supermarket flowers ⇢ s. reid

viii.

"You have to tell your brother!" Sam hissed softly. When Melanie got back to work, she went straight to her desk and slumped in her chair. She didn't know what to do when she received the text from Peter Lewis. She read it over and over again and didn't know what to make of it. When she showed it to Sam, he became scared for her.

"That what? Their wanted unsub somehow found my number and texted me? What if it's not real? How can I be so sure that's the real Peter Lewis. Do you have any idea how many emails I get claiming they're the real Peter Lewis?" Melanie scoffed.

Sam rolled his eyes at his friend. He was furious at her for not letting her brother, or even his colleagues, look into it. But at the same time he was concerned. What if this time it was the real Peter Lewis and he was out to get her? He knew that people have contacted her pretending to be Lewis but no one has ever texted her. Who could possibly get a hold of her cell phone number?

"Okay but still, Melanie. This is different. They texted you. That's personal." Sam told her.

Melanie groaned softly and rubbed her forehead. She knew Sam wasn't going to let this go. "Alright fine. I'll tell my brother. Not yet though. Maybe Penelope can help me. Even though the number is blocked, she could still probably try and track it. She's good at her job."

"You better." Sam said sternly. "Im gonna go to the vending machine to get a snack. You want anything?"

Melanie nodded. "Please. Get me a bag of chips."

When Sam was out of her sight, the journalist picked up her phone and looked at the message from the alleged Peter Lewis and bit down softly on her bottom lip. Her thumbs drummed lightly against the screen. She inhaled deeply and did something she knew was wrong but her instincts were kicking in.

when do you want to talk?

She leaned back against her chair and drummed her fingers on her thigh. She instantly sat up straight when her phone vibrated against her desk.

unknown number

tomorrow 10am sharp in front of garfield park
don't be late and come alone

Melanie was about to meet a serial killer. She has met serial killers in the past but they were typically in a holding cell with handcuffs on them but this time it was a man who was hiding from law enforcement and who knows what his intentions really were.

Mel what the fuck are you thinking, she thought to herself.

"Heads up!"

As Melanie looked up, Sam tossed a bag of Lays at her. She opened it up and began to snack on the potato chips.

"Have you called Penelope to let her know?" Sam asked, leaning against her desk.

She nodded. She felt so bad lying to Sam like this but she needed to do this on her own without anyone knowing. Could it potentially be dangerous? Absolutely. But she would do anything to get the information she would need to get for her piece.

"Yeah. I'm gonna swing by her office later on today. I think the team has an out of state case right now so she's probably busy with them. If not today, definitely tomorrow." She told him.

"That's my girl." Sam said.

______________

Melanie wasn't able to sleep that night. Her mind kept running about the possibilities that could happen when it comes to meeting the infamous Peter Lewis. Though only two really came to mind: getting kidnapped or death. By the time her alarm rang, she was already awake. She grabbed her phone and stopped it before texting Sam saying she was gonna be late for work. She then got up and went through the routine of showering, changing, the whole nine yards.