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Chapter Eleven ~ A regular day?

When I woke up, there was no phone call or text message to tell me that someone I knew had been murdered. That was a promising start to the day. I got ready and went out to Cafe Well Bean for my morning bacon roll and tea.

Walking down the street in the early hours of the morning felt strangely satisfying. It reminded me of when things were still relatively normal; before I found the book and before the murders had started.

I said hi to Geoff who said hi back to me in the usual upbeat tone. So far, so good.

I went to sit in my usual spot on the bench and began to brainstorm some ideas for my english coursework, which I still hadn't written. I noticed a newspaper in the bin next to me as I went to put the bag that had contained my roll in it. The headline read: 'Girl found dead in her bathroom'. Underneath was a picture of Scarlett lying dead on the floor.

This time I just stared at the paper in shock. Again? Seriously? How had this murderer killed so many people?

I thought about the book. I wanted to go and check it but there was no time. I had to get to work.

***

When I arrived at the shop, something was off.

Carol wasn't here.

This wasn't like her at all. She was never late. And if she was, she always phoned me to say she would be late or if she wasn't coming in at all.

I just got to work on hanging the second hand clothes on the rail.

About half an hour later, Carol finally entered the shop.
"Sorry I'm late dearie," Carol wheezed. "I had some trouble with the fellytone."
I frowned. "You mean telephone?"
Carol squinted. "Yes, yes. That's the one."

I merely shrugged and continued with the clothes.

The bell to the shop rang and Logan walked in. I was surprised to see him here. Suddenly, I remembered that it had been Scarlett who died this time. He must be so upset.
"Hi Skye," he said sadly.
"Hey," I replied. "How are you doing?"
"Not good," he said. "I really, really miss her."

We both stood silently for a minute. Suddenly, I heard something fall to the ground. Carol had been standing behind a bookshelf nearby and knocked over a book. I walked over to the bookshelf and started to pick up the books that had fallen.
"Thanks dearie, you know how my back is these days" Carol said with a chuckle.

She walked over to the counter by Logan and I could only faintly hear their conversation.

"Shame about that young girl," Carol said to Logan, "I heard you knew her quite well." Carol was known to say the wrong things at the wrong times.

"Yes", Logan said sadly. "I knew her very well."
" Oh well, I always thought of her a bit of a nuisance," said Carol plainly.
"What!" Logan took a step back looking shocked.
"Yes, she always seemed like a bit of a waste of space, I know you shouldn't speak bad of the dead but..." said Carol.
"What do you mean?" said Logan angrily, "Scarlett was one of the most kind and caring people I knew and everyone is devastated by her death. You don't know what you're talking about, old woman." And with that Logan stormed out of the shop. The door slamming behind him.

Carol stood still for a moment, thinking about what had just happened.
I rolled my eyes. Carol did have a tendency to speak out at inappropriate times, but she didn't deserve to be spoken to like that.

I decided to just go home.

***

Sure enough, there was another entry written on the next page of the book.

Entry 3 (Subject S) ~ A night to remember (14th March)

I was on a roll. Another perfectly planned murder.

I followed them to the cinema. They had bought tickets to the worst looking film there. I only just made it through the 2 hour film, it was so boring. I don't understand how Logan was even the slightest bit scared.

After they split up, I followed her home. She was obviously preparing to go out somewhere else.

I watched as she left her bedroom and entered her bathroom. Once she had left I smashed through the glass and unlocked the window from the inside. This was the riskiest part of the whole night. But she was too self absorbed to realise anything.

Beforehand, I had loosened one of the shower railing when I snuck in whilst the cleaners were in.

As I stealthily ran through her bedroom, I stopped just before her bathroom door. She had left the door slightly ajar so I could see when the best time to strike was.

As she reached for her straighteners, I decided it was time. I burst through the door, unhooked the loosened shower railing and hit her over the head with it.

She immediately fell and I knew she was out cold. Just to finish the job, I filled up the sink and stuffed her head in it.

Within a few moments I knew she was dead.

Who was this guy?