Tears of Glass

by LumpyChunks

The Glass Eye Killer gouges the eyes out of his living victims and replaces them with coloured glass. Is he insane or is he merely trying to catch the attention of newlywed Madison Mars, who takes an interest in the case. Will she be the next victim?

Tears of Glass

Madison opened her eyes as the light of the sun fell on her face. The window was open and a gentle breeze fluttered the blinds, allowing the light to get in. Stretching her arms and back by arching her slim body upward, Madison looked over at her watch that lay on the bedside table, taking it in her hand with a gold wedding band on her ring finger. It was just after ten in the morning and Madison cursed herself for staying in bed so late. Tossing the watch back onto the table she got out of bed and went for the door. She wore a slim fitting grey shirt with matching underpants. Pulling on a pair of slim fit blue jeans she found on the floor, Madison left the bedroom and stepped out into the main living area of the apartment.

Several pillars ran parallel to each other down the centre of the apartment, breaking up the spacious kitchen area, a television area and a dining area. Tucked away in a corner was a large work desk with a freshly drawn sketch of an elaborate looking building displayed on it proudly. Madison smiled slightly as she saw the sketch and moved away from it, over to the kitchen where she poured herself a glass of tap water. As she stood there, quenching her thirst, the front door opened and Ethan stepped inside. He was staggering slightly as his hands were full with numerous brown shopping bags that were packed to the top.

'Hey,' Madison smiled at him, walking over to help him with the bags. She took half of Ethan's groceries, giving him a tender kiss as she did it before gently placing them on the kitchen cabinet.

'Thanks,' Ethan placed the remaining bags next to Madison's and began unpacking them. Madison stepped out of his way and closed the front door that Ethan had neglected to do.

'How come you were shopping so early?' Madison asked.

'I couldn't sleep last night,' Ethan explained, opening the fridge and loading it up with his purchases. 'I'm really psyched about this new client so I wanted to make sure everything was just perfect.' Madison moved around the other end of the counter and took an apple from one of the bags, biting into it as Ethan spoke. Some of the juice fell from the bite and onto her hand, so she licked it off. 'I was up at four so I decided to do some more drawings and then it was time to take Shaun to school and I didn't want to wake you when I got home so I thought I'd do the shopping I forgot to do yesterday.'

'If you're not careful you may turn into a househusband,' Madison teased, kissing him on the cheek. Ethan stopped packing away and stepped close to her, pulling her waist toward him and kissing her passionately. The two put their arms around one another and held each other for a moment, before Madison giggled and pulled her face away from Ethan's. She swallowed the chunk of apple she still had in her mouth and then got close again. 'Where were we?' she joked.

'Oh take another bite,' Ethan whispered. 'It's sexy.' Madison and Ethan laughed before they kissed each other once more, Madison bending at the knees as Ethan held her.

*

Meanwhile, a young teenager was hastily walking through a dark alleyway. The ground was wet and his trainers splashed in the shallow puddles. He wore a hooded top and tracksuit pants, both were dark. The boy kept turning and looking around for something; he was suspicious of something. He stepped past two people lying against the wall, both were intoxicated and tried reaching out for him before allowing their arms to fall limp and just sit there, staring emptily into space. The boy turned a corner and went through a smaller alleyway that had even less light. He walked through a few paces until he turned once more and stepped into a doorway. He knocked on the metal wire door twice and waited a moment before doing it once more. He stepped out into the alley as he waited and looked around. The door unlocked and the boy turned and stepped inside the building.

Some time had passed and the young boy was now lying on the floor, surrounded by police. The boy was in a dark room that looked as if a fire had torn through it not so long ago. The walls were horrifically burnt, the furniture was destroyed and the floor was severely damaged. The boy looked out of place as there did not appear to be a single burn on his body. His clothes were burn free, however they were covered in blood. On his left hand, his little finger had been cut off and was located nearby, on top of a burnt table. Beside the finger was a pair of bloodied scissors. There was also a large machete on the desk, a large handsaw and a meat cleaver. On the other side of the desk was a bottle of whisky and disinfectant. A thin iron rod was also on the desk. The boy had fallen to the floor and bled from his finger, lying there until he died. He was surrounded by porcelain lizards.

