Day Three and just passed the 6K mark! After working out a new beat sheet, I also had to update the logline of the novel. The new one:
On the verge of choosing to end his life, Leon, an immortal from the lost city of Atlantis, must investigate a murder committed by Jack, a fellow Atlantean Leon failed to bring to justice; but when Leon becomes the one hunted, he must learn to trust in others before he becomes Jack’s next victim.
I think it’s a little better, a little more interesting, but still can be worked. Meanwhile, without further ado, below are the next 1,003 words.
———–
“Can anyone confirm that?”
“Other than my cat? No.” I slammed my hand down on the metal table that stood between us. “Come on, Captain. You know this is a waste of time. I should be at the motel checking the scene.”
Alistair said nothing, just peered at me in the way that always made me just a touch uncomfortable.
“You weren’t at the party last night,” he finally said, making it sound like an accusation.
“It’s true. I wasn’t. But you know I never go to those parties.”
“That’s right. You don’t. Come to think of it, you tend to keep pretty much to yourself. Don’t you think that’s a strange way to behave towards your fellow officers?”
I had no answer for that. It was true. I knew next to nothing about most of the men and women in this building, and they knew even less about me. Alistair sat there silently for a few more moments. He then finally leaned over and shut the tape recorder off. Then he leaned in and smiled. “I know you didn’t do this, Leon. But I have to follow protocol. You know how it is.”
“Of course. I understand. Can I go now?”
“Sure. I told the boys not to mess with the scene so you can get a fresh look.”
I stood up to go, the metal chair legs squeaking against the floor as I pushed away from the table. I was at the door when Alistair spoke again. “Take Ernie with you. It wouldn’t look good to have you wandering the crime scene alone, now would it? Give you the chance to hide some evidence?”
I turned to face the captain, ready to defend myself, but the grin on his face told me he was joking. “I’ll just have to get rid of Ernie so I can do just that,” I said, smiling back.
I found myself wishing I could have gotten rid of Ernie. Having him tag along with me would make certain parts of my investigation awkward. But now that Alistair had voiced that suggestion, jokingly or not, going it alone would make me look like I did have something to hide.
“Come on, Ernie, we have a murder to look into,” I said as I passed his desk.
Ernie lit up with one of the widest smiles I’d ever seen from him. He shot up from his desk and moved toward me quicker than I’d ever seen him move, and that included the time we were chasing the BB Bandit.
“You’re driving,” I said to him.
“I know. I always drive.”
Dusk was falling as we made our way back to the motel. Even though our car was unmarked, it seemed to scream Police as the parking lot quickly emptied of its occupants. Ernie and I made our way up the steps and to the room. I stopped at the closed door, which had a couple of strips of yellow warning tape across it and turned to Ernie. “It’s a pretty small room, Ernie. Will you be okay waiting at the door while I walk around?”
Ernie nodded once. His expression reminded me of a child’s who was told he couldn’t play outside with his friends. “I just need a minute. Then you can come in and help me see if I missed anything.” He brightened a bit at that. I opened the door, ducked under the tape, then closed the door behind me.
To be honest, I didn’t know why I felt the need to search alone. Surely anything Jack would have left behind had already been seen, photographed, and catalogued. But I wanted a moment, just Jack and me. I turned on the light and surveyed the scene in front of me once again.
The girl was gone, but the blood was still there. It had pooled under her, making it likely she was stabbed while lying down. I had not gotten a good look at her earlier, but the cause of death had appeared to be multiple stab wounds. I would know more from the coroner’s report.
As usual, other than the bed, and the message on the wall, there appeared to be no other sign of blood in the room. Jack was nothing if not careful. I checked under the bed, in the drawers, under the table, but there was nothing. I headed to the bathroom.
This was new. As was the message. Row after row of pictures of me. Recent pictures. Old pictures. All taken from a distance with a telephoto lens. Could he have been following me? Or maybe he had someone else follow me? But for years? Why? What was the purpose behind this?
My eye fell on an empty spot on the wall. Had there been a picture there? I tried to bring my mind back to earlier today. Had there been an empty space? If not, had Jack come back and taken one down? I didn’t understand, and I didn’t know how to make any sense of it.
The crime scene photos. They would help. I could check those and see if there had been an empty spot. In the meantime, I tried to place the timing for these photos, to see if I could get an idea of when they started and how long this had been going on.
There was nothing else I could glean from this room. But at this point, I knew Jack was out there. For some reason, he had chosen to taunt me, and I knew he would definitely kill again. I needed to find him before that happened.
I also needed to investigate the killing from seven years ago. Now I was certain I would discover that had been Jack as well. But instead of making things clearer, it confused me even more. Why would he wait seven years after the first murder, and then call me out? Something didn’t add up.
I went back to the door and motioned Ernie to enter.