“You don’t understand,” Cayden King said as he searched about frantically. “Szymon gave me that ring on Valentine’s Day. I have to find it.” He threw bags of trash to the side as he searched. “He’ll be so upset if he finds out that I lost it. It’s his favorite ring.”

Devon James shook her head as she waded through the bags of trash in the incinerator room down in the basement of their building. She was completely disgusted. The very idea of digging through trash bags was nauseating, and the only reason she was doing it was because Cayden asked her to.

In the corner, Elijah Montessori grabbed a trash bag that was covered in a slimy brown substance. “This is sick,” he said with a groan as he tossed the bag to the side and looked for something to wipe his hands on. “You owe me big time for this,” he explained. “I’m gonna have to take twelve showers to get this stink off of me. Why did you throw your ring down the incinerator shoot anyway?” He questioned.

“I didn’t throw the ring down the shoot,” Cayden explained. “It fell off of my hand when I was throwing the trash out. I didn’t exactly plan this, you know. This isn’t my idea of having a good time, if that’s what you think.”

“Well, you’re dating Szymon Skubisz, so you must be into trash,” Devon teased.

“Hey, that’s not nice,” Cayden said with a smirk.

“He really gave you a ring?” Devon questioned.

“It was perfect,” Cayden declared as he glanced over at Devon James. “Everything was perfect, except for one little problem, it didn’t fit.” he explained with a sheepish smile.

“So, because Officer Lovestick gave you a ring that’s probably three sizes too big, Devon and I have to wade around in trash to help you find it?” Elijah questioned.

“No, you’re doing that because you both love me,” Cayden said jokingly. “And because you want me to find the ring so that Szymon won’t get mad at me for losing it.”

“I will never understand you crazy fags,“ Devon said with a laugh.

“Hey, I resemble that remark,” Elijah protested jokingly.

“Well, you still love us,” Cayden teased.

“And I don’t need to give you a ring to show it,” Devon retorted with a smirk.

“Gross!” Elijah said as he turned away from a particularly disgusting bag of trash. “This is disgusting. I’m done, I can’t do this anymore.” He glanced over at Cayden and sighed.

“Yeah,” Devon said in agreement, “I don’t think I can take it anymore.”

“No! Come on, you guys. I have to find that ring,” Cayden said as he heightened his search, reaching for trash bags and tossing them out of his way. “Just a few more minutes. I’m sure we’ll find it,” he said as he reached for a bag and paused, shock registering on his face. “Holy shit,” Cayden said, his eyes going wide. He glanced up at Devon silently.

“What?” Devon questioned. “Did you find it? Did you find the ring?”

“No,” Cayden said softly. “I found something . . . But it’s not the ring.”

“Then what is it?” Elijah questioned.

Slowly, Cayden King reached into the open bag in front of it and pulled out a picture. He held it up for Devon to see and her eyes widened as well. She stepped forward, wading through the trash so that she could get a closer look.

“Oh my God,” she said with a gasp. She wasn’t imagining things. It was real. Reaching forward, Devon James took the picture out of Cayden’s hand and stared at it. After a moment, she glanced up at Cayden.

“What?” Elijah Montessori questioned. “What is it?”

“This is Julia Taylor,” Devon James said as she held the picture up for Elijah too see.

“How can you tell? The picture is all ruined.” Elijah commented.

“Exactly. Somebody cut out her eyes,” Devon explained.

“And that’s not all,” Cayden said as he reached into the bag. “This is the diary,” he said as he pulled the book out of the bag. “The diary that was stolen from my apartment. It’s Julia’s diary . . . And there‘s more stuff in here too.”

Devon glanced at him, shock registering on her face. “Well, what else is in there?” She questioned.

Cayden reached into the bag and pulled out another picture of Julia with the word “Die Bitch” scrawled across it. He held it so that Devon and Elijah could see. “I think we just dug through the trash of Julia’s killer,” Cayden said softly.

“Grab that bag,” Devon demanded, “we need to get out of here and call the cops,” she said as she headed for the exit.

“Wait up,” Elijah called out as he waded through the trash.

Cayden reached forward and grabbed the bag. With a sigh, he thought about the reason they went down there in the first place. “I’m sorry, Szymon,” he said as he turned to leave. A shiny glint caught his eye and turned to look, spotting the ring nestled in the corner of the room. With a smile, he waded over to retrieve it and tucked it into his pocket.

“So you’re telling me that there’s a bunch of stuff in that bag that could help find Julia’s killer and we’re just standing here like a bunch of idiots staring at it?” Jesse Martinez questioned as he stood in Cayden’s living room.

