12
October 22nd, Noon
The community center had been nearly torn apart looking for clues after the discovery of Laura Nelson’s slain body. It was the fifth murder of one of the centers’ employees and the second one committed at the center itself.
In the 24 hours after the press conference, forensics were able to tell that the murder was committed the night of the 20th, or in the early hours of the 21st, no less than an hour or so before Kristen Keller. The murder weapon was once again a knife or some sort of sharp blade – it had become the killers’ signature tool.
Laura Nelson was found stabbed to death, and was left sitting at her desk with the four remaining pumpkins on display around her. The room had been pitch dark when Ashley Penner arrived for work. She flipped on the light and was greeted by the horrific sight.
Bruce Slater arrived shortly after to see Ashley in a hysterical frame of mind and called the police himself.
Carter walked up to the police station with a handful of journalists and photographers pestering him. Kelly Rodgers was among them.
“I’m sorry, I cannot speak on the topic right now.” Carter kept repeating that as he tried to dodge them all. He was growing tired and more stressed as the days passed. He finally fought his way through and entered the police station where Bethany was just hanging up on a call.
“Beth, one of those infuriating reporters is Kelly Rodgers. Will you please get her and bring her around back. I want to speak with her,” Carter said.
“Sure thing, Sheriff.” Bethany stood up and went to the door, where the reporters were disbanding. She stopped and turned around. “Oh, Sheriff, Jamie Dart is in your office. He said he wanted to run something by you.”
“Great,” Carter laughed, “probably another theory that will end up going nowhere.”
“At least he’s trying, Sheriff,” Bethany said as she walked out the front door. Carter stared back at her, not sure if that was a jab at the investigation, or in defense of Dart.
Carter sat down in his office where Officer Dart was waiting. He put his hands together and placed them on his desk. He looked across at Dart.
“Okay, what do you have?” Carter asked.
Dart was holding a packet of papers. The top one was a copy of the latest letter the killer had sent, explaining the legend.
“Thanks for hearing me out, Sheriff,” Dart said politely, and then continued with his newest theory. “Well, as we know, the killer is obviously trying to become a local legend. In doing so, he’s putting on a production for the world. Everyone across the country has heard about our situation by now. He’s sending letters, creating surreal scenarios for the locals, and he’s murdering everyone who was involved in the festival. Now, he will either be satisfied with the cancellation – if that is what he was trying to accomplish – or he will be furious. He obviously wants this town to be known for something big. He wants attention.”
“So your saying…what exactly?” Carter questioned.
“We need to be looking into either of those two types.” Dart laid out a few more files on the desk. “I was going through the interrogation interviews and files on the individuals. If the killer was looking for the cancellation the whole time, we should look into Aiden Becker. He’s not involved with the festival, and in a nutshell, he doesn’t even like it. Throw into the mix that his brother has been living a secret life and is not the person he thought he was looking up to, you have yourself a pretty solid case for more questioning.”
Carter nodded his head, pondering the theory.
“Now, for the complete opposite.” Dart pulled out another persons file and pushed it in front of the Sheriff. “Bruce Slater. He employed all of the deceased. He has easy access to the community center, as well as his employees personal and work schedules. It also seems, from numerous tips and quotes that he is grossly obsessed with the festival, even wanting it to continue after the creator of the event was killed. He likes the attention the festival brings to the town and him. Who is to say he’s not just raising the bar this year?”
Carter sat back with a smile on his face. “Good work, Dart. Keep up this kind of work and you may actually retire from the FBI one of these days. Let’s bring these guys in.”
Dart smiled, satisfied with his theory, and in the back of his mind, crossed his fingers that he was right. He stood up and left the office just as Bethany was escorting in Kelly Rodgers.
Kelly sat down, and an arousing scent of a flower based perfume wafted in Carter’s direction. Kelly smiled and pointed back to the exiting Jamie Dart.
“Did I just hear you say, ‘let’s bring them in’?” Kelly asked, eager for a new story. “Does it have to do with the Harvest Slasher?”
“Stop,” Carter said, trying to remain professional. Kelly’s smile disappeared.
“Stop what?”
“Stop prying. Stop speculating. Stop investigating and most importantly, stop fueling the killer. Deputy Reed and I specifically told you not to publish that ‘Harvest Slasher’ crap. That is exactly what he wants. He wants to make a name for himself, and you pretty much just handed it to him. Do you know how much more dangerous you have made this whole situation?”
“Don’t accuse me of ‘fueling’ a psychopath. He was going to do all of this with or without my little nickname. I’m a writer. A catchy nickname will grab the readers’ attention. The more attention the story receives, the more attention people will pay to the case – that means more tips. And don’t tell me to stop investigating. That’s my job. I don’t tell you to stop Sheriff-ing, do I?”
Carter was disgusted by her sarcasm and stubborn attitude. The two of them sat in silence for a moment as they calmed down. Kelly stood up.
“I have a story to write. If I were you, I’d ‘bring them in’ so we can put an end to this, because if you honestly think I want to be writing about innocent people being butchered, then you’re dead wrong. I’d rather write stories on the festival, high school football, or maybe even a hero piece now and then.” She pointed at him during her last example. “Maybe I’ll be able to write a hero piece pretty soon.”
Kelly Rodgers calmly left the office. Carter was silent.
Deputy Reed and Officer Dart exited the police station from the back, and headed towards their cruisers.
“So we’re getting Aiden Becker and Bruce Slater for more questioning?” Reed tried to confirm.
“Yeah.”
“And this was an order from the Sheriff?”
“Yeah.”
“What tipped him off?” Reed asked.
“I was doing some research on the side and it would appear that these two individuals might be worth looking into a little more.” Dart explained.
Reed was impressed. “Good job, rookie. You might survive around here after all.”
“Thanks.” Dart was sincere.
“Okay, I’ll grab Slater, you get Becker,” Reed said, jumping into his cruiser. Dart jumped into his vehicle as well, and they sped out of the parking lot, sounding the lights and sirens.