Arranging them on the table he begun to point at each of them, "But, they really were dying every week! Exactly 7 days apart, maybe a few hours apart here and there but still consistent mostly. People have been dying consistently every week in our town, I think I can see why they want police on this. So we have the times here, so location next? Seems logical." Harry started going through the reports and Vince reluctantly followed.
——-
Phones beeped and printers whirred in the near background as Pete sat in an office once more. This one being the Whitby Police station instead of his usual one. "Did you know Jed Chris prior to the event Mr Marley?" Harry sat on the overflowing desk with a clipboard in hand, ready to write down.
"No - no I didn't even know that was his name." Pete answered, sweat dripped from his eyebrow, he was being truthful but no one ever wants to be questioned by police. Harry wrote the answer down quickly.
"And do you recognise any of the people in these images here?" Vince placed down 8 images onto the desk, each showing one different person each. Pete moved his chair closer and leaned over each of them, eyes scanning the faces for familiarity.
"Umm, just… Jed." He answered once again, unsure whether to mention that one of them seemed vaguely familiar. Harry once again wrote it down.
"Right, and have you been talking to or seeing anyone suspicious or even new in your life in the past two months?" Vince asked, the same serious tone as before.
"Uh, I started an internship at the marine engineering company… corporate though. That was about 6 weeks ago, though I'm taking the next 2 off due to… the incident on the bus. And it is set to finish in two weeks anyway." He answered, seeming to draw a quick breath from recollecting the memory.
"And how would you describe your experience there? Anyone in particular stand out?" Harry asked, scribbling away at his notepad.
"It's been good, honestly boring but good for work experience. The only person I've really spoke to is the boss and Matthew, but our conversations never really drifted from work. We were work friends not real friends to clarify."
The interview lasted just over twenty minutes longer and covered mental health and family, Pete was given both of their private phone numbers in case he wanted to talk. Walking outside of the station, he ignored the bus stop and carried straight ahead, listening to music as he strolls along. The skies were blue, clear and sunny no matter the distance he seemed like he would enjoy it, almost skipping along.
Cars pass by, along with his usual bus, all of it drowned out by indie music. An hour passes and the path seems to stretch on, painfully so at this point. The roads are quiet and so are the birds, he even took off his headphones, but even the boats are silent. He kept them off, wanting to be on alert in the eery emptiness. More time goes by and he looks behind him.
His stomach drops.
Ripped grey trousers, split leather shoes, a torn black shirt showing his gut and a dirty green jacket atop it. The very image of Jed before he died followed behind him, only 10 steps away. But the worst part was the grin, the yellowed and blackened teeth revealed by the crooked smile. He tapped his wrist, slowly and methodically.
'1'
'2'
'3'
'4'
'5'
'6'
He stopped for a moment, they were both stood there staring at one another. Suddenly, Jed broke into a frenzied sprint towards him, cutting through any notions of sanity. Pete broke away quickly, darting away from the man and directly down the path. The chase begun and Pete had the lead, Jed was closing in quickly with his hands out ready to grasp him.
Adrenaline was coursing through Pete's body and he pushed to sprint, harder and faster. And it felt futile as he never got any further away, he only kept getting closer and closer to the old man's grip. Millimetres away now and Pete was prepared for a fight to the death. Suddenly he felt the hand snag onto his t-shirt, ripping him away from his prized distance and his eyes closed, scared for his life.
"Woah there careful mate, you nearly ran into road!" Pete opened his eyes to see a rotund, balding man looking down at him and holding onto the back of his shirt. He seemed amused and yet concerned over Pete. The scenery changed as well, no longer was he on that path, but he sprinted far enough that he was nearly home. Behind him was the roads he ignored and the people he pushed, completely unaware in his focus.
"Uh thank you, I'm sorry about that man" He awkwardly brushed himself off and looked around, careful for any grinning strangers. He crossed the road in front of his with a slight hunch to his back, trying to subtly get low to the ground for a running start.
——-
"So there's still no definite link about all this then?" Vince spoke, sat cross legged on the floor and leaning back onto his palms.
"Well maybe there isn't one, it could be a gory and extremely unlikely coincidence. We at least know that all the victims watched the suicide before theirs, the new one is no different. So all we have to do now is just watch and wait, not too many forms or even effort needs to be put into that." Harry rocked side to side on the chair as he laid out the plans for the week.
"I suppose there's not much else to do in Whitby aside from kick kids out of the Mcdonald's every now and then." Vince resigned to himself, "Right so let's get some character witnesses for Pete here and see if it changes over the week, he's going home now so I think we should start with the internship he was at." An agreement was made and they both started their walk over the Fishco building, hardly a ten minute walk but still warranted a mocha for them both.
Reception was easy to get past as the two men simply showed badges and explained they're here to ask questions about Pete Marley. A moment passed and they were given the green light to go to the fourth floor, bad un-copyrighted music played on the elevator up.
"Do you think I need to go up a size in shirt? I think this one hugs me too tightly." Harry started tugging on the bottom of his shirt, trying to create some bagginess at the base.
"What? What you on about mate?" Vince scrunched up his face immediately confusion and asked.
"Well I haven't been on my diet properly since the new year and I put on a stone, I just wanted a second opinion." Honestly, Harry answered the question and elaborated. A weird silence passed as Vince looked at Harry like he grew a new head, only to be interrupted by the doors opening.
Just as they were walking out Vince spoke quieter, "No, you have the right tone to play it off well." And he walked ahead as if to motion the end of the conversation, but Harry still seemed pleased at the response.
The first location they needed to go was a manager's office, someone who is directly responsible for knowing their employees. They knocked on the door thrice as were beckoned inside.