“Jesse, I know you want to find Julia’s killer, but we’ve already called Szymon and he’s on his way,” Cayden assured him. “You just have to be patient.”

“He’s taking forever,” Devon James said as she paces back and forth with her arms crossed. “I swear to God, the one time that we actually need him, he’s not even here.”

“You guys,” Kathryn James interjected. “Cayden is right. Let’s all just be calm about this. We have the bag. All we need to do is wait for the cops to show up.”

“All I’m saying is they’d better find something. Whoever killed Julia kept all of this crazy shit,” she said as she motioned to the bag. “People are strange,” she said with a sigh.

“Hey,” Gage Matthews said as he stood up from the couch and placed his hands on Devon’s arms. “You need to relax,” he said softly as he stared into her eyes.

“I can’t relax,” Devon admitted. “Some psycho killed my best friend and tried to get rid of all of the evidence. If it wasn’t for Cayden losing his damned ring, we would have never even known this bag was down there. It would have been burned, and any trace of Julia’s killer would be gone.”

“I know,” Gage said. “We’re all grateful to Cayden,” he said as he glanced at him, “but losing our cool isn’t going to help things. Let’s just try to calm down and relax.”

Devon paused for a moment, then nodded her head. “Okay,” she said as she sat down on the couch. “I’ll try to relax, but I’m not promising anything.”

“You can relax,” Jesse Martinez said as he shook his head, “but I can’t wait another minute. I’m gonna find out who this psycho is,” he said as he started for the bag.

“Jesse, don’t!” Kathryn yelled as she stepped in front of him and grabbed the bag, holding it away from him. “I can’t let you do that.”

“Kathryn!” Cayden shouted as he stepped forward. “What are you doing? You’re contaminating the evidence. There could be fingerprints all over that bag!”

Kathryn glanced down at the bag in her hand and widened her eyes. “Oh my God,” she said as she set it down on the table. “I wasn’t thinking,” she said as she glanced up at Cayden. “I . . .”

“It’s okay,” Cayden said with a sigh. “Just . . . No one touch the bag anymore, please. Szymon will be here soon and he’ll figure out what has to be done.”

“I can’t wait that long,” Jesse admitted, “I need to know what’s in that bag.” He glanced over at Cayden and pleaded. “Come on, I need to know. I told you when you first moved in that you would help me find Julia’s killer,” he explained.

“Everything that’s happened since then has been leading up to this moment. Do you think it was a coincidence that Szymon gave you a ring that was too big for you to wear? Do you think it was a coincidence that the ring fell down the incinerator shoot, which lead you down there where this bag was?” Jesse questioned.

“It was fate,” Jesse explained. “Now, you did your part. You did exactly what you were supposed to do, you lead us all here. Now it’s time for us to find the truth.”

Cayden stared at Jesse in silence before finally nodding his head. “Okay,” he said. “If we’re going to do this, then we need to be smart about it,” he said as he ducked into the kitchen and returned a moment later with latex gloves. “Put these on,” he said as he handed them to Jesse.

Jesse nodded his head and reached for the gloves. “Thank you,” he said softly as he slipped them onto his hands.

Cayden King retreated to his bedroom. He didn’t want to be there when Jesse went through the bag. His heart was breaking for Jesse and he didn’t want to see what would happen if Jesse found something shocking.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Cayden sighed.

“You don’t look so good,” Devon James commented as she stood in the doorway.

Cayden glanced up at her. “I’m scared,” he admitted.

“Why?” She questioned as she crossed over and sat down beside him.

“Because things are spiraling out of control,” he explained. “Just when I thought everything was going good, this happens.”

“But this is a good thing,” Devon explained. “We’re finally going to catch this psycho.”

“What about the warning?” Cayden questioned.

“What warning?”

“When I first moved in, this psycho broke into my apartment. They killed my cat and left him in my bathtub for me to find . . . The same bathtub that Julia was murdered in. What do you think this person is going to do if they find out that we found their bag of clues?”

“Don’t worry about that,” Devon said. “We’ll catch this psycho before they have a chance to hurt anyone else, I promise.”

“But you can’t be sure of that,” Cayden said. “Our lives are on the line, Devon.”

“I have hope,” Devon explained.

“Hope? You’ve never been an optimist,” Cayden commented.

“Things change,” Devon said as she shrugged her shoulders. “People change. I’ve changed.”

“I don’t think so,” Cayden admitted. “You’re still the same person I met all those months ago.”

“No I’m not,” Devon said as she shook her head. “The person you met all those months ago was different. She was hurt, sad and lonely. But I’m different now. You helped me become a better person.”

“How did I do that?” Cayden questioned.

