Mircov
"Serine, I'm ready to go. What about you?" a slim red head said to her friend as she tossed her napkin on the table next to her, now empty salad bowl pushing it aside.
Serine, a short, slightly overweight brunette, finished the last sip of her soda before saying, "I'm ready too. Are you paying, or am I?"
"You paid last week. It's my turn," the red head said reaching for her purse.
"Thanks Tammy," Serine said tossing her napkin next to her plate as well. "I'm going to go to the bathroom really quick before we leave."
"Alright." Tammy looked up and waved over a waitress. She came towards their table and handed Tammy the bill. Tammy traded a twenty-dollar bill for the receipt. When Serine got back from the bathroom, the two proceeded to gather their things, and head towards the door.
"You still think it's safe to walk home like this at night?" Serine asked.
"I would think so." Then the realization of what Serine had just said dawned on her. "Oh come on. That was a one-time thing Serine. What are the chances that a serial killer really lives in this town? I mean, everyone on the face of the planet was angry with Heather. There must have been tons of people out to kill her."
"Shh," Serine said, waving her arms to quiet Tammy. "Don't even talk about it. He might be here, or listening to us."
"Oh, don't tell me you are scared," Tammy laughed. "There's no way he would still be here. The cops will get him, don't worry. Seriously, don't you ever watch the news? They always catch these guys three or four states away from where they kill people anyway."
This comment was supposed to calm Serine, or at least make her laugh. It had just the opposite effect. "Then he will come here, kill again, and the flee to another state. No one will ever catch him."
"Come on, let's just go home."
Tammy led the way out of the diner and onto the sidewalk. Serine looked around nervously, but didn't take one step away from Tammy's side. "There's a man over there," she whispered.
"Oh, chill out. He was there last week, remember? And the other day too come to think of it."
"Then maybe that's where he waits for his victims. Then he drags them in the woods and kills them like he killed Heather." Serine shut her eyes and gripped Tammy's arm tighter.
Tammy tried to pull Serine's hand off of her arm. The girl was cutting off her circulation. "You are starting to scare me, you know that."
"You should be scared Tammy, you look really pretty. Maybe he only goes after pretty girls."
This made Tammy laugh. "If he only goes after pretty girls, then he wouldn't have taken Heather, now would he?"
The man standing underneath the lamppost crossed the street so that he was ahead of them. The two girls silenced, but didn't look at him. He started walking towards the diner. Serine's hand tightened around Tammy's arm again. The man would be on her side when he passed them. Keeping her eyes straight ahead, Serine tried to control her body's shaking.
Tammy kept pulling her forward until the man passed. "Let go of my arm please," she said.
"Sorry. I just got a little scared," Serine said, letting go of Tammy's arm. Taking a deep breath, she glanced behind them. The man was gone. Maybe he went into the diner. Good thing they had just left, she thought. Serine let out her breath slowly. She and Tammy should get inside soon.
They walked down the sidewalk for five blocks. Then they turned into the cul-de-sac Serine's house with her cousin was located.
"You want to stay with me tonight, or are you going to your apartment? My cousin won't be back for another month or so." The two of them shared the house, but he was gone on a trip to Mexico with a few of his friends. Serine just didn't want to spend the night all by herself.
"Nah. You'll be all right. You have the cat for company." She smiled, "I'll go on home," Tammy said.
"Oh yeah," Serine said. She waved a goodbye to her friend, got in her car, and drove off.
Serine stood in the doorway until the car had turned out of the cul-de-sac. She made herself a mental note to take the car to the diner next week. Turning, she realized that the inside of her house was dark. Serine flicked the hall light switch. Taking another calming breath, Serine went through the house turning on lights so that she could see every room. She usually wasn't like this. She actually liked the dark. It was the only time of day she had any time to herself. Yet with this recent killing of a girl named Heather just outside of town by a supposed serial killer, Serine was right to be a little jumpy.
Serine sat down on the couch. She decided she wanted some noise. Turning on the TV, she started scanning channels. Glancing at the clock, she realized that it was almost eleven. Was anything ever on at eleven o'clock at night? Time to find out. She flipped past a rerun of Friends. Laughing to herself, she changed the TV back to that channel. They were all reruns. Tossing her purse on the table, Serine went into the kitchen and fixed herself a glass of milk.
With a sigh she sat back down on the couch. Drinking a fourth of the milk, she set the glass on the table with her purse. The contents had fallen out of her purse that was now lying on its side. With a sigh, Serine picked it up. She really should have been more careful. Then again, with as many times as she had thrown her purse on a table, chair, bed, or any random surface that was in the vicinity, its contents had spilled out.
She began picking up her cell phone, make up kit, wallet, and a folded up piece of paper. Wait? Serine hadn't seen that piece of paper before. It felt like the page out of one of those thousand year old journals. Unfolding it, Serine saw that it was just a time, date, and place written in a really nice felt tip pen with all the little curls to make it look like calligraphy. Serine just stared at it for a few minutes. Where the heck had it come from?
