Another chap for you guys. :) I'm glad you are enjoying it so far. ;)
Barry crossly threw his latex gloves in the trashcan before sitting down in the swivel chair in his room. Leaning back he counted all the individual scorch marks the lightning bolt had left behind (it was still there even though it had been a year and a few months since the accident happened; he never got a chance to tell someone to repaint the ceiling but to be honest he really did not want to). He gave up once he counted hundred and sat up in his chair with a growl. Even after a full night's rest (after coming up with nothing the day before) he still could come up with zip today.
No DNA left from the murderer...at all. These were the worst kinds of murders; no DNA, no motive, no suspects, and no witnesses. He really hated them.
Well come to think of it there was a possible witness. That girl. But Barry had no idea who she was. She had vanished into thin air after showing him the victim. It could be a turning point in the investigation if he could find her and tell Joe.
"You ok son?"
Barry turned his head to see Joe standing at the entrance of his lab.
"Yeah...I'm ok Joe," he lied before saying truthfully, "Just frustrated."
"Can't blame you..." his adoptive father sighed sitting down in a chair across from him, "I know you really want to find out who murdered this girl."
Barry snorted sadly, "I'm still waiting for the processing of her DNA. Her parents are the ones I am worried about."
Joe sighed, "I'll make tell them if you are not up to it..."
Barry nodded slowly and turned when his computer beeped. He scooted his chair over to peer at the screen. After getting up the crime data base he said,
"Victim's name is Shelby Mendelsohn. Fourteen years old...Mom is single...father died when she was young. Has two siblings. That's all that is known about her."
"I'll get ready to go tell them..." Joe said patting him on the back, "Take it easy now. I'll tell Singh you've done what you could."
Barry nodded and got up to pack up his backpack. From the corner of his eye he saw something move. Startled he whirled around and saw the girl from the alley way.
"Can I help you?" he asked nervously
The girl said nothing but watched him. She didn't move and stayed perfectly still. Unnaturally still. It was pretty scary.
"What's your name?" Barry asked finally.
"Secret..." she said softly.
Was this some kind of a joke to her?
He rolled his eyes, "Ok really kid...what's your name?"
The girl didn't answer but frowned slightly. She used her right hand to motion him to follow her.
"You want to show me something?" he sighed before saying hopefully (in a sarcastic tone), "Like maybe the man who murdered that girl?"
The girl didn't answer but continued to motion for him to follow her. He sighed and hefted his backpack (which had his suit stored in it). Clearly she wasn't going to leave him alone until he followed her.
"Alright I'm coming..." he said begrudgingly.
Good thing Oliver was not here. He probably would say Barry was careless in following a girl he didn't know. But strangely he didn't feel threatened by her. She had a calming yet urgent presence around her.
On his way out of the lab, Barry bumped into Joe who gave no indication he noticed the girl. He (Barry) blinked noticing she was standing at the end of the hallway that led down to the main part of the station. How did she get there so fast?
"Ready to leave already?" Joe asked surprised.
"Not really...the kid I saw in the alley way is here...she seems to be wanting to show me something..." Barry said pointing at her.
She was watching both of them with a sad expression on her face and looked away from Barry as if he disappointed her. It was really strange for her to have that expression on her face. She never seemed to smile.
"What kid?" Joe asked creasing his brow, "Are you seeing things again?"
"No! She's right..." Barry cut himself off seeing that the girl had vanished...again.
He bit back a growl of frustration. What was it with this kid? Why did she keep disappearing?
"Maybe you should lie down when you get home..." Joe cautioned eyeing his adoptive son warily, "We'll go once I get my jacket."
He left Barry standing in the alleyway. Sighing Barry walked back in his room to make sure his computer was turned off. But once he stepped in the room it felt as if it had turned into a freezer. In fact it was so cold he could see his breath which was weird considering the hallway felt twenty degrees warmer. Shivering he walked over to the computer and found it was off.
He frowned; knowing he had not turned it off before he left the room. Resting his hands on the keyboard he surprised to find that some of the keys were colder than the other keys. Something strange was going on...and he didn't know what was but he intended to find out.