“Because you were there for me when I needed a friend. You were honest and you cared. You showed me that it was okay to be close to someone again without worrying that they would be taken away from me. You fixed me,” she admitted.

“I don’t know how I did that,” Cayden said with a smile, “but it makes me happy that I did.”

“Thank you,” Devon said as she reached over and gave him a hug. “Seriously though,” she said as she pulled away. “Don’t worry about this psycho trying to come after us. I don’t like Szymon, but I know that he’s good at what he does. He’s going to find this killer.”

“I hope so,” Cayden admitted. “I just want to be able to go to sleep and wake up and not have to worry about any of this anymore.”

“You and me both,” Devon said with a sigh as she glanced away.

“What’s wrong?” Cayden questioned.

“Nothing,” Devon said as she shook her head. “Nothing you need to worry about.”

“Devon,” Cayden said as he placed his hand on hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. “You’re my best friend. You do know that you can tell me anything, right?”

Devon James turned to glance into Cayden’s eyes. Her own were filled with tears. “I wasn’t ready for this,” she said as she shook her head. “I told myself that it would never happen, but it did and now I don’t know what to do,” she admitted.

“What is it?” Cayden questioned.

“I’m pregnant,” Devon said softly.

Jesse Martinez slowly went through the evidence in the trash bag, pulling picture after picture out of the bag. Every picture of Julia Taylor had been defaced. Many of them had the eyes cut out of them. He thought about the first time he met Cayden, and what he’d said to him.

“I had a dream. I was in my apartment painting a picture of her - that’s what I do, I’m a painter - and I couldn’t capture her eyes.”

Jesse held up a picture of Julia Taylor with the eyes cut out. “Your eyes,” he said softly.

“Jesse,” Kathryn said softly, “You don‘t have to do this.”

“Yes I do,” Jesse said as he set the picture down on the table and reached into the bag for another one. “I have to do this.” He glanced at picture after picture, each one breaking his heart more than the last.

Gage Matthews was horrified. “I hope that we can find something, some clue in this bag that will say who the killer is because Julia needs to rest.”

Without warning, Jesse snapped and turned toward Gage. “You shouldn’t even be here. You’re the reason that I lost out on precious time with her, time that I could never get back!”\

Gage fell into silence as Kathryn stepped between them. “That’s enough,” she called out as she turned toward Jesse. “This isn’t going to help anyone.”

“I’m sorry,” Jesse said softly.

“It’s okay, I deserve it,” Gage admitted, “But she’s right, we just need to relax and wait until Szymon shows up because he’ll know what to do.”

“I think we should just get rid of it.” Kathryn said. “If the killer finds out that we have the bag, they’re going to come after us.”

“Szymon is on his way,” Gage reminded her, “It’ll all be over as soon as they run some tests on the evidence to see if there are fingerprints or other stuff.”

“I’m just scared,” Kathryn admitted. “This is crazy.”

“I can’t find anything!” Jesse growled as he slammed his hands on the table. “I mean, you’d think I’d be able to find something, but instead we have all this and nothing. Absolutely nothing!”

“Jesse,” Kathryn said as she crossed over toward him. “Everything is going to be okay.”

“Don’t you get it?” Jesse questioned as he stood up. “They’ve been here the whole time . . . right under our noses . . . laughing at us! Whoever killed Julia lives in this building. Why else would this bag be here?” He questioned. “What kind of game are they playing?” He yelled as he walked over to the wall and put his fist through it.

“Jesse . . . don’t,” Kathryn said as she stepped toward him.

Cayden and Devon ran out of the bedroom when they heard to commotion. “What happened?” Cayden questioned as he glanced at the hole in the wall.

“I’m sorry,” Jesse said as he shook his head apologetically.

“Don’t worry about it,” Cayden responded. “It’s just a wall. What about you? What about your hand? Are you okay?” He questioned.

“I’m fine,” Jesse responded.

“You scared the hell out of me,” Devon admitted. “I thought you guys were fighting,” she added as she glanced over at Gage just as someone knocked at the door. Everyone in the room froze and stared at one another.

"Where’s the bag?” Cecilia Nakamura questioned as she stepped into the apartment followed by Szymon Skubisz. Szymon over at Cayden and offered him a smile.

“Are you okay?” He questioned.

“I’m fine,” Cayden responded.

“What were you doing down in the incinerator anyway?” Szymon asked.

“You don’t want to know,” Cayden replied.

“We can talk about that later,” Szymon said. “What’s important is that you’re okay.”

“They’ve gone through the bag,” Cecilia noted as she examined it. Szymon glanced at her, then back at Cayden.

“What did you guys think you were doing?” He questioned.

