Chapter 2: "Into The Antique Store

I arrived at the scene of the crime at 2 o'clock.

I still have less than 10 hours to solve the reaper's mystery, find the place where he will kill the next victim, stop him from doing so and then capture him. 
Just a typical highschool student's  ordinary day.

The body was found in a narrow street 2 buildings away Arthur's office. Yellow tapes are everywhere. The scene's still filled with police officers.
I can't go nearer. Better find another way.
I started to look around. 
The street is between two buildings. 
Left of the crime scene is an abandoned building. Probably 8 storeys high. The right side is occupied by a 2-storey antique shop.

If we'll talk about a better place to kill someone, I'll put a bet on the abandoned building. 
But why on the street?The fact that the culprit didn't kill Mr. Lanchaster inside the abandoned building tells that he doesn't need to conceal the body. 
In fact he needs it to be seen easily. He wants it to be discovered as soon as possible.Pretty neat. The reaper did a great job. But how did he managed to lead the victim here?

To answer all of my questions, first, I need to find a place to have a better view of the scene.I decided to try the antique store.

The store is quite...antique.Outside, it is painted in a yellowish paint, now dull due to its age. There's a signage made out of wood, situated on the upper part of the building.It reads, "City's Antiques: Home of History".
Maybe the Home of History have something in store for me.

I smiled as I enter the antique shop.
Upon entering, I was welcomed by various vases that I certainly know is much older than me. Masks that look like aztecs' hang on the walls. The wooden floor is covered with a dark carpet. Shelves containing different 'old' things are arranged besides a stair. A girl with short black hair is looking at the shelves while holding a piece of paper as if listing the items.Near the door, an old woman sits behind a table. She must be the owner.

"Good day, cough cough y-young boy. What are you looking for?" The old lady said with a rough voice while coughing. She tried to smile despite the evident pain she's feeling.

"Nothing in particular grandma, just looking for a present for my mom. Can I look around?"
I asked while projecting my sweetest smile, hoping she'll believe me.

"Cough cough Such a sweet boy. G-go on."She answered.

"By the way grandma, such a large crowd outside. What happened?"I glanced at the girl and she's still focused into the shelves.

"Oh yes. cough cough. Those people are policemen. It seems that a millionaire was killed there last night."

"Is that so? So that explains the yellow tapes. Sounds dangerous. It a good thing that you didn't get afraid, grandma."

"Yes, I guess you're right. But honestly, I was afraid that some burglar will go inside my house because of the strange lights I saw last night."

"What lights? Wait, can it be that the lights you're pertaining to is...blinking?"

"That's right! They're indeed blinking. How did you know?"

"Just guessing. Thank you grandma. I'll be going. Gonna find some good present." I said as I pretended to approach the shelves.

There I saw the girl closely.I think she's about my age. She wears a red shirt, jeans and a pair of sneakers. She has a pair of intense blue eyes a dark long hair.
Concentration is vivid in her face while looking at the mini figurines arranged in the shelf.

Well, I better leave her behind.

Slowly, I climb the stairs. The stairs are made of wood making my every step produce creaking sounds. Its so old, I felt like I can fall anytime.Luckily, I managed to reach the second floor without any injuries.

Like the first floor, it's filled with various figurines and vases. At the corner, a ladder can be found, probably leading to the rooftop.

Bingo.

I said to myself as I started climbing the ladder. Seconds after, I found myself standing on the rooftop. Below me is the street filled with policemen and yellow tapes. 
Now I can clearly see the scene of the crime.

On the floor, near the wall, a sketched figure of a man representing the corpse was drawn. Inside the drawing, mostly of the head part, some blood are splattered. A few inches from it, sits a garbage bin about 2 meters wide.

How? How did he do the murder?

Riiiiinnnnggg...Riiiiiiiinggg

Nice timing. Just the thing I need.

"Hello Carl, what's up? Got something for me?"

"Yes. I have a lot. First, let's talk about Arthur Lanchaster. So what do you know about your victim?"

"The only thing I know is that he's the owner of Billionaires Corp. One of Economic Giants. And he died last night."

