What did they investigate?
***
It’s 6 p.m., and we are finally let into the building. It is clean, but it reeks of suspicion—the kind that makes you stand on edge. I reach into my purse to get my keys, and I hear two sets of heavy feet walking toward my apartment. I quickly let myself in, and I put my ear to my door because I'm nosy.
“He was in pieces,u picku materinu1,” one male officer says to the other.
“Zaboli me kurac2, the asshole got what he deserved.” I turn my back to the door and throw my head up. The weight of the revelation furrows my brow. Who could have been…
I silently open my door and look left and right, ensuring nobody is here. My eyes zone in on my neighbor's door when the coast is clear. Because I was in such a trance, I hadn’t even noticed the yellow tape around Creepy Man’s apartment door. He has an actual name, but I never bothered to learn it. That man always tried to hit on me, and I always denied his advances, if you could even call them that.
He was downright pushy, annoying, and a pervert.
No means absolutely no.
A sentiment lost on the asshole.
I reach for two bobby pins in my head and turn them into a makeshift key. Because this building seriously lacks safety measures, a gust of wind could have blown his damn door open. When the lock clicks open, I silently thank my mother. She was a master in these things.
Oh, dearMom.
Keep telling yourself that, Lana.
The door opens, and I step under the yellow tape, making sure I don’t touch anything when I enter Creepy Man’s weird condo. The apartment is small, but it’s at least clean now. I enter the living room, and everything seems normal, but it feels different. I have never been in his apartment, fuck no, but there is a dangerous air lingering in his living room.
“What happened here?” I ask, well, nobody. I go over to his window and look outside. Sarajevo has always been a bustling city, but this is unsettling.
“Fuck!” I nearly die when my phone pings. Who is messaging me? Nobody outside of my dick-ass boss has my phone number. I pick up my phone and look at the message.
Are you happy right now?
1.Bosnian way of expressing frustration or disbelief.
2.Bosnian way of expressing that someone doesn't give a shit.
2
M“Today, following a citizen’s report and swift coordination between SIPA and the local law enforcement, a high-risk operation was conducted at a residential building in the heart of Sarajevo. The suspect, known as ‘The Rope’—wanted in connection with a series of violent assaults—has been located and is no longer a threat to the public.
We understand the public's concern and interest in this case. Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation and out of respect for the victims and their families, we will not be releasing further details at this time. We can say this: Sarajevo is safer tonight.
We thank the brave individual who made the report and urge anyone with further information to come forward through our official channels.
We also thank the press for their time.”
Am I brave? No. I am a predator. Since the dawn of time, humans have learned to identify apex predators by four traits: stealth, power, unpredictability, and killing efficiency. But I can tell you this—you don’t want to see me at your doorstep.
I will be your worst fucking nightmare.
While having a moral code is somewhat of a foreign concept to me, I do care about people who are being taken advantage of in any way. If you touch someone without consent, I will fucking come for you.
And someone tried to touch what’s mine.
Lana.
The mere thought of her makes me hard in an instant. Now’s not the time for a quick jerk-off. I have business to attend to. Besides my lucrative business of removing evil people, I have another source of income.
My car dealerships.