“Trying to find a killer,” Jesse Martinez spoke up. “Something you’ve been unable to do up to this point,” he added.

“You do realize that you could have destroyed evidence, right? Who touched the bag?” Szymon questioned. “I need to know who handled it.”

“Well, I found it,” Cayden said, “I touched it. I’m sorry.”

“I held a picture,” Devon admitted as she took a step forward.

“I wore gloves,” Jesse said, “but only because Cayden asked me too,” he added as he glanced at Cayden thankfully.

“Okay,” Szymon said. “Did anyone else touch the bag or anything inside of it?”

“I did,” Kathryn Hayes confessed. “I wasn’t even thinking, I grabbed it to stop Jesse from touching it. I’m sorry,” she said as she glanced down at the floor shamefully.

“Anyone else?” Szymon questioned as he glanced around? Everyone shook their heads. “Okay,” he said as he turned to Cecilia. “What do we have here?” He asked.

With gloved hands, Cecilia Nakamura explored the contents of the trash bag. “This is creepy,” she said aloud. “Whoever had all of this stuff was obsessed with Julia Taylor,” she said as she pulled out even more pictures and glanced through them. “They took pictures of her inside of her apartment, the fire escape . . . everything,” she explained.

“This is getting really strange,” Devon said.

“Oh my God,” Cecilia gasped as he held a photo in her hand and glanced at Szymon.

“What is it?” Szymon questioned as he crossed over to her side and glanced down at the picture. “Sick bastard,” he muttered as he shook his head.

“What?” Jesse questioned.

“It’s Julia,” Szymon responded, “in the bathtub. Whoever killer her took a picture afterwards,” he said with a sigh.

“Oh my God,” Kathryn said as tears came to her eyes.

“Son of a bitch,” Devon swore. Gage stepped up beside her and placed his arm around her, pulling her close.

“Look, everyone, we’re going to find this guy. Cici and I need to take this evidence down to the station to have some tests run on all of this stuff. We need to find fingerprints, DNA, something. I promise you, we’ll find Julia’s killer,” he added as he glanced at Jesse.

Jesse nodded at him. “You do that,” he said stoically.

“Wait a second, this one’s different,” Cecilia Nakamura said as she glanced up at Szymon. “Take a look,” she said as she showed it to him.

“What am I looking for?” Szymon questioned as he glanced at the picture. He wasn’t wearing gloves and he didn’t want to touch the picture. He noticed how one side of the picture was slightly angled. “The picture’s been cut,” he said as he glanced at Cecilia.

“Not just that,” Cecilia said. “Take a closer look . . .”

Szymon stared at the picture. Seated on a couch with smiling faces were Gage, Devon, Cayden and Kathryn. Szymon’s eyes went straight to Cayden’s smile. Szymon Skubisz’s face turned white.

“What is it?” Cayden questioned as he took a step forward.

“You’re in this picture,” Szymon said.

“What?”

“All of these other pictures are of Julia,” Cecilia explained. “Julia by herself, Julia with friends. The one common denominator of these pictures is Julia Taylor,” she explained as she held the picture up for him to see. “But you’re in this picture, which means that it was taken after Julia was dead.”

Cayden stepped over to get a good look at the picture. “I took that picture,” he explained. “It was at Christmas. They gave me a digital camera as a present and we all took a picture. I gave everyone a copy,” he said.

“What’s in the rest of the picture?” Cecilia questioned. “Who was sitting next to Kathryn?”

“Next to Kathryn?” Cayden questioned. “It was . . . Jesse,” he said as he turned toward him.

“I don’t get it,” Devon said as she shook her head. “Why would someone cut Jesse out of the picture?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Cecilia said as she tucked the picture back into the bag. “We’ll figure it out and we’ll catch this guy. We need to get back to the station,” she said as she grabbed the bag and headed for the door. “You guys need to be careful,” she explained. “Someone went through a lot of trouble to hide this dark secret. If the killer knows that we found their bag, you could all be in serious danger.”

Jesse Martinez stared blankly out of the fire escape as Kathryn Hayes looked on. It seemed as if everyone was feeling unsettled. On the couch, Gage Matthews sat with his arm around Devon James. Cayden King stood in the kitchen, trying to fix something for everyone to eat. He, himself, had no appetite, but he needed to keep his hands and his mind busy.

Elijah Montessori stepped into the kitchen and walked up to Cayden’s side, placing his hand on his friend’s back. Cayden jumped slightly and glanced back at Elijah. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Elijah said.

“It’s fine,” Cayden said with a sigh. “I guess we’re all just a little on edge,” he explained. “Where have you been?“ He questioned.

“I went for a walk,” Elijah responded. “I had to get out of here. Things were getting just a little too crazy for me. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry about what?” Cayden questioned.

