At four forty-five, Jack pulled up his car in the driveway of the office. He had a spare key on him so he had decided to come to the office early. As he tried putting the key in the keyhole he was surprised to see that the door was already opened. "Did Jake forget to lock the door yesterday?" he asked himself. Thinking it was robbery he pulled out his Glock and went in with caution. He went round from corner to corner but did not find anybody. As he continued his search he heard something fall. He ran in the direction of the sound went around a corner and saaaaaaaaw Bernice. "Ahhh!!! You scared me." Bernice said. "What are you doing here at this time?" Bernice asked. "That's an ironic question which I could also ask you." Jack replied. "Anyway I came early to give Jake the info we got yesterday." he added. "Me too. Sooo should we wait together?" she asked. "Okay." he replied. As she moved towards the bench which was next to James she tripped and fell on him causing them to fall on the floor with Bernice on top of James. James's eight-inch snake started to grow in length so he pushed her off. "I'm so sorry." she apologized. They stood up and sat on the bench. After five minutes of complete and utter silence, Bernice decides to break the silence. "Sooo how was your night." she asked. "Good." he answered. "Did you have any dreams tonight?" she asked again. "No." he answered. Bernice seeing that James did not want to talk to her decided for the first time to say something her ego had pushed out a long time ago. She turned to face him held his hands and proceeded to speak. "James I am..." Just then they a sound that came from the front door. They rushed to see what it was. "Jaake!" she shouted as she rushed to hug the director. "How was your night?" she asked. "It was cool but what are you two doing here at this time?" he asked. "We came here to give you some info we got yesterday." James responded. "Well let's go to the office." Jake suggested as they got his keys out of his pocket.
"So let me get this straight. He applied for a job at the area he sent us, left, and left you a death threat?" Jake asked. "Yes." James answered. "It's either he's stupid or just wants to get caught but why?" Jake asked again. After an hour of discussing they had still not found an answer. James and Bernice decided to hit the road because it was six am already. When they got out of the office they were surprised to see that almost everyone was there. Just then the cadet who shared the letters came with a new batch. "Letters, letters, get your letters!" he shouted. "Annabel. Jacqueline. Cole. Noah. Director Jake." he said as he continued sharing the letters. He kept sharing until it was left with one. "And this is for Detectives James and Bernice," he said handing the letter to them. The second they took the letter from him they heard a commotion in the driveway.
When they got there they saw something horrific. On the floor was Sergeant Alexander's body and it looked like he was struggling with someone and the person made him Julius Ceaser. He had been stabbed in the back with twenty-three knives which were still there.
FOURTH WALL BREAK
But you might ask, "Weren't people passing when he killed" and the answer is no. Only a selected few know the office which is located at a secluded and hidden place. You might also ask, "Why is the office hidden in the first place?" The answer is the government just to waste money so while people think they are at the main office they are at a secluded location so all letters sent to them are sent from the main office. Okay back to the story.
"How did this happen?" Jake asked. They all shrugged because they were all inside. James, Jake, and Bernice went forward to examine the body. When they turned him over they found a note. It had the words 'Mr Alexander' written on it with blood. When James and Bernice read the note they remembered something. "Mr Alexander. He came here about three days ago looking for a job as my housekeeper." "Mr Alexander. That's the name he used when we asked the lady who housed him." Jake said out loud. "Okay, we get it. He's using the names of the person he's going to kill the next day so get going before someone else dies!" Jake ordered. "Yes sir." They said as they got in their car and drove to the location.
"Okay, what does today's note say?" Jake asked as he started the engine. "Just like mom's cooking." Bernice read. James smiled and looked at Bernice. "I think I know the place." He then drove off as the others went inside. After driving for about an hour James parked at a Wendy's driveway. "James, what are we doing here?" Bernice asked. "Wendy likes advertising itself as mom's cooking but which one so I figured the one nearest to his previous location." James answered. They made their way inside and sat at a table. After five minutes of waiting a young boy came to them. "Good morning sir and madam. I'll be your server today. What are you ordering today?" he asked. "I'll have the bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit combo." James requested. The boy jotted it and looked over to Bernice. "What about you ma'am?" he asked. Bernice looked through until her eyes saw something she liked. "I'll have the sausage, egg, and Swiss croissant." she replied. "Any drinks to go with it?" asked the boy again. "We'll have coke." Bernice said before James could say anything. The boy jotted it and went to the kitchen. After waiting for fifteen minutes the boy brought their food. "Thanks, kid." James said shaking the kid's hand. They began eating their food. James took a bite out of his burger and began to chew then he swallowed it. As he opened his mouth to take another bite he spotted something in his burger. He pulled it out her realized it was a paper. "Wooow. A paper, in my burger." he said as he opened the paper. He read the note and was appalled at what had happened. "Is this the only way 'Shadow' can deliver a letter?" he asked rhetorically. "What's it say?" Bernice asked. James began to read. "You're late again James. Just like always. Did you like my present this morning? Anyway since the day is still young let's keep the game going. Take this riddle and catch me if you can." James turned the note and saw a riddle.
