1 – Be a Witness to a Murder Case

          By the time we reached the abandoned lot of the Rosings I was already panting and sweating all over my shirt. I stopped for a moment to catch my breath and to prepare myself for whatever horror my companion wanted me to see. Erwin Gregory was immediately lost in the pool of curious people trying to catch a glimpse of the scene. I straightened my back and went into the crowd. Some people were hiding their disgust at the sight; some just wanted to see if the person lying on the ground was related to them.

           I was one of the few people brave and curious enough to really examine the body without crossing the yellow line. Several meters away from his patrol car, the man was lying with his left cheek kissing the dirt with blood pooling from the bullet hole of his forehead. He was bald and has a body of a drunkard judging from his big stomach. His eyes were left unclosed sending chills to whoever dares to look at him. He was wearing his black police uniform but his gun was no longer dangling from his waist.

          "That is not what I wanted you to see but you've seen it now so my friend, marvel at my art," Erwin said. He didn't care to lower his voice since the people surrounding us were like bees buzzing nonstop.

          I turned my head to watch him. He was smiling while looking at the police officer's body. A glint of satisfaction was in his eyes. I remember when he broke the news to me this morning. He leaned on the counter, pulled a pistol from his back, and put it on top. I thought he just bought a new gun so I didn't question him at first but then his laughter gave it all away. Erwin Gregory struck again.

          "He called me names, Oliver. I was just walking and that motherfucker blew his horn so suddenly even if I was at the very edge of the road," he told me. I noticed the calmness in his voice like he was just telling a story about his day at school.

          It has been a habit of Erwin Gregory to update me with his monstrous doings. I know it's because he wanted me to feed his ego by praising him or just simply pay attention to his words. He's monotonous when he wanted to and when he's in a great mood he'll add energy to his narrations. He also has this fixed gaze like he's trying to read you, trying to predict your next move. Even when he's boasting you will never catch him off guard.

          A police officer was taking pictures of the different angles of the incident so he advised us to step back for him to do his job effectively. Erwin lifted his head from the dead man and looked at the officer who reprimanded us. His eyes were screaming death so I immediately thought of something that will distract him from killing another member of the police department.

          "So what exactly did you want me to see?" I asked him.

          He showed me a wicked smile and turned his attention at the blonde girl writing notes as the sheriff speaks. The girl was outside the yellow line but she seemed fully committed to the case. Erwin studied his new prey. I already knew him so well to know that he's not doing this out of love. He just came from Harrington two days ago, he's bored, and he needs a new game. He needs someone he can toy with.

          "You don't want her," I whispered.

          "Because she's smart?"

          Erwin doesn't know what love is. He doesn't feel anything than anger. He will always ask first whether he can get something out of someone before approaching him or her. It has been a jungle for Erwin since birth. It's to kill or be killed. He might be just nineteen but he had already killed twice the number of his age. Mostly because of his bad temper, sometimes out of boredom, and there are times when someone is a hindrance or a big help to his plans.

          "I'm done with dumb blonde girls. I want to step up my game. I get past this girl, I can get whoever I want," he explained. Madness was thick in his voice.

          "She's the daughter of the sheriff. You don't want to get involved with her," I warned him.

          "Why, that's better!" I looked at him and stopped for a moment to question myself if he's real. "If she fell in love with me I'll get her father's approval. I will have immunity to whatever fun I'll do in the future. No one's going to suspect me, Oliver."

          He didn't wait for my reaction. It doesn't matter anyway. Nothing I'll say will sway him from doing what he wants. He swaggered towards the girl but toned down his arrogance when her eyes met him. Since curiosity is the bane of everyone's existence, I followed him. I stood not too close but near enough to hear them. Luckily, the crowd started to lessen and the gossiping started to fade so I had the chance to catch bits of their conversation.

          "Excuse me, are you investigating this case?" Erwin asked the girl with utmost politeness. Suddenly, all traces of Erwin the murderer, the liar, and the manipulator were gone. His hands were shaking and his fingers were entangled with each other like a man being plagued with anxiety.

          The girl shook his head. "I'm just taking notes."

          "I want to make a statement."

