2 Years Before

The rain came down in thick sheets around me. I pulled up the collar of my jacket around my face, concealing my eyes taking in the scene around me. I couldn’t see him yet but I did sense a pair of eyes on me. I pivoted around to find a small boy of about 6 or 7. His brown eyes stared vacantly up with a smile I could not decipher.
“ I know what you’re doing,” he whispered.
“I’m sure you must have me confused with someone else.
“No. You are Eloise McCann from a small town outside of Richmond, Virginia. You attended Lincoln High and received several college scholarships but turn down everyone. I know exactly who you are.”
I took the boy’s arm and pulled him away from the sidewalk and closer to the old brick building under the awning.
“Who sent you over here to talk to me?” I questioned.
Dropping the boy’s arm, I turned around to see every person with cold gazes all in the same direction. Mine. I turned to face the boy again only to find him gone. A chill was sent down my spine and goose bumps rose on the surface of my arms. A cold hand grabbed my wrist and yanked my arm around to make me face them. I recoiled in fear only to look up to see him standing there.
Tedd Graw. His thick blond hair fell down in patches around his murky green eyes. His usual half-smile was not found any where on his pale skin.
“Why did you ask me to come here,” he asked in a hushed tone.
“You know exactly why.”
Fear flicked across his eyes and his pale skin turned even more pale under the harsh florescent light. He grabbed my shoulders firmly and take in the frightened features on my face. My red hair started to fall down in front of my eyes.
“You have to let it go,” he pleaded.
I could not see the expression on his face but I heard the desperate whine behind his words.
I pushed the red blankets out of my face and drew myself closer to his face. I could see the familiar birthmark above his upper lip. The one I had kissed so often. I whispered one word to his panic stricken face, “Never.”
At that moment my plan seemed to registered in his my. The wheels turning in his head too late.
I pulled the glass door open and pushed Tedd into the dark store. The next few minutes were a blur. A strong stench of blood and the eerie red was split across the black and white checkered tiles.

Present Day


Officer Dupree took a sip of the old black coffee and grimaced. The lights in the station were slowly going out one by one as the officers said their goodbyes.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay Dupree?” asked Officer Hal.

“It’s fine, I have a only one more file left to review for storage.”

Hal flicked off the lamp light leaving only the low dim of the front light and the bright ray from the desk lamp.
Officer Dupree picked up the coffee mug stained manila folder off the cherry stained desk and began to flip through the pages. Murder in a small town of Richmond, Virginia in a now closed down store. Only one suspect on the scene, Tedd Graw, was now in Richmond City Jail. Dupree flipped through the pictures until he landed on a new looking picture. A small boy around the age of 6 or 7 with big brown eyes stood over the mutilated body holding a clump of the victim’s red hair in his tiny hands.
Officer Dupree filed away the crime and locked the station’s doors. When he turned around, he found a small boy with familiar big brown eyes.