Detective Chief Inspector Fran Michaels was stood in the doorway watching the forensic team do their work. He glanced down at the corpse and sighed, shaking his head slowly.

'It's him,' he whispered to himself, staring at the boy's face. Fran looked up to the teenager's eyes, to see that there were none. His eyes had been gouged out and in their wake were pieces of glass that had been forced into the sockets, sticking into the skin. There was a small portrait photograph that had been stuck on both pieces of glass of a young woman with short black hair. She was smiling at Fran who turned away, unable to look at the spectacle any longer. The photograph was of Madison.

*

The whole of Greater London was slowly becoming to fear the "Glass Eye Killer". Over two months there had been three bodies, each turning up with glass stuffed into their empty eye sockets with a picture of American journalist Madison Mars stuck on the glass segment. While the police had kept the latter detail hidden from the press, the rest of the details of the investigations had been reported in great detail. The public were panicked and with good reason as so far there had been no connection to the victims, implying that the killer chose his targets randomly.

The chief of the Metropolitan Police stepped forward at a press conference; his face looked grim as he spoke to the journalists.

'We can confirm that eighteen year old Alexander Green has been the latest victim of the criminal known as the Glass Eye Killer,' he reported. 'At the moment there are no suspects, however there is new evidence at the scene of this crime than there was at the previous two so we remain hopeful that catching this killer will happen sooner rather than later.'

'We have reports that the body was found in a burnt down warehouse where the other two were found in hotel rooms,' a journalist spoke up. 'Why has the killer changed his MO?'

'That is currently under investigation,' the chief said, effectively ignoring the question.

'Is there any link to the arson of the building and the dead body?' another reporter asked.

Watching the conference on the television in his office, Fran Michaels ran his fingers over his bald head, attempting to massage his temples. He had a thick head of hair when he first started this job, he thought, putting his feet up on his desk that was cluttered with reports and paperwork. He glanced over the walls of his modest office and looked briefly at the pictures, awards and certificates that hung proudly. He closed his eyes and buried his face in his hands, hoping that everything would just go away.

A knock on his door told him that that was just wishful thinking.

'Come in,' he called out. The door opened and fresh-faced Drake Fletcher stepped inside. He was a young detective sergeant with stylish blonde hair and striking bright green eyes. Drake wore a slim fitting charcoal suit. He closed the door behind him and stepped up to Fran's desk.

'Have you seen the press conference?' he asked him. Fran nodded over to the television to indicate that he had. 'This is bad, isn't it? There's going to be a media frenzy over all of this! The public won't have the confidence that we can do our jobs and the press will be telling them just that, feeding the paranoia that's gripping London.'

'Well this is a difficult case,' Fran leant back in his chair, still massaging his temples. 'I mean we so far have three dead bodies; one of a psychologist, one of a taxi driver and the most recent one; of a student. They are in no way connected apart from the fact that they have chunks of glass in their eyes with a picture of some journalist in them. I mean, even the way they're killed doesn't seem to match up and we're supposed to make sense out of that when the only evidence seems to indicate that the victims did it to themselves?'

'How the hell are the press getting all this information?' Drake asked. 'I mean; most of the information we have about the case is supposed to be confidential.' Fran merley shrugged in response. 'I reckon we should do what we should have done when the first body turned up,' Drake leant forward on the desk. 'I think we should ask Madison Mars to help us.'

'Look,' Fran waved his hand as if to brush the suggestion away. 'The killer is here and she is over there. If we bring her here we could be putting her in danger. Plus she's not a cop; where does that put your confidentiality statement?'

'She has a right to know, though!' Drake insisted. 'Besides she brought down the Origami Killer all by herself or near enough. She could help us!'

'Kid,' Fran leant forward. 'I like you and you've got some good ideas and a bright future ahead of you but this isn't the case for you to use so you can make a name for yourself.'

'That's not what I want,' Drake spoke genuinely, standing up straight. 'I just want to see this killer behind bars.'

'You're admirable,' Fran chuckled. 'I'll give you that.' Drake smiled humbly. Fran sniffed loudly, shook his head for a moment and then put his hands together. 'Look there's a reason I called you in here and it's not a good one so I might as well be blunt with it. 'You're off the case.' Drake pulled up a spare seat and sat down.