"Yeah, you're right. But you missed that he's now the most wealthy businessman in the whole world. Also, I dug something fishy about our victim. Ten years ago, his name was caught in a gloomy incident. While he's still starting as a businessman, his secretary, Anne Bryant, was found dead, shot in the forehead, inside his office. It is said that he, together with some companions held a gathering the night before in a restaurant near the office. A witness said that he saw Anne with Lanchaster that night. That's why he was made as the prime suspect. But during the trial, the witness disappeared. Because the witness is gone, the case lacked evidence to pin Lanchaster. So, without a clear suspect, the case was left open."

I was momentarily speechless after hearing what Carl has told me.

"Hey Ace. You still there?"

"Uhh. Yeah. Sorry. Thank you for the information. How about the note. Did you find its content?"

"Ahh! Yes. I almost forgot. I'll email it to you right after we talk."

"Thanks Carl. Such great help. If it's not hard on your part, can you run something for me for the last time?"

"Yes, of course. What is it?"

"Please give me all the information that you can get about that incident 10 years ago."

"Ahh. Sure sure. I'll keep you posted. Goodluck with the case."

I ended the call, assessing what Carl have just told me.I bet my life as a detective. This case from 10 years ago is connected to this current case.

A few minutes later, I received a mail from Carl. 
In the mail, a picture of yellowish paper with letters written in it appeared.
It reads,

"First King Done. Next ♧."

Ewtor hiwt  der tobsyovarre

'" Windowless Room                                                      

-Reaper"

I smiled.

So there's where you gonna play. I looked once more at the mail. Blood rushing through me.

Wait for me reaper. I will end this game of yours soon.

Author's Note

Hey! Thank you for sticking till chapter 2.
Anyone has an idea where the second murder will occur? maybe leave a message if you know and let's see who'll get the right answer. it's all in the note! haha
See you in the next Chapters. :)

Reviews

[hi]

i dont know, :c but i want to know how it ends,i like the story and i know it is a short story,but i think the reaper needs a reason for why he is doing it,but i guess i will find that out at the end of the story

[Stella Sky]

Ahh yes i'm still working on it. but all that needs to be revealed will be offered in the next chapters. :) any suggestions on how i can make this story more interesting?

[hi]

hey so i guess ACE is the protagonist,so make a good reason why he needs to save the kings,like if they are dead war could start or maybe one of the kings is a good friend of his,needs a reason why he trying to save the kings,because it dont seem like it matters deeply that one king has died,and i really want to know how the reaper got past all the guards and kill a king,he must be skilled or the king guards are not getting paid enough,maybe its more then one reaper and it s a group,what if you made it so ACE would get in trouble if he didt stop the reaper,and i really want to know why ACE which is in school is a detective and can solve the letter before the cops,to me its early in the book to pin point what could make the story better because it jumps into the action on the first page,when things calm down a little make it so the reader never fully gets all the questions you make in the story,getting off topic but wait till you write a little more until i can help more,ok love that it 1st person, i wrote 3rd and not sure if it was a good idea

[Stella Sky]

hey. thank you for these things you've pointed out. I'll do my best to explain each point in the story in the following chapters. :) I just feel like it'll be better if the readers will have a lot of questions about the story to make them follow the rest of the story. haha im not sure if i made a good decision to do it this way and only publishing 3 chapters and not following it for a long time is also a bad move. But I promise I'll do my best and make the story clear and at the same time wonderful.
i write in 1st person because I want to focus on my character's emotions or inner feelings. to make the readers see what is going on his head, what he is feeling etc. haha i don't know either if my disposition about these things is correct. haha sorry

you writing in 3rd person is not a bad idea. I think if you're comfortable with it and you think that it'll give your story a great view for the readers to understand, using a 3rd person perspective is really great. in fact i believe that persons who use 3rd persons are really capable writers because they can show the readers each character's inner behaviour without using 1st person.

thank you very much for your reviews. they really serve as a good help for me. i hope i can help you too in the near future. :)

[hi]

if this keeps up i will never know how it ends or if he learns why the killer is trying to kill the kings

[Stella Sky]

sorry but i can't find the time to write an update yet. so many things going on. im really sorry but ill do it as soon as my schedule became free. im really sorry

[hi]

calm down it is ok,i dont want to make you feel bad,best take care of what ever it is,keep your head held high,sorry if i made you try and rush

[Stella Sky]

no, it's okay. thank you for understanding. it means a lot