-B .Krishna Kousthubha
As you saw , so shall you reap
I have been dreaming to become a forensic scientist.
It has been my dream for 12 years. Since child I showed my interest in biology and chemistry.
I would have lived happier.
But my life took a TURN.
A disturbing one.
May 16 ,2009
Sophomore year ,college
Ivywood
My best friends Veronica, Mike and Nora decided to write an article for a project ,display it as representation and win the prize money.
What should we write about ?? Veronica said.
I don't know. We should go to library... Nora said.
We went to the library in the evening at 6 and started looking for some ideas.
Generally the library used to be filled with many students because exams are about to appear. But today , strangely the library felt kind of empty.
While I was walking alone to search books
My eye caught on a book , a very thick old book on another shelf opposite to me.
It's very high . As I decided to grab the book , a boy took the book and gave it to me.
Thanks I said
No problem...he said
He was thin and pale. He was 6 inches taller than me.
So what are you working on ?
A project to represent at my college .I said .
May be I can help you . You can contact me if you want.
I work at Freldy' s restaurant every weekend.
Oh , I'll meet you then ...
Ok byee.
I took the book and showed it to my friends.
It's covered with dust. I guess it's pretty old.
Woahhh .. we have to read all the pages ??
We also have mid term exams girl . Mike said.
I read the cover of the book. It has a very interesting title.
Mysteries of Chesters .
Chesters is the town where we all live.
I am gonna take it home and read it ..
You don't take the burden okay ??
You 3 just create the presentation and I analyse every page in this book..
As brave as I said , when I read 3 -4 pages I felt very tired.
What was I thinking to take this shitty book ??
570 pages in 5 days ... I will be roasted.
The first three pages are about the town details.
But after 4 pages , the book felt very bizarre.
It became darker and darker.
It lists out the number of murders happening in the town. The serial killers , their faces and weapons.
How they killed their victims .. everything
I felt a shock because my parents never told me about this. Neither my friends or relatives.
It's my hometown .. how could I not know all this ??
This morning , the first thing I went to Veronica's house and gave her the book.
She glanced at the book and said
Do you think this is all real ?
I mean I never heard all of this !!
I looked for the author's name
Anonymous.
I can't take it to the library and ask the library man or staff about the book.
I uhhh.. actually stole the book..
The book costs more money!!
I mean who would spend 200$ on a single book.
I can't even rent because I need the book for 5 days and if I rent that book I have to return it in 3 days max.
So what should we do ??
I don't know !!
Veronica said.
If I write an article about this..
It's disgusting.
I thought that mysteries meant something political or science fictional , not murder spree.
At night , I glanced at the book once again..
I saw a new serial killer name with date - 2009
It's 2009 ?!!
Now
Who is it ??
Charlotte Witlock. Who is she ?
My brain felt very dizzy at this point.
As I turned in some more pages, I was shocked.
Victim body photos , their death dates , weapons they used and
Their blood on every page
The killer wrote the details with the victim's blood.
I closed the book.
I wanted to burn it down.
I took a lighter and trashed the book . Burnt it down !
That's a relief !
I went upstairs and slept on my bed. But it still bothers me about the book. I should have never touched it in the first place.
May 17th,2009
Monday morning, I made some breakfast and headed out for college .
Now we need to find a new topic for our presentation programme.
What happened to the book ? Nora asked me
I think it's not a very nice book after all, so I gave it to the library.
We need to find a new one .
Mike sighs .
I'll find it in the evening. He said.
Then I started to feel very dizzy all day. I felt uninterested in all activities.
I wanted to go home , but there was an important class after lunch. I need to sit down and listen .
I need to score good in my mid terms .
As I was about to leave college , I saw someone near the woods. A shadow I guess .
I ignored it .
But something was lurking behind the woods.
What are you staring at ??
Veronica said.
Your acting very weird , after you got the book
Are you alright ? She asked me.
Yes ...
She handed me over a ribbon , a cute pink one
Take it . I forgot to return it to you.
I was about to grab it , but due to the wind ,it flew away
Near the woods.
I went there to take it.
Then I saw the most disturbing scene I have ever seen in my life
A servered HEAD
Blood dripping from it. I couldn't recognise the face
I went shouting like a mad woman and approached Veronica.
Look , Look I just saw a head .
Servered head near the woods.
Please call for help
I started crying.
She called the principal.
She looked very angry. I guess she should be , after all I made a very big scene
I explained the scene to him.
She went there with me and Veronica.
There was nothing.
No head.
Only trees and grass.
And the wind.
The principal thought it was a prank. She scolded all my classmates.
Why did you create a big scene ? Why did you ??