'You're joking,' he gasped.

'It's not my decision,' Fran assured him. 'Jaeger just doesn't want your first major case to be this high profile. He doesn't want...' Drake interrupted Fran by standing up and promptly leaving the office. Fran sighed and put his hand to his head, muttering 'oh boy,' to himself.

Drake marched out of the office and stormed through the work floor. There were many desks with monitors, accompanied by numerous people working away feverishly. Drake had his own desk somewhere in the crowd but for now he ignored it and went out of the area into a corridor that led to other areas of the police station. Walking down the corridor, Drake made his way to the final door and knocked on it. The occupant told him to step inside and Drake pushed the door open and slammed it behind him. Inside, detective superintendant Richard Jaeger was stood in front of a mirror, tying a necktie. He was a large black man with dark hair and a dark suit. His office was spacious with a dark carpet and oak bookshelves against the walls.

'I can see we're going to have a problem,' Jaeger sighed, facing Drake. 'Do you know how to tie a necktie?' Drake gave him a look of bemusement as a response. He stepped forward and neatly knotted the tie of a man nearly twenty years older than he was. Jaeger looked back in the mirror and let out an impressed noise. 'Not bad.'

'Why I am off the Glass Eye Killer case?' Drake asked suddenly. Jaeger chuckled and walked over to his desk.

'You're very blunt, Fletcher,' his tone was complimentary. 'You could use that as the reason if you'd like?'

'I don't understand,' Drake stepped forward, closer to the desk.

'Look, it's nothing personal,' Jaeger insisted. 'It's just that you're too new, too fresh... too green for this type of high profile case.'

'Bullshit,' Drake said callously. 'You, yourself personally recommended to my superiors that I be made detective sergeant because of my, and I quote, "acute perceptive skills, charisma and intuition that rival some veteran police officers".'

'You're quite right,' Jaeger acknowledged. 'It's a political thing, trust me on this.'

'How is it?' Drake looked at him dismissively. 'Surely you need as many eyes as you can get on a case like this.'

'It's you're experience,' Jaeger told him. 'You're twenty-three, Drake. You don't have the experience that is required for a high profile case like this. You don't have the skills to handle an investigation as intense as this one, not yet anyway.'

'Bollocks,' Drake placed his hands on Jaeger's desk, leaning forward. 'You know I am good.'

'It's not a question of that,' Jaeger's tone was growing weary. 'Investigations like these are all about appearances. We can't put one foot wrong, especially with the press shadowing us everywhere. We're under the strictest scrutiny! It won't look good to the press to have a twenty-three year old, fresh faced officer who has recently been promoted to be involved in the lead investigation. They'll think we're not doing our jobs properly, they'll accuse us of being sloppy and they could come after you, believing you're inexperience is hindering the investigation. It could all happen and it won't look good; I'm only keeping an eye out for your benefit, Drake.'

'Really?' Drake folded his arms. 'All I'm hearing is that you want me off the case because I'm gay.' Jaeger frowned suddenly, surprised.

'That's irrelevant,' he said genuinely. 'You're sexuality has nothing to do with...'

'Well that's what you have to say,' Drake started pacing slowly. 'But the press are always looking for stories about these things. Discrimination in the police force where a bring officer is taken off a case because he is gay? My God they'd eat you alive.' Jaeger fell into his chair, shaking his head.

'Fine!' he gave up. 'You've twisted my arm. But let me be clear,' Jaeger leant forward, pointing at him. 'If the press come after you, well I am not responsible for the fallout, you understand?' Drake smiled and nodded, leaving Jaeger's office. Making his way back through the corridor, the main work floor and toward Fran's office, Drake knocked on the door and stepped inside as Fran allowed him to come in.

'It's all been sorted,' he reported. Fran looked genuinely surprised. 'I'm back on the case.'

'You should be a negotiator or something,' Fran joked. Drake leant toward the desk.

'We should bring in Madison Mars,' he suggested once more. Fran rubbed his face tiredly and shook his head.

'We can't,' he insisted. 'Do you know how bad it'll look if we...'

'I've heard that phrase a lot recently,' Drake interrupted him, leaning forward on the desk. 'Look, if we spent as much time hunting this killer as we do keeping up appearances, then we'd have found the bloody killer by now.' Fran sighed and stood up.

