"Oh my god," Zack gasped, his eyes didn't avert from the television as he stared intensively at the screen.
"What?" Tyler asked nonchalantly, stuffing his face with some buttered toast.
"A guy was found dead in his apartment late last night with about 15 stab wounds. It's all over the news. He only lived a few miles away from us, down on Queen's Street," he stated.
"No way, that's crazy!" Tyler exclaims in what appeared to be disbelief. But every aspect of his reaction was fake.
"The police have no suspects yet though. I hope they find the person who did this and lock them up for life. To think that someone as vile as this is in our neighbourhood committing such awful acts is terrifying!" Zack said with pure disgust.
"I know'" Tyler mumbles bluntly. The truth is he felt on top of the world. People are searching for him but nobody knows who he is, similarly to Banksy (minus the murder). It was the best and most indescribable feeling he had ever known. Nobody thought of Tyler as a sadistic maniac, but only as a man who was so caring and gentle that he wouldn't hurt a fly. In actual fact, he needs help. He knows he does. He couldn't tell anyone that though otherwise he'd be locked up. However, Tyler felt an unimaginable amount of remorse for what he'd done but no matter how much he wished for time to turn back, it can't be undone. He was like the new Jekyl and Hyde.
He rushed upstairs and bolted towards his room, flinging the door open. He headed straight for his bed and went on all fours to pull out the plastic carrier bag recognizable from the previous night. He looked both ways before exiting his room and walking speedily to the bathroom across the hall, locking the door behind him.
He pulled out the knife he used to commit the act and held it up in front of his eyes, examining the long piece of metal. A sudden rush of flashbacks came flooding his memory as he stared at it. After coming out of his trance, he ran the knife under the warm water that came pouring from the tap, then proceeded to do so from the carrier bag, removing any traces of blood.
The only problem now was: where would he put the knife? He couldn't put it back in the kitchen draw for people to chop food with. He wouldn't be able to eat knowing that the food he was consuming was possibly cut with the same knife he used to kill a man with. He couldn't keep it hidden under his bed either. If it were found, he'd have some major explaining to do. The only option now was to dispose of it. But how?
"Ty? You in there?" his dad asked, knocking on the door.
"Uh, yeah. Just a second!" he spoke with his panic disguised by a calm tone.
A feeling of déjà vu hit him as he realized he was in a similar situation less than 12 hours ago. His quick thinking had to help him out, even if his decision wasn't the best.
He flushed the toilet to hide the noise of the bathroom window opening as he threw the knife out, resulting in it crashing on to the bins of the next door neighbour. He winced at the noise but turned on the tap to make it seem as if he actually went in there for it's designed purpose.
Tyler passed his dad in the hallway but avoided eye contact as he made a beeline straight back to his room. A sigh overtook his body as he sat down on his bed then leant back to lay down on his thick mattress. He was just hoping that his neighbours wouldn't think much of the knife and throw it out but that just sounded all too unrealistic.
A few days had passed since Tyler had supposedly gotten rid of the evidence but a knock on the front door interrupted the serenity of the Joseph household. Tyler's mother answered and was heard having a brief introduction with the people standing at the doorstep.
"Hello, I'm PC Johnson from the Ohio State Police Department, and this is PC Moore," the deep voice states as they both hold up their badges. "May we come in?"
"Oh, of course," she says and ushers them in before offering them a drink followed by their polite decline.
"Is there a problem officers?" Tyler's younger brother, Jay, asked.
"We afraid that a resident of this house may be involved with the murder of Todd Gibson."
At that very moment, Tyler's heart sank.
"We received a phone call from a neighbour stating that a knife was found in their front yard. Upon closer inspection the knife was identified as the weapon used to kill Mr Gibson on the night of July 20th. A dent was made in the blade of the knife due to the pressure of when it landed, indicating it must have been thrown with force from a height. Some fingerprints were found on the handle and have been put into the police database, as well as some water dropplets which means that it was recently washed.
The people who found the knife have had their fingerprints scanned, as have the neighbours on the opposite side but no match was made. We would like to ask you all to come down to the station for some testing and further questioning."
All that information was far too much for anybody to process but everyone obliged, except Tyler who reluctantly followed, and went down to the station with the officers. Madison, Tyler's sister, was brought to tears at this frightening occasion but their father reassured her that they would all be okay as everyone was innocent. That's where Tyler knew better.
A couple of hours had gone by but Tyler's racing heart had not subsided. All of them were huddled together in a small box room when the officers entered once again.
"Tyler Joseph, we are arresting you on the suspicion for the murder of Todd Gibson," these devastating words made cries and yells escape the mouths of Tyler's family in an instant. "No! It can't be true!" His mother screamed as his father tried to comfort her as best he could.
"You have the right to remain silent, but it may harm your defense if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in as evidence. You have the right to have a lawyer present during any questioning. If you can't afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you if you so desire," the police officer explained as the other tightened the hard metal handcuffs around his wrists which were placed behind his back. Tyler looked at his family sorrowfully and whispered two words before looking down at the floor and being lead out of the room: "I'm sorry."
