Murder in the Alley

*Dear reader, some of the physical descriptions of the characters are entirely based and relied on your imagination and creativity*

Walking down the muddy and dim alley wasn’t the problem. Walking it with Shay was. It wasn’t because I didn’t like him, I did, it was just the whole night has been disastrous. Spilled coffee, mixup at the cafe, and having a paper due in less than 24 hours. 

Hours prior, my roommate Grecia, convinced me to meet her at a restaurant to celebrate our 9 months of being roommates. She never showed. Turns out, her plan was to set up a “blind” date for me, something about her feeling sorry for my loneliness. 

Entering the alley, Shay finally breaks the silence after minutes and minutes of the wind howling being the only sound between us, “You know, never in a million years did I picture Noelia walking beside me. Always thought you disliked me.” 

I give him a weak smile, “I did. For some time, I guess you earned a reputation of being a player.” Sensing that I hurt his feelings, I quickly add, “But, here we are!” 

He returns a smile, his teeth gleaming with the shine of the moonlight. His shabby hair going the direction of the wind. 

“Were you ever this cute?” I blurt out. He laughs softly. Realizing what I said, I turn away, my cheeks turning a rosy pink. I feel the sensation of a hand gently grabbing my shoulder, slowly embracing me. 

“What’s wrong?” I ask. 

“Nothing,” he replies. I feel something in my stomach, like little butterflies batting their wings. We just stand there, hugging as if we’ve known each other forever. Damn, how quickly can a person make you change your mind about them.

What felt like eternity, he slowly lets go and flashes his teeth. He gestures for us to continue on our stroll and I follow. 

“Can I tell you something? Something that I haven’t told anyone. Not a single soul,” he says very gently, barely audible. 

I nod. 

“I used to live in the streets,” he clenches his jaw, expecting me to react horribly. 

“Oh? I-I uh would never imagine you being homeless. Is that why you were in the library that night? I just thought you were having a late night hookup.” 

“I was. With Jessica Latos. But, yes, at one point the library was my home.” 

“I’m sorry,” I put my hand on his shoulder. 

“You know I wanted to change my name and everything,” he whispers. 

“Why? I like your name, Shay,” I giggle. 

“Yeah? Well, I like Noelia,” he smiles. 

“Gross. There isn’t a nickname that fits me and goes with my name.” 

“Hmm, what about Lia?” He stops for a bit, causing me to stop and lock eyes. 

“I think I like Lia, Lays.”

He laughs, a soft yet high pitched laugh, “Lays?” 

“Well, I figured it rhymes with Shay and it’s one of my favorite chips.” 

He bites his lower lip and approaches me slowly, his eyes glinting. We have reached the end of the alley when the nearby light post flickers and then completely burns out. We’re inches away from each other, then closer than ever, if any of us talk or mumble, our lips will touch. 

Suddenly a soft and crunchy noise in the distance makes me turn around and notice all the light posts have been burned out when I see a hooded figure struggling to carry a duffle bag with their right hand. I shift my eyes to what looks like a disfigured object on their left hand. 

Noticing, Shay traces my gaze. For a few seconds, the figure doesn’t see us. The wind howled louder than ever, kissing my face. Then, everything slows down and stops. 

A sudden and deafening sound overpower my eardrums and I kneel to the floor. Three powerful booms go and I scream as loud as my lungs allow me to. Shay wraps his arm around me, shielding me and whispers softly, “Noelia, you stay here. I’ll go chase after that bastard!” 

Rising slowly, I pull him quickly, “No. You stay here. Call for help and inspect whatever they dumped,” I point at the small duffle bag. “They either left it there by mistake or they meant it to be dumped. I’ll be back!” 

“What?” He looks at me breathlessly. 

“I did taekwondo and cross country in highschool, trust me, I will have enough adrenaline to go after them!” Without wasting another moment, I run at the entry of the alley and trusting my gut, turn left.

My adrenaline increases as I run through many alleys and turns. Reality hits, what next? If I catch them, what would I do? Shaking my head furiously, I sprint a changing light and continue on trusting my gut. 

After 10 minutes of running, I slow down and the bright lights of a small liquor store attracts my attention. Inside, a woman wearing a grey sweater buying a pack of cigarettes, looking over her shoulder every once in a while. Her hands shake as she hands over $3 with some quarters. Is that her? I approach it a step at a time, right as I reach the doors and push inside, someone grabs my shoulder. I yelp. 

“Noelia.” 

“Shay.” 

