The call was received at 6: 30 in the morning, from a janitor who was asked to clean the stairways because of several complaints of a strange
odor. Walking up the five flights of stairs, and slowly anticipating what was to come, but I already knew. The smell of
blood, sweat, and death hit me as if I walked into an invisible wall. But the scene was worse. The women was naked, with her
eyes gauged out, a slash from her throat down to the middle of her chest, a star cut mark in the center, and then her stomach was gutted, she was hung with her wrist tied to the hose. I questioned why would someone need to kill someone in such a manner? Why can't they just kill them in one blow? At the same time i was excited. Watching her lay there, limp, and helpless. But i couldn't do anything i had learned to control my urges. Being a forensic profiler, and detective, exposed me to so many different people out there, i guess i almost saw what they saw as normal, even though they were so taboo. But i knew i couldn't tamper the evidence.
There was evidence everywhere, but at the same time it was hard to find anything since this area was open to anyone. The body was sent to our coroner, and the results came back. She was raped. Odd thing was that the girl didn't die from the stabbings, but from poisoning. This led me to think that the victim most likely knew her killer, how else would have the poison gotten into her? But we also needed to identify the body, with no clothes that meant no wallet. But there was one unique mark, a tattoo on her lower back of a black lily. We found out this symbol was used by an old band, called
Night Shade. (Something clicked in my mind.) We contacted the old members to see if they could help. They girl was identified as Helaku Brown. For some reason I remembered that name. It wailed in my mind like a siren. Whatever that's not the case, maybe its because it's a weird name. We asked them if they knew of anyone that could have committed the crime. They said they were shocked but at the same time not. Brown had many fans, but there wasn't any in particular that stuck out. Brown was kind of a free spirit, she was nice, smart, everything. Plus the fact that she had this exotic beauty about her. Anyway, they told us to check out a local bar called Sway tomorrow, they're closed today, she usually played there.
I woke up to the blaring sound of my alarm clock, the flashing red numbers on the clock blinding me, my head throbbing with pain. I felt hung over, but from what? Maybe i'm working too hard. As i reached to slam the snooze button, i screamed. There was blood on my hand illuminated by the red light. Not only that but there was red and brown, hair matted on my palm. I started panicking, where could this have come from? Then i found a card, one for a club, called Wailua. Where did this come from? I immediately washed it off. Then I received a call.
" Detective Barry?"
"Yea what?" i said in a panting cranky tone
"There's another one."
"What? Where?"
"Downtown.
Union square."
"I'll be there, make sure no one gets there."
When i got to the scene i stopped dead in my tracks. The hair. It was the same hair in my hand. But how? I started getting scared what if the killer was trying to tell me to back off; i was getting too close for my own good? It was the same killer, the same cutting style, star mark and all, the same gauging of the eyes, everything. The victim was Aukai, another singer. We called her friends, and asked them if they suspected anyone. They said that there was someone who was bothering her at this club...Wailua. At this point i knew that the killer trying to stop me. This game of cat and mouse just made me want to catch him more. I went to the club and asked the manager about Aukai, he looked at me as though he thought i was kidding.
"Hi, detective Barry, I'm here to ask about the death of Aukai."
He scoffed, "Barry huh? Look Chris maybe you need to start seeing a doctor about this..."
"Uhhh like i said before my name is detective Barry."
He looked at me again, still doubtful, but I guess he figured he didn't want to come up as a suspect so he complied.
"I'm sorry you just looked like this regular we have here."
"It's ok, i just need to know if you could give us any information about what happened"
"I don't know much, she was a nice girl, had a lot of fans, particularly one guy...that Chris guy."
The manager told us to check out her home. There was this smell, i'm not sure like flowers, and something else, it took over my body. I felt heavy and started panicking, and then i fell. I woke up and my colleagues told me i had blacked out for about a minute. I told them not to worry about it. I left and told them to work on what they can find there. The coroners called back, told us that the victim had been raped, and there was semen found on the body. It was sent out for DNA testing which would come back in about two weeks.
My department decided that i needed to go undercover at the club, and just see if there were any guys that might seem suspicious. So i went on Friday, and it was packed. I was sitting at the bar and a group of girls passed by me giving me a look of disgust. I needed to loosen up so i ordered a drink. I started talking to this girl next to me, Jennifer, she seemed pretty interested in the case, but then she had to leave she was playing for the club that night.
Next thing i remember was me waking up to the TV in my room. I don't even remember coming home. I rolled over. My arm slaps something hard. I start panicking, what if this is the killer? I couldn't make out the shape. I slowly get out of bed and ran to the door to turn on the light. Then i black out again. I wake up, and see my picture taped to the mirror on the wall. I went to lift the picture off, and when i did i saw the reflection of the killer. He started whispering in my ear "Christopher...Christopher...you wanted to come and play?" i screamed, and turned around to confront the killer, but he was gone. The manager at the club was right he did look like me. I need to find him. I ran to my room to find out what was on my bed. It was Jennifer, dead.
I call my colleagues telling them that i saw the killer, that he was in my bathroom, harassing me, and now there's a dead body in my room. They told me to wait there. When they examining the body we found the same thing, it was the killer again, and now he knows where I live. Why didn't he kill me? My colleagues told me that they'll get me another apartment and they'll get security for me there. But they still wanted me to check out the Helaku case. We went to the club, and got the same reaction from the manager.
"Nate, Helaku's dead..."
"Look its Barry, and we know that, we need to know if you have any information on the death."
"Right sorry barry, I don't know anything just check out her apartment that's all I can give you, and tell Nate we all said hi."
We went to her apartment, there wasn't much to give us a lead, except her cell phone. The other detectives went through her cell phone history. One of the detectives called me over, when i looked at the phone i blacked out again. I woke up and blacked out again. Woke up hearing, it's his number, then blacked out. Then woke up to the feeling of someone shoving me down. I blacked out, and then woke up again in a jail cell.
"What the hell am i doing in here?! Get me out! I need to find the killer!"
I slipped in and out. I see myself in a room full of investigators. Then a doctor's office. Then i see myself in a holding pen. I heard, "he's got multiple personalities, the semen found on the victim was from him, there's no doubt that he's the killer."
I wanted to scream but i couldn't for some reason, i wanted to tell them it wasn't me, i know it wasn't. The killer framed me.
"That's how i wound up here in front of you Doctor Tirio"
"I'm sure this makes you feel betrayed, that your friends would blame you to be the killer when they clearly know you were innocent."
"Yea, doc, I'm innocent. Hey can you get me that tissue behind you?"
"Sure."
As she turned around I knocked her on the back of her head, leaving her limp, and helpless, just how i like it.