          I almost pulled Erwin away from the girl. He's the one who killed the officer, what is he going to do? Turn himself so that the girl will appreciate his honesty? It didn't make sense to me but I let him. I convinced myself that he has a plan. He's brilliant. He got away from so many crimes already and I don't think this sudden change of heart will ruin everything for him now.

          The girl's face lit up with interest. She clicked her pen and gave all her attention to Erwin no matter how busy her surrounding was. Her eyes were shining emeralds because of anticipation. She was breathing fast and she was obviously calming herself. She isn't much of a mystery. Her father is a sheriff, who works with crimes every day of his life, it's not impossible for his little girl to take a common interest with his job too.

          Erwin maintained his troubled expression. He's breathing became heavier every second and he's sweating like he have just ran in a marathon. He's composing himself and preparing for his statement when the sheriff approached them.

          "Any problem here, Margoth?" The sheriff asked while looking alternately at Erwin and his daughter.

          Margoth turned to her father. The fire in her eyes went out the moment her father walked towards them. She looked like she's hesitating whether she wants to turn Erwin's statement to her father or take it by herself secretly. It was written all over her face, she wanted to get involved in the case so much that she's willing to take responsibility of whatever my companion has to say to her no matter how dangerous it will be.

          Sheriff Manson waited a word from his daughter. When he got impatient, he turned to Erwin and demanded an explanation from him.

          "I saw what happened," Erwin told the police. "I'm willing to tell you everything if you could swear that I will have full protection from you."

          The sheriff and her daughter looked at each other. They have the same shade of green eyes but Margoth has softer look whilst her father was looking at Erwin with suspicion.

          In the end, Sheriff Manson took Erwin with them. He looked back at me and flashed a sly smile and as fast as the blink of an eye, he was back again as the traumatized witness of a murder he himself committed.

          I had no choice but to return to my apartment and wait for Erwin to come back. I can't be seen with him. Any slip of my existence could endanger his grand plan and as a long time observant of Erwin Gregory, I sure don't want to get to his bad side.

          It was past three o'clock in the afternoon when I heard the loud slam of my door. Nobody does that but Erwin. I came out of my room as fast as I could. He was pulling a bottle of beer from the fridge when I saw him.

          "Justice is served. Thanks to me," he announced as he opened his bottle.

          I watched him drink. I searched for any signs of failure or victory of his main agenda but I found none. Sometimes when I'm looking at him I couldn't make out a man but a machine. He's more like a lifeless thing than a nineteen years old lad. He's too unpredictable and dangerous. I'm lying if I say I'm not afraid of what he could do to me. We've known each other since sixth grade but that's not enough reason for us to be friends.

          I'm an effective forger. I can fake any document laid upon me and I can say my customers are happy with my job. I'm an orphan and I needed money to support myself so I tried my luck at faking bank checks. I'm also some sort of a con artist. I've lived my life using the name of other person more than my own given name.

          Of course when you're not as alert and as bright as Erwin, the chance of getting caught is high. But in my case, it wasn't the police who tailed me but one of my many customers. He was a gentleman with a fine suit and heavy briefcase named Arnold Smith. He arranged an appointment with me via his friend who also consulted me about the same matter. He wanted me to fake the signature of his wife for their divorce papers. I did what he asked but after a month he came back aiming a gun at my head. He said his wife filed a lawsuit against him and he's blaming it all on me.

          I was running for my life that night when I happened to come face to face with Erwin Gregory. His black hair was wet with sweat, his white shirt splattered with blood, his hands were covered with dirt, and his boots were muddy. In his hand was a rusty shovel dripping with crimson beads of blood. I had no chance to get terrified with his look because I was busy saving my ass but I knew all along that his favorite extracurricular activity is to kill. I was panicking so I risked my life and begged for his help. Fortunately, he was still up for some killing. I was fascinated and scared when he laid out his plans to me but I trusted him.

          When the gentleman found me at the end of an alley, Erwin came out from his hiding and smashed the gentleman's skull with the head of his shovel. He did it so many times with the same amount of great intensity that when he decided to stop bits of bones and brain were scattered on the ground. The gentleman's head was totally unrecognizable. I remember running away from the scene because I needed to throw up.