Grabbing her cell phone, she dialed Tammy. The phone rang, and rang, and rang. She wasn't home yet. Damn it. Hanging up, she read the note through.
Meet me in front of 2610 Central Ave. at 10PM tomorrow night. – Mircov
The date had one for the following night. Serine bit her lip and stared at the note for another couple of minutes. Had she picked it up in the diner, or the movie theatre? Probably the movie theatre, she thought. Her purse had been behind her at the diner. Flipping open her cell phone again, Serine dialed Tammy.
This time, Tammy picked up. "Hey Tammy, it's Serine."
"Oh god, are you still spooked about that guy tonight? Chill out Serine. I'm telling you, you are going to be fine."
"Actually that's not what I called about." Serine got up, taking the note with her. The comment about the man served as a reminder to lock the front door. She would have done it before she went to sleep, but she wasn't taking any chances right now. "I called because there was this note in my purse. It says to meet someone named Mircov at 2610 Central tomorrow night at ten. Do you know anything about this?"
"No Serine. If I was trying to set you up with someone, I would come out and tell you, you know that."
"Really, you don't know who this Mircov guy could be?" Serine locked the front door and went back to the couch. Instead of sitting, she began pacing.
"Nope. Sorry. Are you going to go?"
"What?" Oh, Tammy meant was she going to go out on the blind date. "I don't really know."
"Oh come on, you just got set up for a blind date." Serine was silent. She contemplated the fact, and was unsure of what she was really getting herself into. "I'll go with you if you want," Tammy said. "I'll even bring someone along so that it doesn't seem too awkward."
"Really, you would do that for me?" Serine sat down on the couch and threw the note back into her purse.
Tammy laughed into the phone. "Of course silly. We aren't best friends for nothing are we?"
"I guess not. Thanks. Night Tammy."
"Night Serine. Get some sleep, please."
"I will." Serine hung up the phone. A blind date. She hadn't even thought of the possibility until Tammy had mentioned it. This might just be fun. Serine thought through all the people that could have access enough to put something in her purse. Not many she noted. Tammy must have done it for them. That's why she knew it was a blind date.
Serine decided she was going to sleep out here in front of the TV with all the lights on in the house. It was just too eerie to sleep all alone in the back room without her cousin there, even if she had a cat. Serine liked the noise of the TV. Finishing the rest of her milk, she rinsed her glass out, set it in the sink, changed into her pajama pants and a tank top, set the alarm next to the couch for tonight, and cuddled up with a blanket, a pillow, and her small black Persian cat named Midnight. The cat would leave before the night was over, but that was fine with her. All she needed was a presence to help her get to sleep. The cat didn't have to stay there if he didn't want too. Changing the channel to something a little more boring, she settled on the late night news. Nothing ever went on in this town. At least, not since the murder had happened.
Tammy said that was a one-time thing. The girl, Heather, had been found out near the creek with her head chopped off and nailed to a tree nearby. Her body had been stripped, lain over a rock in the middle of the creek, and had multiple knife cuts all over her stomach and abdomen.
Just the thought of the horrible scene made Serine shiver. Nothing like that could ever happen in this town again, could it? Serine had known Heather, but not as a friend, definitely. Heather was a stuck up kid with an attitude. Just because her parents had money, she took it out on other people, starting with ones of her age.
Still, Serine didn't want anything like this to happen to anyone, no matter how much they deserved it. What could Heather possibly have done to piss someone off that much? With a sigh, Serine got up and fixed herself another glass of milk. She drank the whole thing in almost one gulp. Rinsing the glass out, she made her way back to the couch and curled up with the cat. Time for some sleep, hopefully non-interrupted sleep.
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Mircov had been out here for hours already. Maybe he would have more luck tomorrow night? As if in answer to this question, two girls walked out of the diner across the street from him. They looked to be no more than nineteen. A tall red head with a slim body that looked like she was bulimic, and a brunette that was slightly shorter and bigger around. Mircov smiled to himself. This was too perfect.
He crossed the street so that he was ahead of them. No need to scare the pretty young girls now. The brunette looked slightly paranoid. She was clutching the red head's arm tightly enough to stop circulation. Mircov smiled to himself. Maybe she knew who he was. That wouldn't go to well with the police. But then again, he had never been caught and he didn't intend to start anytime soon.
He walked past them, placing his little slip of paper in the purse of the brunette as he did so. She didn't appear to notice because she was studiously not looking at him. Maybe she was scared. The pair kept walking down the sidewalk. Mircov crossed the street again. The brunette looked back at him. Mircov had placed himself in a spot where she couldn't see him. He got into his car and pulled out of the dimly lit parking lot that was supposed to belong to the diner. He followed the two girls, but stayed just out of sight for fear of scaring them. The pair turned off of the beaten path and went into a cul-de-sac of the local neighborhood.
Mircov hit the button to open his window. They both went towards the same house. There were parting words. It seemed the brunette was afraid to spend the night alone. The red head declined her offer and got into the car parked in the driveway. This was too good to be true. Mircov wrote down the address he needed on a notepad in his car, rolled up the window, and drove off to follow the red head.
