Flowers of Desires

Chapter 2: Poems and Poison Trees

"Did you see what was done to her?"

"I feel sick just looking at it..."

"I heard the FBI is here investigating..."

"Everyone's saying it's him..."

The three finally made their way to the front, and they all paused in their tracks, their eyes widening at the sight before them, suddenly understanding what everyone had been talking about.

A girl, most likely university-aged, was mounted to one of the campus' elm trees. She was wearing a long, flowing white gown with lace that was blowing slightly in the wind. Clay could see from behind the police tape that her eyes were gone, and replaced with red stained glass. Her hands were wrapped around a bouquet of flowers, containing red tulips, morning glory, and savory. It would have been a beautiful sight, almost like a painting, if the girl hadn't been dead.

"Holy sh-" Elora started but was cut off by a young police officer, waving his hands about, trying to usher people away from the scene.

"Come on people, get lost! This is an active crime scene," the officer shouted, causing people in the crowd to start scattering.

Elora quickly grabbed Clay and Jax's arms, to not get separated. "Let's go guys." Clay allowed Elora to pull him away from the scene, towards the science building, but he couldn't help himself from looking back to get a final glance at the girl and flowers. 'A killer is afoot...'

O.K.

***

Later that day, Clay lay stretched out across the couch in Elora's apartment. The apartment had a homely feeling to it and was decorated to match Elora's personality. He was staring at the ceiling, laptop idly sitting in his lap. He was trying not to think about anything but his project for psychology, but his thoughts kept falling back to the girl on the elm tree. Elora sat comfortably in her armchair, typing away on her laptop, making more progress than Clay.

The words "Breaking news..." from the TV brought Clay out of his haze, and he sat up to look at the TV. He noticed from the corner of his eye, Elora had stopped typing and looked up as well. "Authorities were shocked to find local college student, Beth Donovan, murdered on George Mason University campus this morning. Law enforcement agencies have confirmed that this seems to be the work of the notorious serial killer known as The Osiris Killer. The Osiris Killer has evaded capture for years and is known to leave horrifying scenes behind. The FBI, from Washington D.C., is actively investigating the murder of Beth Donovan, and every victim before her. On our next story tonight..."

"Damn," Elora muttered, turning her attention back to her laptop. "I wonder why Osiris hated that Beth Donovan girl so much."

Clay turned away from the TV to Elora, before voicing his own thoughts. "I don't think it was necessarily hate."

Elora looked at Clay, confusion written on her face. "What do you mean? He murdered her, cut out her eyes, and hung her from a tree. Seems like something you do to someone you really don't like."

It was quite normal for the two of them to discuss things like this, with them both majoring in something to do with crime. "Well he may not have liked Beth Donovan, but the actual meaning of the murder isn't hate," Clay reasoned, imagining the girl and her white dress.

"So murders have a meaning now?" Elora questioned, raising her eyebrows.

"This one definitely did," Clay responded, flowers flashing through his mind. With Clay's major, he focused more on thoughts and interpretations, while Elora liked to focus on physical facts with her forensic science major. "With the way the body was displayed like that, the killer definitely wanted it to represent something."