“Sorry for not sticking around,” Elijah explained. “I ran out of here like a scared little girl.”

“I don’t blame you,” Cayden assured him. “I think I would have done the same thing if I were in your shoes. I mean, you move in here and have to deal with all of this,” he explained. “Don’t worry about it, I understand completely. You shouldn’t have to deal with any of this,” Cayden said with a sigh. “None of us should.”

“No kidding,” Elijah said as he glanced out of the kitchen into the living room. “How’s everyone doing?”

“Well, at first we were all shocked, then we got angry, now we’re just . . . waiting,” Cayden responding. “I started going out of my mind so I came in here to make something to eat,” he explained.

“This must be killing Jesse,” Elijah noted. “I mean, he was just starting to get over it and now, bam, it’s right back in his face again.”

“Exactly,” Cayden said. “A lot of things got stirred up by all of this. I just hope that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel because things are about to get very dark very quickly.”

“And what about you?” Elijah questioned.

“What about me?” Cayden retorted.

“How are you holding up?”

“This isn’t about me,” Cayden explained. “This is about Julia Taylor, and it’s about them,” he said as he motioned to the living room. “They’re my friends and I need to make sure that they’re alright.”

“And who’s going to make sure that you’re alright?” Elijah questioned. “Who’s looking out for you?” He asked as he stared into Cayden’s eyes. “I can see it, Cayden, you need someone right now.”

“I’ll be fine,” Cayden assured him as he went back to slicing fruit. “They need comforting a lot more than I do.”

“Don’t lie to me,” Elijah said. “You’re not very good at it. Look at you, your hand is shaking,” he said as he reached for Cayden’s arm to steady him. “You’re trembling. Where is Szymon?” He asked. “Why isn’t he here with you?”

Cayden glanced down at Elijah’s arm, then into his eyes. “He’s at the police station,” he said softly.

“He should be here with you,” Elijah declared.

“He has a job to do,” Cayden explained. “I can’t expect him to drop everything just for me.”

“Why not?” Elijah questioned. “You’re worth it.” He stared into Cayden’s eyes for a moment before pulling him into an embrace. Cayden froze when he felt Elijah’s body pressed up against his, but a torrent of emotion soon overcame him and he sunk into Elijah’s embrace.

“I’m so scared,” he whispered. “Since the day I moved in here, I feel like I’ve been stumbling on clue after clue, you know . . . building a mystery. Now that it’s almost at the end, I feel like everything is going to fall apart and I can’t hold it together no matter how much I try. Things are going to go bad,” he said. “I just know it.”

“Shh,” Elijah said soothingly. “It’s okay. Everything is going to be fine,” he assured him.

Mason Weber stepped out of his apartment and pulled the door closed. Walking towards Cayden’s door, he reached down to turn the doorknob and found that it wouldn’t budge. He stared down at it awkwardly. Normally Cayden’s door was always open. It was one of the few things Mason could count on, being able to walk into Cayden’s apartment and sit down on the couch like nothing was wrong. He paused for a moment. Maybe something was wrong.

Just as he was about the knock on the door, Mrs. Mulberry’s door opened and Sarah Mulberry stepped outside. She glanced as she pulled the door closed and smiled. “Mason,” she said as she walked toward him. “What’s going on?”

“Not much,” Mason replied, still burned by what had happened earlier. “I’m just gonna hang out with Cayden.”

“Cool,” Sarah said. “maybe I can hang out with you guys?”

“Why, so you can cure your boredom and then drop us the minute you find something more interesting to do?” He questioned.

“Oh, come on, it wasn’t like that,” Sarah said. “I just thought we were having a good time, you know. It was just sex, Mason. I didn’t realize that you thought it was something more. I mean, I don’t even really know you, but I would like to,” she added with a smile.

“Look, if you really want to be my friend, then just drop the act,” he said.

“What do you mean?” Sarah questioned.

“I mean, this slut thing you do. You don’t need to act that way to make friends,” Mason assured her. “Just be yourself.”

“I am being myself,” Sarah said as she sided up to him and stuck her hand in his back pocket and gave his butt a gentle squeeze.

“If that’s true, then it’s a sad thing,” Mason said as he removed her hand from his pocket. “When we were hanging out in my apartment, right after we had sex, I caught a glimpse of the real you. It was when you laying in my arms and we were just resting. You turned and looked at me and smiled. I think in that moment, I actually got to see who you really are,” he explained. “The girl that I saw at that moment, was a whole lot better than the one I’m seeing now,” he admitted as he turned and knocked on the door.