Call it a gut instinct but something told him that he should go with a Joe. He didn't know who or what made him change his mind but he decided to go with it.
"Ready?" Joe asked stepping into the room before frowning, "Why is it so cold in here?"
He shivered letting Barry know he was not just feeling things.
"Yeah I'm ready to go...," Barry answered picking up his favorite jacket, "But I want to come with you when you tell the family. I-I-I just want to check something with them."
Joe raised an eyebrow but didn't question Barry's reason.
Barry stood uncomfortably behind Joe when they approached the front door of the Mendelsohn's. He was sad that they would have to deliver such bad news to the girl's mom. Joe knocked on the door and rang the doorbell. It rang throughout the house with a high pitched chime.
A patter of feet approached the door and it opened. A small face peered from around the door. It was a little girl with short curly red hair surrounding her face with a spray of freckles on her cheeks;perhaps five years old holding an orange and white striped tabby cat in her arms. The lower part of the cat's body nearly touched the ground and its front legs were up in the air as if it were surrendering*. It was so comical looking Barry had to cough to hide his laughter. Despite its head being scrunched down in a uncomfortable looking position it looked rather relaxed in its current state. It eyed the men in front of it with a bored expression in its green eyes and its tail twitched slightly.
"Who are you?" the little girl asked shifting her arm to stick her thumb in her mouth.
Joe glanced back at Barry who took a step back and spread his arms out to send the silent message 'You take this one'. He really shouldn't be the one telling the kid anything (except maybe it was not a good idea to open the door to strangers).
"Is your mommy home?" Joe asked bending down to the girl's level.
"She works all hours..." the little girl drawled hefting the cat into a more comfortable position to suck on her thumb.
The cat slipped back down into its original position; limp as a rag doll. Barry smirked knowing Cisco would be snapping a photo of the animal and posting it.
"Beatrice? Beatrice?"
A thin arm suddenly yanked the girl back. Joe got to his feet as another kid appeared on the scene. A boy who was at least ten yanked the little girl back and planted himself in front of her. It had to have been her brother since he had the same shade of hair that she did except his eyes were green. He blocked the doorway to prevent them from walking in. Barry noticed that he was holding an aluminum baseball bat in his free hand.
"Who are you?" the boy asked his voice heavy with suspicion.
He tightened his grip around the baseball bat. Barry shuttered remembering the time he to answer a call to a house that had been broken into. After knocking the robber out he went upstairs to check on the kid that had been made the call. Long story short he nearly got brained by the metal baseball bat the kid was holding. She later apologized but it still did not help sooth the good size lump he received on his shoulder.
"I'm Detective Joe West and this is Barry Allen," Joe said gesturing at Barry.
Barry raised his hand in greeting and awkwardly shifted his weight from one foot to the other when he saw Beatrice peering around her brother at him. She beamed at him making him give her a weak smile in return.
"What do you want?" the boy's voice sounded more worried than suspicious this time.
Beatrice tried scooting around her brother again but dropped the cat in her arms in the process. The animal hit the ground like a sack of cement and started to move away until the little girl picked him up again. Barry laughed quietly about the bad luck the animal had. It was too funny.
"We would like to talk to your mom..." Joe said glaring at him.
Barry had to bite his bottom lip in order to stop the laughter from spilling out.
The boy nodded and shouted into the house, "MOM! COPS ARE HERE! THEY SAID THEY NEED TO TALK TO YOU!"
Beatrice scrunched her face up in annoyance at the loudness of her brother's voice.
"Should I tell him I'm not a cop?" Barry muttered under his breath.
He really wasn't...even in his alter ego.
"Let it go..." Joe advised.
"She'll be here in a minute..." the boy said dropping the baseball bat on the table next to him before turning to his little sister with a frown, "Bea...let Luka down...I'm pretty sure he doesn't like that position."
The little girl pouted and hefted the cat in higher position. The cat let out a mournful meow prompting Beatrice to let him down begrudgingly. The cat took the opening and fled into the house with his tail in the air.
"Samuel...what have I told you about opening the door to strangers?" a woman came rushing up in a blue dress.
The boy shrugged with one shoulder, "Bea did it."
