Don't Scream (Complete)

Chapter 3

Eli Bensworth 

As soon as he heard the ding of the coffee-maker, Eli moved forward and grabbed his coffee mug. 

The smell of the freshly brewed coffee helped to wake Eli up. Putting the rim of the cup between his lips, he gulped down a sip and sighed as the warm beverage trickled down his throat, soothing him from the inside out and from top to bottom. 

Looking around, Eli admired the workplace around him. Sure, the life of a detective wasn't easy, with most of the job involving research, paperwork and sometimes, risking your life, but Eli wouldn't have traded it for the world. 

"Isn't caffeine a lifesaver, Bensworth?" Liutenant Powers joked as he came up from behind Eli, placing his hand behind Eli's back and lightly moving him forward. 

"It sure is, Liutenant. Is something the matter?" Eli asked, walking with his boss. 

Lt Powers withdrew the hand and flicked a green file open as he walked onwards with Eli. Across the pages were a series of grotesque crime scene photos. 

One depicted a man, looking to be in his mid-forties, lying atop a mahogany desk with dried blood on his collar. A second picture showed the body from a different angle with which the swift incision in his neck could be seen in greater detail. 

"As a matter of fact, there is a problem, Eli. A homicide. Early this morning, office employee Timothy Payne was found murdered in his boss's office. Throat was slit open with his boss's letter knife." Lt Powers rambled. 

"So, his boss did it!" Eli said, walking forward with a little jump. 

"You're not one to jump to conclusions..." Lt Powers muttered, his brow furrowed. 

Then it unfurrowed and he gave Eli an annoyed look. 

"You were messing with me, weren't you?" 

"Get used to it, Liutenant." Eli said jokingly. 

Lt Powers sighed resignedly. Much as he hated Eli's jokes, Eli had worked under him for 9 years and was one of his best detectives. This case was all his. 

"Alright, Eli. Head down to the crime scene with Detective Willis. Lab techs are already at the scene." 

* 

Eli had worked with his partner, Detective Rhonda Willis, for 9 years. He'd first worked with her on a case where a young boy had been kidnapped by his father, whom his mother had divorced. 

Eli remembered the whole case vividly, as if it happened last week. 

He and Detective Willis sat at their desks, hunched over their laptops. Eli felt like a zombie. His brain wasn't functioning and a dull pounding echoed in his head. Each time his raw fingers brushed over the grainy keyboard, he couldn't help but cringe. 

"Eli, any news?" Rhonda asked. 

Eli shook his head dejectedly. There were simply no leads in this case. It was as if the kidnapped boy, Xavier Greene, had disappeared from the face of Earth. 

"Let's go over the case again." Rhonda suggested. 

Eli felt like a child, simply going along with whatever his teacher, or in this case, partner, told him to do. But he nodded. 

"Ok, so Ms Mabel Greene was washing dishes in the kitchen," Rhonda began. 

Eli nodded, signalling for her to go on. 

"...and Xavier is watching a television show. When Mabel Greene comes out after 20 minutes in the kitchen, Xavier is gone. The TV is still on and the window shows signs of being forced open from the outside. No other clues whatsoever."