A moment later, Elijah Montessori opened the door. “Hey,” Mason said as he stepped into the room and glanced around at all of the faces. “Are you guys having a party?” He questioned before realizing the somber mood in the room. “Are you guys having a wake instead?” He chided.

Cayden stepped out of the kitchen and saw Mason. “We found something in the incinerator,” he said softly.

“What were you doing digging around in the incinerator?” Sarah Mulberry questioned as she stepped into Cayden’s apartment uninvited. She glanced around the room. “Geez, you guys look like you’ve been hit by a truck.”

“Fuck off,” Devon said as she sat forward on the couch.

Sarah smiled at her and rolled her eyes. “What did you find in the incinerator?”

“A bunch of trash, dumb ass,” Devon said with disgust.

“Oh, then you must have felt right at home,” Sarah retorted. Devon stood up from the couch, but Gage grabbed her by the hand and pulled her back. She rolled her eyes at him and pushed him away but made no move to get back up.

“We found a bag of creepy stuff,” Cayden said with a sigh.

“No shit,” Sarah said, thoroughly amused. “What was it, like porn or something? I just know there are a lot of freaks that live in this building,” she added as she gave Devon a sideways glance.

“I’m gonna fuck her up,” Devon said as she got up from the couch only to be pulled back by Gage once again. She grumbled and sat next to him.

“It wasn’t porn,” Cayden responded.

“Then what was it?” Mason questioned as he glanced around the room. “Come on, you guys are scaring me. What did you find in the bag?”

“It was full of pictures and stuff of Julia Taylor,” Cayden admitted. “We think it was thrown away by her killer.”

“Holy shit!” Sarah exclaimed. “Julia Taylor? That’s the chick that got killed, wasn’t it? My aunt told me that somebody gutted her.”

“Oh, you know, I’m sick of this bitch,” Devon said as she jumped off the couch and charged at Sarah Mulberry before Gage could grab her.

“Devon!” Gage yelled as he sprang after her.

The force of Devon’s thrust against Sarah, threw the other woman off balance and sent her crashing into a wall. Sarah knocked over a lamp in an attempt to steady herself, but got back her footing quickly before Devon could land a blow to her face. She stepped to the side and grabbed Devon by the hair, yanking with all of her force.

“Stop!” Cayden yelled as he was nearly knocked over by the attack.

Gage grabbed Devon by the waist and tried to pull her away, but Sarah kept a fierce clutch on Devon’s hair, as if she were going to rip it out of the other woman’s head.

“Let go of my hair, you fucking bitch!” Devon shrieked.

“How do you like it?” Sarah questioned.

Mason reached for Sarah’s hands and tried to pry them open, but Sarah kept them clutched tightly. She wanted payback for what Devon had done to her and she was keen on getting it. She yanked Devon’s hair to the right and left, causing Devon to loose her footing and stumble forward. She crashed against Sarah and the two fell to the floor in the hall.

Once free of Sarah’s grasp, Devon connected her fist with the lower part of Sarah’s jaw and scrambled to her feet. For her own part, Sarah bounced back very quickly and lunged at Devon. With one quick step, Devon moved to the side and pushed Sarah back to the ground as everyone spilled out of the apartment into the hall, shouting for them to stop.

“Gage,” Cayden said. “Stop her, she can’t fight in her condition!”

Without thinking, Gage ran toward the two women.

Down the hall, Mrs. Mulberry opened her door and shuffled out into the hall with her crutches. “What the hell is going on?” She questioned as she saw the two women going toe to toe. “Sarah, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Stand back, Mrs. Mulberry,” Jesse said as he moved to shield her from the fight. Gage tried to grab Devon, but received an elbow to the jaw for his effort. He stumbled back, slightly dazed.

“Grab her!” Cayden yelled. “She can’t fight! Oh my God, Devon, what are you doing?”

“That’s right Devon, kick her fucking ass!” Mrs. Mulberry yelled, cheering her on.

“Grandmother!“ Sarah yelled with surprise.

“You needed a good ass whipping a long time ago,” Mrs. Mulberry seethed.

“That’s enough!” Gage yelled as he grabbed Devon by the waist and picked her up, pulling her away from the other woman.\ and ending the fight.

Mason rushed toward Sarah to stop her from advancing on Devon. “It’s over,” he told her.

“Put me down,” Devon said with frustration.

“Only if you promise to go back into the apartment and calm down,” Gage imposed.

“Whatever, just put me down,” Devon said. Once Gage let her go, she turned back to glare at Sarah. “This isn’t over,” she said to her. “And you,“ she said as she turned toward Gage. “I don’t want to look at your face,“ she added as she turned toward Cayden’s apartment and stepped inside. Gage sighed and walked toward his own apartment and entered quietly.