“Didn’t think I would let you chase after a psychopath, did you?” He tries to smile but fails. 

“I figured you would do something like that,” I try to return a smile, but also fail. “There’s someone inside, who can be the person who almost killed us,” I point at the lady, who is startled to see us. 

For a split second she shifts her expression and makes her way to the exit, mumbles, “Excuse me.” Shay moves aside as she covers her stomach, looks over her shoulder one final time before she starts walking at a fast pace.

He then turns to me with a worried expression, “Listen, I called for help and they’re already there. They’re going to ask you questions, you know proper procedure. I’ll follow her and see where she’s going.” 

I quickly nod and we part ways. Shay to danger and me to safety. 

***

“You said she was wearing a grey sweater and buying cigarettes, right?” Officer Lynn, a bald short man, questions me. 

I nod, still looking around for Shay. The cops’ lights keep getting in the way of my eyesight. It’s been more than 30 minutes since I’ve seen him. I’m starting to overthink everything, what if something went wrong?

“Are you alright there kiddo?” 

I swallow, “Yea, uh, my friend who called you-”

“Yea, he said you called him, terrified and frightened. He got scared and called us,” he blurts.

“What?” I stuttered. 

“Look, kid, we just want to try to find the person who killed that poor lady and almost killed you,” he says to me. 

“Right.”

***

After hours of being asked questions, surprisingly, I wasn’t tired. Mainly because I was worried about Shay. Why would he lie to the officer? He was there with me, it could have saved me minutes of questions being thrown at me. 

“Moreno, Noelia,” the receptionist at the police station says my name with a thick accent. 

I stand up from my seat and walk towards her, “Yes?” 

“Because you’re at high risk, we’re going to assign you Officer Brynn and Officer Ramirez for the next few nights until we catch the one responsible. Understood? Any questions?” 

“Yes, I do. Can you help me locate a friend of mine?” I ask impatiently.

“Are they missing?” her voice is dull as my math teacher. 

“Kinda?”

“For 24 hours?” 

“No-”

“Well then. I’m sorry but until 24 hours pass, you can’t file a report and we can’t help you. Sorry kid.” She gives me a weary look. 

I walk out of the station with two bulky officers behind me following me. They gesture for me to get inside their cop car, ask for my address, and drive away. As the star-night devours the whole sky, I close my eyes and drift to another realm.

***

"Coffee?"

I open my eyes and regret it immediately. My eyes are burning as if I cried. It takes me a while to adjust to the light. I'm in my apartment, Grecia sitting next to my legs with a cup, hot steam coming out of it.

"No thanks."

"I heard what happened last night, what happened to that lady," Grecia's voice shakes slightly.

"Her poor body mutilated, covered with beatings, barely recognizable," she adds.

"Have they identified her?" I whisper.

"Yes. Rhoda Rouge. 20 year old. Student at Carson Community College," she replies.

"And the culprit?”

“Her boyfriend’s crazy ex.. Karla Jenkins. 24 year old. Apparently she wasn’t too happy to find out that her ex gave up so easily on them, so she killed the one person she thought was responsible for the breakup. She saw them kiss in a bar, next day bought a pistol and killed her”

“How did the police find her?”

“Anonymous tip by the name Lays. Crazy isn’t it?” 

My heart plummets and my chest starts to hurt. There’s a knock at the door and Grecia covers her mouth. She slowly motions to the door, quickly grabs an object and opens the door. Standing there is a man, they exchange a few words, which leaves Grecia’s eyebrows furrowed. She curses at him and slams my room door shut. 

It’s Shay and he brought flowers. He sets them down and sits where Grecia was. He doesn’t talk for a moment, then, “I’m not going to bother apologizing because I don’t think ‘sorry’ will fix whatever happened last night. But if you want to hear me say it then I will.”

I stare at him, “I was scared. I didn’t know what happened to you after we parted ways. And you lied to the cops! Why?” 

“I just explained everything to them right now. I have had some trouble with the law lately and figured if they looked me up they would arrest me for all the misdemeanors I’ve done.” I see a tear trickle down his cheek and he quickly wipes it off before he adds, “How can I ever make it up for you?” 

I motion for him to get up and I do the same. I walk over to him, rest my hand on his jaw, and pull him closer to me. Our lips touch as I taste the saltiness of his tears. I let go and flash him a smile, “How about another date?” 

He returns a bigger smile, “You’d like that?” 

I nod and the butterflies in my stomach are furiously batting their wings once more. I laugh, “But if we ever witness another murder and you run the other way, then I’m never going out with you again.”