A serial killer, technology, and a detective determined to find the truth. Come along on a murder mystery adventure, with The Murder App – Chapter 5!
Ella let the sounds of the store around her fade as she stood, watching the attendant go through her account.
She had been there a few months ago.
She thought she remembered the man she sold it to.
It was an unusual purchase, and he had a charming quality about him.
Ella needed this to be the guy. This case was already weighing heavily on her – physically and emotionally.
The ties that their killer was using had definitely come from the stock numbers in this store. They had confirmed it. Ella had a strong feeling of disgust that such a purchase could have gone through unchecked. That nobody thought it odd to have a man buying a bulk order of 50 red ties. But she understood the sales clerk’s position. She had believed his story about being a private designer wanting additional stock.
It wasn’t her fault. Not really. Still, the pain behind the consequences ate at Ella’s heart like a flesh eating virus.
“I can sit down with a sketch artist if you want,” the sales clerk’s voice brought Ella back into the present. She was lightly dusting her hand against Steve’s, while he quickly scribbled her comments. The swift strokes of his pen – mimicking the vein that now pounded in the side of his neck – made the words unintelligible.
Ella rolled her eyes as he casually glanced up, leaning his elbow on the counter and returning her gaze. “Well, thanks for your time. We’ll be sure to send someone by.”
Trying not to gag, Ella cleared her throat instead at his emphasis on the word ‘someone’.
It was typical of Steven to flirt with a cute witness. Ella had always considered it more than a little unprofessional, but Steven had a way about him. It negated the traditional creepy of a guy that hit on everyone, and replaced it with an impish charm.
They hadn’t got anything particularly helpful about the man who had made the purchase. They’d still get the sketch done, then compare it to suspects they got during the investigation. For today though, it was unhelpful. They had to start again. To go back to the dating app, and hope their honey trap caught a fly.
Ella needed something now. She had to get this guy.
Peeling herself away from the flirting fest, she opened her phone and pulled up the Love Connection app.
Over the last two days, she’d received several winks and messages from potential suspects. But one by one, Cyber had dug into their personal information and weeded them out. No red flags.
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Another message bobbed up and down with a notification, waiting for her. Ella pulled it up and scanned the man’s profile.
He was cute, in an off beat kind of way. He had short blonde hair, and wore narrow glasses without subtle black frames. They suited his face well, and gave him a disarming appearance.
Opening his message, Ella caught her breath as she read over the words.
“I hope you don’t consider me presumptuous, but you are beautiful. Would you consider meeting at the Bright Sun shopping centre in South Melbourne on Monday?”
She was currently standing in the Myer department store of the Bright Sun centre. She quickly looked up and subtly scanned the crowd around her. Surely he wasn’t here – watching her already. Keeping tabs on the women he reached out to.
Right? It had to be a coincidence.
She looked back at the message and noted that it had come through in the past half hour. She moved quickly back to Steve and the shop attendant, politely pulling him away.
“Hey, watcha do that for? We were vibing, you know.”
She ignored the comment and thrust the phone at him instead. “I just got this message on Love Connection.”
Steve was struggling to keep up with her brisk pace as she headed back to the parking lot where they’d parked their unmarked car. They had to get back to the office and dig into this guy more thoroughly. Even if it was just a gut feeling, Ella wanted to go through this guys life with a fine tooth comb.
“Okay,” Steven said, handing back the phone. “But this could be just a coincidence.”
Ella gave a half-hearted nod. “It could. But I don’t believe in coincidences. Especially not on a murder case.”
I hope you enjoyed chapter 5 of The Murder App.
Come back next month for the next part of the story!
See You in The Adventures!
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