B - But I just saw ..
No more talks. This should never repeat .
All my classmates laughed at me.
Thinking I was stupid to pull out some pranks even at this age.
It was not a fucking illusion.
I saw it with my own eyes.
Fuck--
Veronica seemed very angry at me , but she calmed down herself
Did you really see it ?
What ?
The head . Did you sleep well ?
Fuck--- you think I am idiot. I'm not ill. I saw what I saw.
This is not an illusion.
Believe me.
I saw
In the woods.
For a second, she was stunned .
Take rest she said
That bitch didn't believe me.
I was humiliated.
I felt worse today. I felt tired . I went back home. I was walking on the road...
Then I thought about the boy I met at the library.
He said I can meet him on weekends.
I wanted to meet him.
I went to the restaurant he said .
The restaurant was fancy. It was all crowded . I guess because today was the weekend.
I stepped inside the restaurant where I couldn't find a single empty table.
Damn , they earn great money.
Then my eye caught on the boy. He waved his hand and I started approaching him.
Hey . What's up?? He said .
My name is Colen Heller. Nice to meet you .
After we talked for like 5 minutes,
We became friends after 2 weeks.
He invited me to his house to show some of his artworks.
He is a brilliant artist. I love all his paintings.
I started talking about the book and incidents happened to me.
He was first stunned. I thought he didn't believe me for a second.
He tapped his legs for a few minutes and said
Where is the book ?
Of course I burned it. The information is all false
I don't think so .. He said
I guess our parents are hiding something from us..
They never talked about this town history
My mother said to me once
There are some things you shouldn't know about this town. Some terrible things . Now that they have vanished forever , it is not necessary to talk about them.
I guess there are some secrets .
Every parent tries to hide secrets that are terrible, especially from their kids. They don't wanna hear about them .
Every parent does ..
Now it has been stopped , all the murders I guess there is no problem then.
But who wrote all the victims names with blood?. And their photos before they die .
Is he the murderer? Why is the book hanging in the library? Should I inform police ??
Hell no. I will be in danger .
Even if the book was written by a murderer, he would be dead by now since these incidents happened a long time ago , even when my parents weren't born.
I stepped out of Hellen's house with 1000 questions in my brain.
When I went back to my house , I washed my face and freshened up .
I went upstairs , to my room
Then I observed it , again
The book
It was lying on my bed.
I
fucking burned it ..
I am not dreaming this time..
I don't know what to do.
I went to the library and quietly placed the book on the top shelf .
No one noticed me. Good .
But in the book there was another killer belonging to this time.
Charlotte Witlock. 2009 Ivywood killer .
I still remember the name because , it felt very familiar.
I cannot remember how.
Maybe one of my old friends , or the person I met in my childhood.
I cleared my mind.
The best thing is now to get rid of this book.
May 18th ,2009
Tuesday
The next morning , I felt very happy . I noticed the book didn't return to my bedroom. Not on my bed. Not on my shelf. No where
Oh goddd....
For the first time this week , I felt burden free.
Today
I have no college so I can chill. Today is declared a public holiday.
My mother made waffles for breakfast.
Dad went to golf with his friends.
He has many friends .
I turned on the TV.
Breakfast first , my mother yelled .
Fine...
I ate my breakfast and switched on the TV.
Cartoons showed up.
My brother watches cartoons. He is just 6 years old.
I switched to another channel.
News channel.
My eyes were shocked for a second.
Ivywood murder after 150 years . The killer spree is about to start.
A young woman was a murderer in her house at night at 2:30 am.
Police have confirmed that it was a murder.
The murderer has left no clues.
I guess the 2009 ivywood killer is on loose now.
The name in the book was Charlotte Witlock.
I need to find her before she kills another victim.
I went to Veronica's house and said everything about the book.
I - I know why the murder happened last night .
There is a serial killer on loose . We need to stop before--
Stop . Stop talking crazy. She said
What--?
Haven't you done enough , yesterday at college .
Now no one talks to me because they think I am friend with psychic girls with illusions.
Please leave .
I had no other option but to leave.
She wanted to help me but her family was rich . She doesn't want to ruin her reputation.
I don't want to speak with her anymore.
I left her without saying a word.
The next day , after school I remembered that today is my brother's birthday.
I guess he invited many friends to his party.
As usual as I entered my home , I saw people chatting , drinking and dancing. My brother is more popular than I am.
I already had a headache and I started walking towards my bedroom while suddenly I heard a sharp voice.
Hey Charlotte, bring me the wine.
Charlotte
Charlotte Witlock.
