Chapter 7
"Elizabeth," I called down the hallway. Do you have the police reports on the newest victims? They were supposed to be on my desk an hour ago but they're not here yet!" I lightly banged my head down on my desk and sighed. There was no rest today. We had six new victims whose names hadn't been released yet. It was an entire family this time, everyone ranging from the youngest at 10 to the eldest at 43.
"Here Krista, I had them. Mr. Campbell asked me to bring them to you earlier, but I've been doing so many things…" Elizabeth trailed off. The poor girl. She wasn't much younger than me, a couple months to a year maybe.
"It's all right. I'm just running on a tight deadline and I don't know what to do with this information. Nothing makes any sense." I picked up my pencil only to drop it again on the police reports Elizabeth had just brought.
She shifted from foot to foot, obviously uncomfortable. "Thanks Liz. Can you do me one favour?" When she nodded I continued. "When I get like this, just ignore me. I'm so stressed out it isn't even funny any more."
I saw a smile creep across her face and she chuckled. "Yes Krista. I'll keep that in mind. Do you need anything else?"
"No, I think I'm good. Thanks." She left and I pulled the files on top of the ones I already had. I picked up the first one, noting the cause of death. The coroner must be having a joke; the cause of death was "Frightened to Death."
I sighed and picked up the next, same thing. It was the same with the next four reports as well. How could someone be frightened to death? Was that even possible?
I grabbed my pencil and a scrap piece of paper and commenced writing the names of the victims down.
Father: Joseph McKinnon
Mother: Elizabeth McKinnon
Eldest child: James McKinnon
Second child: Marlene McKinnon
Youngest child: Emily McKinnon
My article began forming in my mind and I could see the title clearly:
Local Community Saddened By Loss of Family
Early on the morning of 3 November 1980, a young family joined the surmounting number of victims. These victims were, for lack of a better term, "Frightened to Death," said coroner John Lockwood.
There is no apparent connection between these deaths and those previous, but investigators are still looking. "The McKinnons were a close-knit family," said one neighbour who refused to be named. "They were quiet, and the children were always playing in the front yard."
The obituaries are printed on page 7 of the local section along with photos. Donations may be made in honour of the family to the charity of your choice.
I stared down at my typewriter, unable to write any more. The summary would have to be enough for Campbell to read at the moment. I'd have the rest for him before I left. I grabbed my newly typed summary and raced down the hallway to Mr. Campbell's office. He wasn't in; it was lunchtime after all, so I dropped it in the box outside his office.
My walk back to my desk was slower as my mind ran through possibilities for the rest of the article. Was there some connection no one was seeing? The deaths seem so random… but that many deaths couldn't be random, could they?
"Have you eaten yet?" Asked an amused voice from my desk chair. "I certainly hope not because I brought you food."
"Sirius! No I haven't eaten, but I have a lot of work to do. My article is due tomorrow and it's not done yet!" I tried to pull him from my chair but he wouldn't budge. "Can't you come visit me later? After I've finished for the day?"
His face fell. "I thought I'd surprise you. But…" He gathered the lunch he had brought and made his way from out behind the desk.
"Don't listen to her," called a voice from the next cubicle. "She's in a prissy mood and doesn't know what she's saying. Force her to eat!" The voice laughed and I glared at the partition.
"Elizabeth, don't but in," I called back but she was laughing.
Sirius grinned and sat back down at my desk. "I think I'll follow her suggestion. Come on, you can take thirty minutes to eat some lunch, can't you? Look, I even cooked it myself. You know how much you love my cooking." He pulled a container from the bag and handed it to me with a napkin and fork. "Now eat."
"You cook? Seriously cook? Not just order take-out?" Elizabeth poked her head in with a look of surprise on her face.
"Yes, I do cook. I cooked for Krista on our first date." He sat back in my chair with a pleasant smile.
"You can't call that a date! I went to your flat after the pub. That isn't quite a date Sirius." I shook my finger at him and then picked up my container of food, lifting a forkful into my mouth. He was a wonderful cook, I just wouldn't admit it to his face.
"Doesn't matter, I'm calling it one." He maturely stuck his tongue out at me then took a forkful of food into his mouth.
Elizabeth laughed as she vacated my cubicle for her own. Sirius and I sat eating our lunch in near silence. The only sound was the heating unit kicking in. I glanced out the window and saw that the rain had started up again. That was the one thing I despised about living in London, the rain. Since November had started three days ago, it hadn't stopped raining for more than an hour.
"So what article are you working on now?" Sirius asked as he began packing up the remnants of our lunch.
I sighed, my good mood gone down the drain with the rain. "There were five more deaths last night. I'm trying to find a connection between them and the dozen or so before. It's nearly impossible. Everyone is different sexes, races, ages… all the murders appear totally and completely random." I stood up and helped him put away the containers.
"I'm sorry," he said with a kiss on my cheek. "Is there anything I can do?"
Shaking my head I tried to smile up at him. "No. Well, you could be at my flat tonight to help me relax." I wiggled my eyebrows and he laughed.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to seduce me," he whispered in my ear on his way to the door. "I'll be there around seven." He kissed me softly then left, leaving me to return to my thoughts.
I stared at my typewriter again, willing the article to come out. After about another two hours, I had my finished article and I walked down the long hallway to deliver it to Mr. Campbell who would preview it before sending it to the editor.
My boss wasn't in his office, so I left it in his box outside the door. I returned to my desk and began packing up for the day. I needed to get out of the office. After staring at the typewriter all day, I began to feel cross-eyed. Hopefully Sirius would be able to take my mind off all this death and disaster.
I drove home slowly, trying to avoid the growing puddles in the roadways. It was foggy and my windows wouldn't clear for more than a few minutes. My tires ploughed through the puddles and small streams that had formed over the roadways.
When I reached my flat, I ran for the door. The rain was cold and just as I reached the door, it started to downpour. I shook out my hair as the door slammed behind me. I needed a hot shower to warm myself; the cold had seeped into my bones and had me chilled from the inside.
I had a little over two hours until Sirius was due to come by so I made the most of it. My shower lasted nearly thirty minutes and when I got out, I was as wrinkled as a prune. My purple fuzzy bathrobe was draped over the sink, so I wrapped my hair in a towel and pulled the bathrobe around me.
It was still down pouring as I made my way down the stairs to the kitchen. After glancing at the clock, I still had an hour to wait for Sirius. I quietly made a cup of tea and sat down on the sofa with the newest pages from my makeshift novel.
My arms stretched over my head what seemed like only twenty minutes later. My eyes flickered to the clock and I realized it was nearly eleven p.m.
"Where's Sirius?" I asked aloud, glancing around the room.
I shrugged and made my way up the stairs and crawled into bed. What happened? Why didn't he come by to visit me? I chalked it up to him being dragged off for his mysterious job. Was it odd I still didn't know exactly what he did for a living?
AN: Sorry this was such a short chapter. I knew what I wanted to write, but I couldn't get it to come out. The next one will be MUCH better, that I promise.
As of right now, this story will have about 26 chapters... but I keep adding more details, so it gets longer and longer.
So thank you for all the reviews for the last chapter! You are all awesome!