"Did not Sammy!" Beatrice whined sticking her tongue out at her older brother.
The woman shook her head and turned to Joe and Barry.
"I'm sorry but can I help you?" she said closing the door slightly.
"Yes um..." Joe sighed.
"Name's Maria..." the woman said.
Her hand tightened on the door.
"Its about your daughter...Shelby..." Joe started.
"Here it comes..." Barry thought scratching the back of his head nervously.
The woman's face hardened and she turned to her kids and said in a low voice, "Sam...Beatrice...go to your rooms."
"But I want to stay!" Beatrice whined.
"Come on Bea...I'll let you look at my trading cards," Sam promised, "I'll even let you look at the picture I have of the Arrow my friend got me."
Beatrice clearly did not look happy about it but left with her brother. Barry smirked quietly knowing that Oliver would probably be peeved about the photograph if he found out about it.
Maria turned back to them, "Come in..."
The woman took the news surprisingly well. But Barry could see that she was trembling. He stood awkwardly by the door entering the living room while Luka wound himself around his legs meowing. The cat left in disgust once he realized Barry was completely ignoring him. He bounded over to Maria and asked to be stroked. She complied.
"I can't believe Shelby is gone..." Maria said; her voice quivering.
Luka - perhaps sensing his owners anxiety- butted his head into her armpit.
"Don't worry...we'll find him," Joe promised putting his hand on her shoulder to console her.
His cellphone rang and he left to answer it. Maria looked at Barry curiously,
"You are the one who found her body?"
Barry nervously scratched the back of his neck as he approached her, "Yeah...I'm sorry that I have to bring the bad news."
Maria nodded slowly, "But I can't believe you found her though. It goes to show you that what you have is not permanent...it can disappear in a split second."
Her tone was bitter as Barry sat down in a chair across from her.
"What makes you say that?" he asked flinching when Luka jumped onto the chair and started to rub himself against his back.
"It was just something a friend of mine used to say...," Maria sighed, "I used to tutor a girl when I was in my early twenties...which was twelve years ago. Her name was Madison Revues. She had a friend that she was very close to. They were just like sisters even though they looked different from each other."
She shook her head and snorted sadly, "Then Madison came to me one day crying and saying her friend had disappeared. The police never found her and said that she had run off. I met her friend once...she was such a pretty girl. Beautiful long blond hair and green eyes."
"What was her friend's name?" Barry asked pricking his ears up.
That sounded exactly like the girl he had been seeing.
"Her friend's name was..." the woman started to say.
Joe walked in just then and said, "I'm sorry Bear...I know you need to get home and rest again but...there has been another murder."
Barry closed his briefcase with a snap and rubbed his face while emitting a loud yawn. He had taken samples from the body which had been found in the back lot of a industrial building hidden behind a stack of wood. The victim was an older female; twenty at least. Same injuries to the body; broken neck and nasty gash on the arm. This time there was no sign of a struggle or rope burns on the arms.
"So what did the person have to say about this?" Barry asked turning to Joe when he walked up to him.
Behind him stood a tall man wearing a construction worker's hat. He shuffled around nervously.
Joe inspected his notes thoughtfully, "Said that he found her back here about half-an hour ago. Did not see anyone of interest exiting or entering the building."
"Why was there a blanket covering her?" Barry asked, "Usually they put a sheet on a victim."
When he had walked up a tattered dark red blanket was covering the body instead of the usual yellow tarp. Though he found it strange Barry still went to work analyzing the crime scene.
"I-I-I covered her..." the construction worker said.
He bit his lower lip to keep it from quivering. Barry could see he was on the verge of a mental breakdown and/or tears.
"Why?" Joe asked turning to the worker.
The man fidgeted nervously for a moment, "I-I-I-I have a daughter at home sir. I couldn't bare to see her looking like that. If she was my daughter I would have done the exact same thing. I was crying as I made the call. This lady was too young to be killed."
Barry nodded understanding what he meant. He felt the exact same way except for one difference; he felt useless. He gazed down at the yellow tarp which was now covering the body and thought "Well this is just great...how many more of these murders are going to happen? I really wish I could help as the Flash...but how can I help when I don't know where the next one is and who the next victim might be."
