The Delinquents
1835 Words
She knew it was a do or die situation- she had to put together all the clues to reveal his identity now or he will know that she's bluffing.
"Think Mercy think!!", she said to herself closing her eyes.
"So? Who am I? Tell me!", asked the man pointing an axe to her face.
Mercy felt a spark in her mind- she suddenly knew who he was.
"You are not a chef- nor are you french-you're the one who owns Rotunda!!", she replied.
The killer froze. His cover was blown but he was calm.
"Everyday you watch and stalk pretty women who come to dine at your restaurant with their men and you secretly tape their bedroom affairs and blackmail them- asking them for regular favours- you have everything you need- money,luxury,influence but you can't seem to satisfy your lust for women you can't have- I'd say you had some serious heartbreak in your early years and somehow it turned you into this perverted, sick and disgusting animal that you are now….Shall I continue Mr.Phillip Braugher ?", said Mercy triumphantly.
The killer was shocked. He put down his axes on the ground and took of his mask.
"God Damn it! You're smart!", he said sounding quite impressed.
"it just makes me want to ave you even more…Wow…nobody … nobody knew about me… but you…umh! You're one helluva girl…But how did you find out?", he asked squatting down on the floor.
Mercy was getting scared now. He was behaving like a mad man and she had no other defence to protect her from this craziness- all she could do was stall him with her words.
"The flowers- you shouldn't have left them everywhere-", Mercy replied.
"Those stupid flowers led you to me?C'mon you're kidding me!", he said laughing at her.
"Yes, in case you haven't noticed, you sent those flowers wrapped in a bouquet and it's wrapped in a particular style- always in one particular style- You use this style of decoration all over in your hotel on all of your flower designs...", she explained.
"Wait … wait .. hold on… you got this from a style of decoration?", he asked.
"Yes- you had easy access to the flowers from the shop across the street and you wrapped those flowers by yourself like you do in your hotel…a force of habit and you spike those flowers with a strong anaesthetic which you get from one of your client who's a doctor.. so it makes sense now…",she continued.
"Go on…how di I kill your friend?", he said attentively listening to her explanation like a kid.
Mercy immediately got up from her table and went to speak with her. Rudy never liked talking to people in public places and would walk away if someone tried to talk to her. Fortunately Mercy was one of those people for whom she'd make an exception- Mercy had saved her from some bullies back when she was a freshman and she never forgot about her kindness since then.
"Hey there!", greeted Mercy with a smile.
"Oh! Hi…", replied Rudy nervously. She was always nervous.
"Can I sit with you?" , Mercy asked politely.
"Of course… hehe … please…", Rudy replied holding her coffee.
"How long have you been waiting for me?", she asked.
Mercy was impressed already- Rudy had noticed her as soon as she came in and assumed correctly that she was there to meet her.
"Jusr a few minutes- how did you know?", Mercy asked.
"You never come here this early and also you were staring at me this whole time…" , Rudy replied.
"Huh.. I guess that's right…I just wanna ask you about something..", Mercy said.
"Is it related to the girl that got murdered recently?", Rudy asked.
Correct again! Mercy thought that she'd make an amazing detective.
"Yeah..something about that …", Mercy replied.
"Umm.. the dean said there would be mourning ceremony held in the afternoon… what do you wanna know?", Rudy asked.
"You remember about the party held last month… by the chess team?", asked Mercy.
"Oo yeah… wasn't invited but I dropped by anyway… nobody noticed… great party… tasted alcohol for the second time… lot of cute guys…", Rudy went on a rant.
Mercy knew about this. She never said much generally but once she gets comfortable with you - she wouldn't stop talking.
"Yeah.. that party…I wanted to ask - did you happen to notice a tall sort of- french guy- slim built- he might have been a pro chef?" Mercy asked interrupting her.
"Wow.. that's so specific..hmm…wait…I saw a lot of people there- all the regulars- juniors and seniors and classmates…", replied Rudy trying to recall.
"Think…have you seen Amy there? The guy must have been with her…", added Mercy.
"Well.. I did manage to see her once - she was dancing - ah! shouldn't have had that beer- can't remember much…", Rudy replied.
"Please try …it's very important…",begged Mercy.