“Can someone help me?” Sarah asked. “She attacked me!” She glanced over at Jesse. “Jesse, can you help me?” She questioned.

“Why don’t you just keep your mouth shut?” Kathryn interjected.

“That fight sucked,” Mrs. Mulberry said as she shook her head and hobbled back to her apartment. She stopped to glance at Sarah and shook her head. “You deserved it,” she said to her granddaughter. “I’m just pissed that I wasn’t the one who gave it to you.”

“Grandmother!” Sarah said with disbelief as she followed Mrs. Mulberry into her apartment.

Cayden sighed and turned to the other. “That was fun,” he lied. “So what are you guys going to do?” He questioned as she glanced at Elijah, Mason, Jesse and Kathryn.

“I’m going upstairs,” Jesse said, “call me if you hear anything.” He turned and walked down the hall.

“Aren’t you going to go with him?” Cayden questioned.

Kathryn watched Jesse walk down the hall and sighed. She turned back toward Cayden. “No,” she said as she shook her head. “I think he needs some time to himself.”

“But you’re his girlfriend,” Cayden argued.

“Yeah, but right now he’s thinking about Julia. I can compete with people like Sarah,” she admitted, “but I can’t compete with a ghost,” she sighed as she walked toward her apartment and let herself inside.

“I don’t know about you guys,” Mason said, “but after that, I sure could use a drink. You wanna go down to a bar and knock a few back? I know this place that doesn’t card.”

“I don’t think so,” Cayden said, shaking his head. “I’m gonna stick around and wait for Szymon to call, but you guys can go?”

“Are you sure?” Elijah questioned. “I think I could use a drink right about now, too.”

“Go ahead,” Cayden said with a smile. “Go have a drink. I’ll be fine."

“It’s as if all of these pictures have been wiped clean of prints,” Cecilia Nakamura said with frustration as she leaned back in her chair and sighed. “Whoever this guy is, he’s good.”

As Cecilia continued to test all of the photographs for prints, Szymon sat off in the corner, reading through Julia’s diary. “This is ridiculous,” he said, “we’re getting nowhere and Cayden is living in that building with a lunatic running around.” He slammed the diary on the desk and shook his head.

“Relax. Take a break,” Cecilia ordered.

“No,” Syzmon said as he grabbed the diary again and opened it. “I have to find the killer.”

“Suit yourself,” Cecilia said as she rolled her eyes and continued dusting the pictures for prints. She glanced down at the picture of Cayden and his friends sitting on the couch and shook his head. “Whoever this guy is, the fact that he has a picture with Cayden in it must be really creepy for you.”

“No kidding,” Szymon said, “and I’m sure Cayden is even more creeped out about it than I am.” He paused for a moment. “Wait!” He said as he stood up from his chair and set the diary down on the desk. “The picture!”

“What about it?” Cecilia questioned.

“Cayden said that he took that picture.”

“Yeah, and he gave everyone a copy . . . Oh my God,” she said with shock.

“Exactly! If Cayden made copies of the picture and only gave them to his friends . . .”

“Then one of them doesn’t have the picture anymore . . .” Cecilia continued.

“And whoever that is, is the killer!” Szymon concluded as he rushed over to the phone and dialed Cayden’s number. He waited for it to ring and when he heard Cayden’s voice on the other end of the line, he got excited. “Cayden!” He nearly yelled. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Cayden responded.

“You did it,“ Szymon explained. “You cracked the case.“

“What are you talking about?” Cayden questioned.

“Your picture,” Szymon explained. “The picture you took at Christmas. Cayden, don’t you understand? You gave that picture to your friends, right?”

“Of course,” Cayden replied. “Wait a second, if someone threw their picture away . . .”

“Then they’re the killer,” Szymon finished.

“Oh my God!” Cayden gasped.

“Cayden, I need you to find Devon. I don’t think she killed Julia. Find Devon and stay with her. We’ll be on our way down there to see who is missing their picture,” he explained, “but I need you to be safe.”

“Okay,” Cayden said in response. “Just please hurry.”

“Who was that on the phone?” Devon James questioned as she sat in a chair beside the window in Cayden’s bedroom staring out into the night. She turned and glanced over at him.

“It was Szymon,” Cayden responded softly. “He thinks he can find Julia’s killer. He’s on his way,” he explained.

“How is he going to do that?” Devon questioned. “You said something about a picture?”

“Yeah, the picture I took on Christmas,” Cayden explained. “I made copies of those pictures. I only gave a copy to you, Jesse, Kathryn and Gage.”