I turned my head slightly so that she wouldn't notice me. By her appearance she looks like early 20's . Since my brother's age is 25.
She may be 23 or 24 by her face.
She wore a red dress and high heels.
She had short blonde hair.
I wanted to wait there eagerly to know her full name.
But the party ends at midnight , I guess.
And I felt very drowsy so I walked into my bedroom.
The next day was the deadline for our project . Fortunately because of Nora , we completed our project.
After school, I went to visit Collen's house.
He was doing his exam prep when I reached him
Am i disturbing you ?
No way. I need some rest from this hectic. I can talk to you while I refresh my mind . He said.
So far , he was the only person who could believe me. Even my friends won't.
He trusts me so far.
When I talk , he listens to me carefully.
That's the guy that every girl hopes for.
I had a very good time chatting with him.
So do you know about the recent murder?
The one that took place that night.
Police did find some clues
How do you know that ?
I asked him with confusion.
My uh-my father is a policeman.
He generally shares some details with me.
Well
He cleared his throat .
He found these things near the crime scene.
Blonde hair DNA
A red cloth
Cigerette
And a bracelet. Golden one.
We couldn't identify whose DNA . The killer burned it with acid. The secondary structures were destroyed.
We just need to find a person who have a habit of smoking . By looking at the bracelet, I guess the killer is a woman.
We have to narrow down the list.
Wow , his father is a policeman. I guess I can talk to him comfortably.
Call me , if you know more details . I'll help you find her.
He nods his head.
I went back home.
Veronica texted me back.
I'm sorry for acting like that. I wanted you to know that I will support you from now on. Please reply.
I felt kind of happy that she left that message. I wanted her support. But I never wanted to tell her and my friends about the murderer names and the book .
They must see through their own eyes
I cannot feel the burden all alone.
Police should never ever know about the book and the fact that I had the book earlier.
But I wanted to save the next victim.
May 19th , Wednesday
09:00am
Summer vacation.
As usual, I woke up late in the morning.
I asked my brother one straight person.
The girl in the red dress , that came to your party
H-her full name ?
She is not my close friend. Actually she is my friend's cousin. He said .
Why do you need her full name ?
Nothing, just I think I know her . How can I contact her ?
My brother gave his friends address.
He and his cousin live in the same house.
I guess I should start the PLAN-A.
May 20, Thursday
Rareview Lake
Ivywood
Guys , so what's the matter ? Veronica said to me , Collen , Nora and Mike.
Since they are my friends , I can trust them.
A killer is on the loose. We have to prevent it before another murder happens .
How do you know that ? Mike said
The book , all it's in there.
I am suspecting a girl , my brother's friend's sister
Wowww... Nora said.
We are breaking into the girl's house. Collen said .
Even though we both are some kind of stupids, or at least thieves
Guyss , they are not at home today , so sharp 9:30 at sunset , we will not be noticed by their neighbours.
We need to find as my evidences as possible.
Everyone agreed. If we caught the killer , no one thinks I am crazy anymore. We can save lives of Ivywood and end it's horror.
9:30pm
Parklane street .
We held flashlights. A bagpack to collect whatever the fuck is there in that house. Any small details hair, nails anything.
A smart expertise, Mike can unlock most of the door with his skills.
Especially since their house is old, his job was quick.
We entered the house .
There was a large creaking sound of the door.
We were afraid that their neighbours would notice us.
We quickly locked the door.
Guys what now ? Nora said.
Collen , you check the master bedroom.
Nora , check the kitchen
Veronica , hall ...
I will go to her bedroom.
Everyone went to their respective rooms. Checking everything in their rooms. No one found anything.
But I observed a cigarette in the trash can.
If anyone in the family can smoke , it must be in other rooms but
Her bedroom ???
She had a collection of necklaces and bracelets. Made of colourful beach stones.
They are beautiful and shining.
Guys, I found some .
I showed everyone the bracelet and the cigarette trash .
Collen, you said a bracelet is present in the crime scene.
Is it this type? I asked him while showing the bracelet.
Yes !!
This one . Stones .
It started raining outside. Thunders were roaring .
We must get out of the house , before it rains too heavily or our footprints will be left out of this house.
We got out of the house .
11:30pm
At my house
I guess it's her. But before we have to confirm it. We have to go down to every store nearby where they sell these types of bracelets. Nora said .
Brilliant , she was.
May 21, Thursday
We started asking all the stores , shops about the bracelet.The bracelet type was preety old so no one buys those types these days.
The shop people showed the people who purchased it.
Charlotte
Polly Holland
Jasmine Waverod
Nora Veltam
Nora Veltam???
No-Nora ??
