Page 29 of He Who Haunts Me

I looked between my phone, Invicta watch, and the clock on the wall. It was hardly a new day. Just shy of 1:30 a.m. The killer had chosen a very public place in a bold attempt to not be seen or caught.

He was successful, as the reports currently indicated. My phone pinged, but I didn’t look at it as I collected my things and walked out of my office and through the front doors. Getting from the department building to the car and then to the crime scene was automatic. I drove with my surroundings turning into a blur and muscle memory of navigating a small city. My mind felt jumbled as I weighed past events, current circumstances, and developments I never wanted to see come to fruition.

I speculated he would likely kill again, and as the week went on, I wanted to be hopeful this was a one-off. The evidence very clearly pointed to a possible serial. The ritualistic style of posing and presenting Trisha had all the indicators.

But still, I wanted to believe that would be the end of his attacks.

I drove around the one-way traffic pattern and parked near the first officers who had arrived on the scene. I took a moment to take in the scene. Blue lights were flashing from all angles, causing shadows and colors to bounce off the building faces. Medical services had arrived and were preparing the gurney and body bag. Officers were gathered, going over papers, likely organizing their canvassing for the next few hours.

Motion from my left caused me to look away, noting that our crime scene unit had arrived.

There was no more stalling.

I popped the handle of the sedan door and stretched my body out of the opening. I spotted Officer Billingsley sitting with an older woman and younger man. When I approached, Billingsley straightened.

“Sir.” I nodded at his acknowledgment. “This is Carolyn Matthers and her grandson, Kelly Matthers.” I reached out to shake both of their hands.

“Good morning, I’m Detective Noah Bishop. I’m sorry that this is the circumstance for which we meet, but if you’re able to, I’d really appreciate any help you can offer me,” I greeted them as Carolyn’s hands trembled when a breeze worked its way past the fountain.

Billingsley had turned to join the other officers.

“James,” I called to get his attention. “Can you source a blanket or uniform jacket for Mrs. Matthers?” I asked. He nodded and broke out into a jog on his new search.

“Thank you so much.” Her voice was wobbly from age and discomfort. “I’m not the best at remembering all the details, but Kelly here—” She patted his folded hands with a sad smile. “—he’ll be able to tell you everything.”

I looked from her wrinkled face to his. Kelly’s eyebrows were knitted with unease. He was tense and rigid on the edge of the fountain. He blinked rapidly before looking up to me.

“We didn’t do this,” he started.

“I have no reason to believe you have any involvement besides misfortune for happenstance,” I clarified as Kelly let out a breath and started to relax. “I apologize if anyone here made you feel like that.”

“No, no one has. I just know that the people who find bodies can look guilty at times,” he admitted, and I nodded at that partial truth. “I guess the best way I can explain it to you is that my gramma can kind of get restless in the middle of the night. So, she woke me up, and we decided to take a stroll to the oak tree. We live just over on Hoffman.”

I nodded as I started to outline notes about their evening.

“Gramma’s eyesight isn’t the best, and she refuses to wear her glasses at times. She had mumbled something about a new statue being installed by the oak tree,” Kelly continued. His grandmother drew in a shaky breath and put her hand over her chest. “I was confused, and so when I looked up, I-I yelled and tried to get her to a different area where she couldn’t see the girl.”

“Did you come back around the body?”

“No, sir. I called 9-1-1 but stood a good bit away from her. I didn’t need to be close to know she was gone. I could smell everything I needed to know.” Kelly twisted his hands over more.

“Do you recognize the young woman by any chance?” I asked, and he shook his head in response. “Did you notice anyone suspicious or out of place on your walk?” He looked away as he pondered. “This could look like many things, but nothing is too small.”

“No, nothing’s really standing out. I mean, it’s October and Halloween is soon. Some people I saw coming home were in costumes from parties or were slurring and stumbling because they’d been out drinking. The usual college stuff,” he said with a shrug.

“How far would you estimate your residence from MRU campus?” I scribbled a small section on my notepad to get the ink in a proper flow.

“Maybe fifteen minutes?” He glanced at his grandmother with matched confusion. “Is that really important though?”

“We’re considering a few things. There’s nothing solid just yet.” I skimmed my notes again, “And you left your house when?”

“Probably around one or so, maybe a little before that.” Kelly looked up as Billingsley came back and draped a wool blanket over Carolyn. “Thank you.”

“Kelly, thank you for your clarification on tonight’s events. I want to get you guys away from here and let you reclaim your day. I need this officer to just collect some contact information and finalize your witness statement with signatures.” I released them to James as Kelly took his grandmother's hand and she offered me a polite smile.

I turned away and walked back around the fountain until the oak tree and victim came back into view. It was just as bad as Trisha’s discovery one week ago.

Which, based on the coroner’s findings, is damn near on the dot a week later.

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