Dead.

Do you know what it's like to stay up until the sun rises, searching through the same files over and over again? Gerard's file, Frank's file, and the small room. Over and over again, re-reading the same statements, trying to see if I had missed anything.

I scanned through the victims. I frowned upon the victims. Those poor, innocent victims. 04 bodies were found last year. There was an even amount of male and women, there were 02 males, and 02 females. Jacob Galsworthy, a 34 year old who was snatched from his boat. Kelly Dried, a 30 year old who was snatched from outside her own home. Gale Fisher, a 36 year old who was snatched from his car, on a dark afternoon. And finally, Susan Barton, a 38 year old who was taken from a small library. There was a pattern. They were all in their 30's, and there was an even amount of male and females. All were violated in some way, tortured, and then killed.

This year was somewhat different.

There was 03 victims in the beginning of the year. 02 females, 01 male. Eric Sway, a 34 year old who lived downtown. He had a mild mental problem, living in a box-the sick bastard took advantage of him. Garret Smith, a 31 year old, a husband with a child. He was last seen leaving his house to pick up some take-out food. Brianna Jay was murdered after several weeks.

And now, the most recent victims seemed out of order. The young teenager, whose parents wish to keep his name out of papers, was murdered. He was young, a delinquent. He smoked pot or tobacco according to friends. The Raven, or Gerard, took advantage. Amber, 25 years of age, was murdered by two men. The Raven has a partner now, from what I know so far-and the partner must be Frank. And lastly, from yesterday, Charlie. Charlie was 22. The Raven and his unknown partner were going after random victims. A change of age, but the same routine. There was still an even amount of male and females...so the next victim, would have to be female.

I sighed as I leaned back into my chair, rubbing the side of my forehead. I muttered, "Why did I take this job?" Then I remembered. I was hired by the Sheriff to capture The Raven, and I was so confident, that I said, "Of course."

The Sheriff warned, "Now, The Raven is tricky, ya hear?" He spit out chew from his mouth, his hands grasping onto his belt.

The wind brushed through my thick hair, "I think I can handle it, Sheriff."

I thought I can handle it. And the Sheriff was right, The Raven was tricky. But I'm not the type to just give up. I was never the type to.

It was after 09, so I decided to do a little of investigating away from papers. I paused, looking at the photo of Gerard and Frank. I snatched them, stuffing them into my trench coat pocket. I I wrapped my trench coat around my suit before heading out into the cold winter air. I decided to stop and talk to the people who were nearby-none of them were helpful. I kept walking, making my way to the Ol' Als.

I entered through the door, letting out shudder to the sudden temperature change. It was warm, unlike outside. I walked to one of the booths until a waitress asked, "Hello, Detective-my name is Jenna-what would you like-I mean," She paused, "We have a mushroom burger..." Her voice seemed distant, afraid.

I looked at her, "Just a coffee-are you okay?"

She looked at me, "Not really...today was just...different than my usual day."

She had gotten my full attention, "What do you mean?" I asked her, shifting my body to face her.

Jenna hesitated but whispered, "You'll keep me safe, right?" Her brown eyes lit with hope, "I feel really hesitant to tell you-because I had such a big scare."

I nodded, "Of course."

Jenna pushed her braid back before sitting down across from me. She set her notepad down onto the table before leaning in slightly. I imitated her movements. She said softly, "There was this man-" She paused, "He had a huge temper-a scary one. It frightened me-I know it doesn't sound like a big deal, but...just the way he was. He sent bad vibes, causing me to go into shock-I've just never met anyone so...chilling."

I stared at her, "This man, did he do anything?"

Jenna bit her lower lip, "I mean, he called me a cunt-which was rude. But he lashed out. He seemed calm before, but when I forgot that he didn't want cheese in his burger, he turned into someone else-someone more eerie."

"Can you describe him? What he looked like, what he was wearing?"

She nodded, "Well, he had very badly groomed black hair-he was very pale, obviously doesn't get enough sun light...he wore an uneven red tie, white buttoned up shirt with stains. He was wearing black skinny jeans, ripped converse. He dressed oddly. He had...hazel eyes," Jenna giggled slightly, "He was attractive, I'll admit."

I had recognised the features-I pulled out the image of Gerard from my trench coat, "Is this him?"

She nodded, "Yeah...that's him."

I pulled out Frank's photo as well, "Did he happen to be with this guy?"

Jenna raised her brows, "Yeah, he was. They were also with another man. He wore rectangular glasses, he had dirty blond hair-but he was sweet. This guy," She pointed to Frank's picture, "He hardly said much. He just apologized for this guy's behavior." She placed her finger on Gerard's photo.

Gerard had fits. He seemed unstable, but he was smart, I can tell. I nodded, "Thank you." I took back the images.

Jenna asked, "Did I help?"

"You did, in a way."

I didn't stay long. I had my coffee, tipped Jenna, and then said goodbye. I had reviewed Gerard's behavior. He seemed very open, which was odd because a psychopath would manipulate strangers, keeping character. He was being irrational, more open. He was breaking down, maybe-I could take advantage of that. But the question was, why did he start breaking down? What caused him to be on the break of insanity, going back to the same place where he murdered his previous victims, taking a huge risk? It would be unlike The Raven, or a psychopath. But I knew for sure, no matter what, Gerard is The Raven. And that Frank is his partner.

Notes