DO NOT DO NOT

Chapter 20

 The killer wiped his sweaty hands on his black slacks anxiously as he awaited the arrival of his guest. He looked down at his watch. 10:58. Two minutes. He glanced around the dark, musty warehouse hoping he wouldn't be stood up. He was fixing his rolled-up sleeves when a meow nearly made him jump out of his skin. He turned around, heart racing, and saw a plump, brown and gray cat walking along the wall as though it was on a mission.

He was beyond nervous for this meeting, but if he ever wanted to make a difference, he would have to wait a little longer. Despite his nerves, he was eager to reveal his latest work and see the delight on the face of his friend. However, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of an electric scooter pulling up.

"Cornelius!"

The killer turned around at the mention of his name and straightened his tie and fedora. His guest, Sir Willups Brightslymoore, had finally arrived.

"Sir Willups! You came!"

"Cornelius, what am I doing here?"

Cornelius proudly explained that he had something very special to show him. His eyes lit up as he presented some recent pages of the newspaper and gave Sir Willups time to read over the articles about the Bellas' deaths. His excitement was hard to contain the more that his friend read, but he was not expecting the reaction that he got.

"What in God's green one are you showing me this for?" he asked while attempting to hold back the urge to get sick.

After a very long and disturbingly detailed report, Cornelius was able to refresh Sir Willups' memory about what happened at the most recent a cappella riff off that he hosted. How those blundering idiots ruined everything. How he had told Benji that he was going to hell and Emily that he hated her.

"It was for you. All of it. Benji is dead and now Emily wishes she was too."

Benji's death was unfortunate. At least the way it happened was. Everything was planned out perfectly and it was all going according to the plan until he put his nose where it didn't belong. If he hadn't been in that room, he could have tested his lifelong theory of whether or not he could choke someone with a pool noodle. His big plans were ruined all because he had to fall out a window, but he'd take what he could get.

"No, no, no, no, no! Cornelius, those are just things I said. I didn't mean that I wanted you to go kill them all," he responded, shaking his head in disapproval.

"You don't understand! I was helping you! I was showing you that I would do anything for you."

No matter what he said, he couldn't seem to get Sir Willups to realize the importance of his actions. He pleaded with him to understand and overlook his carelessness with the evidence he left behind, but was only met with responses insisting that he turn himself in.

Since he was getting nowhere with Cornelius, Sir Willups excused himself for a moment to fully absorb the information he just received. When he was out of hearing range from Cornelius, he made a quick call to the police to give up their location. He walked back over to try reasoning with him again to at least stall until the police came. It would seem that Cornelius knew him better than he thought because by the time he walked back into the warehouse, he already knew that the cops were on their way. 

"You gave me up. I can't believe you would betray me like that, especially after everything that I've done for you."

"I never wanted any of this! How could you think I wanted this?"

"It doesn't matter anymore. After this, you'll never see me again."

Cornelius turned around and tried to make a run for it. However, the police force was already there leaving only one logical option: give himself up and go back to the station. As he put up his hands in defeat and allowed the cops to handcuff him, the last thing he saw was Sir Willups scootering away.