"How did you find her?" Joe asked.
Barry looked up to listen. In the background he heard the ambulance pull up.
The construction worker scratched his beard before answering, "There was some kid back here. She looked about fourteen. I followed her trying to catch her to get her out of here. Instead I found the body."
Barry inspected the ground at his feet. His brain was whirling. He barely heard the man describe the girl's features to Joe.
"Did you see where this girl went?" Barry asked picking his head up interrupting Joe in mid-sentence.
"No..., "the construction worker sighed wearily, "She disappeared as soon as I found the body."
Before Barry or Joe could say anything they got interrupted.
"Joe...you have to take a look at this..." an officer by the name of John said walking up.
Barry and Joe followed him over to another area a couple of feet away from the body. Another message was scrawled there; this time in red paint which dripped down the wall like blood as it dried.
Four more days to Halloween
And five more souls I shall take
All mortals now shall quake
For my master will come on Hallow's Eve
When day and night shall break
"Barry...for the last time. You were not following anyone," Catlin sighed.
"I was! It was some kid...maybe about fourteen years old," Barry grumbled, "Plus someone else saw her."
He nervously tapped a pen on the table in his lab slightly annoyed that Joe had called his two friends in. It was not like he was going crazy or anything because he was not! He looked down, frowned, and stopped tapping the pen when he noticed that the table was starting to smoke where he was hitting it.
"Either you are just seeing things or the light is playing a trick on you..." Cisco mused while fooling around with a bottle full of copper sulfate, "Or you are going crazy on us."
Barry crossly snatched the bottle out of his hands before his friend could drop it and stuck it back on the shelf as far away from the sodium hydroxide as possible, "No! I am not going crazy. Maybe I should take a picture so you guys don't think I'm going nuts."
Irritated he started reorganizing his chemical shelf even though it was already well organized.
"We're not saying you are crazy..." Catlin said cautiously while throwing Cisco a dirty look, "We are just saying that no one except us was in that alley. I don't remember hearing any voices either."
Barry didn't respond but sourly started on cleaning up his work desk at a normal person's speed. He hoped his friends would get the point that he was not lying and was not loosing it.
"Bro...seriously? The cold shoulder?" Cisco said dryly.
"I know what I saw..." Barry said bitterly stacking some unfiled sick leave forms together, "This is exactly what the police were like the night my mom was murdered. They didn't believe me...but you guys did after you saw what I could do. So why won't you believe me on this one?"
His friends didn't respond. It became so quiet in the lab that all Barry could hear was the traffic on the street in front of the police station.
"Look...unless you have some logical proof that she was actually there then...maybe it is possible you saw her," Catlin said after several uncomfortable minutes had passed, "Maybe she's a meta-human. You did just tell us she has a way of disappearing quickly."
"Yeah...but want to know what irritates me? I apparently am the only one who can see her!" Barry grumbled plopping a couple of his favorite books down on the desk to flatten the papers.
"Barry..." Catlin started.
He bent over his computer with a sigh, "I need to be alone right now...please."
Barry closed his eyes and bent his head down. He heard his friends leave his room but did not look up until several minutes had passed. Retrieving his suitcase of samples he started to analyze the evidence from the murder scene.
It had the same exact results as the last murder...no DNA left behind from the murder. With a growl of disgust Barry wadded up his latex gloves and tossed them into the trash can but missed. After picking them up he sat down in his chair and rubbed his forehead with a groan.
"As if my life could not get worse..." he thought, "Now my friends think I'm going crazy and even I am starting to think I'm loosing it."
Leaning back in it Barry recalled something Shelby's mother said. That a girl she used to tutor had a friend matching the description of the girl he kept seeing. Not really sure about what he was doing Barry pulled up crime data base and found that Madison worked at Jitters. After putting his jacket on he left hoping that she might have the answers he was looking for.
This story should last until about Halloween I think :/
*- My little cousin held a cat like this once XD Poor thing...
Shout outs to my readers without an account :)
Writergirl101: Thank you :) I hope you continue to enjoy it.