'Maybe I should have phrased that differently,' he spoke carefully. 'Journalists don't really have a place working closely or fitting in with the police.'

'Was Alexander Green's place lying covered in his own blood in that burnt out building with his finger sliced off and glass crammed into his eyes?' Fran sighed and closed his eyes. He waved Drake away.

'Just do whatever,' he told him, taking his jacket from behind his chair. 'I'm gonna step out for a while.' Fran moved past Drake and left him alone in the office. Drake looked to the door, confused but took it as a good sign and left to make a phone call.

As Drake did this, Fran left the offices and went through the corridor to the lifts, stepping inside and riding it down to the ground floor. Leaving the Metropolitan Police station and walking down the street, Fran took out a new pack of cigarettes and opened them. Putting one cigarette in his mouth, he lit it up and took in a deep breath. He kept walking and smoking the cigarettes, smoking one cigarette and when it was extinguished, smoking another one immediately after. Soon there were only two cigarettes left and Fran stepped into a small underground car park. Taking the second to last stick, he put it in his mouth.

'Need a light?' someone from the shadows asked. Stepping forward, a lighter in his hand, was a middle aged journalist. Oliver Peterson ignited the end of Fran's cigarette before taking the final one in his pack and smoking it himself. Fran looked nervously around the car park and took an envelope from his jacket pocket and handed it to Oliver.

'That's all the preliminaries we've gathered about Alexander Green,' Fran told him. 'I trust you'll be safe with all of that.' Oliver winked at Fran and turned around to walk away.

'You boys do fine work,' Oliver told him, walking without looking at him. 'With this information... I can get away with murder...' He chuckled and left Fran stood there alone in the darkness.

*

Madison was sat opposite her publisher, a large man with a square head and a razor-thin moustache. He was looking over the latest article she had written for him. Madison sat there, looking around the dull office as he skimmed through. He slammed the paper down on the desk and held his hands up.

'You're a genius!' he exclaimed, causing some people to glance over from their desks and look through the clear glass walls. Madison shuffled uncomfortably in her chair as she felt the people looking in at them.

'Thank you,' she said softly.

'Don't thank me!' he stood up. 'Thank your talent. Your second book; "Insane Insomnia" was terrific, it was almost as good as "Heavy Rain!" When will the third one come out? What will it be about? Living with the victim of the Origami killer?'

'There's more to the life of my husband and I than the Origami killer,' Madison told him plainly. 'To tell you the truth I was hoping after everything died down we'd be able to forget about it.'

'You're the most famous journalist in the world!' her publisher insisted. 'You're more famous than the God damn news anchors you see every day on the tube and you know why?' Madison sarcastically waved her hands in the air and leant back.

'Why?' she did not really care.

'Because you're got it!' He broke up his words with small pauses. 'You just shine!' Madison's phone began to ring and she stood up.

'I gotta take this,' she feigned an apologetic voice and stepped outside the office, answering her phone. Madison always felt like this when her publisher or anyone else began complimenting her, she always felt uncomfortable and nervous. She appreciated the attention but with each compliment she felt pressure, the pressure to live up to high expectations and to not disappoint. When she was helping Ethan find Shaun, she was doing it for Ethan, Shaun and herself. She was doing it for people she cared about. Now everything she worked on was for her career and for other people, she did not feel connected to the work that she did.

'Hello?' she answered her ringing phone. She did not recognise the number but felt grateful that the call got her out of that office. 'Before you speak I need to thank you for calling; you've got me out of an unfortunate situation.' She leant against the wall.

'Well it looks like you owe me one then,' said a British voice on the other end of the phone. 'Mrs Mars, I am detective sergeant Drake Fletcher of London's Metropolitan Police.'

'Oh,' Madison stood up straight, her tone sounded intrigued. 'Well what can I do for you detective Fletcher?'

'Well, Mrs Mars,' Drake glanced around the office to see if anyone was watching. Satisfied that they were not, he continued. 'I'm currently involved in an investigation that could use your particular expertise.'

'I'm not a cop,' Madison told him. 'I'm not sure how I could help you.'