"I'm a place where the wild things Play,
But also where humans come to Kill some stress,
I have lakes, and hills, and trees so that Raise so tall,
And a famous statue that stands at All.
What am I?"
Jack and Bernice studied and read the riddle over and over again until they saw something. "Look, Bernice." James called as he noticed something. "Look some letters are spelt in caps." the said pointing them out. "You're right." she replied. "And they spell PARK." James added. They smiled at each other and got in the car. "Okay, park but one?" Bernice asked as they got in the car. "The letter says
I'm a place where the wild things Play,
But also where humans come to Kill some stress,
I have lakes, and hills, and trees so that Raise so tall,
And a famous statue that stands at All." James replied. After reciting it over and over again a light bulb went off in James' head. "I think I know the place." he said with a smile on his face. While driving to the park the duo made a shocking discovery. It was ten AM meaning they spent three hours at Wendy's. "How did we lose track of time?" James asked.
Within forty- five minutes they had arrived. "Crystal Park." James said as they alighted. "The only place where wild things play, humans kill stress, contains lakes, hills, and terrifyingly tall trees. And all in all has a statue of the mayor at the center just like everything that was stated in the letter." James explained. They entered the park and proceeded to search for their man. "I think we should split up." James suggested. Bernice was visibly worried at what James had said so she tried persuading him but stopped before the words left her mouth. She just turned and walked away. After searching for two hours to avail James decided to give up. As he turned around to leave, he saw a child running. "Mister, mister." he called out as he rushed towards James. "Hey, kid. What's wrong?" James asked. "Mr Ryan the park caretaker said I should do this." the kid answered handing James a paper. James realizes who 'Mr. Ryan' took the paper and asked the boy, "Hey kid could you point me in the direction of Mr. Ryan?" The kid replied, "I'd love to but he said you are supposed to find him, and me showing you is cheating." James smiled at the boy's honesty. Bro, you're here smiling at a boy who did not show you the direction of Shadow who is the most prolific serial killer on earth. Anyway, James gave the kid some money and thanked him for the letter. The kid turned and went off. James opened the letter and began reading its content.
Meanwhile Bernice instead of searching for 'shadow' was sitting on one park bench sulking. A man seeing this came to her and initiated a conversation. "Hey, ma'am. What's wrong?" he asked. "Nothing." she replied. "Tell me." he insisted. "My partner who I've been trying to come back together with me keeps pushing me back." she said. "You know something..." said the man. "What?" Bernice asked. The man replied, "Just stop trying and he'll come back to you. I know Jame... I mean I know men 'cause I am one." As he was talking Bernice remembered what something he said. "Wait did you say you know James?" she interrupted. The man turned and said no. Bernice stood up to catch him but he had already prepared for this. He had locked her in place with his broom. He ran away and a few seconds later James arrived at the scene. "Where is he?" he asked. "He just ran away a few seconds ago." she replied. "Wait how did you know he was here?"Bernice asked. "I'll explain when we get to the car." James said. "Right now what's the time?" James asked. Bernice checked her phone and gasped in astonishment. "It's five fifteen." Bernice answered. "Five what?!"James asked in shock. After calming down he said, "Okay, okay. Let's go back to the car." They got out of the park and got to their car. When they got to the car James brought out the note from his pocket. On it was the message, 'How WAS your girlfriend.' "This was how I knew he was with you." he said. Even though she was sad and angry at herself for not catching 'Shadow' the fact that James still remembered she was his girl. "But I have bad news." James said saddening the moment. Bernice raised her head and asked, "What is it, James?" He also looked up at her and said, "I know who is going to die tomorrow." As they started the car to drive home they noticed something they hadn't seen previously. In between the windscreen wipers was a note. It read "James, James, James. You're just like how I remember you. Slow, selfish, and always too late. At least your girlfriend is smarter than you oh wait, she's no longer your girlfriend because of the incident. Anyway, this is day two and I am still loose. Say goodbye to Officer Ryan." After reading the letter the duo sat in the car and drove off without uttering a word to each other. When James gets home he warms up some spaghetti, eats, and sticks the day's note on his wall. He then goes to his bedroom and proceeds to watch a video about when he and Bernice were together. After thinking about it he decides to call Bernice. First try, no answer. Second try, no answer. Third try. After ringing for a few seconds someone picked up the phone. James was shocked to the core when he heard someone moaning. James dropped the phone on the floor and fell on his bed. He cried himself to sleep the whole night after his heart was smashed into a Gazillion pieces.