Oscar sat down in the chair by his office door, and looked outside. The next few hours went by.
Oscar sat there and stared outside. He thought to himself, "What am I doing? It's not like she'll go to the police." Oscar grabbed a bottle of scotch that was on his desk. He was just toying with it, when there was a knock on his door.
Oscar stood, and said, "Come in." The door opened, and Lucas stood there. Oscar said, "Hey."
Lucas Lumen was a short man, his eyes a dark blue that was cold and hard, but also dripping with charisma. He wore a black, tailored jumpsuit with a high and low-cut V-neck, emphasizing his chest, arms, and legs. The dark blue was a nice complement to his brown hair. He was wearing black, well-worn shoes that matched his suit. His dark, sharp-looking glasses were rounded. Lucas Lumen was not an imposing man, but the way he carried himself with his posture made him look stronger. He was also a man who was obviously well educated, as his hair style and clothes reflected this. Lucas Lumen seemed to be just that kind of man; he was a man you could trust without being nervous or hesitant to do so.
Lucas looked around, and said, "I'm supposed to show you something."
Oscar said, "Something?"
"A message."
Oscar said, "Show me the message."
Lucas reached into his pocket, and pulled out a folded up piece of paper. He unfolded it. It was a photo of a wolf. He looked at Oscar, and said, "The man who took this wanted me to give it to you."
Oscar said, "What is it?"
"A clue."
Oscar said, "Clue to what?"
"To where the next victim is."
Oscar frowned. "How... Do you know? No." He said, a little too quickly.
"I don't know. The man who took the picture... He was shot."
Oscar's heart skipped a beat. He said, "Shot? Who would shoot a...?" "Wait... So you met the killer!?" Oscar excitedly asked Lucas. "Where is he, then?"
"I don't know. He's... Gone."
Oscar said, "Gone?"
"Yes." Lucas said, "He... Disappeared."
Oscar said, "Disappeared?" Oscar considered this. "Could he have been... Killed?"
Lucas said, "I don't think so. Not unless he was dead already."
"Well, you did mention he was shot... No, so far the killer has proven himself to be a showman; if he faked his death, then that would bring more news coverage - Something he would absolutely want, we can't give that to him. Lucas, under no circumstance should the media find out about this, do you understand?" Oscar told Lucas.
"Yes, sir."
Lucas then left Oscar to go back to his cubicle. Oscar sat down at his desk, and considered his options.
He could ignore the note, and go back to ignoring the strange things that went on in the world.
Or, he could find out more about this killer. He knew that he had to do something. Something, and that something was not to ignore the clues. Oscar drank his scotch, put on his trench coat, grabbed his police badge, and left the police station.
He walked out into the cold night. Oscar found his white Sudan, and drove off.
After a few minutes, he pulled into the parking lot of a gas station. He killed the engine, and got out of the car. He walked inside, and said to the cashier, "I need a flashlight."
The cashier handed it to him, and said, "Sir?"
"It's for the investigation into the disappearance of the missing children, we found a new clue, but it's the woods; I just need one." Oscar then paid the $2.50 for the flashlight. Oscar walked out of the gas station convenience store, and headed towards his car. That was, until he smelled something funny coming from the back parking lot of the store.
Oscar then entered the backlot of the store, and found a trail of blood. He followed it, and found a young woman leaning against a tree. She was unresponsive.
He said, "Hey, are you alright?" She didn't respond. Oscar said, "Ma'am, please, can you hear me?" Still no response. Oscar grabbed her, and started to carry her towards his police vehicle. As he did, she opened her eyes, and stared at him.
She stared at Oscar, and said, "Don't... Please don't."
Oscar said, "Calm..."
"Just... Go away." Oscar considered what to do.
"Wait here," Oscar put her down in his car, pulled out his phone, and called 911. He waited for the operator to pick up, and said into the phone, "911, what's your emergency?"
Oscar said, "I just found a young woman, she appears to have been... Shot."
The operator said, "I'll send the police and an ambulance out right away."
"No, no!" Oscar said, "Stay with me, stay with me!" He noticed the woman was bleeding from her chest, so he tried to stem the flow of blood by putting his hand on top of her gunshot wound. Still the blood came.
"Just... Go away... I can't be saved..."
"I'm a cop; it's my job to help."
"Just get..." He could hear sirens in the background. "Will she... Die? I don't know," Oscar thought, his mind wavering.
"Just... Get..." The woman stopped moving.
"Stay with me!" Oscar said, "Help is on the way." The woman looked directly at Oscar, and said, "Do you promise?"
"Yes! Yes, I promise. Just please, please live...!" But, it was already too late. The woman had become quiet. Oscar said, "I'm sorry..."
Oscar looked at the woman's lifeless body, and considered what he could do. He balled up his fist in anger, and punched the concrete sidewalk. Oscar then wiped the blood off his face, and said to himself, "I'm going to find the son of a bitch who did this, no matter what..."
