KILLING ME SOFTLY
CHAPTER 1
New Yorker building 10:00 pm Friday
As Ethany's fingers flew across the keyboard, she wasn't aware that someone had entered her office until their apology broke the silence.
"I'm sorry Miss Pearce, just doing my rounds when I saw your light was still on." Informed the elderly grandfather type security guard watching as Ethany just came out of her chair from fright.
"That's ok Bob, anything exciting happening?" She questioned brushing her waist length Chestnut hair off her shoulder before turning her Jade green eyes towards the guard.
"Same old, same old! Are you going to be here all night? Should I bring you some more coffee?"
"Couple more sentences and this article will be ready for the magazine! Thanks for the offer, but, the sooner I get this done the quicker I can get to bed." she yawned squirming in her chair.
"Let me know when you're ready to leave and I'll escort you to your car." He patted her lovingly on the back.
Ethany returned to the computer to finish typing the rest of the article. Watching it fly out the printer she gathers her stuff up so she could sprint out the door on completion. Throwing the article on the editor's desk she hurried towards the elevator and a weekend of all play and no work. Remembering that Bob had suggested he escort her out she stops at the security desk. Yelling out Bob's name with no response she decides to go it alone.
What could possibly go wrong she thought, she was parked close to the elevator? As she rode the elevator down to the parking garage she soon felt how isolated she was. Knowing she was letting her imagination get the best of her she tried to silence her fears by planning out her weekend. Stepping into the quite semi dark garage she noticed the whispering voices. As least she wasn't as alone as she previous thought. Walking towards her car she realized the voices were arguing. Letting the reporter side of her get the best of her, she made a beeline towards the voices. Sneaking behind a pillar she held her breath before taking a peek. She could tell it was two mean even with their faces concealed in the dark. The man facing her was tall and lean and from his voice maybe in his early thirties. The second man was short and sounded much older than the first. She listened for a few minutes before deciding that it was nothing. Creeping back to her car she heard a soft click followed by "You're a couple hundred short, what happened to our deal?"
Ethany managed to slide back behind the pillar in time to see the heavy set man pull out a gun. As the explosion echoed in her ear she disregarded her own safety to sprint towards her car. As her heels clicked frantically over the cold uncaring cement floor she focused only on the elevator and not the sound of approaching feet. Slamming into the wall she hastily pushed the call button for the elevator praying that it would make haste and rescue her from this nightmare. The few seconds that passed seemed like hours as she waited for the sound of the elevator to reach her. Throwing herself into it she let out the breath she had been holding. As the doors slowly started to close an arm shot through the escaping space preventing them to shut, but, revealing her attacker. Ethany watched herself move in slow motion for the Mace that she carried in her purse. She aimed the spray at the man and hoped it would work.
Letting out a deep growl of a laugh he warned her, "This aint over Bitch" before disappearing into the shadows.
With her heart pounding she rode the elevator back to the security guard station where she hoped Bob would be waiting for her.
"Miss Pearce, how are you? You were all ready gone when I came back to check on you! I was on my way down to the garage to see if I could catch you!"
"I...I...I someone is following me! I just saw a murder happen downstairs! We need to call the police." She stammered.
By the time she had calmed down and caught her breath the sound of approaching sirens sang in her ears. The two detectives went downstairs to check out the crime scene after taking a brief statement. After a few minutes they returned with puzzled looks on their faces as they questioned her again.
The detective standing in front of her was short with close cut brown hair and unbelieving brown eyes. Unlike his partner he acted as if he had better things to do then waste his time questioning her about a non existing crime.
"Miss Pearce, are you sure you saw the man shoot his companion? We found no trace of a bullet shell, blood or even a body. How long did it take you to get up here after seeing the shooting?"
"Like I told you before, it only took me a minute to reach Bob. It was too dark to see exactly what happened. I wasn't about to stick around and check for a pulse. One of the men started to chase me. Are you sure you were looking in the right place?"
As the brown eyes cop huffed in disbelief his silent partner stepped in. From a quick glance she guestimated he was probably six foot tall. He had short dark hair and amazing deep set blue eyes.
"You'll have to excuse Dean, he doesn't get out much." He joked eyeing his partner, "We checked section three of the garage from the elevator to the far side. We found nothing but a light blue BMW, which we assume is yours?"
