The sun rose as a new day began. Neil was on his way to the newsroom to meet up with Edward. He told Neil to meet up at the newsroom as soon as they woke up. Neil reached the door to the newsroom. When he tried to open it, it was locked. "That's strange." he thought. "Edward's always here in the mornings." He knocked on the door. No one answered. He saw a janitor walking by and asked him if he could open the door. The janitor nodded and got his set of keys from his belt. After a few moments of fumbling, he found the right key and unlocked the door. Neil thanked him and the janitor when on his way. Neil went inside and saw the newsroom was a mess! He heard a sound coming from the copy room. He went there a saw a gruesome sight. It was Edward, lying there bloodied, throat slashed, broken ankle and a few teeth knocked out! Neil screamed and called campus security.
Meanwhile Vanessa was starting her usual morning routine. She got up, showered, got dressed, and brushed her hair. After she was done, she went to the main hall and sat on the couch. She was a little bored so she decided to watch some TV. She flipped through various channels like, Nick, Disney, Cartoon Network, TNT, Comedy Central and FX. Vanessa was watching more endless television when several security guards ran past her, yelling at students to get out of the way. She was wondering what was going on, but she decided to worry about it later. About half an hour later, she heard police sirens outside. Now she was concerned. She turned off the TV and went outside.
When she got outside, she saw more police cars surrounding a certain part of the university. Vanessa ran over to that area and saw something she didn't notice. She saw an ambulance and several paramedics carrying a body bag into the ambulance. Once it was inside, the ambulance took off, wailing the siren. While most of the students were watching the ambulance leave, Capt. John Barkley and his partner, Officer Stephens, along with the head dean, were walking out of the building.
"I just can't believe this." Capt. Barkley said. "Another murder?"
"Yes sir." The Dean replied. "Edward Harrison. Head editor of the yearbook and the college newspaper."
"Who would do something like this?" Stephens wondered. Just then, one of the officers came out of the building.
"Sir, I found this under some papers. It could be a clue!" he said. The officer held up a clear plastic bag. Inside was Edward's camera.
"Okay, get that down to the station and develop the film inside!" Capt. Barkley ordered.
"Yes sir!" The officer turned and ran towards his police car. Capt. Barkley and Stephens were still back at the spot trying to clear the area of students and faculty. Meanwhile Vanessa was walking and weaving her way in and out of people when she saw Amber. She ran in her direction.
"Amber! What's going on?" Vanessa wondered.
"You don't know?" Amber asked. "Edward was killed last night."
"Really? What happened to him?"
"He was murdered. I heard he was beaten and his throat was cut."
"Oh this is bad; First Daniel, now Edward? Who's next?"
The two friends started to walk away. "I don't know and I don't want to know. All I know is Gallagher doesn't seem like a good place to be right now with this killer on the loose."
"I agree with you."
"And you know the worst part is? I overheard one of the policemen say they don't have any leads or suspects. They also implied that the murderer could be anyone. You want my advice? Don't trust anyone until this blows over, okay?"
"I know and understand. Changing the subject, what're you going to do today?"
"I don't know. Maybe rent some movies or just go back into the pool."
"You're always in that swimming pool, you know that?" Vanessa started to smile.
"Yeah I know." Amber chuckled. "But the swim regional is coming up soon and Coach Quincy wants me to practice every spare time I get. I want to win as much as she does, but sometimes she just takes it too far!"
"Yeah, but you really are the best swimmer. Other schools wouldn't stand a chance!"
"True. But what about you; What're you going to do today?"
"I'm going to spend time with Travis, maybe see a movie together or something."
"Well don't let me stop you. I hope the both of you have a good time doing whatever it is you guys are doing today."
"Okay I'll see you later." They gave each other a high five and walked in different directions. Vanessa wondered where Travis was so she decided to check the football field. Sure enough, she found him and a couple of football players sitting on the bleachers. She walked down the steps and called Travis' name. Travis turned and saw his girlfriend walking towards him. He wanted some privacy so he begged his friends to go to the other side of the bleachers. His teammates absorbed his begging and obliged. They left so Travis and Vanessa could be alone.
"What's up, babe?" Vanessa asked.
"My teammates and I just finished some more practicing on the gridiron for a game coming up soon."
"Is your coach pressuring you guys?"
"A little bit. We all share his desire to win, but he takes it too far! It's like boot camp or something!"
"I can relate. Amber said her swim coach is pressing her too. So anyway, are you busy today?"
"No I don't have anything to do. Why?"
"Would you like to see a movie? If not a movie, how about we just spend the rest of the day together?" As she said that, she began to smile.
"Sure. I'd love that." Travis smiled and Vanessa smiled back. She leaned towards him and kissed him. They held each other close as they kissed some more. Vanessa pulled away a few moments later.
"Okay, call me a little later. I'm going to prepare. Also be sure you take a shower before you show up to pick me up. You smell." Vanessa gave a flirty smile and left. Travis smiled as she left. When Vanessa was gone, he smelled himself. He really DID stink!