'You're an incredibly good journalist,' Drake said flatteringly. Madison began to feel slightly uncomfortable once more. 'Although I am sure you're used to hearing people say that so I'll just stick with fact and not opinion. You were one of two people who pretty much discovered the identity of the Origami Killer and saved that little boy's life.'

'Ethan saved Shaun's life,' Madison ran her thumb over her wedding band as she spoke. 'I just... I just helped him. Norman Jayden was the one who managed to bring him down, officially. What I did was very unofficial.'

'Mrs Mars,' Drake leant forward in his seat. 'Unofficially or not, what you did saved a life and brought a killer to justice.'

'Jayden took Shelby down,' Madison corrected him. 'I made sure the police knew who the real killer was...' Madison ran her hand over her face and gave herself a shake. 'I don't mean to be rude, detective, but I don't think I can help you.'

'I believe you have a connection to these killings,' Drake blurted out, sensing Madison was about to disconnect the call. Looking confused and surprised, she looked low and spoke quietly.

'I beg your pardon?'

'We have someone going around killing people and putting glass in their eyes,' Drake explained. 'The shards of glass of each victim hold a picture and that picture is of you.' Madison looked shocked. She glanced around to see if anyone was watching her.

'Say that again?'

'We've got three dead bodies that have you in their eyes,' Drake told her. 'It's like he's sending you a message.' Madison started to breathe heavily and shook her head.

'Goodbye, detective.' She disconnected the call and walked off down the corridor. Drake looked defeated at his phone handset and put it down miserably. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed.

'Damn it,' he muttered.

*

Madison was sat in front of the television, curled up with a steaming cup of coco in her hand. He savoured the smell as it drifted up to her nose and embraced the warmth of the mug between her fingers. She looked over and saw Ethan leaving Shaun's room after tucking him into bed. He sat down next to her and she cuddled up to him as they watched the television for a while.

'I love this satellite package,' Ethan grinned as he played with the enormous remote control. 'We've got, like, a thousand channels with this baby.' Madison nodded, indicating she was hearing Ethan, however she was not listening to him. All day her mind drifted to the conversation she had had with Drake Fletcher. Although brief, the conversation had sparked an interest within her, a curiosity that she had not felt for quite some time. Even though she had disconnected the call, Madison felt like she had to know more.

'Do you have any British news channels?' Madison asked Ethan.

'I dunno,' he shrugged. 'Why?'

'Just something I heard at work today,' Madison told him. 'It got me thinking.'

'I know that look,' Ethan chuckled.

'What look?' Madison asked, looking slightly defensive.

'That look in your eye when you think you're on to something. It's cute.'

'Don't cute me!' Madison joked. 'Just put on the BBC or something.'

'Yes, master,' Ethan obliged, putting on a false Igor voice. He leant forward to get the remote. 'I live to serve, master.' Madison laughed and playfully kicked him as he looked at the news channels. He found the BBC and put it on. They had tuned in just at the time the highlights were being shown. The current story was of the cleanup costs of the 2012 Olympics.

'And now back to our main story,' the news reader's tone had gone from light-hearted to sombre. 'Police have confirmed that the body of a teenage boy found in a burnt out warehouse was a victim of the Glass Eye Killer. Eighteen year old Alexander Green was found dead with shards of glass in the place of his eyes. This marks the third killing of this nature within two months.' Ethan looked over to Madison as she listened to the reporter, noticing that look in her eye once more

'That's terrible,' he shook his head.

'It is,' Madison agreed. They watched the news programme for the rest of the evening before Ethan stood up to go to bed. Madison kissed him as he went off and then sat down to continue watching the news. As the hour got late, she turned off the television and turned on her laptop computer. The first thing she did was type into a search engine "The Glass Eye Killer". She researched numerous news articles, compiling as much information as possible. She looked at the victim information; their jobs, who their family were and what they were like. She then looked at information about the suspects; how many had been questioned, who had been arrested and who had been released. Madison took her phone and looked at it. She found the number of Drake, when he had called her earlier. She tapped her foot on the floor nervously as she thought of what to do. Lifting the phone to her ear, she heard it ring.

The police office was dark and there was no one working, no one except Drake Fletcher who was sat at his desk with a tiny light on. When his phone started to ring, he lifted it up immediately.

'Hello?' he said wearily, looking at the time. It was three in the morning.

