Chapter 1

Jared Harrow sat down on his couch, still panting from chasing his dog, Majora, to the park five miles from his house.  Majora’s been getting out a lot lately and Jared didn’t like it.  Dogs were going missing and he had an idea about who was doing it.  

Jared’s cell phone rang and he picked it up to see his friend, Tanner, was calling.  

“Hello?” Jared answered.

“Have you watched the news?” He asked in an excited tone.  

“No.  Why?”  

“An escaped inmate was killed!  How have you not heard?”

“I was chasing my dog.  What was the guys name? Scott?”

“Scott Varley.  The guy who killed his wife.”  Tanner was sounding more ecstatic by the second.

“So first we had an escapee and now we have a murderer?  Sound wonderful.” Jared was sarcastic.

“You won’t have that tone when you hear what else I have to say.”  

“Then get to the point.”

“You know how Oklahoma had all of those deaths?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, Scott was found sliced up in the same way all those other deaths were.”

“How’d they find him?”

“In that house he used to live in.  Some teenagers broke in and found him.”  Tanner chuckled.  “Nice date, huh?  They were probably wanting to get laid.”  Jared laughed, given the circumstance.  

“The police don’t have any leads do they?”  

“Of course not.  This man is good at what he does.  He knows how to kill.  Police don’t know how to do their job.  They can’t even catch an escaped prisoner.  A person who they were supposed to be hunting found Scott before they did.”  

“Kansas police aren’t worried about a killer who’s supposed to be in Oklahoma.” Jared informed his friend.  

“They should be worrying now, though.”

“I’m sure they are.”  Jared sighed.  “Look, I’m tired.  I’ll write down the information and watch the news for a little while.  We can meet up tomorrow.”

“I want to go to the house.”  Tanner said and then hung up.  Jared leaned his head back on the couch and rubbed his face.  Then he moved to rest his elbows on his knees.  Majora, the black German Shepherd, nudged Jared’s arm.  

“What?”  He asked the dog.  Majora tilted his head, his large ears alert.  Jared smiled.  His dog’s a dork, but he’s a good friend.  “Come on.” Jared and Majora walked down the small hallway, until the reached a closed door.  Jared reached up and grabbed the key that sat atop the door.  He unlocked it and swung open the door.  

The room had a large map of the United States on one wall, with blue pins attached to it.  The wall across from it had a map of Oklahoma, with red pins and pictures of men- dead and alive- attached to it.  

Jared went to the desk at the end of the room and looked for a journal.  He found the black notebook, titled “Death”, and grabbed a pen.  He turned to a fresh page and titled it: “Scott Varley”.  Then he put the date and time down.  He stared at the paper for a second, trying to think if he knew anything about Scott, other than him killing his wife and escaping prison.  Sighing in defeat, he shut the notebook and put it back in the desk.  

He shooed Majora out of the room and started to close it.  But he saw a figure in the window that was behind the desk.  He opened the door back up, and strained his eyes to get a better look out the window.  But nothing was there.  

“I’m just paranoid.” Jared muttered to himself.

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

A very good start to the story. You create good characters, location and situation. I wanted to know and read more. I like the questions and the mysteries opening up in the chapter. Thank you for sharing the excellent chapter. Please send me read request. I would be honored to read your story.
Coyote

[Michael Stevens]

A very good beginning; Unfortunately, I avoid reading long pieces due to a coma I suffered in a car accident years ago; one eye can spot a jet flying over, while at the same time, I can look for loose change on the ground. Reading a long time is difficult for me for that reason, so I probably won't read much more, but I liked what I've seen!

[ANM]

Good start hope you do more!!!