The Killer Among Us

Chapter 24

Nine days left

Eddie

It had been a while since my phone call with Jacob last night. Deep down I felt impotent, useless, because I couldn't give him the answers he needed.

I sat in front of my multiple screens, smoking a cigarette and enjoying the cloud of nicotine that filled my lungs.

My body still ached from Jacob beating me but I knew that I deserved it. In a way, that's why I didn't fight back - as a way of penance.

Burke still frequently called me but I never answered, knowing that Jacob didn't want me to.

Browsing through various government files to find something that could assist in Jacob's search, I stumbled upon Ava's death certificate.

She died because of blunt force trauma to her head, succumbing to the instant death the trauma caused. There was a high amount of blood loss post mortem.

"Fuck, that sounds familiar," I mumbled, the cigarette dangling from my lips.

I compared her autopsy report to the ones of the victims. There were many discrepancies between them. For example, Ava didn't show signs of mutilation or torture. There was nothing in the files indicating that she was abducted either.

"So, just a bloody coincidence?" I wondered, not entirely buying into it and casually blowing out smoke.

Still, her autopsy report ruled the official cause of death an accident. There was no further investigation into her death either.

If it really was an accident then why did no one know about it?

"Just seems fishy, if you ask me," I mumbled, cracking open a can of beer, "But no one ever asks me." I laughed to myself, thinking that it's probably better that no one ever involves me.

Not finding anything new in the other files, I moved on to looking through old High School photos of me and Jacob. Not one showed the couple, they were incredibly secretive and I never got why.

"What were you hiding, Ava?" I whispered as I looked at her yearbook photo. She truly was beautiful but that's where my affection with her stopped. To me, she seemed dull, arrogant, like there was nothing unique about her beyond the surface.

"Just a normal, pretty cheerleader," I said to myself, "Or was she?"

This whole situation was beyond anything I could ever imagine and seeing Jacob in this state scared me. He was like a brother to me, more loyal than my actual brothers ever were. I considered him family, making Aria my sister, too. Deep down, I feared what would happen if he didn't find her in time, what it would do to him.

When I closed my eyes, I saw the victim's autopsy reports but instead of their own faces, they all looked like Aria.

Slowly but surely, the day was coming to an end and I got increasingly worried because Jacob hadn't called me yet. I anticipated that he wouldn't call me all that often but something inside of me troubled me, as I could sense that he was in danger.

Then, around midnight, I couldn't take the uncertainty anymore, so I tried to call him.

The ringing of the phone went on and on. Still, no sign of Jacob.

I tried the number of the burner phone instead, hoping to have more luck.

Again, I felt like a fool listening to the constant taunting of the ringing.

"Come on, man," I pleaded with him. "Just answer the damn phone."

Still, Jacob never answered and the fear that something happened to him made me nauseous. So, I decided to go out, take my mind off of things.

When I walked out of the apartment building, the cold air made me shiver instantly, biting the fresh wounds on my face. Knowing every path around this neighborhood, every sidestreet, put me at ease. Uncertainty was crippling to me, it always was.

"That is why you never try to succeed at anything, Eddie," Jacob always said, "You are too scared of not knowing the outcome."

I walked down the street, observing everything around me and breathing the fresh air.

Inwardly cursing that I forgot my cigarettes, I turned around to get them when I suddenly saw a black car driving by suspiciously slow. The tinted windows made it impossible for me to see the driver and yet I still felt his eyes on me, looking me up and down, before driving off into the distance.

"This asshole is surveilling me," I cursed to myself.

Now I really had no way to help Jacob. If I drove by his motel room to check up on him, I could lead the police and the Serpent to him, only putting his search for Aria in jeopardy.

Feeling even more lost than before, I hid in my apartment, praying that Jacob would call me and tell me that he was okay. There was no way I could find Aria on my own - only he held the key to solving this mystery and I would do everything in my power to help him discover it.

***********************************************************************************************

Hope you enjoyed this shorter chapter and that it helped you get to know Eddie a little better. Today's shoutout goes to Peppermint-Whiskers. I am grateful to have you as a new reader and I hope you like The Killer Among Us :)