Chapter 2: Welcome to New York
It was a busy day in New York, the traffic was infernal and made you rethink the idea of going to work and spending two hours into a car, honking and making a penny to live by another day. It was middle spring and the universities were in full blast for the upcoming exams of the year.
Emma was working at a local restaurant where most people that came by were college students just like herself and the ones that worked near to get lunch or a coffee, managing to stay awake until the end of the program.
The 23-year-old groaned, pulling her blonde hair into a messy bun, as she waited for the chef to give her the plates of food to serve. Luckily, today was a relaxing one and the place wasn’t that much filled, despite being Saturday. The bell to the entry ringed as someone entered, blue eyes looking up from adjusting the apron and a grin stretched across the young woman’s face.
“Fionna! It’s good to see you come by.” Emma said to her redhead friend, who pulled her sunglasses from her face and rested them into her fiery hair.
“Well, I was close and decided to see what my good roommate does.” Fionna said with a cheeky smile, her red painted lips stretching attractively, showing her dimples.
“Could have been worse. At last is a quiet day, despite being New York.” Emma replied as she took a plate of bacon and eggs, serving it to an old man who was reading the newspaper, giving her a polite smile as she handed him the food.
“Who reads the newspaper nowadays?” Fionna asked in a whisper close to Emma, so none could hear them gossip. Emma rolled her eyes and poured a cup of coffee, then set a croissant on a plate for her friend.
“Some people prefer to stay traditional.” Emma said, averting her eyes from the old gentleman.
“Traditional my ass….Anyway, next weekend is going to be a rave party, you know, killing some sweat before the finals.” Fionna said, taking a small bite of the baked good.
“I don’t know…” Emma muttered, sitting down next to her friend as she got a cup of coffee for herself.
“Don’t give me that answer. We have been killing ourselves by studying for the past two months. I just came from the library and let me tell you, that place smells like dust and mothballs, and I still haven’t found the book that I needed.” the redhead whined, rolling her eyes and sighing.
“Just one month till the final exams and it’s going to be over….for this year.” the blonde replied.
“Great, just three more years of this hellhole of a college and then we will still have shitty jobs.” Fionna grumbled, placing the half-eaten croissant on the white plate.
“I’ve been thinking about switching to the theater.” Emma confessed, looking at the black coffee in her hand, deep in thought.
“Oh? You wanna cancel your plans for being a future journalist and getting the big hit of an actress.” Fionna said, wiggling her eyebrows and smirking, making Emma give her a dry chuckle.
“Not really, more like wanting to be a producer.” she retorted back, her lips pulled into a thin line.
“Tell you what honey. You’re going to be a producer when I will start video chatting.” Fionna snarked back at her friend.
“Well, considering that you thought about it, I might have a chance.” Emma roasted her back with a small smirk, then she apologized, feeling a little guilty for snapping like that at her roommate.
“No, no. I should apologize, I’m just really tired of everything, you know, not to mention Josh broke up with me yesterday.” she said in a small voice, her confident demeanor dropping.
“Really? What happened?”
“Let’s just say he feels tied down and he went to look after fresh meat; the girls from the first year.” Fionna said, feeling down and her brows furrowing. Emma gave her a pity smile and rubbed her shoulder, trying to comfort her friend.
“I know you two were together for one year, but you shouldn’t let this get you down. Many other guys would want to go on a date with you.” Emma assured her.
“You mean having one-night stands? I’m not exactly the perfect girlfriend material, according to the college newspaper full of bullshit gossips.” the redhead said, huffing in annoyance.
Emma knew that her friend wasn’t the most prude of the girls and she was a subject of the harsh remarks behind her back; she wanted to tell Fionna that it was her own fault that she cheated on Josh and vice-versa. Both of them were making each other more toxic and not being faithful. The blonde decided not to bring the past up and let her friend have a peaceful snack. They continued to chat about school, music, and other average subjects until the tv from the restaurant that had a comedy running was stopped by breaking news, pulling in the attention of everyone in the small Cafe.
‘We are stopping today’s program to inform all of you about a new crime that took place across the suburban area of New York. Police say the victim is a 28 woman and a 31 man, both married to each other. Their bodies were found in a barn of an abandoned farm just a few miles from a suburban residence. The person who discovered the bodies is a 74 old man that lived across the farm. We asked him a few questions of what happened.’
“I was walking my good one morning and he took off all of a sudden, something that never once happened. I thought he smelt something and I followed him to the barn.” the old man spoke with the reporter.
“What did you see when you entered the barn?” the reporter asked.
“Blood. That’s the first thing that I saw and other things I cannot even describe. You simply cannot imagine that someone actually did this. I think one arm was a few feet away from the bodies and it had no fingers.” the man told with a shaky voice, eyes widening as he remembered the scene.
