Death Should Not Have Taken Thee!

10

The guard's eyes almost bugged out of his head. "Oh no, not you again."
"Us again!" Ronald cheered. The trio had cornered him at a downtown bar after hearing that he had gone on break. "So you wanna buy a round?" Grelle smiled brightly, showing off her scissors.
The guard grimaced and nodded, stomping off to get drinks.
"So now we're bullying a witness for alcohol." Eric said. "Spears better not hear about this."
"Hey, I'm no criminal." Ronald said. "I'll buy the next round. Just wanna make this enjoyable for everyone, y'know?"
"So drinking on the job doesn't matter for us?" Eric asked.
"Keep your wits about you and it's fine." Grelle shrugged. "I'm sure as hell not carrying you out of here if you get wasted."
Eric grinned. "Don't worry, I can handle my liquor." In reality, he hadn't had a drink in years.
"Alright, here." the guard said, grudgingly passing around the pints. "Now tell me what you want so we can get this over with and you can go away."
"We just have a few questions for you!" Ronald said brightly, slapping the guard on the back like they were old friends. "That's not too much to ask, is it?"
"Depends on the questions." The guard grumbled.
"Well, let's get into it then." Grelle said, flipping open a notebook. Eric could see notes scrawled in red pen in curly handwriting. Little hearts decorated the page. "So dear, how exactly did you know where to put the trolleys?"
"What now?"
"The trolleys." Grelle said patiently. "You put most of them in a storeroom that hadn't been used for years, and that isn't on the blueprints. How'd you know it was there?"
The guard raised an eyebrow. "That's your question?"
"One of them." Grelle said, giving him a dangerous smile. "And I do suggest you answer it."
The guard swallowed hard before speaking. "I dunno, I've only been working there for half a year. I had no idea it was there either."
"But you learned." Ronald said. "Who told?"
"No one." The guard said. "I followed some bloke down there. He was pushing a trolley down there, and when we got the orders to clear the place out, I had everyone move em in there."
"Who'd you follow down there?" Eric asked.
The guard only shrugged. "I dunno mate. There's over a thousand employees. I only know a hundred at most."
"Can you describe him?" Grelle asked, clicking her pen in anticipation.
"I never saw his face." The guard said. "But he was tall."
"Eric stand up." Ronald said. "Was he taller or shorter than Eric?"
The guard examined Eric as he stood. "He was pretty tall like your friend here. But he was skinny. Very skinny. And pale."
"So it was the slenderman." Grelle said, writing something down. Eric snorted and she gave him a wink.
The guard was not amused. "Are you people professionals or not? It wasn't the fucking slenderman. The slenderman doesn't have hair."
"And this guy did?" Ronald asked. "What color? Style?"
"Dark hair, longish." The guard said, gesturing to his chin. "Maybe a little longer than this."
"Did you ever see a face?" Eric asked.
The guard shook his head. "No. I just saw him walk by. He was going pretty fast. Kind of a messy bastard too. I saw he was wearing gloves but his uniform was a mess. It looked like it was covered in spaghetti sauce or something."
Ronald, Eric and Grelle all exchanged a look.
"Why don't you get us another round?" Ronald said, passing the guard some money. The guard nodded, seeming grateful for the break. Once he was gone, the three leaned in closer, trying to keep their conversation quiet.
"So this idiot saw the demon walking by and didn't notice?" Eric asked.
"I guess not." Ronald said, shrugging.
"I think he threw a massive wrench in the demon's plans." Eric said. "I'm guessing he never meant to tip anyone off about the storeroom. He was probably trying to stash the cart in there so it would never be found again. That means finding the tag alone gives us a massive leg up."
"And the bloody uniform." Grelle said. "No wonder he left it. He didn't expect anyone to find it."
"That still seems sloppy." Ronald countered. "So he was just banking on the fact that no one would find a whole room?"
"It isn't on the blueprints." Grelle argued. "Maybe he felt safe. "We really only found the window on accident. I'm not the one who's going to tell Mr. Spears that by the way."
Something tickled in the back of Eric's mind. It was something Ronald had said earlier. "Ron, what did you say about the demon earlier?"
"Uh, damn, I don't know." Ronald said. "I say a lot of things. I don't really remember what it is I say exactly."
Eric stared into the dark wood of the table, trying to dredge up the thought. The guard returned, thunking the pints down. Eric hoped no one noticed that he hadn't touched his first one.
"So do you people have a schedule? Or do you buy all your witnesses drinks?" The guard asked. He seemed more comfortable.
"Schedule!" Eric blurted, making the other three jump. "That's what you said. Something about him having a schedule!"
"What? The demon? I was being sarcastic. I think master killers make their own schedules." Ronald said.
"But what if it wasn't sarcasm!"
"Mate, eighty percent of the things I say are sarcasm. Of course it was."
"No! What if the demon really had a schedule?" Eric asked. "Maybe he has a job or something? Or a date?"
"The mass murderer had a date." Grelle said skeptically.
"Yes! No! The point is he was on a schedule. He didn't have the time to do everything the way he wanted to. He had to do the best with what he had. That's got to be why he was forced to get a little messy. It wouldn't have been a big deal, except the guard saw him!"
"I have a name." The guard said meekly.
"I'm sure you do." Eric said, patting his shoulder before continuing. "But think about it! He was on a tight time frame. Maybe he didn't fully realize how long a double murder would take and he got thrown off."
"So now you're saying he's always been on a schedule?" Ronald asked.
"Yeah, I guess I am."
"Well, you haven't been wrong so far. I'm willing to give it a shot." Grelle said, writing "Schedule?" in loopy red letters.
"So I can go now?" the guard asked, looking hopeful.
"Nope! That was just one question." Grelle said, patting his hand. "We have quite a few more dear."
The guard's hope drained out of his eyes. "Fine."
"Don't look so down!" Ronald cheered. "Another round!"