VII

AUGUST 7,2000       10:36 pm

I arrive home from work tired and the only thing on my mind is having a nice cold beer, while watching ESPN highlights. Holding the front door handle and the feeling of dread overwhelmed me.”Why are the lights off.” I said while looking through the windows of my home. Normally my wife keeps the lights on from the living room to do some late night reading while she waits for me to arrive. Naturally I assumed the worst in this situation. I walk inside my home, a place where I was able to relax and ignore the horrors of the world. A familiar odor was in the air, a smell I know too well in my line of work was now in my own home. I shouted my wife’s name but was only met with deafening silence. I pull my registered service weapon out of my belt, while I search my home hoping that she just went to bed early. I walked into the kitchen because the odor was too overwhelming to ignore. I flipped the light switch and immediately collapsed.``No… this isn’t real.” I muttered out loud while I saw the love of my life soulless on the kitchen floor. I approached the hollow shell of someone who I promised to protect. While Holding her in my arms I see the soulless eyes, pale skin, and familiar mark on the back of her neck. It was the roman numeral of 7. A memory flashed through my mind about a man in a bar . I turned to look at the kitchen counter with my badge number written on it with red ink. I slowly approche the counter and open the letter. “Happy anniversary” was in the center of the page and on the bottom left were three words that would haunt me for the rest of my life, “You choose wrong”. “ha..haha...HAHA, I must be having a nightmare.” Expect it wasnt it was reality, my reality. The reality where I have my wife’s dead corpes in my kitchen. The reality where a case leads to me being praised would also end up stabbing me with despair. The reality where the only thing to mute my mind is to bury myself under bottles.

AUGUST 7,1999

It was my 2nd year of working for HPD as a criminal detective. My captain gave me a case about 6 recent murders that have happened over the past month which we knew were connected due to all victims having roman numerals on their necks. I had made major progress in the case, so much so that I nailed it down to 3 suspects. Dr.Peters, he was connected to the first victim.Aaron Kosminski, who people have claimed to be nearby at the times of the killings. Last suspect was Mrs. Garrett, she was connected to all victims except for the first one.I had all of them in their own individual rooms waiting for me to interrogate. “Puma they are ready for you.” said Josh, my 1st year partner, I headed to interrogation room 1 where Dr. Peters had been waiting. The evidence against him was not enough to say he did it but was enough to question him. After 30 minutes of questioning I concluded that he is innocent due to his strong alibi and weak motive. The next person I had decided to interrogate was Aaron Kosminski. We had no evidence, only witness accounts of him. When I entered the room I felt a cold chill and an uneasy feeling when I was near him as if he was in control. Just from speaking with him I could tell he was nefarious, every time I asked a question he would find a way to divert the question. After an hour wasted we gained no knowledge about the case so we decided to let him go. The last person left was Mrs. Garrett. Due to her connection with the victims she has the most obvious person to interrogate. I entered the room noticing her nervousness. I started by asking “What is your relationship with the victims?” She claimed that 3 of them were her previous employers that had fired her which led to hardships in finding other types of work. The other 2 were past highschool bullies that made school life hell. Due to her strong motive to kill I continued to interrogate her till I could get a confession. After 2 hours of hard questioning she broke and confessed to the murders. ”The biggest case of my career was just solved. Let's celebrate!” I said. “I don’t know if she actually did it Puma,” Josh said. “What do you mean she confessed to it all,” I said. “ She did but, to me it seems like you pressured her into it,” he said. “Oh shut up you still don’t understand how this line of work works.”

NOVEMBER 4,1999

Josh would transfer to a different department after I became head detective. That jealous punk really couldn't handle watching me succeed. He would always try to correct me even though I'm his superior. I received an abstract postcard on the day of my promotion, a bunch of photos of Mrs.Garrett in prison from outside the building. “Very funny, trying to ruin my day with a guilt trip, are you really that petty Josh.” I did find odd though that these photos were not just something you would do on a wim. You would need to figure out the prison schedule which is normally not given since it was maximum security protocol. 

AUGUST 7,2000         9:50pm

Me and my department went out to a bar where we were celebrating the anniversary of my first big case solved when I felt a familiar chill run down my spine. This feeling of uneasiness was like having to walk through landmines. “ Is that detective Puma I see?” said a voice. I turned around to see a pale looking man that I have never seen before. “Do I know you?” I said. “Well I guess I have changed a bit but, it's ok if you don't remember” the man said. “Uh ok then i will take my leave.” I said while trying to leave the conversation. “Of Course don't keep the wife waiting now, she might be a little cold,” he said. Before I had time to respond back he vanished in the crowd.