The Young Psychopath

CHECKMATE

"A shadow watching me anywhere I go. Could it be Abram?" Tracy sat down on her bed, thoughts swirling in her mind. Every kill Tracy made had a shadow lurking nearby. "Sophie isn't smart enough to track my moves." She stood up and began pacing.

"Something really annoying is happening on my watch, and you idiots are telling me you don't know why?" Ms. Rita scolded the guards she had summoned, her anger palpable.

"My patients have been going missing. They couldn't have escaped, and they aren't dead because I can't find any bodies. They are simply gone." Ms. Rita inhaled deeply, glaring at the guards. "If those girls aren't found, you all won't want to know what I'll do. Get out of my office."

"Get Tracy," Ms. Rita commanded over the phone.

"Not on my watch," she added before hanging up.

"She killed her; she killed my princess," Dorcas murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.

The speakers crackled to life, announcing, "Free time in five minutes."

Tracy's cell door opened just after the announcement. She wasn't surprised; she knew her door opened early because she had been called. A guard immediately appeared, saying, "You know the drill." Tracy smiled, feeling a sense of anticipation, and followed the guard.

As they walked to Ms. Rita's office, Mr. Goodwill, the examiner, approached them. He couldn't stop to share his findings, so he walked past them. Tracy's eyes followed him as he passed. She knew he had the information she requested because he glanced at her and nodded.

"What took you so long?" Ms. Rita chastised the guard as she stood up from her chair. When she reached the door, she gestured for Tracy to sit down. After whispering something to the guard, he left, and Ms. Rita closed the door.

"Tracy, I want you to be truthful with me. A lot of things are happening under my watch, and it really hurts." Ms. Rita walked to her chair and sat down, while Tracy remained calm, waiting for her to get to the point.

"I made you my eyes and ears for a reason, and it's about time I started getting results. My girls are missing. They couldn't have escaped; they are bizarrely missing. Vanishing like that is unimaginable. I'm hoping you can explain this to me." Ms. Rita paused, waiting for Tracy to reply, but Tracy said nothing.

Ms. Rita picked up a list from her desk and showed it to Tracy. "These girls are nowhere to be found. Do you know where they are?" she asked again.

"Come to think of it, all this was at a minimum before you arrived. My cook went missing, my guards are missing, and my girls. We usually find them dead, but now I can't even find their bodies," Ms. Rita said, her eyes fixed on Tracy, trying to read her expression.

"Do you think I did it?" Tracy asked, her voice steady.

"If you didn't do it, get me the location of the missing girls or the person responsible for this. Do you understand?" Ms. Rita concluded, adding, "Tracy, I'll be watching you."

Tracy was dismissed and left the office. Ms. Rita wasn't her worry. All she wanted now was to get to Mr. Goodwill and find out the information he had.

Back in the cell hall, Dorcas was waiting by Tracy's cell door.

"You little deaf bitch," Dorcas spat, pulling Tracy backward to the floor. "You are dead, I tell you. I know what you've been up to, and I know you killed my princess," Dorcas shouted, just as the guards rushed to calm the situation. Tracy stood up before anyone could help her and dusted off her clothes. Dorcas was dragged back to her cell, still struggling to get to Tracy. One of the guards holding Dorcas spoke into his mouthpiece, and her cell door slammed shut behind her.