Story-A-Day #114: Back Alley

BACK ALLEY

He an older man, but beneath the apron and plaid shirt, it was clear that he was well built and could handle himself. The rough style of the tattoo on his left forearm, exposed by the rolled up sleeves of his shirt, were likely an indication that he had been a fairly tough guy in his younger days.

“Can you tell me again what happened?”

The cook lit another hand-rolled rolled cigarette and indicated the end of the alley. “As I mentioned to the other guy,” he began, a hint of disdain in his voice, “I was bringing out some trash and I heard this commotion down that way.”

“And what time was this?”

“Around 10:30. I was finishing up for the day.”

“And you heard a commotion?”

“It was a scuffling sound. I figured it was a stray dog or something.”

“And then?”

“I went over to check it out and that’s when I got jumped.”

“And you were knocked out, so you didn’t see anything?”

“I was knocked out, but I didn’t see anything because it was pitch black back here. There’s just the one small bulb by the skips.”

“Skips?”

“The garbage bin.”

“And you didn’t see anything else? The body?”

“Nothing.”

“Thank you. I’ll let you get back to work, but I might have some more questions.”

The cook grumble, tossed his cigarette butt into a nearby snow bank, and entered the rear door of the diner. The officer watched the door slam shut and walked over to the cordoned off area near the garbage bins. The body of a young woman lay there, covered in a light dusting of snow. The white of the snow added an eerie contrast to the sprays of blood that covered the end of the alley.

The intense violence of the scene was disturbing enough, but it was the small VII sketched in blood on the wall that reinforced the horror. It was the same style as the marks found at three other recent crime scenes, which meant that there were three more undiscovered crimes. It also meant that there was a killer loose on the streets.

The officer walked back towards the entrance to the alleyway and past a throng of curious onlookers. It was going to be a long week.