Valintine

                                                                                Chapter One

                                                                                The Murder



Sara Walker walked through the cold winter rain. Tears chilled to her cheeks and felt like ice as they slowly drizzled down her cheeks. A man in the distance watched her and studied her every move. Sara took shelter in a coffee shop on King Street and ordered her regular hot chocolate with whipped cream. The man slowly walked in behind Sara and ordered black coffee. People were all gathering together to keep warm. There was only one heater working in the shop, and there was barely enough heat going throughout it to keep all of the customers warm. Sara grabbed the stone lake newspaper and quickly gazed through the want ads. Sara was looking for part time work in computer animation. She was fresh out of college and eager to work. "Hot chocolate’s ready, ma’am," the cashier said as he poked Sara in the arm. Sara opened her black felt purse and fumbled around for a five dollar bill. She knew she had ten dollars in her purse. She always carried them with her, just in case. "Do you take debit cards?" Sara replied, feeling her cheeks begin to redden. "No, ma’am, cash only," the cashier grunted, a little irritated. Sara fumbled through her purse again and felt inside her coat pockets in case she had stuffed some money inside. Sara was ready to cry from embarrassment when the man who had followed her into the coffee shop offered to pay for both hot beverages. "Thank you so much," Sara said, putting her cold hand on his hand. "No problem. My name’s Eric James," the man said, coughing. Sara grabbed her hot chocolate and began looking for a table "Would you like to join me?" Sara asked. Eric looked at Sara with bewildered eyes as if she had said something to offend him. Eric then took his coffee and slammed it on the table next to him. Sara froze with fear as she watched him leave the coffee shop, mumbling under his breath. "Are you OK, ma’am?" the owner asked Sara. "I’m fine," Sara replied, taking a few deep breaths. After Sara collected herself, she decided to leave. She just wanted to get home and forget about what happened. As Sara walked out of the coffee shop she was grabbed from behind. Sara tried to pull herself away, but the man kept pulling her back towards him. He whispered in her ear, and then forcefully dragged her, struggling, into the alley beside the coffee shop. "Don’t hurt me, please!" Sara cried out. The man then reached into his pocket and pulled out a cloth with chloroform soaked into it. He took the cloth and held it towards Sara's nose and mouth, and then dragged her limp body into his car parked just a couple feet away. Sara woke up with a bad headache she was very weak and had trouble staying on her feet. Sara tried to walk into some light so she could at see where she was. She managed to walk halfway, then crawl under a light bulb that gave light to the other side of the room. Sara opened her eyes wide as she saw an elderly woman and man stuffed and pinned to wooden rocking chairs. Just then, the wooden door to the room opened with a creaking sound Sara backed up out of the light and struggled to crawl behind a wooden crate "Come now, my darling. It's Valentines Day," Eric said, laughing "Don't hide from me darling, I’ll find you!" Eric said again as he took a long needle out of his sweater pocket. He must have heard her as she nervously banged her foot against the crate. Eric softly walked behind Sara and knelt down behind her. "Hiding from someone?" Eric said, grabbing Sara by her long blond hair and pulling her to her feet with a smirk upon his lips. Eric walked Sara over to the stuffed elderly couple and whispered in Sara's ear. "I'd like you to say hello to parents, Sara and Frank James," Eric said as he held his dead mother's hand gently and tenderly. "They want you as their daughter in law," Eric said laughing, "and were going to give them what they want!" Just then Eric’s mood changed, he grabbed Sara harder by the hair and slammed her against the nearby wall. He took the needle he had and injected it into her arm. Sara tried to struggle, but she couldn’t fight him. She cried as Eric took out the needle and she begged him not to hurt her. Eric let Sara fall to the ground and like an animal licked away her tears. Eric then left the room. Sara heard the slam of the door and then she heard Eric walking away. Sara's mom Keri Walker had called the police when Sara didn’t return home from her shopping trip that day. Detective Ann Baker meet with Keri at her home and wrote out a missing persons report. "Mrs. Walker, do you have a recent photo of Sara?" Ann asked, holding Keri’s hand in a reassuring manner. Keri looked over at her fireplace and pointed to a photo on the mantelpiece. Ann got up from the chair and walked over to the fireplace. She picked up the photo and looked at it. "Can I borrow this photo? It’s for my records," Ann said, examining the photo closely. "Sure, anything to get my daughter back!" Keri said crying. Ann then asked, "Do you know anyone who would want to hurt your daughter?" Keri shook her head and cried. "I don't know anyone who would want to hurt Sara!" "You know Karen we can't claim Sara is missing until 24 hours has past,” Officer Baker said while holding Karen's hand. Karen blurted out in sobs, "Please find my daughter!" Officer Baker told Karen that she would try to find her daughter. Eric sat in the living