Symphony Of A Serial Killer

Chapter 15: The Outsider

There it is, the service station is right in front of me. The walk with no coat wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, maybe with everything that's going on; the drop in temperature didn't bother me cause I was already numb on the inside. There was so much to process and I can't stand not thinking things through, but my mother, murders, Missy and James were all weighing heavily on me and I wasn't quite yet ready to deal with it all. The bell rang as I entered the service station, "Hey how's it going?" I ask the cashier, beating him to the greeting.

"Good and yourself?" he replied with a genuine smile.

I told him I could be doing better but won't complain. I have a habit of doing that. I don't like being fake so I'm not going to say I'm doing great when I'm not. I know that people ask how you're doing as a general question and it's expected of you to say that you're fine and keep moving but seriously, who made this the standard that we live by?

I'm not going to boggle you down with my life story but if you ask me a question then be prepared for the not so socially expected response.

"Keep your head up, things could be worse you know?" he replied.

I smile back and chuckle, it wasn't forced or awkward. Given my current circumstances that he'd know nothing about, I found his retort to be hilarious. Not in a bad way. I'm sure that at one point in everyone's life they'll say that to someone trying to positive and helpful, not knowing that person just lost a child to cancer or a drunk driver.

Nothing against that positive soul merely trying to support their fellow man, I just find it ironic. I tell the cashier thanks and turn into the beef jerky aisle. I don't know, I used to love jerky when I was younger... but Mr. Ford ruined it for me.

He's a hunter you see, he pulled in a good haul during hunting season and made a lot, and I mean a lot of deer jerky. After having that it was impossible for me to go back to the factory made beef jerky with all of the additives and seasonings.

The ding as the door flung open interrupted my stomach's trip down memory lane. Thinking it was Lee, I peeked over the shelf so he'd be able to find me. I don't know which came first, me seeing the head of wavy red hair walk into the store, or the sound of heels clamoring against the floor with great purpose.

I quickly dropped back from the tip of my toes but it was too late, I'm sure she saw me creepily peeking over the aisle at her. Before the awkwardness of what just happened could even start to sink in, my phone rang. After digging it out of my pocket, a sigh of relief escapes when I see that it's Lee. Before I can even ask where he was at, he tells me that he's about 5 minutes out and will be here shortly.

My mouth opens to reply but I'm cut off by the sound of a sweet voice saying excuse me. I look slightly to my left and take a step back just as the redhead passes in front of me. She smiles and to my surprise grabs a bag of beef jerky. Instead of continuing down the aisle, she turns and heads back from the direction she came.

She's not from around here, not dressed like that. She's in a business suit that compliments her figure but doesn't over compensate. She carries herself in a very mature manner, though she doesn't look to be much older than I am. Her posture is almost that of a model, back straight and shoulders squared. Even while making a pit stop for snacks, she lets you know that these are snacks for an important person, but just how important is she?

"Here for the holidays?" the cashier cheerfully asks as the woman approaches the counter.

"Do I look that out of place?" she responds, bright eyed and with a giggle.

He told her not entirely, that we have the kind of town where for the most part, everyone knows everyone. Not to mention she was the first redhead he'd ever met face to face. The woman told him that she was in town on business but didn't plan on staying very long.

"Well, if what you say is true and everyone knows everyone, then you know a Mr. Brian Ford? Or at least know of him?" she asks while swiping her card to finish the transaction.

I think the cashier and I both had the same look of bewilderment on our faces, it was a question fired off at random, and from an outsider.

"I'm sorry ma'am, I didn't catch your name, and you are?" he asked while handing her the bag and receipt.

"It's a small town right? You'll know my name soon enough." she replied with a smile while politely taking her items.

The mysterious redhead looked back at me, glanced at her phone, then back to me once again. As she reached for the door, it was opened from the outside and in walked Lee. There was a mountain of difference between the two as they stood in front of one another. She was 5'6" at best and that's with the heels she's wearing, Lee is a husky guy standing at a hard 6'2".

"Nice." Lee casually stated while towering over the attractive outsider. A slight grin appeared on her face as she excused herself and slid by him. Lee quickly turned to check out the rear view as she left the store.

"Damn nice." He added out loud. Typical of him, not shy at all and always willing to voice his opinion.

After greeting the cashier, Lee made his way over to me, "Did you see the ass on her? And don't get me started with her eyes!"

"Umm sure Lee, if you're into that type." I muttered while watching her get into her car and drive off.

Physically she was nice to look at. I'm not denying that, but without saying much of anything she projected a huge presence. The timing of her arrival isn't a coincidence, not to mention her question about Mr. Ford.

"Into that type? If you mean a nice ass, perky pair of tits and sexy eyes then yes, she's my type." Lee said while waving his hand in front of my face, preventing me from going deeper into thought.

"Oh so you mean everything that you have in Stephanie?" I ask while nodding goodbye to the cashier and walking out.

Seconds later, Lee comes out of the store and just stares at me with a straight face, "That's messed up Danté, Steph and I aren't even together." He says while walking pass me towards his car.

Admittedly that was kind of a low blow seeing as them not being together wasn't for a lack of trying on his part. Stephanie is the shy one of the group and she's very hesitant to date. Underneath all of the joking and bluntness, Lee really is a great guy, she knows this but still keeps him at a friendly distance.

I have no doubt he would adore her and not treat her like an object as the guys that come onto her usually do. Once we get in the car I'm going to drop a load of information on him, so this was my last light-hearted stab at fun before bringing him into the loop.

All he knows is that the police escorted me from school to the station, he doesn't know that the last body discovered belongs to my mother, he doesn't know that Missy is a suspect and I'm also worried about Mr. Ford. He left school suddenly and now there's this redhead that shows up out of nowhere asking about him.

We both sit in his car and fasten our seat belts, as he turns on the ignition and with no eye contact, he casually asks, "So what's going on?"

This is it, I take a deep breath because I know the next words out of my mouth will change everything. It all goes downhill from here, I lied to him before... earlier when he asked me if I had slept... I did sleep, for the first time in years I actually had a good night's rest... and yes, I also dreamt as well.... it stunned me into silence because I've never dreamt about death, especially my own.

However now its time to come clean because after today's events, the dream is making more sense. The dream that ended with me sitting in a puddle of my own blood, and the silhouette of a woman standing over me.