by Jacob Raya
“And the second?”
“The second theory we have is closely related to the first; the only difference is that we assumed that the homeless man could have been living in the vacant apartment building, as there were no people to tell him to go somewhere else.
Also, we speculate that the attacker wanted to cause as much pain to the victim as possible by first removing his eyes, ears, and nose, and they must have been removed quite quickly, in like, half a second, because there was no extra skin or anything of that nature where those three body parts were.”
“Hmmm, sounds like quite the report, Miller. I’ll give you that.”
“Well, thank you, sir, but-”
“Now, everyone, I need you to listen up! We must do a clean sweep of this whole apartment complex, and I want it done right now!”
“Um, sir?”
“Not now, Miller, go do your job as I told you. Go!”
“But sir, we already did a clean sweep of the apartment complex and found nothing. Just old clothes, furniture, bugs, a few small rodents, and lots and lots of dust. We didn’t find any more blood or any other human remains, and no other evidence of other possible suspects, victims, or even property damage.”
“Oh, okay, then. I guess we’ll have to keep a group of people here 24 hours to see if anything new pops up, eh?”
“Yeah, we could do that, but sir, we’ll be taking turns, right?”
“Yes, of course, as long as there are five to seven officers here 24 hours a day until this case is solved.”
“Sounds good, sir. Do you want me to call in a few other units?”
“Yes, please do that right away, Miller. We’ll be sure this killer doesn’t get away with killing any other innocent people in our town!”
“So, are we all done here? Can I go back to the station and grab my belongings and be on my way back home?” I asked hopefully, wanting nothing more than the comfort of my house after this horrifying day.
“In a few minutes, Matt. We’re just going to do another quick sweep just in case.”
“Okay, I’ll be waiting out by the car.”
I found it a little confusing that someone would want to kill a random homeless guy just trying to get some water to wash himself. I mean, he doesn't have easy access to water like most of us do. It just seemed a little bizarre. And I’ll never be able to get that image out of my head of when I first saw his corpse and his missing eyes, ears, and nose.
Who or what could have done this? Could it possibly be a serial killer that has been free for the past decade? That one serial killer that I remember seeing on the news. He was in Orlando, Florida and killed over 10 people. But why would he come all the way here to New Mexico to execute a random homeless man? I don’t know. But it could be anyone or anything.
“Hey, Matt, you ready to head back?”
“Yes, sir. I’ve been ready. But, by all means, you take your time; it is, in fact, your job. I’m wondering just as much as you are who the culprit is.”
“Yeah, don’t worry, man. We’ll find out who did this and we’ll bring them to justice. That sounds like the best thing to end this crime and case. It will just take us a little bit of time from other stations across the state and country. I have to check with other departments as well, because if it is a possible serial killer, we have to check with the other cities and states to see if they had a serial killer in their area still on the loose.”
“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking too, but-”
“But what?”
“I don’t know. Let's drive.”
On the way back to the station I felt a little bit different from when I had on the way to the apartment complex. This time I didn’t feel cold. I felt somewhat normal, if that makes any sense.
I felt just like myself and that everything was going to turn out how it should. With justice served and the town protected from any other possible homicides, hopefully.
Plus, with high hopes that my Rebecca will find herself a job that she’ll love. Of course, when we arrived back at the station, Rebecca was standing there with that worried look on her face that she has from time to time.
I noticed that she has had that look a little bit too much ever since I told her about this incident. It’s almost like her eyes and pupils were dilated but with an eager look of confusion and worry.
“Hey honey, I’m back in one piece. You happy?”
“Don’t joke around like that, Matt. You’re very lucky that whatever psychopath killed that man wasn’t there, and if he did show up you would have had the officers there to protect you.”
“Well, you ready to head home, Matt?” Rebecca asked eagerly.
“Yeah, I’ve been ready. To go home and relax on a nice Saturday afternoon.”
“Sounds good to me, too. Well, thank you for all that you’ve done, Chief.”
“Sure thing, Rebecca, anytime. And, uh, Matt?”
“Yeah?”
“If anything changes, give us a call. I mean, don’t hesitate, okay? We’ll be on top of this. So much that we will hopefully find the killer by the end of this month. Which is in, like, what? Three weeks?”
“Yeah, it is. Well, thanks for everything again, Chief. And I’ll call you if anything changes or if anything out of the ordinary happens to come to me.”
“Sounds good, Matt. Well, enjoy the rest of your day and have a good weekend!”
“You too, Chief!”
We headed back home, and I was still feeling just as reasonable as I had during the previous drive on the way back to the station. My fiancé was questioning everything that went on there.
“So, what happened, Matt?”
“They just did a final clean sweep of the apartment, and they had their theories on how the man ended up there in the first place.”
“Anything else?”
“Nope, that’s all, honey.”
She didn’t take it lightly, as she thought I was acting like a smart-ass, and we started to have a heated argument as to what could have happened to me.
“Honey, just listen!”
“No! You listen, Matt! You're fortunate to be back in one piece. You don’t know who could have been lurking in that vacant apartment building.”