The red head stopped at an apartment complex not too far away. She lived on the third floor. Mircov wrote down her address and apartment number on the next sheet of the notepad in his car.
Tomorrow night, he would be able to take one of these girls to his home with or without their consent.
Hopefully they would be more cooperative than the other girl he had come across. Heather, her name had been. It was obvious by her attitude why no one had come for her. Maybe these two would prove to be better luck. First one and then the other, he thought to himself.
Mircov rolled up his window and pulled out of the apartment parking lot. Turning down the main road, he headed for his own house. Tomorrow, he thought again, tomorrow all his problems would be solved.
ó ƒ ó ‚ ó
The next morning, Serine woke up to the alarm; she found she was sore and achy from sleeping on the couch. She hadn't done that in so long that she had forgotten. Rolling over and off the couch, she decided a nice hot bath would help her muscles relax. Yawning she stretched on her way to her bedroom.
Pulling out a pair of jeans and her work t-shirt, she made her way to the bathroom. Tammy would tell her she couldn't possibly wear that to the date tonight and she would have to come back home to change. Serine didn't care. She just wanted to be comfortable before the date. It would definitely relax her. She turned off the lights in the house she had left on all night and made a note not to do that again. Some of them weren't even necessary. Going into the bathroom and starting the water, Serine took off her pajama pants and tank top only to toss them to the side of the bathroom into a pile of clothes that needed washing.
The water was nice and hot. It felt good on her back and side, which felt like someone had tied the muscles there into knots. As she started shampooing her hair, Serine questioned what kind of guy would bother to set up a blind date with her. Tammy had tried to set her up before, but Serine just didn't understand what Tammy saw in some of those guys. Serine had decided long ago that she would simply have to choose her own guy. Unfortunately Tammy hadn't like this idea and tried to set her up on some occasions since then.
Serine supposed she could give Tammy some credit. At least Tammy tried to like some of the guys she asked out. Serine just didn't care most of the time. She needed to find herself a guy she really liked, not just sort of liked. That was her problem. Her standards were set too high above the bar. The man Serine wanted to go out with would have to be a god to meet them.
With any luck, this guy had picked her out and wasn't just another one of Tammy's half-brained concoctions. Serine decided she would actually give this guy a chance, unless he proved himself to be a jerk all the way around like the last one. Then he would just have to get over her. Enough said.
Her spirits were lifted since last night. No more talk of death and serial killers. Today was going to be a good day. She had a date tonight. Serine combed her hair and put on her shoes. She wouldn't pack a lunch today. She was going to eat out. When she was all ready for work, she fixed herself a glass of orange juice and some toast. The cat ended up with the end of the toast before she dumped some cat food in the bowl next to the refrigerator and made sure there was water next to that.
"I'll be back at three," she told Midnight. Midnight didn't care, but Serine told him anyway. Serine grabbed her purse. The note was still where she had thrown it last night. She picked it up and read it through again. It was tonight she was supposed to meet this Mircov. She mentally mapped out the city. Central Avenue had nothing but high-class restaurants, a live theatre, and the movie theatre across from that. Everyone who was anyone ate at these restaurants. The one Mircov had told her to meet in front of was an Italian one with jerks for waiters. Serine hoped she wouldn't have to be the one to order the food. Serine had been on a date there before. The food had been excellent, but the guy she had been with was a jerk and made the whole experience go down the drain.
"Please don't let Mircov be someone like that," Serine said on her way out the door. She locked it and walked the four blocks to her job at the local TJ Max in the mall. You met a lot of interesting people in a store like this. Serine didn't want to know half of them, but still. The good mostly outweighed the bad. Her only other choice was working in the café next to TJ Max. Serine knew the lady who owned the place and was always sure to be on her good side for fear of retribution.
Ringing up her hundredth order for the day, Serine bagged it for the customer. The woman left and Serine turned her attention to the next person in line. "Tammy, hi."
Tammy put a paper bag in with her purchase. "That's your lunch, compliments of Michael who finally asked me out."
"What?" Michael, your next door neighbor Michael?"
"Yup. He came by work and dropped lunch off for both of us. He's the guy I'm bringing with me tonight."
Serine blanched. "You really think he's good enough for a sit down restaurant like that? Isn't he a painter or something?"
"Yeah, he's the guy who helped us move me in remember. He offered to paint my walls for me too."
"Are you sure that's who you want to bring?" Serine made a face.
Tammy laughed at her. "Yes I'm sure that's who I want to bring. If you don't like him, you find me a guy at the last minute."
Serine shook her head. "No thank you. I think I'll just take my chances with Michael. He won't do anything stupid tonight, will he?"
Tammy grinned. "I'll make sure that he's on his best behavior. Don't worry."
Serine heaved a sigh of what she assumed to be relief. She was overly tense because she didn't know this guy. She didn't know what she was getting herself into. She was grateful that Tammy was coming with her, but still. Dealing with both Tammy and Michael might be more than she could handle tonight.