Eyes Wide Shut (II)

Continued from Part I

Time passed. The Eye Killer eluded me still, the first to ever do so.

No case had ever consumed me like this. And still, he remained a ghost.

But no matter. He would be caught sooner or later. Until then, I kept on searching, and I had someone to search alongside me. Mora. My wife-to-be.

Mora and I had gotten engaged a few months back, and she had been the light of my life. The sunshine in this nightmare. The calm after the storm.

Yet she’d been on my nerves lately. Always chattering away about her friends while I stared at my pin board.

The Eye Killer had started to leave a W on his victims’ backs.

My initial.

It was as though he wanted to rattle me. The government officials piled on the pressure, asking again and again whether I’d found him, as though the title of Detective came with a guarantee.

I lit a cigarette, ditching my black coffee for nicotine, a habit I’d picked up somewhere along the way. Stress had a way of finding new doors.

Mora disliked it.

“You should really stop smoking.” Her Spanish accent was thick. Her earrings jingled slightly.

“And what will you do if I don’t?” I said, still staring at the pin board.

“I’ll break the engagement with you.” Mora smirked, her tone playful and threatening at the same time.

“Is that so?” I let a small snort escape me. I knew she was joking, but she was a woman of her word. No telling what she could do.

“Very much so. Have you also noticed how the Eye Killer has started leaving a W and a cigarette mark since you started smoking?” She tilted her head playfully, subtly hinting as if I were the killer.

“Hmm…” I hummed. She wasn’t very subtle. I went back to the kitchen. “It’s getting late.” I glanced at the clock and reached for a mug.

As night approached, Mora yawned. “Mhm. Mama will get mad if I stay too long.”

I walked her to the door. “Be careful, Mora,” I murmured. It was rare for me to show concern, but I feared the Eye Killer would get to her before I could stop him.

Mora smiled and kissed my cheek. “I’ll be fine.”

I watched her disappear down the street, telling myself the unease in my chest was nothing.

Big mistake.

Mrs. Briganza called me the next morning. “William Smith! Where is my daughter!?” She practically screamed through the telephone.

My heart dropped. “She isn’t home?” I asked.

“No! And I know she’s with you! Probably being some high school lovers!” She chuckled through the comment.

The knock at my door startled me. “I’ll call you back.” I ended the call and opened the door. Conrad Jeremy. “Conrad.”

“Sir. You might want to come with me.” His hands trembled slightly. I already knew I wouldn’t love what I was about to see.

We made our way to the crime scene and saw…

Mora. Eyes torn out. Lungs punctured. Hair ripped out in clumps. The W on her back was prominent, and the unmistakable cigarette mark beside it. There was a note clutched in her hand. The word Aurelia written on it, the name I had once said I’d give our future daughter someday.

Time stopped. I stared at the scene. My coworkers had known all about her. About us. And now I fought back the tears threatening to fall.

Her words came back to me.

I’ll be fine.”

The Eye Killer had made it personal. And now, he would pay.