          After that night, I learned that it was not in Erwin's nature to help. He needed something from me so he responded to my aid. He knew that I'm good at faking documents as well as I knew what he is and what he can do. Every time he needs money, he comes to me and makes me sign his mother's check. I soon forgot that he saved me. I am indebted to him and as long as he needs me, I am allowed to live.

          Erwin sat on the sofa and took a swig of his beer. "I told them I saw him forcing an adolescent male to suck his dick. The boy pretended to obey his whims, crouched, pulled the officer's gun from his holster, and shot him in the head."

          "And they believed you?" I asked.

          I don't question his ability to lie. I saw him do it so many times and every time he does it, I want to hold up a placard of perfect ten to score him. While I'm good at faking signatures and documents, he's excellent at faking emotions and statements. Lying for him is as easy as breathing or blinking.

          "They have no choice but to believe me. They have no lead with the investigation," he shrugged and stared at the vase on top of the table for some time. "I didn't lie anyway. It's the truth, only the boy escaped so I was the one who pulled the pistol from his holster."

          "And Margoth?"

          I was hoping for a sudden alteration of his expression. Just something to tell me that the machine I've known has now come to life but there was none. He kept the same straight face even when I mentioned the blonde girl's name. It's going to be the same. He's going to prove something, break the poor girl's heart, and hunt another prey in some place but Halsworth.

          "Magnificent. She should change her name to that. She's so clever I had a hard time determining if I wanted to kiss her or kill her," he licked his lips and threw his attention at me as he became more energetic and engaged. "She asked me why I was there and why I didn't go to the police immediately."

          "What a surprise you didn't strangle her for asking," I commented. Erwin doesn't want his lies to be questioned. He'll give enough information to support his fib that will leave you satisfied.

          "I wanted her to do that. I wanted to know if she's really different from all the girls I've fooled before," he got up and pulled another drink from the fridge. "I told her I'm new and I lost my way finding my place. I also told her I was scared that the police will see me as a suspect if I went to them after what I saw."

          What question could possibly erase Erwin Gregory's irritating confidence? He always seems to have a lie ready to be fired in case of emergency. He's always ready, calm, and confident about everything. Is there anything that could shake him and unravel his ego?

          "I asked her, "Why is this case worth solving when the dead deserves his fate?" She looked me in the eyes and told me everyone deserves justice and from that moment all she could talk about was her dreams of becoming a detective and handing out justice like it's just a piece of pamphlet," there was bitterness in his words. He gulped his liquor and put down his bottle so hard I was sure it almost shattered.

          "I'm going to blind her. There would never be justice on her lips once she tasted mine," he proceeded to lick his upper lip. He turned to me and waited for me to have something to say.

          I swallowed my hesitations and cleared my throat. "What's your next move?"

          "Produce school credentials for the both of us, Oliver. We're going back to high school."

          There's no more reason to ask. Somehow, he found out that Margoth Manson is a twelfth grader. What other way to get close to her easily than to attend the same school as her?

          I did what he asked. I pulled an all-nighter and printed all the papers needed to get accepted to Halsworth High School. Erwin slipped some bills to put us to the same class as Margoth. The moment Margoth saw him she went away from her friends and made her way towards Erwin. I was in front of Erwin so it was easier for me to hear them.

          "So, how are you and how's the rest of Halsworth treating you?" Margoth asked. She sat next to Erwin and smiled at him like they never met in a horrible crime scene.

          "I believe your town has a weird way of welcoming newcomers but I think it's really a nice place," Erwin retorted with a slightly lower energy than Margoth. I think he's still playing the traumatized witness but maybe it's just the right thing to do.

          A man with a loose navy blue tie walked in and put his books and papers on the desk in front of the class. Margoth got up and said goodbye. She went back to her proper seat in the front row and the class started.

          I glanced back at Erwin. He was eyeing Margoth intensely with his cold hard eyes. The hazel color of his irises seemed to darken making him look like a demon with solid black orbs. Suddenly, the blonde girl turned to him and I was amazed with how fast his gaze softened. Her lips curled into a smile and in return, Erwin made the same gesture at her.

          I found myself curious if Erwin Gregory really wanted to kiss her or kill her.