Growing annoyed Ethany wipes the tears from her eyes before asking, "So you think I made this all up? You think I'm some crazy person who would put myself through this torture just for the hell of it?"
Before Dean had a chance to answer the blue eyed detective nudged him to silence him. "No miss, but without any evidence there's not much we can do but file a report!"
"Forget it, I can tell you think this is just a waste of time. You're free to go, thanks for your time! Bob, would you please walk me back to my car?" Ethany gathered her stuff up into her arms.
Before she could leave the blue eyed detective made sure she had one of his cards in case anything might came up. Disappointedly he watched as his partner faked not having one of his own to give her.
Waiting nervously for Bob, Ethany sat flipping the card the detective had given her. It hadn't occurred to her, until that moment, to look and see what his name was. On the back was his home number with a note saying to use it at any time. Flipping it over she discovered his name was detective Elliot Stabler.
ETHANY PEARCE RESIDENCE 11:00 PM FRIDAY
She raced home as if a contestant in the Indy 500. When Ethany finally screeched to a halt in the driveway of her house, she couldn't get the feeling of dread from her body. Taking a deep breath she shot out of the car and into the house as if the devil himself was chasing her. Turning on every light she quickly changed out of her work clothes into a comfy pair of boxer shorts and her favorite T-shirt. Turning on the TV more for the noise she walked into the kitchen to fix herself a cup of tea before going to bed. Waiting for the kettle to heat up she leaned against the counter flipping through a fashion magazine that had arrived in the mail that day. It wasn't until she finished the magazine that she tuned into the TV program. Something about the male voice sent cold chills slithering up her spine. Where on earth had she heard that voice before? Turning towards the screen, the color left her face upon seeing the smiling, uncaring face of the man shot in the garage. Although she had only gotten a glimpse of the man's face she would never forget that voice. As her heart caught in her throat she raced into the bedroom to retrieve the business card of the detective. Sitting on her bed she dialed the number with shaking hands. A young female answered the phone, as her voice quivered Ethany asked for Detective Stabler, only to find out that he hadn't returned to the station yet. Leaving a message for him, Ethany hung up the phone unaware of the kettle screaming to be taken off the stove.
48 Precinct Midnight SATURDAY
Returning to the station Elliot packed up to go home when the young officer that had worked the duty desk approached him with his messages. As Dean looked on with a smirk Elliot glanced through the endless pile without much interest until he reached Ethany's.
"What's up that look on your face can't be good." questioned Dean as Elliot return to his desk to make a phone call.
"The lady that called us about the shooting in the garage today left me a message saying she had some more information for me." Elliot informed his partner as he picked up the phone.
Walking over to the desk Dean disconnects the call before he starts his lecture, "Here we go again! Forget about her! She's just another nutcase that needs attention from someone, why are you such a sucker when it comes to people like that?"
"Why must you always be an asshole? I'm a big boy! I'll decide for myself if she's real or not! Don't you have a beer you need to get home too?" inquired Elliot mockingly as he swiped Dean's hand off the phone.
Dialing the number once again he waited as he glanced at his watch. Seeing that it was later than he thought he was about to hang up in fear of waking Ethany, when she answered.
"I was fixing myself a pot of tea when I heard the man's voice on the TV. He was on tonight talking about some building project he was working on. Ethany told Elliot.
"Can you give me a description of the man?" Elliot asked while grabbing for a pen and paper to scribble some notes down on.
"He's in his early thirties, tall and lean with read hair and brown eyes that are framed by black wire frames glasses. In the interview he had five o clock shadow and a small diamond stud in his left ear. He was some kind of building inspector or contractor. I wasn't paying much attention until the end of the interview. I'm sorry this is probably no help at all!"
"No, any information you give us can help shed more light on the crime. Now was the man you saw the victim or the gun man? Questioned Elliot.
"I'm pretty sure he was the victim. It was too dark to really make out their profiles. But I'll never forget that voice!"
"Can you tell me what new cast and what time you saw this interview?"
"Channel 8 news at 11! I think the reporters name was Smith something!
"My partner and I will take a look into the tip. If you come across any more information please don't hesitate to call me either at work or home. Thanks again Miss Pearce, if we need any more information we'll get back in touch with you."
