“Hey, what are you reading there? The cover looks interesting”, Rachel said as she leaned towards the man sitting across from her on the metro bus.
“Oh, it’s called ‘Charles Levi’, about the notorious serial killer. He killed over 2,000 people in 1998 before he passed in 1999. An FBI agent wrote it, talking about her time chasing him down”, the man said.
“Oh wow, is it good? she asked.
“Pretty much. It’s kind of interesting to me because the agent mentions that the hardest part about trying to track down a serial killer is figuring out who he or she is. But they killed him in 2000, which is crazy to me. How can you kill a serial killer if you don’t know which one did the killing? But what do I know?”
The man chuckled as he reached his hand up to pull the string attached to the window, signaling the bus driver to make a stop ahead.
“Yeah, I get what you are saying. It was nice meeting you today. Uh, I didn’t catch your name,” she said as she extended her hand.
“Oh, I’m David, David Lewis”, he said as he made his way off the bus.
What a nice guy. I’ll have to buy that book one day, sounds pretty interesting. Oh shoot, he left his book on the seat.
“Wait, David,”
Rachel shouted as she rushed off the bus with the book. Her business attire didn’t help her chase, as her heels would not allow her to move quickly. Plus, the tight skirt she had on didn’t let her fully extend her legs to run. David could be seen from a distance walking into a small house at the end of the block.
“David you forgot this,” she said as she stopped in front of the small house. He could be seen from the window, walking towards a woman cooking over a stove.
“That must be his wife or something. I’ll leave this on the…”
Before Rachel could utter another statement, she saw David pull out a knife and began stabbing the woman in the chest. His hand covering her mouth muted her screams. She looked on in complete disbelief as David placed the lifeless body on the ground. When he looked up, he saw Rachel standing in the yard. The two locked eyes and she screamed.
He made his way out the door towards her. She panicked, dropped everything, and ran for her life. When he came out all was left was the book and her small purse.
“Knock, Knock.” James opened the door within seconds.
“Rachel, where have you been? I have been worried sick about you. You were supposed to be home at five so we can get ready for our dinner reservations.”
Rachel ran inside her home, scared to death, as her husband continued to question where she had been. She was drenched with sweat from all the running; she had ran for blocks before she reached her destination. Her mind roamed for minutes before she came to her senses.
“Babe, I saw a man kill someone,” she said as tears rushed out of her eyes.“What? Why didn’t you call the police?” James said as a look of concern crept across his face.
“I left my phone and everything at the scene. I was too scared. I panicked and left everything there. David, or whatever his name is, could be on his way here,” she said as she started to look around.
“Calm down, go get the house phone and call the police while I make you some tea. Tell them everything you saw, every little detail you remember. Forget reservations- we will get through this,” he said as he guided her to the living room.
Rachel picked up the phone and started to call, while James was in the kitchen making tea on the stove.
“911, what is your emergency?”
“My name is Rachel Anderson, and I would like to report a crime,” she said with a very shaky voice.
“ Miss, what happened?”
“I saw a man murder someone. He stabbed a woman over and over.”
“Where was this located?”
“ It was on 74th…”(Beep)
“Hello, hello, honey I think the line went dead.”
“ That’s not the only thing that went dead. Rachel, you shouldn’t have bothered me when I was on the bus. Maybe your boy toy would still be alive.”
Rachel stood up, scared for her life, and walked into the kitchen to see her husband on the ground, bleeding out the side of his neck.
“What did you do to him?” she cried.
“I put him out of his misery just- like I’m going to do to you.”
David walked over James body and charged at her. She turned and ran upstairs, trying to make her way to the bedroom, where her husband kept his pistol. Realizing she couldn’t make it in time, she hid in the closet.
“Come here. Make this easier on yourself,” David said as he walked up the stairs.
Hidden inside the master bedroom closet, she sat on the floor. trying not to make a sound. She put her hands together and prayed silently, while David looked through every room.
“Please God, let me make it out of this alive. I don’t know what to do. I will never talk to someone on the bus ever again. I want to make it out of this alive.” Her prayers were interrupted when the closet door opened up.
“Ahh”