Finding the serial killer

Chapter 90

Chapter 90

Jake’s POV,

I guess I made the list as finely as I can. Including the colleagues who’ve been avoiding me before today, there are about fifty-seven people I've ever been in contact with, out of them and I'm not even trying to include those who I've interrogated or visited home, twenty-nine passed the category to ever said a word to me. Five of them have been in my apartment at least once, including Emily, two of my house cleaners and other one is the food delivery guy, I let him in because he needed to use the restroom, the fifth was my neighbor, Ela. She needed some help in lifting stuff and she knew I was a police detective, while she offered me a homemade bread loaf for my labor. I guess that was a fair trade, the pastry was super good, and she was my first real acquaintance other than those I'm forced to see for work. That was during the first week of my arrival in Austin, so I was always on my own, bored, and dull and she seemed to be a pretty harmless woman, she said she is a fashion designer and makeup influencer. We do cross path more than often but she’s never been inside my home again.

“Great.” She takes the list off my hands, folds it and fit in her pants. I don’t know many of the names of the people on the list. But I know they are always there when I go about my work. “Now we just need to know the names of all these fifty-seven people. Piece of cake.” Actually, some of them are just those like friend of a friend of an acquaintance. But they’ve known me for my mom’s work. they stuck with me only because of something that stood distinct on them. like the terrible effort to be friends. I don’t think I need to look for them anymore, but I also know there many people I can't even remember anymore.

“I'm sorry I didn’t ask for the security guard’s name, or the guy who wash my car in the car wash, or the newspaper vendor who I've seen one when he came to clear the bill, or the bartender, I was too drunk to talk to. I didn’t not want to come off as a flirt.” I sigh shaking my head, I'm really sensitive these days for no reason.

“I know, let’s not start fighting over this, alright? Let’s go to each one of them and see if we can talk to them. you're a celebrity, who won't want to be involved with you?”

“You, I guess. But sadly, we are partners again.”

“You have your whole life to be a jerk. Why not take a day off and do our work like adults?” nothing good about that.

I offered her the open doors to the passenger seat next to where I'm gonna sit and drive. If I won't do it on my own, she’ll make the same argument that I'm her slave for a week and I have to follow her. Then I’ll make the same argument that nothing of it matters since the Captain is no more here and since I've re-joined the task force, all bets were off. I'm chosen to be on the case only because there are gossips that the killer could be my acquaintance and not because she vouched captain in my favor. But then she’ll argue that I can't back off from my promise, that it will be unethical for a man to go back on his words. Which is actually just bullshit. Going back on promises won't make me coward, because the circumstances now is wholly different than before.

But, I'm tired to argue with her, I know she will keep doing it until I'm defeated. And so I save all that time and give her what she wants. And that is my service, I'm going to drive her to a restaurant she is so fond off. The restaurant is like thirty miles from her house, she says she want to try their couple menu, for some reason I think there has to be more than a damn menu she is interested from this voyage. I don’t really hate driving though, that’s something I didn’t have to do in New York. But I hate the time of pressuring silence we share now when we are in an isolated car and have nothing to talk to that won't lead us to argue. There is a distance between us now, and it’s so overpowering, it’s so over bearing that I just want to run away from it. I'm so consumed in so many other stuff that is so much more important.

“How is your brother holding up?” she asks, trying to make small talk. I noticed she is taking more initiatives to talk then she usually does.

“He blames me.” my voice was stiff and monotonous and probably with a tinge of hurt in it. Jerry and I barely ever fought, this is the first time I feel this distance built in our relationship, I can sympathize with him, but I'm still disappointed that the first bad thing happen and he is ready to give up his brother, it makes me think if being alone in life won't be a choice for me, but rather the only thing left. “I think mom and dad thinks the same. They are just not that outspoken for their emotions.”

“You’ve cleared your name already.”

“To be honest, I don’t really care if anyone blames me. I've lost relationships over and over for things like this. It’s just that the trust I need from others, I can never find in them. it’s been too many time, I guess I expect people to do it at a point. I've always been made a bad person. Good thing I have no problem being alone. I'm just saddened that Stella ended up being a victim. As kids, we were inseparable. Right before she started dating Jerry. I distanced myself from her after.”

“Why? you liked her? Jerry got mad?”

“I won't say I didn’t have a crush on her. She was the brightest person in the school, she was with me through a rough patch in my life and I do want justice she deserves for her because she’s been the best person in my life, she trusted me, supported me. When I find out Jerry liked her, I backed off. I didn’t want any issues. It wasn’t so hard because they moved in together in a different state. We were great as friends. I know we wouldn’t have lasted as anything more than that.”

“Why not?”

“Because loving someone is not worth it. It always ends bad. See how it ended for Jerry. What’s the point, it’s painful anyway.” She looks at me with so many questions slipping out of her eyes, but they will better be unanswered, I don’t know why in the world I tell her all about me when she doesn't say anything about who she is. I know I'm going to cringe about my own stupidity for the next many days, but I'll do it all over again. Why? because all those words I say I feel doesn’t make me any less of a believer of true love. I still think it exists and I still want someone in my life I can completely trust and have that trust back.

Just then, my phone started to buzz out loud, I almost jumped on my seat. “It’s the New Captain.” Emily says reading my phone’s screen. “I'll take it.” she picked the call and put it on speaker.

“Hello…?”

“Guys, you gotta jump back to the precinct. We’ve got something here.”