Finally, the police and ambulances arrived. A crowd began to form. Oscar approached a uniformed officer, and said, "I found this woman in the back lot of the convenience store; she was... Shot."
The officer said, "We'll need to take her to the hospital."
Oscar said, "No, just let me know when you have something to move her to, I'll take care of her here. I'm a cop after all." The officer was still hesitant. He was new, and didn't know all of the officers in his force yet. Oscar then said, "My name is Oscar Polifka, I'm a police officer... Well, sort of." The officer then let Oscar into the back of the police vehicle for questioning.
While Oscar was in the back of the police vehicle, one of the officers called, "Hey, Lieutenant, they just found another body, in the woods. It's a young woman. Looks like she's been..."
"Shot?" Oscar replied.
"Yeah, do you want me to take a sample of the suspect's blood? We can get a full DNA profile in a couple of hours."
Oscar said, "No, just take me to the crime scene."
The officer then said, "Are you sure? Lieutenant..."
Oscar said, "No arguments, let's go."
"But what about questioning the Lieutenant?" Another officer asked.
Oscar said, "Later, if I have any leads, I'll be sure to let you know. Right now, I need you to make sure nothing else disappears from the convenience store. Besides, the cashier saw everything he could; he'll be my testimony."
The officers said, "Yes, Sir." They then led Oscar to the woods, and pointed towards a fresh crime scene.
Oscar said, "Do you mind if I...?" The officers said, "Yes", so Oscar took a deep breath, and approached the scene.
When he arrived, a CSI team was just arriving. A man with a camera pointed it at Oscar, and said, "Get some shots of the... Scene. Let's see what they got."
Oscar then approached the body of the woman, and said, "Any identification on her yet?"
A detective said, "Her name is Erin Tierney. Twenty-two years old from Omaha."
Oscar nodded. "How'd she die?"
"Single shot to the chest, close range." Answered the detective.
"Any prints, dents, or anything like that?" Asked Oscar.
"No, nothing." Replied the detective.
"What about the gun?"
"Can't find it. Probably still with the killer."
Oscar said, "I've got a nose for this. I'll find out what happened."
The detective asked, "How?" He pointed at the dried blood on Oscar's face, and said, "Christ, Polifka! What happened?"
Oscar said, "I was at a gas station before I came here, and... And I found another victim, a female, bleeding out from being shot. Exactly like our victim here, which leads me to believe... It's the same killer for both. Why is he only targeting females?"
The detective sighed, and said, "Guess we'll never know. Maybe he's... A sexist."
Oscar said, "That's a possibility. What do we do now?"
"Not a whole lot, I'm afraid. We can't go on a... Genuine... Search-and-rescue mission, without any probable cause, and armed only with a camera. I'm afraid we're just going to have to wait for someone to find the body and call in the report. And then, we wait some more."
"You might be right, but it's still bullshit!" Oscar said, "I'm a police officer, and I can't solve a crime that hasn't been committed yet!"
The detective said, "I'm sorry, but there's nothing you can do." Just then, Oscar's phone buzzed. He picked it up; it was from Hauswirth.
"Hauswirth," he said, "What's up?"
"I.. I want to help out with the case."
Oscar said, "I thought you were a lone wolf?"
"I am... But I thought I could be useful. How good is the information I can give you?"
"Honestly? Pretty good. What do you have in mind?"
"I have a theory on who killed these women."
Oscar said, "Go on."
"Last night... I had an encounter with the masked figure from the theater incident... They came to my room, and taunted me. I believe whoever that was, they did it."
"You're sure?"
"Pretty sure. As sure as I can be without going to sleep and waking up."
"Alright, go on."
"Well, I confronted them, and they said they knew I was watching them. They said it was, like, their job or something. They said they'd be watching me, and they wanted... They wanted to be on my show... As a killer."
Oscar said, "Alright, that's pretty detailed for a hunch. What else?"
"I know they're watching my hotel room now... And I can't figure out a way to get rid of them..."
Oscar said, "How do you know they're watching your room?"
Hauswirth said, "I can't guarantee the secrecy of my information, so please be careful what you say next."
"Yeah, sure."
"Anyway, they're watching me. I know they are."
"What are you going to do?"
"Kick ass."
"What?"
"I'm going to do what I do best. I'm going to figure out who... What..."
Oscar said, "I don't know. Figure it out?"
"Yeah."
"Listen, Hauswirth; I'm currently investigating a murder, but I do appreciate your testimony, I really do, but I can't... We can't do anything until we get more information. So, please try to be patient for a little bit longer."
"But what if they kill again? I mean, what if...?"
"If they kill again, we'll deal with it. I'm not going to sit around and wait for that to happen."
"Well... Okay."
Oscar said, " "Now you be safe, and try not be murdered, ok?"
Hauswirth said, "Okay." Then, "Bye."
"Bye."
Oscar ended the call. Then, he looked up at the night sky.
"Let's get back to the station," he said.