CHAPTER 1
New Yorker building 10:00 pm Friday
As Ethany's fingers flew across the keyboard, she wasn't aware that someone had entered her office until their apology broke the silence.
"I'm sorry Miss Pearce, just doing my rounds when I saw your light was still on." Informed the elderly grandfather type security guard watching as Ethany just came out of her chair from fright.
"That's ok Bob, anything exciting happening?" She questioned brushing her waist length Chestnut hair off her shoulder before turning her Jade green eyes towards the guard.
"Same old, same old! Are you going to be here all night? Should I bring you some more coffee?"
"Couple more sentences and this article will be ready for the magazine! Thanks for the offer, but, the sooner I get this done the quicker I can get to bed." she yawned squirming in her chair.
"Let me know when you're ready to leave and I'll escort you to your car." He patted her lovingly on the back.
Ethany returned to the computer to finish typing the rest of the article. Watching it fly out the printer she gathers her stuff up so she could sprint out the door on completion. Throwing the article on the editor's desk she hurried towards the elevator and a weekend of all play and no work. Remembering that Bob had suggested he escort her out she stops at the security desk. Yelling out Bob's name with no response she decides to go it alone.
What could possibly go wrong she thought, she was parked close to the elevator? As she rode the elevator down to the parking garage she soon felt how isolated she was. Knowing she was letting her imagination get the best of her she tried to silence her fears by planning out her weekend. Stepping into the quite semi dark garage she noticed the whispering voices. As least she wasn't as alone as she previous thought. Walking towards her car she realized the voices were arguing. Letting the reporter side of her get the best of her, she made a beeline towards the voices. Sneaking behind a pillar she held her breath before taking a peek. She could tell it was two mean even with their faces concealed in the dark. The man facing her was tall and lean and from his voice maybe in his early thirties. The second man was short and sounded much older than the first. She listened for a few minutes before deciding that it was nothing. Creeping back to her car she heard a soft click followed by "You're a couple hundred short, what happened to our deal?"
Ethany managed to slide back behind the pillar in time to see the heavy set man pull out a gun. As the explosion echoed in her ear she disregarded her own safety to sprint towards her car. As her heels clicked frantically over the cold uncaring cement floor she focused only on the elevator and not the sound of approaching feet. Slamming into the wall she hastily pushed the call button for the elevator praying that it would make haste and rescue her from this nightmare. The few seconds that passed seemed like hours as she waited for the sound of the elevator to reach her. Throwing herself into it she let out the breath she had been holding. As the doors slowly started to close an arm shot through the escaping space preventing them to shut, but, revealing her attacker. Ethany watched herself move in slow motion for the Mace that she carried in her purse. She aimed the spray at the man and hoped it would work.
Letting out a deep growl of a laugh he warned her, "This aint over Bitch" before disappearing into the shadows.
With her heart pounding she rode the elevator back to the security guard station where she hoped Bob would be waiting for her.
"Miss Pearce, how are you? You were all ready gone when I came back to check on you! I was on my way down to the garage to see if I could catch you!"
"I...I...I someone is following me! I just saw a murder happen downstairs! We need to call the police." She stammered.
By the time she had calmed down and caught her breath the sound of approaching sirens sang in her ears. The two detectives went downstairs to check out the crime scene after taking a brief statement. After a few minutes they returned with puzzled looks on their faces as they questioned her again.
The detective standing in front of her was short with close cut brown hair and unbelieving brown eyes. Unlike his partner he acted as if he had better things to do then waste his time questioning her about a non existing crime.
"Miss Pearce, are you sure you saw the man shoot his companion? We found no trace of a bullet shell, blood or even a body. How long did it take you to get up here after seeing the shooting?"
"Like I told you before, it only took me a minute to reach Bob. It was too dark to see exactly what happened. I wasn't about to stick around and check for a pulse. One of the men started to chase me. Are you sure you were looking in the right place?"
As the brown eyes cop huffed in disbelief his silent partner stepped in. From a quick glance she guestimated he was probably six foot tall. He had short dark hair and amazing deep set blue eyes.
"You'll have to excuse Dean, he doesn't get out much." He joked eyeing his partner, "We checked section three of the garage from the elevator to the far side. We found nothing but a light blue BMW, which we assume is yours?"