So , shouldn't I buy it. Do you think I am the killer now ? Nora said.
No, we trust you. I said.
So that narrows down to 3 people.
Yet in everyone's mind , the killer was fixed as Charlotte.
Still in that book , the name was Charlotte. But the book may be fake.
Polly was an old woman in our neighbourhood. She is not capable of doing a murder , covering it up. Geez
Well we also found out that Jasmine was a 9 year old girl. She studies in our school .
I knew a friend , whose sister was studying in that school.
Since her mother was the principal of school, our job finished quite easy there.
All the fingers were pointing to one person.
Charlotte Witlock. As said by the book
We just need a right moment to catch her red handed.
I asked my brother for help.
Invite your friend Charlotte and some other friends for a party. No other word for a reason. I will pay you money or anything you want .
Shockingly, he accepted. Generally he don't.
CHAPTER-1 - THE PLAN
When all his friends visited , I wanted to personally talk to Charlotte.
She was sitting there ,just thinking about something.
She had wine in her hand.
I approached her.
Hello. I am Ben's sister. Nice to meet you
Nice to meet you too. She replied
I intentionally threw the wine on her dress
What the fuckk??
I am so sorry. I'll give you a new dress I said.
She stored the anger in her and calmed down.
I then gave another party dress for her. I kept a location tracker near the collar of the dress so that I could know her location.
I gave her a dress. She accepted . Plan was working.
I tried to chat with her for some more time, but she left.
She was mad at me for sure.
As she left for the party ,my friends on the other hand ran into my bedroom to know her location.
I was giving goodbye to her by walking with her to her car.
CHAPTER 2 - HER THOUGHTS
Well , I checked on my phone while my friends were checking on a laptop about her whereabouts.
She was riding into Lake Grais. It's a large lake in our town filled with forest trees.
All
had one question in their minds.
Is another murder gonna happen there ? NOW
11:30pm
Her location was active for more than 20 minutes in that lake.
That long huh ??
Is she planning another murder ?
This late ? Late night
12:00am
She left the location and headed towards her home.
We all recorded all these , so that we can catch her if another murder happens
12:45 am
As we thought.....
Another one.
Near the lake.
Midnight tragic hits Ivywood with a second murder.
If we show the location to police..
Wait , Nora said
Isn't the body COLLEN'S?
Yes it was , indeed . Beaten to death. Eyeball removed.
Bruises all over his body like they took revenge on him.
Revenge.
My brain was running some thoughts
He was police officer's son. Maybe he knew about the killer . Or have any evidence .
She did all these and now she is resting at home like nothing happened ?
Well she must be an expert in this, Mike said to us pointing at the body.
Yes maybe she was. I mean , the cuts are perfect.
She would have known where to cut so that a person could die.
We went to the police by taking the evidence.
They were at the crime scene.
Near the lake.
There was an eerie silence there. Then I heard the crying of Collen's dad far from the lake.
He was too afraid to see his own son with bruises and hurts.
Nora felt very scared looking at the crime screen
Well, she was sweating.
Then I thought came into my mind for a second that her name was also there in that bracelet store .
Well who knows , who was the real murderer ?
CHAPTER 3: THE TRUTH
Street lights were flickering.
While wind was blowing hard.
Police have been searching all over the bankside of lake
Charlotte arrived at the crime scene. She said she knew Collen. They were friends for a long time
A lie or a Truth ? We don't know for now
The real murderer who did this must be doing for money . Or must be a total psycho.
But for Collen's, it was a pure revenge .
My mother arrived at the crime scene looking for me.
M-Mom look !! I was crying loud.
I couldn't keep the stress anymore and told her all about the book.
What book , sweety ?
She was confused for a second,
The book about all the murderers.
A strong wind blew.
No sweety. There have been no murderers in Ivywood since my father's generation.
That was the only book that guided us . The name .
It all started with Charlotte - The name.
Are you all right sweetheart ? My mother asked me.
Another long silence.
Police reported missing cash from his wallet. And some of his rich clothings.
Money , their main aim.
Money.
Sir , we found something here . Near the bank side.
-- My heart stopped for a second.
What is it ?
"An ID with blood stains on it ". Copy that
ID name - Charlotte Witlock
Age -24
Blood matched with Collen's. Copy that
Police started looking for the face on ID
The real Charlotte Witlock.
Hiding here somewhere.
Observing.
Police started walking towards me , my friends and Charlotte
With a deep serious shit expression.
He looked at Nora.
He pushed her a little sidewards.
And started searching for the girl in the ID
As I was looking down , police handcuffed me
Since I was CHARLOTTE WITLOCK.
-------------------------The end ---------------------------------