room of his house and listened to Sara yelling from the downstairs cellar he turned up the TV to drain out the yelling so that he could think. After an hour of yelling for help, Sara could hear Eric running down the stairs and banging his fists against the wall. Sara felt around for something that she could defend herself with if Eric tried to attack her. Eric unlocked the cellar door and kicked it open has hard as he could. Sara grabbed hold of a piece of glass that was lying a couple feet away from her. "I heard you yelling and screaming! Don't you ever shut up?" Eric yelled walking fast towards Sara. Eric kicked Sara in the ribs as he walked by her yelling, "Fuck you! Fuck you bitch!" Sara knew that the only way to save herself was to attack Eric with the broken piece of glass and make a run for it. Sara watched Eric talking to his dead parents and managed to pull herself to her feet. Sara tightly gripped the piece of glass in her hand and darted over to where Eric was she swung at Eric with the glass. Eric saw Sara from the corner of his eye and quickly spun around and tried to grab Sara’s arm. Sara took the glass and slashed Eric’s arm and then stabbed him in the chest. Eric yelled out in pain. Eric grabbed Sara by the hair and threw her up against the nearby wall. Sara cried out in a low moan as she began to cry. Eric then took out a needle from his pocket and bent down besides Sara and injected her with a deadly poison. Sara slowly began to drift into a coma. She was trying to hold on to stay awake, but the poison was too strong for her. Sara thought about her poor mother and how she would feel after her only child was laid to rest.  Sara had been missing for ten hours, Ann Baker sat at her desk at the stone creek police department and went over all the paperwork on Sara Walker. Something stuck in Ann's mind as she looked over Sara's profile, like her blond curly hair, blue eyes,and body size. Ann remembered a case about two years ago on valentines' day a blond hair, blue eyed young girl the same age as Sara named Betty Jacobs was kidnapped and found murdered in her one bedroom apartment which has now been torn down. The police searched for the killer and could not find him Ann had suspected that valentine was connected to this murder somehow.Ann went over to the filing cabinet and searched for Betty Jacobs murder file. Ann took out the file on Betty Jacobs and walked back to her desk. She opened the file and looked at Betty's photo, she was a very pretty woman just like Sara. Ann took the photo out of the file folder and placed it on her table besides her.There were four more photos of Betty taken by police when she was found in her apartment. Betty's neck had been slashed from one side to the other the cut was deep. Betty also had a carved symbol of Satan carved deep into her chest. Ann held the photos in her left hand and looked through the death report on Betty Just then the phone rang. "Hello Stone Creek Police Department, Detective Ann Baker Speaking, how may I help you." Ann Said sipping her afternoon coffee "Remember Me Annie... Its Valentine" The voice whispered into the phone Ann drop her coffee and it spilled all over the crime photos of Betty Jacobs And a look of fear swept over Ann Bakers face "Sara Walker is dead, you would not have been able to save her even when she was alive!!." Ann quickly opened her desk drawer and looked around for her note pad "Where is Sara? Valentine." Ann asked there was a long silence over the phone. Valentine began to laugh and whispered "She's in the ground under my basement" then Valentine hung up. Ann hung up the phone and was in shock valentine was back and killing again.Anne feared the worst she now knew Sara was Valentine's victim and that her life as short as it was, was over. Anne had to visit Sara's mom and tell her the bad news. This was the worst part of being a cop, telling a mother that their beautiful child has been murdered. Ann drove to Sara's mother's house the 15 minute drive seemed to take forever. As Ann pulled into Keri Walker's driveway, she froze the thought of telling her about her daughter's death brought chills to her. Ann got out of her car and started walking towards the front door. As soon as Ann reached the door the door opened a middle aged woman stood in the doorway, her eyes looked like she had not slept in days her hair was slightly messed up. " Keri may I come in " Ann said " yes please come in" Keri Walker said. Ann walked into the cozy little house pictures of Sara littered the hallway walls. The smell of rose incense filled the air. "Please sit down" Keri walker said " Have you found my Sara is she okay" Keri said again her eyes looking at Ann hopping that her visit meant that Sara was found. Ann turned away for a minute she could feel her Stomach knotting "Keri " Ann said, taking a little breath Keri's eyes started to tear as if she now what was coming next "We think that Sara is dead" Ann pulled out a card from her pocket "I,m so sorry if you need to talk to someone call this number they can help you" Ann said again giving the card to Keri. Ann got up from her seat and started walking towards the front door. She could hear Keri crying loudly and yelling "not my Sara my beautiful girl my baby" Ann could feel her heart breaking she couldn't imagine the pain Ms walker was going through losing her only child Ann left the house and drove away she couldn't stop think about Ms walker about her daughter. valentine needed to be stopped and fast before he killed again.