Growing annoyed Ethany wipes the tears from her eyes before asking, "So you think I made this all up? You think I'm some crazy person who would put myself through this torture just for the hell of it?"
Before Dean had a chance to answer the blue eyed detective nudged him to silence him. "No miss, but without any evidence there's not much we can do but file a report!"
"Forget it, I can tell you think this is just a waste of time. You're free to go, thanks for your time! Bob, would you please walk me back to my car?" Ethany gathered her stuff up into her arms.
Before she could leave the blue eyed detective made sure she had one of his cards in case anything might came up. Disappointedly he watched as his partner faked not having one of his own to give her.
Waiting nervously for Bob, Ethany sat flipping the card the detective had given her. It hadn't occurred to her, until that moment, to look and see what his name was. On the back was his home number with a note saying to use it at any time. Flipping it over she discovered his name was detective Elliot Stabler.
ETHANY PEARCE RESIDENCE 11:00 PM FRIDAY
She raced home as if a contestant in the Indy 500. When Ethany finally screeched to a halt in the driveway of her house, she couldn't get the feeling of dread from her body. Taking a deep breath she shot out of the car and into the house as if the devil himself was chasing her. Turning on every light she quickly changed out of her work clothes into a comfy pair of boxer shorts and her favorite T-shirt. Turning on the TV more for the noise she walked into the kitchen to fix herself a cup of tea before going to bed. Waiting for the kettle to heat up she leaned against the counter flipping through a fashion magazine that had arrived in the mail that day. It wasn't until she finished the magazine that she tuned into the TV program. Something about the male voice sent cold chills slithering up her spine. Where on earth had she heard that voice before? Turning towards the screen, the color left her face upon seeing the smiling, uncaring face of the man shot in the garage. Although she had only gotten a glimpse of the man's face she would never forget that voice. As her heart caught in her throat she raced into the bedroom to retrieve the business card of the detective. Sitting on her bed she dialed the number with shaking hands. A young female answered the phone, as her voice quivered Ethany asked for Detective Stabler, only to find out that he hadn't returned to the station yet. Leaving a message for him, Ethany hung up the phone unaware of the kettle screaming to be taken off the stove.
48 Precinct Midnight SATURDAY
Returning to the station Elliot packed up to go home when the young officer that had worked the duty desk approached him with his messages. As Dean looked on with a smirk Elliot glanced through the endless pile without much interest until he reached Ethany's.
"What's up that look on your face can't be good." questioned Dean as Elliot return to his desk to make a phone call.
"The lady that called us about the shooting in the garage today left me a message saying she had some more information for me." Elliot informed his partner as he picked up the phone.
Walking over to the desk Dean disconnects the call before he starts his lecture, "Here we go again! Forget about her! She's just another nutcase that needs attention from someone, why are you such a sucker when it comes to people like that?"
"Why must you always be an asshole? I'm a big boy! I'll decide for myself if she's real or not! Don't you have a beer you need to get home too?" inquired Elliot mockingly as he swiped Dean's hand off the phone.
Dialing the number once again he waited as he glanced at his watch. Seeing that it was later than he thought he was about to hang up in fear of waking Ethany, when she answered.
"I was fixing myself a pot of tea when I heard the man's voice on the TV. He was on tonight talking about some building project he was working on. Ethany told Elliot.
"Can you give me a description of the man?" Elliot asked while grabbing for a pen and paper to scribble some notes down on.
"He's in his early thirties, tall and lean with read hair and brown eyes that are framed by black wire frames glasses. In the interview he had five o clock shadow and a small diamond stud in his left ear. He was some kind of building inspector or contractor. I wasn't paying much attention until the end of the interview. I'm sorry this is probably no help at all!"
"No, any information you give us can help shed more light on the crime. Now was the man you saw the victim or the gun man? Questioned Elliot.
"I'm pretty sure he was the victim. It was too dark to really make out their profiles. But I'll never forget that voice!"
"Can you tell me what new cast and what time you saw this interview?"
"Channel 8 news at 11! I think the reporters name was Smith something!
"My partner and I will take a look into the tip. If you come across any more information please don't hesitate to call me either at work or home. Thanks again Miss Pearce, if we need any more information we'll get back in touch with you."