'Detective Fletcher?' Madison asked. 'It's Madison Mars.' Drake's face suddenly appeared alert. 'Tell me more about this case.'

*

Rachel Kingcott was a private photographer. She took photographs mostly for weddings and other important events. She was in the house of one of her clients, an actor who wanted to make a name for himself. The client looked a little too old to suddenly venture into acting. He had thinning brown hair that had been combed over for the photo shoot. Rachel was setting up her camera, throwing her purse onto the coffee table. It opened slightly and her driver's licence was exposed. Her client looked at it as he handed her a glass of champagne. Rachel had long black hair that went down her shoulders. In the photo she had shorter hair.

'This photo doesn't do you justice, my dear,' her client told her. His name was Ross Baber, a car salesman on the verge of turning middle aged. Rachel was in her twenties and incredibly beautiful so she was used to having people flirt with her, but she felt uncomfortable the way Ross was doing it. He lifted his own champagne glass to make a toast.

'To my new career,' he said merrily. Rachel found him strange but took a sip out of the glass before continuing to set up the cameras.

'So what made you decide to give it all in to become an actor?' Rachel asked him in an attempt to stop him from flirting with her.

'Oh I dunno,' Ross moved around and looked down as Rachel was bending over her lens bag. 'I suppose I just need a change of scenery...' Rachel rolled her eyes and stood up.

'Well we're all set for the profile shots,' she announced.

'Perfect,' Ross looked over to his kitchen, glancing at some knives. 'Let's get started then.'

He sat down in front of the camera and watched Rachel as she started to take some pictures. After a couple were taken she began to feel unwell. Looking to the champagne, she swallowed the rest of the glass hoping it would make her feel better. Rachel suddenly felt light headed and unfocused. She stood up and stumbled, falling forward. Ross caught her.

'Oh you look unwell my dear,' he started to chuckle. 'Why don't we lie you down?' Rachel's vision became blurry and all she could hear were Ross' snide chuckles. She was terrified.

*

'Hey, I just landed,' Madison was on the phone to Ethan as she walked through Heathrow airport with a small suitcase in tow. She had left America to come and help with the investigation. Officially she was being questioned but Drake had made it clear on the phone that this was not the time for proper protocol. 'How are you and Shaun doing?'

'Oh you know,' Ethan shrugged, looking over at Shaun who was watching the television. He had grown up a bit since the Origami killings. 'We miss you.'

'That's sweet,' Madison chuckled. 'Well, listen, you two stay out of trouble and I'll ring you when I can. I'm ahead of you in time so if you call try not to do it too late.'

'I'll just wait for you to call,' Ethan suggested.

'Deal,' Madison nodded. She looked over and saw Drake Fletcher waiting for her outside the departure gate. 'I gotta go save the world now, talk later.'

'Make sure you bring back some milk when you're heading home,' Ethan joked as he hung up the phone. Madison stepped forward and smiled at Drake.

'Nice to meet you Mrs Mars,' he said, shaking her hand. 'Can I take your bag for you?'

'Sure,' she smiled, handing it over to him. 'Thank you, detective.'

'You can call me Drake.'

'You can call me Madison.' The two exchanged smiles as they stepped outside.

Inside Drake's car, Madison was looking out the window, watching the cars go by as they talked.

'I really do appreciate you coming all this way,' Drake told her. 'We sure could use all the help we can get.'

'Well the way I looked into the Origami Killer was a lot different from the way the police were doing it,' Madison pointed out. 'That could be a problem.'

'As long as we catch the guy I don't care,' Drake shook his head. 'We need a breakthrough on this.'

'Well I'll do everything I can,' Madison told him. 'I don't suppose I could see the crime scenes at all?'

'Well two of them have been cleaned up,' Drake sighed. 'They were hotel rooms. The most recent one is in a warehouse-apartment building hybrid that was burnt down a couple months back.'

'I take it the fire and the murder are not related?' Madison asked.

'We didn't think so at first,' Drake explained. 'But now I'm not so sure... it's on the way to the police station if you'd want me to show you?'

'Really?' Madison looked surprised. 'Sure!' Drake nodded and began to head for the crime scene. They were now driving through the city of London. Madison looked out the window at the various landmarks but thought that, in general, the city was rather bare. The buildings looked grey and dull and the people appeared miserable and plain.

