Killing Mind - Editing

Part Six

Marcus had finally managed to get some work done when not long after there was a knock on his door. He hesitated before allowing the person in. It was Cara.

"Hey Marcus. I wanted to clear the air after the other night." She walked towards his desk.

"It's fine. I apologise for how I acted. You know how badly I've been sleeping the past few months."

"I know you have." She leant over and rested her hand on his arm.

"Isn't it awful about the murder?"

How did Cara know about it?
Marcus froze and acted naive. "What murder?"

"That poor homeless guy. It was just on the news. Rick had the TV on because he wanted to catch the results from last night's soccer."

So it was on the news. "Oh I will check it out online in a minute."

"Yeah it's pretty upsetting. Maybe we could go for a drink this weekend?"

"Yeah maybe."

"I'll call you Marcus." She walked out and shut the door behind her.

Marcus stopped what he was doing on his computer and got the Internet browser up. He typed in San Francisco news. On the front page were the results from the soccer.
So it wasn't breaking news. He scrolled down until he found the article. The title was 'Body of homeless man found dead outside 24 hour convenience store.'
Beneath it was a photograph of the deceased. Marcus read the rest of the article.

'Last night at approximately 9:20pm the body of a homeless man was found outside the 24 hour convenience store close to Hyde Street. The name of the man is still unknown to police and they have no idea as to why this defenceless man was targeted. Three stab wounds were found in his upper chest. We are appealing for any witnesses who were around at this time of the night who may have any information to please come forward. The man may not have any family but we would still like to identify him.'

What the fuck have I done?

Work went fairly quick but his anxiety was at a high which made his OCD much worse.  Before driving home he had to turn the engine on and off three times. When he reached his apartment he had to open and close one of his windows six times.
As he surfed through the channels of his TV he had to return back to the same channel over ten times.
But when he flicked over it was the news. Reports of last night's murder were displayed and he quickly changed the channel again.

He was becoming more frustrated as the evening went on. Before he got into bed and turned his lamp off and on three times he thought of his brother Lewis.

If he was still around I wouldn't be like this.

When Lewis was alive he had helped Marcus cope with his OCD and anxiety. He himself had also suffered from it. But it wasn't as bad as Marcus's. Their parents both had problems with their mental health.
Marcus knew he couldn't ever get away from it. He used to be able to manage his OCD but after Lewis passed away it sky rocketed and blew out of proportion after his break up from his long term girlfriend.

He turned the lamp back on and dug around in his bedside drawer. Inside he pulled out a small photo of him and Lewis when they were both in their teens. They looked so happy.
Little did they know then that one would die young and the other would turn into a murderer. He held the photograph close to his chest and closed his eyes.

Marcus stood in the basement staring at his reflection.
He wore a black suit.
Every now and again his face would morph into something grotesque and deformed.
It wasn't him.
It couldn't be could it?
In his right hand he was clutching a meat cleaver.
He walked away from the mirror and turned around to face an array of bodies.
None of them had heads
There were about a dozen of them.
All of them had slashes across their skin.
Almost instantly he found the one he wanted.
Marcus knew what this man had done before he had killed him.
His subconscious was right.
What more could he do to this body?
As he raised the cleaver high above his head his vision clouded over.

3:00am. Marcus bolted upright.

When would these dreams stop?

Voices whirled around his head ordering him to do certain things.
He got out of bed and paced around the apartment til he grew weary.

Why me?

This was taking over his mind. Since the sinful crime he had committed he hated himself. He got in and out of bed countless amounts of times until he was too tired to continue.
Sleep soon overcame him.

When his alarm clock rang he realised it was Friday. Finally the weekend was getting close and perhaps he could enjoy this evening having drinks with his best friend.

He also recalled he had another estate to visit today. Marcus was in quite a good mood which was a surprise.
His anxiety wasn't too bad and when he got to work Brooke flirted with him and made it very obvious she wanted him to take her out for a drink. Cara must of told her how good he was in bed.

Rick entered his office and discussed the details of the estate with him.

"Marcus, this house has to be sold within a month. It's a fairly new property and will be worth a lot. Have a good look around and make lots of notes on it. I want you to head over there in two hours
Don't screw this up!" He slammed the door.

A couple of hours later Marcus got into his car and drove half an hour to the location.

Before he went into the house he decided to pop to a cafe nearby to grab a coffee. He hadn't been around this area in a long time and thought he'd have a quick look around.

Soon enough he found a newly refurbished cafe and delicatessens.
It was a small but modern looking building with grey brick walls inside.
There were a few people sat down at tables mingling with one another.
He joined the queue whilst looking up at the menu above the counter.

When it was his turn to be served he was mesmerised by the young woman taking his order. She looked to be in her early twenties with golden wavy hair down to her breasts.
He thought she was beautiful.

"Hello sir. What would you like today?"

He felt his cheeks redden. "Hey I'd like a strong latte please."

"Of course." Her smile was alluring.

She turned around to make his drink and he couldn't help but check her out. She had a petite body, small waist and a gorgeous bum. He had butterflies. How long had it been since he had been in awe over a girl like this?

"Here you go. That will be four dollars please." He paid and thanked her.

As he sipped his coffee from a seat close to the window he found himself watching her. He had to find out her name but he felt incredibly shy around her. Usually Marcus Daniels, the high flyer from San Francisco never has a problem wooing the ladies but this time he did.

When he'd finished his drink he thought fuck it and approached her.
Thankfully she wasn't serving anyone so he went ahead and asked her name.

"I'm Melissa."

"Nice to meet you Melissa, I'm Marcus."

"I have to go, hopefully I'll see you around." He left the cafe with a smile and dirty thoughts in his mind.

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