“And one of those pictures got into the bag with the killer’s stuff,” Devon said softly. “Which probably means that the picture was given to the killer.”

“I think so,” Cayden admitted. “Do you really think?”

“Do I really think that one of our friends could have murdered Julia?” Devon interrupted. “I don’t know. I hope it’s not true, but what other possible explanation could there be? The picture was in the bag with all of the stuff.”

“Devon,” Cayden said softly. “Where is your copy of the picture?”

Devon James glanced at Cayden in silence for a moment, then smiled and shook her head. “I should be offended,” she said softly as she stood up from the chair, “but I understand why you’re asking. My picture is in my bedroom, beside my bed. I look at it every morning when I get up and every night before I go to sleep.”

“Can you go get it and bring it here?” Cayden questioned, hoping that Devon really understood why he was asking and wasn’t just saying that she did. “I don’t think you did it,” he explained, “but you have to understand . . .”

“I do,” Devon said with a nod. “It could be anyone of us in that picture. Except for you, of course,” she added with a smile. “You moved in after she died.”

“Devon, I don’t want to upset you . . .”

“I’m not upset,” Devon responded. “If our roles were reversed, I would do the same thing. I’ll just be a minute,” she said with a smile as she turned and exited the bedroom. Cayden watched her leave and sighed. He didn’t want her to think that he suspected her of killing Julia Taylor, but he needed to be sure. He needed to know that he could trust her because if someone in that photograph really did kill Julia Taylor, then they were lying all along.

A chill ran down his spine at the thought that Devon, Gage, Kathryn or even Jesse could have killed Julia Taylor. He waited in silence. One minute passed, followed by another, then another. As nervousness set in, Cayden sat up on his. He wondered why Devon was taking so long. All she had to do was walk across the hall and grab a photo. He was about to get up and check on her when the lights in his apartment blinked and the power in the building went out. Cayden King found himself sitting all alone in the dark.

“I can’t stand this fucking building,” Sarah Mulberry grumbled as she stepped out of her grandmother’s apartment holding a flashlight. “The power goes out every damned minute. I swear to God, I’m reporting the super to whoever the hell you report supers to,” she sighed as she walked toward the elevator and pressed the button.

“Dumb ass!” She said to herself when she realized that the elevator wasn’t going to work because the power was out. She shook her head and turned toward the door to the stairwell. Pulling the door open, she shot the beam of her flashlight in front of her to light her way.

“Stupid fucking electricity,” she mumbled to herself as she descended the staircase. “It’s not enough that I have to live in a building full of psycho bitches, but I also have to live in a building that has no goddamned electricity,” she sighed.

“Sarah,” she heard someone call out in the darkness, catching her off guard. She spun around and shined her light on the source.

“What the hell do you want now?” Sarah Mulberry questioned. “I don’t have time for you . . .”

In the next moment, Sarah Mulberry had little time for anything, least of all to react to what was happening. A swift kick landed on her chest and sent her flying backwards in the darkness, until her body landed at the bottom of the staircase and her flashlight crashed against the wall and died.

***

“Szymon!” Cecilia Nakamura shouted. “Wait a second, I found a print!” She was excited. “I just need to run it against the system. “We may have the print of our killer,” Cecilia added as she scanned the fingerprint into the system.

Szymon joined her at her side. “Good, we’ll need more than just a missing picture if we want to nail this killer,” he said a he watched the monitor.

“It’s only a partial print,” Cecilia Nakamura said, “but it’s clean enough to match it against something in the system. That is if our killer’s prints are in the system,” she added nervously as she glanced over at him.

“Let’s hope they are,” Szymon said, crossing his fingers. “Match them against all possible suspects in this case, specifically those that live in the same building,” Szymon suggested.

“Good idea,” Cecilia said, “we’ll start close and work our way out.” She placed her hands on the keyboard and, witch a few quick keystrokes, narrowed the search. “There!” She said as the computer found a match. “We got it!” She stared down at the screen with shock. “Holy shit,” she said as she turned toward Szymon. His eyes widened with surprise when he saw the name on the screen.

“We’ve been looking at the wrong person this whole time,” Cecilia noted. “It wasn’t Julia’s boyfriend that killed her . . . It was her best friend.”

“Devon,” Szymon said aloud. “Oh my God, Cici, I just told Cayden to go tell her about the picture. I sent Cayden right into the hands of a killer!” He yelled as he rushed to the door and ran out of the police station.

***

In the darkness, Cayden King stood up from his bed and tried to make sense of the shadows all around him. He could feel his heart beating. It felt as if it wanted to break free of his chest. He swallowed a lump in his throat and took a step forward.

“Devon,” he called out, fear creeping into his voice. “Devon, are you there?”