'Tell me about the case, then,' Madison asked.

'There have been three murders so far,' Drake obliged. 'So far we have not been able to find any link between the victims. One was a recently certified psychiatrist, the other was a taxi driver and the most recent was a student. The first victim, Teresa Floyd, died by having her eyes gouged out while she was still alive.'

'Jesus...' Madison muttered.

'It gets a bit weird though,' Drake continued. 'The evidence suggests she did it to herself.'

'She gouged her own eyes out and stuffed the sockets with glass?' Madison did not believe him. 'Well... even if she did do that then that should be classed as suicide, not murder?'

'Well her body was moved,' Drake explained. 'There was not enough blood to suggest she had killed herself in that hotel room. The suicide theory was the popular one for a while, saying she killed herself and got herself moved by an accomplice but then the next victim, Harvey McCormick, turned up in a motel room.'

'He gouged his own eyes out?' Madison asked.

'No, actually,' Drake told her. 'He was found electrocuted in a hotel room after robbing a small shop.'

'Why did he rob a shop?'

'We never found the money but he was found dead due to electrocution. There was still glass in his eyes but they had been put in after he had died.'

'Okay,' Madison nodded as she took in all of the information. 'Maybe Teresa Floyd did commit suicide and had an accomplice who moved her body for her and it is that same accomplice who killed Harvey McCormick?'

'Why would someone go from assisted suicide to actual murder?' Drake asked.

'Maybe it was the shop owner?' Madison speculated. 'After revenge or something?'

'The shop owner was shot and was in hospital,' Drake told her. 'No way could he have done it. He also had an alibi for the time of Teresa Floyd's death.'

'Okay...' Madison continued to think.

'Then there's Alexander Green who was found in a burnt out building,' Drake continued. He was slowing down as they were pulling into the crime scene. The two got out of the car and Madison looked around.

The entire area was burnt; the fire had taken its toll. What was once a ten storey building was now a two storey pile of ashes. One part of the building had survived the flames, this was where Madison and Drake went to. Stepping inside, Madison got a strong sense of déjà vu. She looked around as she and Drake ascended a flight of rickety stairs.

'The fire brigade managed to save this part of the building,' Drake informed Madison. 'It's a shame it was used for this.' There was a doorway with police tape across it. Stepping under it, Drake and Madison looked around. There was a table and a pool of blood on the ground. 'Most of the evidence has been taken away to be processed by our forensic guys.' Madison looked around, thinking. She had definitely been somewhere like this before but she could not remember. Drake's phone suddenly started ringing and he answered it as Madison looked around. After he hung up, he took her arm. 'Come with me,' he told her. 'There's been another murder.'

*

Madison sat eagerly as Drake drove speedily to the new crime scene. The two were quiet at he drove out toward a building site. Meanwhile, on the other side of town, a car had crashed into a ditch and had been on fire. Once the fire had been extinguished, someone looked inside and saw a burnt lying in the back.

Drake's car skidded to a halt outside the building site and he and Madison jumped out and jogged to where the police were standing. They had converged around a large metal pipe, looking grimly inside it.

'Is it the Glass Eye Killer?' Drake asked the police as he and Madison joined them. 'Has he struck again?' The body was being pulled from the pipe. Inside the pipe, broken glass lined the ground.

'I think it is him,' Madison sighed.

Meanwhile, the body inside the burnt out car had been pulled out. The fire fighter looked at it's face and told someone to call the police. Inside the eye sockets, shards of glass had been stuck inside.

At the building site, the body was pulled into the daylight. Madison gasped as she saw it and turned away. The body lay there, glass in the eye sockets with a picture of Madison stuck to it.

'It's definitely him,' Madison muttered to Drake grimly, looking back at the face. She grimaced as she looked at the body that would soon be identified as Ross Baber, a car salesman. The charred body in the burnt car would later be identified through dental records as Rachel Kingcott.

'What is this guy up to?' Drake thought aloud as he looked at Ross Baber's body.

Well thank you for reading my first chapter of my Heavy Rain story. I was yet to see many Madison stories so I thought I'd try and do something different. Please review and let me know if you like it or if you don't and I'll see how I can improve. Look out for updates, coming soon!

Andy