“I’m just saying, the officers did their job and they said they would be on top of it. There’s nothing to worry about, if you ask me.”
“Well, I for one am still anxious because that son of a bitch could be anywhere, and what happens if they found out that you called the police and end up following us back home and we’re the next victims?”
“That won’t happen. I promise you, Rebecca. We have our alarm system and our cute guard dog.”
“You mean our German Shepherd dog that only barks at vacuums and lawn mowers?”
“She does not bark at only those things. She barks at supposed intruders most of the time.”
“Well, she does, but it doesn’t mean she could stop whoever killed that poor man.”
“Don’t worry about it. We’ll be safe. And like I told the chief, if anything new or out of the ordinary pops up, I’ll give him a call, and he will dispatch a few officers. They’re only seven minutes away from our house.”
“Seven minutes! I’m pretty sure that’s plenty of time for a serial killer to break into our house and possibly kill us, Matt!”
“Okay, okay, sheesh. Let’s enjoy the rest of our afternoon on this beautiful Saturday, shall we?”
“Promise me it will be a good afternoon?”
“It will, trust me; there will be no more problems to solve!”
“Oh, I forgot, we still have to go to the party!”
“What party?”
“The party that our neighbors are hosting next door. They said they were hosting a dinner party from 5:00 to 10:00.”
“Oh crap, I forgot all about it. Well, I guess the rest of the evening will be great. Especially with a dinner party to go to.”
“It will be, babe. Also, they said they invited some of your coworkers
.”
“Makes sense, because Zak knows Mark and Michael. He worked there with us for the past two years since the three of us got there fresh out of college.”
“I guess we’ve got to get ready for the party, then. I hope nothing else goes wrong.”
“Nothing will happen, I promise, honey. I mean, look, we’ve been arguing in the car for the past four minutes when we could have been in the house getting ready to go!”
“Then let’s go get ready and not waste any more time. Just because we live a few feet away doesn’t mean we can be late.”
“You’re right. We’ll get ready and bring some stuff over and enjoy ourselves. That will be our main focus for the rest of the evening. What’s the worst that could happen? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”
3
A Dinner Party
Rebecca and I got ready for the party. Of course, she takes the longest, as most women do. But don’t get me wrong, some women are easygoing and throw on a simple dress and apply a little makeup.
However, others make themselves look like models and put on the most formal dress they can buy as well as the best makeup they can get their hands on. Myself, I just put on some basic jeans and a nice shirt. Comb my hair, make it look decent, apply some deodorant and cologne, and I’m set. Rebecca likes to take a shower first, iron her clothes, do her hair and makeup, and finish off with some strong perfume.
I wasn’t that skeptical about it, because over six others were going. The two neighbors that invited us, Zak and Michelle. My two coworkers, Michael and Mark, along with their wives, Faith and Susan, if I’m not mistaken.
“You ready, babe?” Rebecca shouted across the house.
“Yes, I’ve been ready!”
“You do know I get ready faster than you do, right?”
“I was just joking, but if that’s the case then how come I got ready faster than you did?”
“No time to argue, we’ve got to get going! Grab the refreshments and dessert and I’ll meet you outside.”
“All right!”
So I grabbed the refreshments and dessert and headed over to Zak's house. I had to wait there for over five minutes until Michelle opened the door and greeted me.
“Hello, Matt! How are you doing this evening?”
“I’m doing pretty good, how about yourself?”
“Not too bad, can’t wait for tonight! You and Rebecca are going to love the pot roast, mashed potatoes, veggies, and dessert I’ve made for all of us!”
“That sounds fantastic, but we brought extra dessert, if that’s all right with you and Zak?”
“Yeah, that’s no problem at all. We love it when our guests bring extra food and dessert! Well, come on in, what are you waiting for? I think Michael and Mark and their wives are going to be here shortly. Where’s Rebecca?”
“Oh, she’s…”
“Hi, Michelle!” Rebecca shouted from our garage.
“Hey, Rebecca, how are you?”
“I’m doing fantastic, what about you?”
“Pretty good! You guys are in for a treat! Come on in and make yourselves at home!”
“Thank you so much for inviting us, Michelle!”
“Oh, no problem! Anytime. We should do this more often!”
“Yes, we should!”
We entered their house, and oh boy, once we came inside I could smell nothing but tasty pot roast and chocolate pie. Michelle was such a good cook, and I remember the last time I was here everything was delicious and made me want to come back again to enjoy her food and desserts.
Once we entered the kitchen, Zak was in there preparing the veggies, and right away old Zak had to do his loud greeting even though I was only 4 feet away from him.
“Hey, Matt! How you doing, man?”
“Damn fine, I’d say! What about you, preparing veggies, I see? Helping your wife out?”
“Yes, it’s not that tough, just steaming them and they’re good to go! What have you two been up to lately?”
“The same old stuff, just working and spending quality time together.”
“Don’t forget planning our wedding and honeymoon!” Rebecca said.
“Oh, yeah, that too. We’ve got to start planning for that soon before the end of this year.”
