Danny's pov
Jackie and I had been assigned a multiple homicide case, and we were driving to the area when I put my "get-involved-first-ask-questions-later" philosophy into practice, as I had no idea what we were dealing with.
"Hey, Jack? What all do we know about these homicides?" she checked her file and then met my gaze
"Same killer, same MO. Multiple stabbings to each vic, eight so far. We have reason to believe there are two left on this guy's hit list though. He piled up the first eight in a heap in the middle of Central Park with a note cut out of magazines that read 'only 2 more left!' We couldn't get DNA off of it, he must have been wearing gloves."
I shook my head "Dude's got issues." my partner nodded "Definitely. Kyle Manning is still at large, has a weapon and is a dangerous serial killer on the loose."
Not that anything in that sentence should sit well with me, but something bothered me in particular, sending a shiver up my spine, breath hitched at my throat "Did you say Kyle Manning? Where did he go to college? Who were the other victims?" she shot me a weird look, probably concerning my question about the location of his higher education, but answered my inquiries nonetheless
"Yes, I said Kyle Manning. His victims are Aaron Black, Byron Steele, Zachary Jones, Logan Dillard, Ben Fontes,Ashton Collins,Blake Price, Zander Evans, Luke Allen and Billy Diamond. They all went to Harvard together. Manning was a perfect kid before these recent felonies; an amazing student his entire life. He must've snapped out of nowhere."
But I had zoned out after hearing those names and Harvard, Jamie's Alma Matter. All those victims had been close friends of Jamie's; especially Logan Dillard, another kid named Mason Smythe, and Kyle himself. I felt the urge to puke. The four had been roommates their entire college careers. No doubt the only remaining vics were Mason and my little brother. I voiced my theory and concerns to Jackie, who now was just in shock, mouth agape as she asked in utter repulse "But WHY?!"
Getting more worked up by the second, I went on
"Like you said, Kyle was obsessed with grades, and an excellent student. He was always top of the class. Until he wasn't. Jamie, Mason Smythe, and their friends who are now the victims started to one-up Manning; and it slowly drove him mad, eating him up from the inside. By the time graduation day came along, Harvard announced its ten top students, grade wise. Kyle was the 11th, due to Aron,Byron,Zachary,Logan,Ben,Ashton,Blake,Zander,Luke,Billy,Mason and Jamie getting better grades than he did. They were all good grades, but Manning's grades were not as good as the others. Mason was salutatorian, Jamie valedictorian. I remember the red in Manning's face, the smoke coming out of his ears, the look in his eyes... but I figured he was just angry. Seems like he preferred to serve his revenge cold."
By then we had canvased the area and I had ID'd the vics, as well as their families; who were all in New York City as a get together most of them made a point of attending every year so they could catch up. This year, they had chosen Jamie's hometown; as each year they chose the hometown of one of the guys. He had not been invited, as he had cut communication with the rest of his classmates many years ago; but obviously Kyle had caught wind of their location and started to execute his revenge. I sighed, looking at Jackie
"We need to tell the commissioner, and put as many details on Mason and my brother as possible. Put them under house arrest for all I care! I will NOT lose another brother."
After gathering some more information, we headed to the 1PP, and I had to admit, I was fearing what I'd have to tell my dad.
