Belinda

TW: murder

“We begin this broadcast with Breaking News. The body of a woman has been found on the Northside of town near Green Cove Park. There is speculation that this case may be connected to three other victims found in the same vicinity over the past eighteen months. Police Chief Alberts will be giving a news conference at 1:00pm and we will, of course, be airing that live. In the meantime, News Channel 4’s own Aileen Bell is on the scene where the latest victim was found. Aileen, with four victims now discovered, are we looking at a dangerous serial killer lurking in our area?”

He rolled his eyes and turned off the television just as the perky blond reporter began to speculate about the dangers of a serial killer lurking in the shadows all around the residents of Shelbyville. He may be considered dangerous by some definitions, but he was definitely not lurking. Something about that word offended him, made him out to be some shadowy monster that must be feared. He had done more for this town than most people. He volunteered at the Boy’s and Girl’s Club, sat on the board for the library, and acted as the city’s Santa every year at the annual Christmas party. Lurking was not something he did.

Of course, it was a different word that had made him turn off the television. Maybe the other three had just been victims. He had followed his protocol perfectly with them, as well as with the many others still left unfound. But, not her; she was not just a victim. Belinda was the love of his life. He knew she would be his downfall, but he had not been able to help himself. For the first time, he left a connection between him and his conquest. For the first time, he risked being caught.

He had cried as he buried her. He found the sensation of crying strange, the salty tears reaching his mouth and choking him. He had not shed a tear for anyone or anything since he was a child, since he cried for his mother. And now, he cried for her in the same way. Both gone by his actions but not his choice, he thought. He had been betrayed by the only two women he had ever loved.

Belinda died on a Thursday morning. He followed his typical procedure but this one was different; sloppy, emotional. She had looked at him, pleading for her life, but by then she knew. She knew what he was, so he could never be what he wanted to be for her. She had ruined it and it hurt with a pain so deep he knew he would never recover. After she died, he sat and held her hand, as they had that day in the café. He closed her eyes and stayed with her, pretending she was sleeping. He had never seen her sleep before, and she looked so peaceful and content. He knew he loved her then because he decided to forgive her. He knew he had made the right decision by talking to her. He wondered if she felt the same, if the past seven days had been just as amazing for her. In that moment, he wished he could ask her. He wished he had thought to ask her.

That one fateful Wednesday changed everything. He thought they would stay together forever; that she may change him, cure him even. He wanted to be better with her. He had not stalked another woman since he first laid eyes on her. Sure, she had started out another conquest but that had changed the moment he decided to talk to her. He had never done that before and he assumed he would never again. So, when she began to look through his things, finding the earring first, then the news clippings, he was devastated. How could she not trust him? He had given her every reason to trust him. She casually asked the questions, he had casually answered them, but the weight had shifted. There was no turning back.

It was a Monday afternoon when she first touched his hand. They were having coffee in a café; the sun was just beginning to set, and its rays were glimmering behind her auburn hair. She looked angelic, a true heavenly form right there in front of him. He was thinking of how he was changing, how he felt different in her presence, developing a sense of peace that had never been a part of him. He liked the unfamiliar feeling that must be as close to happiness as he had ever ventured. He watched as her head tilted back as she laughed. She was telling a story about something that happened at work, and he was trying to focus, but everything about her was distracting. Then, it happened. She reached across and placed her hand on top of his. His instinct was to recoil, snakelike, to his own space, but he didn’t. He let her hand linger there, her thumb caressing his wrist, their connection so true and so strong he actually felt the magnetic force between them. His heart continued pounding long after she slid her hand away from his. She was perfect. Nothing was ever going to ruin this. Nothing.

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon when he decided to change his entire life. He had followed her for over a week now. He knew so much about her, where she worked, lived, shopped. He knew her favorite ice cream because she had ordered it twice from Monte’s Ice Cream Shop that week. He knew the way her hair bounced when she walked, how her green eyes lit up when she met her friends for drinks. He knew her laugh and how it made the whole room take notice. Of course, he was not supposed to pay attention to all these details. He was only supposed to gather information to make his job easier, but she was different than the others. He knew it right away. He had tried twice to stop, to walk away, but he couldn’t. And now, here she was, right in front of him. He had made up his mind to talk to her. His mom had once told him that when he met the right person, he would know. Oh, how he knew now. He approached the bench she was sitting at carefully, nervous about the consequences of this one small act.

“Excuse me…” he stammered.

He expected her to roll her eyes, mumble something about a boyfriend and tell him to get lost. Instead, she looked at him, those green eyes sparkling as they had when she met her friends for dinner the night before.

“Yes?”

“I, um, I want to say something clever here, but I just do not know what that is.”

She laughed. A beautiful, relaxed, trusting laugh.

“Ah, I see. Well, let me start then. Hi. I’m Belinda.”