“You guys are going to need it! It took us over two years to plan our wedding and another year for our honeymoon!”
“Don’t worry; you guys will be fine. Just let things go and you’ll be fine, trust me,” Michelle said.
“Thanks, darling. I told Matt here we should start planning as soon as possible, but we keep on stalling because of how much he’s been working and the government secrets he works with,” Rebecca said.
“Oh, secrets? What kinds of secrets, Matt?”
“They’re called secrets for a reason, but I guess I could say one little thing about what I’m currently involved with.”
“And what would that be?” Zak asked.
“It all started with this…”
We heard a knock at the door, which must have been Michael and Mark.
“It’s Michael! Oh, and Mark and their wives!”
Michelle opened up the door, and as soon as she did all I heard were the loud voices of Mark and Michael, especially Mark; he can be incredibly obnoxious almost all the time.
“Hey, how’s everybody doing!” Mark shouted.
“Doing good brother, yourself?” Zak asked.
“Never better, my dude!”
After all that, we finally were able to sit down, and Michelle was ready to serve the food, which was what all of us must have been looking forward to this evening.
“Damn, this looks delicious, Michelle!” Mark said.
“Thank you! I’ve been cooking since early this morning!”
“How early?” Rebecca asked.
“Since 7:00 this morning!”
“No wonder it looks so delicious!” Susan said.
“I know! It looks better than those restaurants down the street!” Faith said.
“Why, thank you ladies so much for all the compliments!”
We finally were able to start eating, and we all dug in like a bunch of desperate vultures. My goodness, was the food delicious! Everything about it was so good, I wasn’t even paying attention when cutting my meat, and I accidentally cut myself.
“Ah! Damn!”
“What happened, babe?”
“I just accidentally cut myself with the knife, is there a bathroom I could use to clean this up, Michelle?”
“Oh, Matt, you need to treat that right now! Yes, there’s a bathroom upstairs; the first door to the left.”
“Thank you, sorry about the blood on the plate.”
“That’s no problem at all. I’ll clean it up for you, just go clean that up before it gets infected or something.”
I got up and went upstairs in search of the bathroom. She said the first door to the left, which I found, because I realized there was a door across the hallway that looked like a children’s room with the door opened just slightly.
I used the bathroom really quick to clean up my bloody finger and patch it up with some bandages they had along with a bit of tape.
“Excuse me, Michelle? But do you guys have any more medical tape? I need it to keep the bandages together, and it won’t stay!”
“Sure, Matt! Give me a second and I’ll go get some for you!”
“Okay, thank you!”
“No problem, just hang tight!”
I stood in front of the bathroom waiting for Michelle to get the tape when I realized that there were little white dots in their child’s room. I thought it could have been a night light of some sort, so I continued waiting.
I turned my back and heard the door open more, and thought it was their kid getting up to get some water or something. I looked back and the door was just barely open, and I saw the kid sleeping like a baby. The two lights I saw before were gone.
I fixed my eyes on the closet to see if there was a night light there, and there
wasn’t. I almost crapped my pants when I saw the light turn off and on by itself.
Along with that paranormal stuff, those lights came back, only they were floating in the middle of the room. Then they started to flicker like someone was blinking. It seems that there was something in there, and whatever it was, it wanted something and was coming towards me at a languid pace. I gazed at the white dots as they were moving closer to me when Michelle interrupted.
“Here you go Matt, sorry about the wait, the tape was stuck under a stack of other things.”
“That’s fine; I can take it from here thanks to this trusty stuff.”
“We’re going to be playing a game if you want to join us.”
“I would love to, just give me a few seconds.”
“Take your time. There will be dessert available too!”
“Oh, sounds good, I’ll be down there shortly.”
After she left, I applied the tape and looked back at the room one last time, and the white dots were gone with the door slightly open, just as it was when I first saw it.
I rushed downstairs and wanted to tell Michelle and Zak what I saw in their son’s room, but didn’t want to make the night into a disaster. We just had fun playing a few board games and ate dessert. The evening was coming to an end, as it was almost 11:00 at night. Rebecca and I decided to call it a night and got ready to go home.
“Michelle? Zak? We’re going to be heading out, if that’s okay. We’re feeling a bit tired,” I said.
“Thanks for coming, guys! We ought to do this again sometime!” Michelle said.
“Yeah, how about the last week of this month? Two weeks from now?” Rebecca asked.
“Sounds like a plan to me! Well, thank you guys for coming again! Enjoy the rest of your evening!” Zak said.
“See you guys tomorrow morning, yeah?”
“Of course, every day, morning and night. Take care, you two!”
“Thanks you guys, take care as well, thanks for everything!” Rebecca and I said.
“Not a problem at all! Anytime!” Michelle said.
We headed back home and got into our pajamas, but I almost forgot something. Rebecca reminded me that there was this movie that she wanted to watch with me. She said it doesn’t matter how late as long as we get to watch it together. I didn’t want to sound like a terrible fiancé, and decided to keep myself up for a couple more hours and watch it with her.