The Soothville Murders.

Chapter 7: Under pressure.

Chapter 7: Under pressure.

Simen Olsen was terrified. He was still in the abandoned warehouse, waiting for Oliver Hearst to save him from the white-suited men chasing him. It had been an hour since Oliver called him. Had something happened to him? The white-suited men could come take him and kill him any moment. He checked his phone. He tried to call Oliver, whose phone had been turned off. They must have shut it off when they caught him. Oliver had to call him soon. Or else, Simen had to try to run from the white-suited men on his own.

The witnesses that hadn't left the police station had been placed in separate rooms. Serena Lucy Baxter was sitting alone in the same room she had been questioned in. Looking around, she saw her aunt, Ellen Mason, and her cousins Edward and Eric in another room. She had no idea where Emma, Jason or Christina were. Or, she knew that Christina had ran off. And that Jason had followed David when he left the building. She didn't see why she had been placed here. The door was locked, too. It made her frustrated. She had claustrophobia. Nobody knew. But she felt the walls closing in on her. 

The police officer placing her here, his name had been Benjamin, said there was a situation, and that she had to be secured. What Serena had noticed was that his gun holster was empty. His gun was gone. Serena thought about Jason. He could have done something stupid. Actually, he had run into some officer on his way out. Had he taken this man's gun? It was a new low, even for Jason. And now, Jason had managed to put her in this room all alone. She hated him. He was an annoying pursuer following her everywhere. She could never be alone with only Emma, whom she considered her only true friend. Either, it would be Thaddeus stalking Emma. Or it would Jason stalking herself. But now, Thaddeus was dead. She couldn't help but feel a little relieved. Her time in Emma's shadow  was finally over. If only Jason stepped back now, thing could be like before.

Who was she kidding? Her "friends", or rather, acquaintances, were dead. They had been targeted by a serial killer. Serena believed she knew who the killer was. But she was under pressure. She knew that if she told the police, her relation to her friends would never be the same. For now, she would just have to observe until she was sure she was right. 

Serena closed her eyes. She tried to imagine herself being somewhere completely else. She ended up on a live concert, standing on stage. She was the one to sing, not Emma. Emma had always been the better  singer. Until now. Now, Serena was standing on the stage. With her, in a duet, was Justin Bieber, and also Nicky Minaj. Her two favourite musicians. It helped. Soon, she had forgotten everything about her being threatened by a killer that had killed two friends she didn't like very much anyways.

***

Emma Mason had a worse time. She was sitting in her own, small questioning room, crying. All she wanted to do, was to get out of this place, find a nice spot, light some candles and play some quiet music. And then she would remember Tonio and TJ the way they deserved to be remembered. Not in a police house. Not in an interrogation room. She wanted to go home. 

Home. She missed the great, white house, her beautiful room with cream wallpaper, soft bed and her family. She missed her mother's studio, her father's office, her older brother working on his car in the garage and her younger brother playing on the trampoline whenever it wasn't snowing, not caring about the temperature. She felt like reading the Bible. It was there she found comfort in troubled times. 

Last night, Thaddeus had gotten too close on her. She hated him for his persuasion, his flirting and his stalking. He though she didn't know. But with all the compliments he gave her, him liking every picture she posted on Facebook, and him following her with his gaze wherever she went. He was younger than her, too. He was nothing like Simen. Thaddeus had brought her nothing but trouble, and pain. Simen gave her joy. She liked his company. She hated Thaddeus' company.