‘The police are investigating the murder scene, they didn’t offer us enough information, but it might be a connection with other crimes that happened in the past year. A very good connection of this murder might have to do with another of Tania Biltmore, a college student who was murdered last summer.’
Emma’s eyes were glued on the screen, listening to what the news lady was speaking, and when the girl’s name was spoken, the blonde felt sick to her stomach.
“I cannot believe they mentioned her name from all the other victims.” Fionna muttered, playing with a piece of her hair.
“Did you see her after she died? You know, her body?” Emma asked, cautious so none could hear their conversation, because speaking of dead ones wasn’t exactly something you wanted to be remarked by.
“No. They refused to take the lid of the coffin; something about it being said, it was too disturbing.” Fionna answered, looking at the blonde with a thin line of her lips.
“The killer is still unknown and is out there. Aren’t you a little afraid?” Emma asked, her voice sounding a little shaky.
“Look, doll. It’s in New York. It’s full of psychos and weirdos, and you cannot change that. The best thing you can do is wear a gun in your purse, especially when you walk after dark.” Fionna told you, patting your knee.
“I still cannot believe that one of our classmates was killed, even though it’s been almost a year.” Emma said, swirling her spoon in the coffee.
“Tania was a bitch. She always thought she was the big deal and she wanted to be in the center of attention. Guess what? She got her wish.” Fionna remarked, finishing her coffee and leaving 10$ on the table, putting her purse strap over her shoulder.
“I have to go to work tonight at Rogers. It’s the weekend and all waitresses need to be present, so don’t worry if I am not home.” Fionna said, smiling at her friend and waving goodbye at the blonde.
“Bye.” Emma muttered, continuing on with her shift, walking inside the kitchen.
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It was 11 pm and the office of the New York police department smelled of freshly made coffee and the faint smoke of cigarettes; by now everyone was at home, sleeping, but not Detective Thompson better known as James was sitting by his desk, a fresh cup of coffee accompanied by the tons of files that adored his messy desk, looking trough them probably for a hundred time. The door to the office opened and in stepped Lieutenant Gonzales, better known as Nick Gonzales, his face resembling his partner, a face that resembled lack of sleep and too much frustration.
“Man, it’s almost midnight. We should head home and get some sleep. My wife is nagging me about staying for extra hours.” Nick mumbled, loosening his tie and leaning against the doorframe.
“How can you sleep when there is so much work that needs to be done?” James said, not averting his brown eyes from a file that he studied profoundly in his hand.
“You tell me. We are still human beings that need rest.” Gonzales retorted back, moving from the doorway and taking a seat on a nearby chair.
“Still looking into that case?” Nick asked James, resting his chin on his hand, looking over all the papers and photos.
“He is mocking us.” James muttered, his brows furrowing and his words filled with annoyance. Gonzales sighed and rubbed his forehead.
“I know he has been fooling us all around in fake ways, but it’s New York we’re talking about. It’s full of crimes.” Nick explained, making the other male look at him with a serious look.
“This isn’t just a normal robbery case or a simple stabbing murder in an alleyway, Nick. You were there by the last murder scene. Don’t tell me that was normal.” James said through gritted teeth.
“The scene sure wasn’t a pretty one, but don’t let him get you down! He is probably sleeping….which we should do too.” Nick said.
“Or probably getting into another kill.” James muttered, inspecting another file, the photos of the gruesome scene making him swallow the bitter bile in his throat.
“We don’t know, which is why we should, at last, get a few hours of sleep, because in the morning we will be here.” Nick finally said, his voice was starting to get snarky, tired of his stubborn partner. James just raised an eyebrow at Nick, waiting to continue what he wanted to say.
“I’m just telling you as a friend, not as a partner in a crime investigation, okay? You do have a wife, just like I do. When was the last time you actually shared something with her? You always come home late and she is asleep and you leave just right before she wakes up.” Nick got it all out, a sensitive topic for the other male.
“My personal life with my wife is not your business.” James simply replied.
“Ohhh, please….Don’t tell me that she is all fine with the situation.” Nick remarked, crossing his arms over his chest.
James bite the inside of his cheek, looking down then he loudly sighed.
“Fine…She said she wanted a divorce.” James confessed, dropping the papers on his desk. That surprised Nick.
“Seriously? I didn’t know it was that serious.” Nick muttered, feeling a little guilty for opening such a delicate subject.
“I’m not gonna force her to be with me, you know. If she found someone better that’s fine by me.” James whispered, not entirely honest.
“Another man? Wait, you tell me she cheated on you?” Nick asked, his brows pulled into a surprised look.
“I couldn’t call it that. We agreed to split up, but until the divorce is done, I cannot stop her from meeting other people. Looks like I cannot give her what she wanted.”
“I’m sorry.” Nick said, looking down and uncomfortable silence took over the office, but luckily James broke it.
