Chapter 6

Jenny waited outside of the movie theater for someone to catch her eye. Her film started in ten minutes, and she wanted to have a plan first; her days off weren’t as numerous as she’d like. She hadn’t been able to act on her desires in a month. Then she saw him.

The punk from the grocery store was standing around with three friends taunting passersby near the end of the hall. Jenny grinned as she stayed discretely out of his view.

“Fortune smiles on those who wait. I see my dear friend is going to watch a horror film. Maybe I’ll join him.” She remarked to herself.

The others went to the concession stand as her target offered to hold seats in the theater. Jenny watched him enter and followed. She pulled out her ponytail so that her hair and hat could hide her face better. The predator eased into the near empty room and found a seat behind her prey.

She’d only counted four people in the darkened room. The two in back were already making out and the older man was sitting too far in front to notice anything but the previews. Jenny dumped her popcorn on the floor and took out her knife.

She poked the blade through the bottom of the bag so it would shield her hand from any blood. Her bundle of rough white napkins cushioned her knuckles as she clapped her hand over his mouth and drove the point deep into the back of his skull. With nine seconds of twitching, the man was dead.

Jenny quickly withdrew her weapon and used a napkin to dab sanitizer from her bottle over the jerk’s face where she had grabbed him. She poured a bit of his soda over the cleanser for extra effect.

Her blade hidden, the killer turned the bag inside out and stuffed it into her half-drained soda cup. Jenny crouched and left the theater mumbling about needing a straw. No one looked at her as she walked out and past the victim’s buddies. They were busy joking about the bust of some girl they’d seen coming in.

She went unnoticed as she dropped the cup into the trash can outside the concession stand and ordered fresh snacks. She pocketed the receipt as a new treasure and went into her own theater just in time to see the previews end. It was a good day to be alive.

***

Officer Jenkins was having a crappy day. She took notes on the murder at the theater and stared at the mountain of witness statements. They all said the same thing: no one saw anything; the guy was just sitting in his seat dead when his friends got to the row of chairs.

She rubbed her eyes and tried to recall some part of her training that would make everything click into place. All she came up with was ‘find clues and act on them’. The rookie nudged her training officer from his cocoon of paperwork.

Officer Lee startled as though unaware his new partner had existed.

“What’s happening? Oh, Jenkins. What’s up? Did you find something?”

“Nothing. Just some wannabe thug who was stabbed and no leads. I wanted to see if you think a coffee break might be in order. We’ve been pouring over this for two hours already.”

Lee stretched out and realized his bladder was full.

“Yeah, let’s take five.” He said as he tested his weight on his sleeping feet before attempting to stand. “A piss, some coffee to refuel, and a bit of fresh air might do us some good.”

The pair returned to their seats and spent another hour reviewing statements and motives. Apparently, the victim had not been well-liked.

“So, this guy had two arrests for assault in the last year and both times the charges were dropped. A previous incarceration for drugs where he got early release, still on parole at time of death.

He has an ex-girlfriend who he was seen arguing with and threatening a week ago. And he owed money to at least five people when he was killed.” Jenkins freewheeled as she reclined in her chair.

“And nothing of value was taken from the body.” Lee interjected. “What does that tell you about the case?”

“The guy has a lot of people who might want him dead, and this wasn’t a random murder, it was personal in some way.”

“Exactly.”

“So how do we narrow this down? Everyone in question has an alibi. Hell, two of the people he owed money were cousins of his that were at the movie theater with him. Clearly they were getting along well enough to hang out.” Jenkins answered.

“If everyone has an alibi, we verify the alibis as thoroughly as possible looking for cracks in the truth. If that fails, we keep looking for more people the victim pissed off.” Officer Lee cracked his knuckles and lifted his phone.

Officer Jenkins picked up her own receiver and began calling the workplaces while Lee called the personal contacts for each suspect. It was looking like a long night of desk work. She looked at the small plaque on her mentor’s desk.

Too many clues are just as difficult as too few.