Chapter 8

Julia was in the kitchen now preparing some coffee as Thomas sat comfortably at the edge of the three-person couch. He glanced down to his left at the lamp stand at the book she was reading. Go Ask Alice. He'd never read it, but he'd heard nothing but good things of it.

Maybe I'll look into reading it once my work is done.

He began pondering other future wishes, once he completed his 'work.' He had plans to move out of New York City as soon as he was finished, maybe move up north to the country and live quietly there, where no one could bother him. Peace was all he wanted, and he'd be able to achieve it once he was finished.

"Okay, here it is" chimed Julia as she walked into the living room carrying a tray with two filled coffee cups, and a pot of steaming coffee to the side. She placed it down on the table in the middle of the room and sat beside Thomas. She looked up at him for a moment before she took hold of her cup and took a small sip of it.

"Be careful, it's very hot."

Thomas smiled as he looked at her, scanning her features. It's as if she hadn't aged at all; she was still so beautiful, exactly as he last saw her several years ago.

"What is it?" she questioned, in regards to his smiling.

"Nothing, just admiring your beauty."

"You were always good with words, Thomas." Responded Julia, as she placed her cup back down on the tray. "So, you never told me. Where'd you go all these years?"

"I said it before; I can't tell you. As much as I would like to, I don't think you'd want to hear it. No – I know you wouldn't want to hear it."

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad. What is it?" she said as she moved in a bit closer to him, looking interested.

"Well, I suppose I can tell you..." he responded, and then thought to himself. You won't be alive to tell about it, anyway.

"The clues, they were so obvious. Damn myself for not picking up on it earlier."

"What?" cried Chief Gonzalez. "Who is the killer, Albert? Who?"

"The killer – he… It's Justin Harrington..." said Detective Cardoso, hesitantly.

The three officers froze, their eyes widening as Cardoso said this. None of them could believe it.

"Albert, are you insane?" responded Manuel. "Mr. Harrington, the killer? You must be crazy. He just donated money to help us find the killer. Why would he donate money to a cause that was trying to find himself?"

"Listen to me, Damnit. Just listen..." Cardoso looked around the room again, down at the photos all over the floor, before he started.

"The third victim, Roxanne Diamond. Do you remember?" The three officers nodded simultaneously. "Her wallet was taken out of her pants, but left at the scene, with a large sum of money still in it; nearly 300 dollars to be exact. This would give the impression that the killer was in no need of money, considering he didn't take it. That or he was a complete schizophrenic. Choice one seems the more logical one, seeing as how the killer knew exactly what he was doing with each victim; he made no mistakes. Secondly, the note left at the fourth victim, Lindsay Day. In that note, it stated that he was going to help us because he felt we would never be able to find him. And what happens later that night? We get the donation from Mr. Harrington.

Back to my first point: because the killer didn't take the money, I would assume he didn't need it. And my reasoning as to why Harrington is the killer is because...he's a billionaire. What would he need with a measly 300 dollars? He wouldn't, which is exactly my point."

Manuel shook his head slowly, still in disbelief. "Albert, I think you're jumping the gun a bit here. You're accusing one of the richest men in New York, let alone the world, of being a 4-time serial killer who's mimicking the actions of the late 19th century murderer Jack the Ripper? You're the one who's insane here."

"Manuel, just wait. I haven't finished yet. I have one more point to make."

"What is it?" wondered the Chief.

"The fifth victim, Julia Hendrix. If you remember, Harrington was married three times, and divorced all three times."

Todd's mouth was wide, as he whispered. "Jesus, he was..."

Albert nodded as he continued, "Yes. Ms. Hendrix was Harrington's latest wife. They divorced almost two years ago, due to domestic problems, so they told the press. But I think – no, I know – there was something deeper that caused the divorce. And now, seeing that she's on this list, I know the reason. She was a prostitute, and Harrington must have found out. And now he wants his revenge on all prostitutes, taking all his hatred out on them. And among these 6 he selected, Hendrix was one of them."

"But what about the other 5, Albert? What is their relation, and why are they on the list too?" asked Manuel.

"I don't know about them, possibly just random picks. But I know for a fact that Julia was not just random. So do you see now that Harrington is the killer?"

"I still can't believe it, but your reasoning is very logical. The least we can do now, without any proof, is to interrogate him."

Todd instantly chimed in, "Shit! I completely forgot! When he called the station earlier, before he started talking to you, Detective, he told me that he might 'go out and find his next victim."

Cardoso's eyes went wide. "Julia..."

"I took on a few jobs, you know...did stuff for other people and they paid me. But one job got me in some trouble, to say the least. I had to leave for a while, stay in hiding. That's why I left so abruptly and didn't tell you. I couldn't tell you. I couldn't take the chance of people knowing."

"What kind of trouble? What did you do?"

Thomas was hesitant at first, be he continued. "Well, I met you..."

Julia looked confused. "What...do you mean?"

"Damnit, I'm sorry Julia. I must go." Thomas stood from the couch. Damnit, Thomas. You fucked up, you got emotional. You knew it was going to happen. You stupid, stupid moron.

Thomas turned and rushed to the door, looking back to Julia for a moment. "I'm sorry, Julia...but I can't do it to you. Not even for him..."

With that, Thomas opened wide the door and rushed outside, putting on his top hat as he ran. Julia rushed to the threshold of the doorway and watched as he ran off into the darkness, before he was no longer in sight. She was confused, to say the least, but she partially understood what he meant.

So that's why...

Moments later, as she was about to close the door, a car came rushing down the street. From afar she couldn't see, but when it came close, she realized it was a police car. It came to a skidding halt in front of her house and four men rushed out from within. She opened the door wide again and stepped out a bit, holding the front of her robe closed. One of them came rushing up to her, and she recognized it to be Chief Manuel Gonzalez.

"What's wrong?" She cried, almost frightened.

"Are you okay?" Manuel asked, as the two officers rushed into the house. The fourth man, Detective Cardoso, stood behind the Chief.

"Yes, I'm fine. What the hell is the problem?"

"Ms. Hendrix, was Mr. Harrington here tonight? Justin Harrington." Said Manuel.

"No, he wasn't. But – " was all she could say before the two officers came rushing back to the door from inside.

"It's all clear. No one's inside."

"Damnit, do you know where he is?" asked the Detective to Julia.

"No, home I presume. How should I know? But listen – "

The two officers pushed past her and outside, walking back towards the car. Manuel turned to Cardoso and commanded him. "Stay here with her, protect her, while the three of us go to Harrington's house. Okay?"

Albert nodded and stepped beside Julia as Manuel turned and followed the two officers back to the car. He took the driver's seat again as Todd Hinson sat passenger, and Tristan Burcham in the back. The car sped off almost as soon as Manuel took his seat.

Cardoso turned and looked at Julia with caring eyes. "It's ok, don't worry."

Julia still looked as bewildered as ever. "What the fuck just happened?"

Cardoso stepped inside her house, out of the darkness, as he cleared his throat. "I assume you know of the recent killings, yes? Being done by this Jack the Ripper obsessed person."

"Of course, it's all over the news. Who doesn't know about it?"

"Well, " hesitated Cardoso. "We have reason to believe that Justin Harrington is the killer, and that you were his next target. Which is why we asked if he had been here tonight."

Julia looked down to the ground, her eyes full of fear. "Justin, capable of killing someone? I can't believe it."

"Neither did I, but all the evidence points to him."

"Well, he wasn't here, as I said, but..."

"But what?" asked Cardoso, now looking concerned.

Julia hesitated before she finally responded. "Someone else was."