Ambiguous and bereavement(Fruk)

2

I didn't tell anyone at work about the package, but I continued to look at the contents. A calendar, the photos, a ribbon? What did this mean? I pulled the calendar out of my bag and began to write down all the dates. The calendar was from last year; it seemed so familiar. The dates were January 12, February 20, March 16, March 22, April 24, May 9, June 10,11,13, July 10, September 13, December 13, and finally, January 13.

I recognized these dates.

I quickly pulled up my files and began to look through them, starting with the first date. January Twelve. I began looking through the description and began reading. "Woman, aged twenty-four, she went on a hike and went missing for a few days. Her body was discovered in a shed twenty miles from where she disappeared.

I continued to read, and my eyes widened once I saw who was assigned the case. Me? I suppose this was a little familiar, but why do I not remember these gruesome details? This is not something I would forget.  I continued to pull up all the dates, which was the same thing. These poor women and men were kidnapped for a few days and found brutally murdered. Then the same results, I was the detective in charge of finding the killer.

All of the murders were linked and led to this one man. Ludwig Beilschmidt.

He was a German immigrant that went on a killing spree. However, it says I caught him, and he was sentenced to death. How do I not remember something like this? Was it so traumatizing that I forgot? How is that possible? I could not remember the details.

That is when my eyes widened.

I kept journals at home about this stuff; I could go through my old ones. However, who would send the package? Maybe someone coming to me for revenge. Then, what is up with the ribbon? I could not figure it out.

"Hey! What are you looking at?!" Alfred suddenly spoke. I jumped at what he said and turned around quickly. "Shit, you scared me!" I spoke. I held onto my chest, and he began to look over my shoulder. "Why are you looking at that?" He asked.

I looked at him, and he had terror and discomfort in his eyes. "Ah, I got this package, and it had some things dealing with the case. However, I can not remember it at all. I must be going crazy," I spoke. "What? Don't you remember it? You closed the case not too long ago," He spoke.

I tried thinking about it, but I could not recall what he was saying. Alfred looked at me worried and began closing the files for me. "If you do not remember, I do not think you should dive into it again," He spoke. His demeanor had changed, and he seemed more on edge. "But someone sent this package to me; what if it is someone coming for revenge?"  I asked. He shook his head at me and began to grab the items.

"Arthur, maybe you should take some time off of work." He spoke. He was my supervisor, so he could do that. "What? but who sent this?" I asked. "No one did; I don't think you should dive into this, go home, and take the rest of the week off," He spoke.

He was gaslighting me.

"Fine! but I will not drop it!" I spoke.

"I will bring everyone to your place on Friday to check on you, just stay in and don't move around. You are exhausted and need to rest," He explained. He seemed genuine about it like he was actually worried about me. I had no other choice but to give in and say I would go home and rest for the rest of the week. "Okay..." I spoke.

~

When I arrived home, Francis was there. "You called into work?" I asked. He nodded at me and continued to lie on the bed. I threw myself beside him and began to hold onto him. "You feel like a pillow! I love it!" I laughed. "Why are you home early? Did something happen?" He asked, concerned. "Yeah, it is a long story, but Alfred thought I could use the rest of the week off; he thinks I might be stressing out too much," I spoke.

He began to chuckle, and I smiled at him. "He is right; you tend to stress out a bit," He laughed. I rolled my eyes at him and began laughing. "Did you ever figure out what that package was about?" he asked. "Yeah...that is also a long story, but I wanted to ask for your help," I spoke. We both sat up to look at each other, and he looked confused. "What is it?" He asked.

"I need help looking through my journals from last year. I have a lot, so I could use some help," I explained. "Of course, I will help as much as possible, " he said. I began to stand up, and he followed me to my study. "What exactly do I need to look for?" He asked.

I opened the door to the room and immediately went to the journals I had written in the past year. Starting with the first date. "Umm, I am not sure, maybe something weird, out of the ordinary. I can't really explain what I am trying to find. But if someone bad sent this stuff to me, they have to be linked to the killer, and maybe I have clues." I spoke.

He nodded at me and began to look around my room as I pulled journals out. There has to be something in these journals to help me figure this out. Now that I will be off for the rest of the week, I definitely have the time to figure out what is going on. Then I can shove it into Alfred's' face and tell him I told him so.

I am petty like that and will look for an opportunity to be right, as usual.