Capt. Barkley and Stephens were still at the university, but this time they're in the courtyard. John didn't want his son to be here while the killer is prowling around Gallagher. He got out his cell and dialed Tom's number. The phone ranged several times and a little later Tom answered.
"Hello?" Tom said.
"Tom, it's your father. I'm at the university and I don't think it's safe to be here with the murders and all."
"Dad, I'll be fine. I'll just don't go out at night, okay?"
John got a little frustrated with his son. "Thomas! Two students are dead and you're acting like everything is fine! Don't you get this is serious?"
Tom sighed. "You're right, Dad. I'm sorry. Look if it'll make you feel better, I'll move in with Mom at the house, all right?"
John took note that Tom sounded sincere. "Okay, it's just that, you're my only son and I love you."
"I love you too Dad. I'll get some things and say goodbye to Katie before I go."
"All right. Just promise me you'll be careful. The situation is critical and downright spooky! I'll talk to you later." John hung up his phone and looked at Stephens.
"Everything okay, sir?" Stephens asked.
John sighed. "I don't know. I just hope we can catch whomever this bozo is."
"We'll catch him sir."
"I hope so." He and Stephens got up from the table and began to go back to the station. Back at his dorm, Tom was holding his cell phone in his hand and was thinking about what his father had said. He looked at his mirror and smiled.
"I know how dangerous this situation is, Daddy-O. More than you could even imagine." Tom began to chuckle deeply. He left his room and began to go to the main area of the building. He saw Katie lying on the couch. Tom walked up to her.
"How you doing, Katie?" Tom wondered.
Katie turned around. "Oh hey, Tom. I'm just watching some TV. You want to join me?"
"Sure." Tom sat down next to Katie and began to watch TV. After a few minutes, Katie began to make some conversation.
"So what's going on with you?"
"Well my Dad just called me a few minutes ago. He was growing concerned about me going here and he wants me to live with my mom until this whole killing spree thing dies down."
"Do you want to leave?"
"Not really, I want to stay and be near all my friends."
"Even me?" she asked playfully.
"Especially you." Katie snuggled close to Tom. He had his arm around her. "But I might just spend at least a few days at the house a little later though, just to make Dad happy."
"You're always somebody to make people happy, Tom."
"Yeah I know." They continued to watch TV for almost the rest of the day. While they were lying on the couch, Katie occasionally glanced up at Tom. She dreamed of the two of them doing something like this. Well, they have before when Tom was dating Vanessa, but this time it felt romantic to her because she likes him and he's single. Another thing she noticed about Tom is he looked distant. Like his mind was wandering off.
"Tom, are you okay?" Katie asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Tom replied. He looked at his watch. It was almost 7 p.m. "I'm going to go back to my dorm."
Katie sighed quietly. She didn't want Tom to go, but they both have science class in the morning, so she also decided that she better get to her dorm. "Okay, but could you please walk with me to my dorm? I'm sort of afraid that this killer could be lurking about."
"Yeah, of course." Katie turned off the TV and she and Tom left the living area. As they were walking, Tom took careful note that there was campus security all over the university. After the deaths of Daniel and Edward, The Dean isn't taking any chances. Katie noticed the security too, and she was even more nervous. 10 minutes later, they reached Katie's dorm area.
"Well, here you are Ms. Bates." Tom said in an elegant, escort voice.
"Thanks so much Tom." Katie giggled. She just stood there for a moments looking at him. As Tom turned to leave, Katie called to him. Tom turned around and saw Katie walking up to him and gave him a soft, sweet kiss on his cheek. Katie noticed Tom's shocked expression and she giggled some more. "I'll see you in Mr. Gordon's class in the morning." She said to him and she walked up the building's stairs and went inside. Tom just stood there, putting his hand on the cheek Katie kissed him at. And then, he did something he hasn't done in a long while. Thomas Barkley started to smile.
Meanwhile at the police station, Capt. Barkley, Stephens and a fellow officer were in a darkroom of the police station developing the film from Edward's camera. So far, all they found were pictures of various students, some teachers, and Edward's family.
"I'm certain this camera has some kind of clues on what happened to this kid." the officer said.
"Maybe, but we haven't found anything yet." Capt. Barkley said.
"Well here's the last piece of film we didn't do." Stephens noted.
They put the paper in a small white bin with water inside. They made sure it was inside and then they waited. For 10 seconds the paper just floated there, but then like the sun shining after a rainstorm, the picture became clearer. The 3 men couldn't tell what it was yet, so they continued waiting. After about 30 seconds, they could see the picture a little bit more clearly. It looked like it was picture of somebody holding something. A few minutes later, they could see the picture better.
"Who or what the hell is that?" the officer said out loud.
Capt. Barkley and Stephens continued to stare at the photo. This is the very last picture Edward took before he died. The picture was the Scarecrow pointing his knife towards Edward. Capt. Barkley and Stephens looked at the photo and then at each other.
"I think that's Farmer Brown's Scarecrow, sir." Stephens said to his boss.
"I think you're right." Capt. Barkley replied. "I think you're right. As soon as this photo dries, we got to show this to The Dean. I think Gallagher University is being stalked- no pun intended- by a homicidal Scarecrow!"