She soon realised that she was sitting on a chair with her hands tied behind her. She twisted her arms but it hurt. She was in some kind of an abandoned factory. In front of her was a man- standing and watching her- he had a mask on his face- but he was dressed like a businessman, in a brand new suit- his bloodied axe was glistening in the single beam of sun light that peered in through the broken ceiling of the room.
Her skirt was half torn which revealed her beautiful brown legs. She wanted to scream and call for help but her lips won't move- she was trembling with nervous excitement and maybe with fear- maybe today was the day she would die...the man was calmly watching her as if he was undressing her with his eyes- it was creeping her out and she tried to cross her legs in embarassment.
She kept thinking how she ended up in this situation, the last thing she remembered was her getting into a taxi from the police station and a smooth manly voice of the driver asking her for her destination and everything was blurry after that. Or maybe there was something else she didn't notice.
What could it be. She shut her eyes and tried to think hard- the black taxi...the driver... was he old? No, around 40-ish. He had dark hair. And what else? Yes... there were some flowers on the seat. When she asked the driver about them he said that some previous passenger must have left them there. The flowers...yes...they looked familiar...
"Flowers?Red? ... Oh God!", she opened her eyes and looked at the man again.
"Could he be ... the serial killer?", she kept thinking.
"Am I being held captive by the same killer that I was investigating?", she swallowed hard and kept staring at the man with fear and suspense.
The man walked towards her.
"Aah... so you're awake?", he said.
"I was admiring your beauty...my my... what lovely legs you have...", said the man standing a few feet away from her with his bloody axe still in his hand.
"Agh! who the hell are you... why am I here?", Mercy asked repelled by his words.
"Patience sugar...patience...let me stare at you for a while...after all you won't be alive for long, now that you've met me..", said the man.
Mercy could feel that he was grinning underneath that horrible mask. She really wanted to kick him in the guts.
"What have I ever done to you?You creep...", she yelled in anger.
"Such anger... ah.. it turns me on...", replied the man walking behind her, "Why... you've been after me for so long ...I thought you'd want to meet me...after all you're my number one fan...".
Mercy took a good look at the man in the mask. He stood no less than 6 ft. tall and wore a black suit and had golden cufflinks,his shoes were well polished and he had black gloves on his hands. He wore a peculiar looking japanese kabuki mask on his face and his hair was dark. The short axe he was holding in his left hand has fresh blood on it. Could it be that he had killed someone recently? He had a dark devilish charm about him and he spoke quite elegantly. Is this the killer that she was after?
"Huh... so you're the serial killer that the police is looking for... tell me do you plan to kill me too?", asked Mercy boldly.
"Oh ,so you're smart too ... yes my dear, I hate to say it but I have to end your life too... You are starting to annoy me a little... ", replied the man pacing slowly across the room.
"So you killed Amy? You scroundel!! Why did you do it? Why?", yelled Mercy.
"Meh! Just for the fun I guess...I get bored easily...", replied the man calmly, as he dipped his axe into a bucket of water to remove the blood stains.
Mercy was furious and she tried to twist her arms to free herself but it was of no use, the restraints were too tight.
"And who have you murdered now?", she asked.
"A nobody...well she was a cop but still a nobody... she should have minded his own business but he interrupted me...and I hate interruptions...she even tore your dress trying to save you...ha ha! ", the man replied as he cleaned his axe and raised it in front of his face and looked at it for a while.
"You do this for fun? You demon!!", Mercy asked.
"Yes... it's just a hobby my dear... most people like to travel or to paint or play an instrument...me...I like murder...the screams, the blood of my prey...thrills me...", he replied.
"You're sick!!", she said.
"Ah! No... I'm evolved... I'm better...You see what does it matter if I kill a few people every now and then...the world is full of people anyways... stupid people, boring people... I kill them because I'm smarter... they're just prey for me and I am the king of the jungle...", he replied cleaning his axe with a piece of cloth.
"So why do you leave flowers for your prey and why do you kill only women?", she asked again.
Mercy was actually trying to buy some time by stalling him for a few minutes longer. The police would definitely notice that she was missing and they would track her through the transmitter on her necklace.
"Hmmm... so you think that by asking these questions you will be able to stall your imminent death and the police will save you? How naive you are little girl... I've already thrown away your necklace while I snatched you away... now there's no way anybody can rescue you....", he replied as he finished cleaning his axe.
Mercy was amazed.
"How did he know about the necklace?", she thought.
- Writer
