Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Red Bull ❯ Vol. Five Chap Twenty: No Charge ( Chapter 20 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

No Charge

It's happened again. There's been another dead woman tied to a chain-linked fence.

Watanabe Yuka. Age twenty-one. Another party girl who met her end at a young age. Right off the bat, something looked off about the crime scene. There was another tape player at the victim's feet.

“Same killer?” one of the cops asked.

“Looks like it,” Vince said. He picked up the tape player and hit play.

“My name is Watanabe Yuka and Im going to kill myself. I want to say sorry to my sister and that I love her so very much! I never meant to hurt anyone.” A gunshot cut through the silence. However, there was something else on this recording.

“Happy birthday, Vince-san.” And then the tape ended.

All eyes fell on Vince. The PI couldn't move. Why did that voice sound so familiar?

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Vince needed to get to the bottom of this. Cher Matthews, Jazmin Smalls, and Watanabe Yuka. All three girls were part of the party scene. They never met. Nothing in common either.

At first.

Vince took another look at all three victims. That's when something caught his attention. Well, it was two things. One, they all had been arrested weeks before they were murdered. Cher was for public intoxication. Jazmin for disorderly conduct. Yuka for possession. All three women were arrested by the same cop. Office Kevin Ito.

There was another thing the girls had in common. They all had a birthday on November seventeenth. Okay, there might be a connection.

And then there was the voice on the tape. Now that Vince thought about it, it sounded like the voice on the phone.

The PI rubbed his forehead. One thing at a time here. Good thing he knew where to start.

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Officer Ito wasn't much help.

“Yeah, I arrested them,” he said.

“Were there any problems?” Vince asked.

“No,” he said. “Miss Smalls did try to scratch my face when I tried to pull her off another woman she got in a fight with.”

“Can you tell me about the arrests?”

“Not much.” The officer took a moment to think.

“I took Miss Matthews in to the station when she nearly walked into traffic while drunk. Miss Smalls tried to fight me off when I arrested her. And Watanabe-san just went with me quietly.”

“What drug did you catch her with?”

“Ecstasy.”

“How much?”

“One pill.”

“Anything else?”

“No.”

“You sure?”

“Yes. Look, I just made the arrests. I don't keep track of what happens afterward.”

Vince's phone buzzed in his pocket. “Thank you.”

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Vince had a new text. He didn't recognize the number. Normally, he would've deleted the text. But his instinct told him to take a look.

“Meet me at the Moon Blood Garden. I will tell you everything you need to know. No charge.”

Vince had to reread the text. What the hell was this? It sounded like a trap. And then, three more dots disappeared. Vince raised an eyebrow. He held his breath.

“I will be waiting.”

The PI frowned and rolled his eyes. What choice did he have?

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It's not easy to get to Moon Blood Garden. You have to know what you are looking for. Vince got another text for the directions. His right eye started to twitch. This had to be a joke. No, but it felt like it.

He made it up to the tall iron gates. There was no lock. Vince reached out to touch the gate.

“Welcome!” a voice said over the intercom overhead. Vince jumped back with a gasp. Laughter danced on the air.

“There, there. It's only me.”

“Who are you?”

“Come along and see.” The gate creaked up. Vince looked inside. He touched his gun to his side.

“Come on in,” the voice purred. The PT walked inside.

The dark garden was so dark. Vince took slow steps forward. Step. Step. Step.

“I'm here! Come out and show yourself.” Vince slowed down his steps. A graceful finger tapped him on the shoulder. Vince whipped around; gun drawn. A hazy red light flickered on overhead. A person stood in front of him. Vince narrowed his eyes.

This person looked feminine yet not at the same time. They had on what looked like a long black and gold cheongsam dress. Their messy black curls blended into the dim light.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa there!” the person said. “Easy, big boy! Put the gun down.” Vince didn't put down his gun.

“Who are you?” he asked. The person smirked.

“I killed them,” they said. The voice sounded sweeter than honey.

“What?” Vince asked confused. The person cleared their throat. Was this a real confession?

“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Chiba Enkai. And yes, I killed those girls. I killed them all.”

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