The killer began laughing and found it hard to stop.
"You were fast asleep, and now, you won't ever wake up."
Images flashed through the killer’s mind as they laughed at what they had done.
"Yes, yes, yes, yes," the killer spluttered.
They reached into their pocket and pulled out a short stack of photographs.Langford, Holland, Greene, and Cross.All of them dead, all of them bloodied, all of them taken care of.
"Look at you all now," the killer hissed."You never even saw it coming.None of you expected to pay for what you did, but you have all paid the ultimate price, and at my hand."The killer thumbed through the four photos a few times, finding comfort in them."Yes, I did this.No one else is capable of this but me."
They looked up at the ceiling, but it was not the painted drywall they focused on; it was what lay far above, beyond the physical.
"It’s for you.They failed you.They killed you.I won't let them do that to anyone else."
The killer spun around and around, looking up at the ceiling until they felt dizzy and dropped the photos.They quickly scrambled to the floor and scooped them up, bringing the photo of Martin Greene to the top.They ran around the room to his photo, now with the red pen scribbled down the middle.
"Yes!Look at you!I did that to you.I killed you and ripped you in two, and then I tore your photograph in two."The killer beat the side of their head again."No, no, no.It was the other way around."
They stuffed the photos back into their pocket, left the room, surrounded by photographs and other files, and entered the bathroom.
The knife lay in the sink, stained slightly from the recent kills.The killer didn't worry about it for now and ran the cold water, letting it get nice and cool before they splashed some on their face.They did so a second time before keeping their hands under the running water for thirty seconds before pressing their palms to their face.
The cold seeped into them, slowing their thoughts until they could think straight again.It felt as if everything had been moving, and it all stilled at the same time.They took a deep breath and looked themselves in the eyes.Their red, blood-like eyes.The eyes that had seen into the past and the future and understood what must be done in the present.
"I can't forget," they panted."I can't forget one moment of it."They panted heavily as their head began to pound."But you are forgetting it, aren’t you?You’re forgetting everything.Did you even remember it in the first place?"
The killer looked at themselves in the mirror and tugged at their hair, then pulled photos from their pocket, slamming them into the glass with a thud.
"Do you see that?I remember what I need to remember!"
"No, you remember a memory of what happened.What happens when you fail completely, and you can't go on?Will that be justice?You should just give up now."
"No, not yet, not now!One more.I can manage one more before I can't think.I have to do one more."
"Yes, but who?"
"You know who."
"Him," the killer hissed.
"Him," the reflection hissed back.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
"Detective Moore!Detective Moore."
Moore got up from her desk and exited the small office to see who was shouting at her.Alison followed her out of the door.
Diana’s lawyer was striding toward them."I need to speak to you."
Moore walked to meet him halfway and then brought him back to the office.He looked eager to talk, the hint of a smile on his face for the first time since he’d arrived.Alison wondered whether Diana had confessed and whether he was bringing her confession.
The lawyer didn’t sit down when he entered the office, and began speaking."My client had a tracker installed on her car when she bought it.It’s under the front wheel well.All you have to do is download the data, and you’ll find that her car has been parked outside her workplace all night."
"Okay," Moore said slowly."Even if that’s the case, what’s to stop her from ordering a cab or a ride service.She could have hired a car previously.Maybe she’s working with someone else.That doesn’t prove that she didn't leave her place of work."
"Detective Moore, my client is trying to work with you.You can't prove that she was at the crime scene, or you would have arrested her by now.My client is trying to work with you, and she’s willing to be completely open and transparent.You can look into her finances, check her home, her place of work, anything you want.But you can't hold my client indefinitely.So, do what you need to do, but the clock is ticking, and she will be leaving here in approximately forty-six hours, if not before."
