A Victim's Diary

3

„Long day again?" he heard his wife calling when he got back home and closed the door behind him. Alistair hadn't even paid much attention to how late it was. It had already gotten dark outside which meant that it was probably pretty late. Later than 8 in the evening. Damn it. He really had to start tracking his overtime – not that he had much hope to ever work it off or get paid for it, but still. He liked to complain and this was something good to complain about. Something safe for him to talk about.

"I suppose so. What time is it?" he asked. Diana, his wife, peeked out from the living room door, smiling at him.

"It's half past 9." she told him. She was dressed in long pyjama pants and an oversized pullover, her hair tied up in a bun. She looked like she had already gotten comfortable for the evening. Of course, she would have, it was getting pretty late for her. Diana was an early riser, which meant she usually went to bed around 10 or 11 at night.

"Jesus. That's late. Sorry about that, it was just... that case from earlier this morning. Can't say much about it, of course, but it seems to be a difficult one." Alistair sighed. He went over to hug his wife. She smelled like smoke and coal – she had to have lit a fire in the stove while he had been gone. His stomach growled loudly.

"Well, sounds like someone is hungry! Dinner's in the kitchen, but you'll have to reheat it yourself." Diana said to him with a laugh. Alistair kissed her forehead, before letting go of her. He really needed to eat something.

"Thanks, love. I'll get some food and then I'll join you in the living room, alright?" he told her. She nodded and disappeared again, as Alistair made his way towards the kitchen. He hated when he got so bogged down with work that he didn't even realise how late it was getting. It usually happened when he got called out in the middle of the night like that. Getting up threw off his entire inner clock.

It also meant that he didn't realise he needed to eat which was why he was so hungry right now. Getting up unexpectedly just completely messed things up for him and Alistair was sure that it was going to eventually lead him to an early grave. But what was he supposed to do about it? He did like his job, despite all the annoying downsides. But maybe he should be more stubborn when it came to taking time off for his overtime.

It wasn't going to happen anytime soon, however. He had spent all day today going through evidence found in Ruby's apartment – and he hadn't even gotten around to taking a look at the diary yet. There was a lot that the crime scene technicians had found around her apartment, but unfortunately it didn't tell Alistair much of anything. Nothing he hadn't already known, or could have guessed.

Her apartment was tiny, just a studio apartment close to the city centre. It was likely the only thing she could afford. They found some files on her workplace and it seemed that she had started there not too long ago – a little less than a year. The company had been a medium-sized insurance company and Ruby had gotten an entry-level position, even though she had worked for an insurance hotline right after college.

She had the usual things a girl her age would have in the apartment – a laptop (which was not very clean and seemed to have quite a few things spilled on it in the past), a bunch of clothes (but not too many, probably because of how little space she had), some books (mostly self-improvement books and a few fashion magazines, as well as some textbooks for studying Law), a small assortment of makeup, a few plants, a range of skincare products and different shampoos and conditioners, a few small knick-knacks here and there, probably things she had bought while travelling or things she had brought from her childhood home. There was a pinboard on her wall that had a few polaroids on it and a few menus for restaurants and take-aways that were close by. It seemed to be the most unremarkable apartment they could have found. There really was only one thing of note and that was a box under her bed.