which brought a smile back to Linda's face.

"Go," she told him.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"I'm sure." He took a minute looking deep into her eyes, sensing her sincerity. He put his phone back into his pocket and stood up to leave. But not before he pulled a $20 bill out of his wallet and placed it on the table. He looked up from putting his wallet into his back pocket to see his wife looking up at him questionably.

"What? You thought I was gonna stick you with the check?" he said, then kissed her smiling face before walking out of the café.

He reluctantly drove over to the crime scene, an open construction lot, and arrived to see the average chaos surrounding it. Forensics taking pictures, officers securing the scene, and his partner standing by the side waiting for him to arrive. He climbed out his car and walked right over to join her and the rest of the craziness.

"Was I interrupting something?" Baez asked him upon arrival, noticing his plain yet well dressed attire.

"Doesn't matter," Danny dismissed, "What'd we got?"

"His name's Christopher Mendes," she explained, "The workers had just come on sight when they noticed the body." Danny walked over to Chris and knelt down to view the victim. He was beaten pretty badly with markings on his wrists. But he could tell that his death was caused by the hole in his chest that was surrounded by the blood that soaked his shirt. He lay stiff with his hands across his chest as if he was being laid at his wake.

"Looks like he was posed like this," he pointed out, "Has some pretty bad bruising, and looks like cause of death was a single gunshot wound. Just like the others."

"There's more," Baez told him.

"Let me guess," he started straightening up, "there's a note too."

"Yup," she said pulling out the evidence bag containing the small piece of paper that once lay on top of the victim's body, "Says the same thing as the others. 'The low life deserved it'."

"There's been the same note on every single victim," Danny started trying to work through the clues, "Yet none of their prints have popped in the system."

"Maybe our guys trying to throw us off," she suggested.

"Or maybe we're missing something," Danny said, "Either way it doesn't seem like this guy's gonna stop."

"Well we know what that means," she pieced together.

"Yup," he agreed, "New York City's got a serial killer on their hands."