“Don’t be. I still do care about her, which is another reason why I need to catch this psychopathic murderer. He can kidnap and kill anyone, including my future ex-wife, daughter, or anybody in New York.” James said, going back to working on his case.
Nick sighed and took his jacket, leaving his partner alone in the office. No wonder he preferred to stay at work than go back to the woman that was gonna divorce him.
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“This place is a fucking mess.” Fionna muttered, fixing her make-up into the small purse mirror.
It was a busy night at the Penthouse Club, people going by; drinking, getting stoned, and most likely ending up having sex in the alleyway. Not a perfect night, but the big tips from the wealthy customers were more than enough to suck it up.
“If you cannot keep up, darling why don’t you just quit it?” Gina, one of the other waitresses said with a snarky tone, looking at Fionna as she tried to make herself as presentable as possible.
“I’m sorry, but not everyone can get by, just flashing her chest in the boss’s face.” Fionna retorted back with a knowing look, making Gina scowl and flip her platinum blonde hair over her shoulder. Gina was the perfect epitome of what to not be, and if you thought that Fionna might have been bitchy, then compared to Gina, she was a saint.
“Well, it’s not my fault you try too hard and don’t get by, maybe you should consider working in a trucker’s coffee shop. This place is too glamourous for a college girl like yourself.” Gina spoke with her manicured hands on her hips, walking away before Fionna could speak up.
The club was blasted by music and all colors of neon lights, making it look sensual but also very eerie, a combo that most customers preferred, those they could do their business without anyone to notice or question.
Gina was trying to flash as much as she could, her eyes predatory like, looking for a man who will give the biggest tip. She was looking mostly at men in suits and Rolex, but when someone whistled for her to bring a drink, her baby blues looked at a man in the far corner and she scoffed at him.
He was wearing too casual clothes, black jeans and shoes, and a dark hoodie that hides his face. She knew better than to skip clients, remembering that despite taking care of her married boss, he still was very strict when clients were disrespected by rude waitresses.
Her blue heels clicked on the floor and towards him.
“What can I get you?” her voice may have been too acidic and the disgusted expression that she made was too oblivious.
That all quickly changed when the man pulled out from his pocket a stash of dollars, making the blonde quickly change her demeanor from bitter to sugar sweet.
“A Vodka.” he replied, voice deep with a tint of raspiness.
“Right away, Sir!” she said, her voice full of fake joy, skipping to the bar and getting the man’s desired drink, the moved back, all too eager to please.
“So, do you need anything?” she asked, adjusting her cleavage to show her assets.
“Depends. What do you have to offer?” he asked, his face still not visible by the hood and the darkness of the club.
Gina grinned and the next hour was her doing most of the talking and him listening until he told her he had to get going but offered her to get a drink with him into a more private place. Before she left, Gina told Fionna that she needed to leave, despite her shift not being at the end. The man leads her to his car, an old Subaru.
“I hope this isn’t your car.” Gina said, wrinkling her nose at the smell of gas and mud in the car.
“Borrowed.” he simply replied, getting in the driver seat and speeding down the New York streets, until they got into a far more deserted area.
“So, you never told me what you’re working on.” Gina decided to make some charming conversation.
“Movies.” another simple reply.
“Ohh….Movie Producer. Maybe you can cast me for your next piece, stud.” she inquired, trying to be sensual, flashing him a suggestive look.
“Oh…I’m sure I will, dollface.” he said with a deep chuckle, going on a more secluded road and stopping the car.
“You wanted more privacy? Although, I must say it’s gonna cost you a bit more.” Gina spoke, her hand moving over his thigh, but then he opened the door, making her furrow her eyebrows in confusion.
“I’ll be right back. It’s gonna be hot.” he told her, his gloved fingers catching her chin and rubbing his thumb over her lipgloss lips. He got out and shut the door off, walking around the car and the blonde could only grin, then the doors locked, making her laugh nervously.
“I didn’t know you were in this kind of stuff.” she told him, but her smile quickly dropped as he saw him pull out a lighter, showing it to her. Then it hit her, the smell of gasoline, far too strong.
“T-This isn’t funny.” she said, trying to open her door, but it wouldn’t even budge.
“Hey…You wanted to be a big star, and every star has to shine.” he told her, then he pressed something on the side of his head, and like that his face or more like his mask lightened up, blue neon lights creating an eerie face, grinning like with x for eyes.
“L-Let me out!” she began to scream and cry, then he threw the lighter at the car and he watched as it burst into flames, the blonde’s screams getting louder, not like anyone could hear them.
The man smirked behind the mask, filming everything with the special camera into his mask, getting the perfect view of the show. The way her blonde hair started to burn a grey color, her skin starting to melt and show muscle tissue and blood, and the way her nails broke as she tried to get free of this pure brutish torture. The masked man pulled out his phone and typed a message to someone.
‘Video in the making just like you wanted.’
Another night for a good job done and the fire illuminated the trees surrounding them.
