School had finally dismissed and after four or five failed excuses, Sineas finally agreed to go with Clarissa to Malrich Park. As soon as the siren had rang, they both got into a taxicab and headed west of the school. The park was only one-and-a-half kilometres from Malrich High and as soon as a bright green colour came into view, Clarissa’s face lit up. She squeezed Sineas’ shoulder. ‘That’s Malrich Park!’ she said pointing through the windshield at what, to Sineas, looked like an oasis. There were no fences to restrict any potential tourists from exploring it and no security to further complicate things. To Sineas, it looked more like heaven on earth. There was nothing but green for miles, strong and steady looking benches along the countless, meandering concrete paths. On the benches sat different forms of people: lovers, avid readers, exhausted behind-the-desk employees…and bosses, tired speed walkers and joggers and the usual construct

Janice turned the volume down. A hand was cupped over her mouth. She was speechless.Sineas looked equally shocked. He cleared his throat after a moment of silence. ‘Wow. This is really hard to take in.’Aunt Janice shook her head slowly for a good six seconds. ‘I’m so sorry, Sineas.’‘Sorry for what, Aunt Janice?’‘About that school. That satanic school I put you in. That place has a murderer on the loose and…’‘What are you talking about? This could all be just a coincidence.’She shook her head again. ‘No-o, Sin. Two people in the same school killed in the exact same way in such a short space of time? You call that coincidence?’Sineas got to his feet and stood in front of her. ‘Aunt Janice, come on! You don’t seriously believe that, do you?’She stood up, her arms folded. She looked sombre. ‘Go upstairs and pack your bags. We’

‘Back again, lad?’ Jeff grinned at him from the booth.‘Afternoon, Jeff,’ he greeted the old guard.Jeff got to his feet. ‘Here to see your mama, hey?’He nodded.He looked at his log file. He looked back at Sineas. ‘Go on in, lad. Say hie to her for me.’He waved a hand, tried to smile then walked through the gate. He made straight for the entrance. He did not mind the eyes anymore. The droopy eyes from the patients that scanned him up and down like he was some cheap piece of clothing in a second-hand shop. He had enough on his mind already. He walked up the steps and through the giant doors. His previous visit had made him feel uncomfortable, nervous and on edge. Surprisingly, this time he felt safe. He felt at home as the eyes of most of the patients and nurses looked at him. He didn’t mind anymore. It felt like he could relate to them. They were a lot different from the ones that gazed upon him at school: The ones that did not have to browse him. The ones

‘And so this is where the “ex theory” comes into play?’ James asked.The inspector licked his lips as he nodded slowly from the window. ‘All we have to do now is round up all the exes of the victims. We need to move, James. We need to start moving without further delay. There’s never been a murder in Malrich and when we solve this case…’ he clapped his hands loudly, ‘we’d be proving to the outside world that the Malrich Police Department can handle murder too. And since the mayor gave us Foyer’s case to solve as well, we’d put the WindleDrive Police Department to shame.’James replied, ‘But, sir, if we are to pursue this case we shouldn’t forget what the coroner said; that these murders were professional. Whoever this person is, they managed to accurately sever the joints of the victims at unbelievably accurate and identically specific points…twice!’‘Professional my foot!’ the inspector growled, waving a dismissive hand. ‘Didn’t you smell the coroner’s breath? He was as dr

As expected, Clarissa was sitting right in the centre of the room. She seemed to be concentrating on the debate as well. She just sat quietly, watching the brave Trevor Michaels go toe-to-toe with the most lily-livered teacher in the school.Mr. Sawyer was fighting a losing battle. He kept trying to wave Trevor down into his seat using his hands. ‘Trevor, please. Sit down,’ he said calmly from the safety of his desk. Trevor did look like he was ready to trample anything in his path. Mr. Sawyer continued, ‘The police have already held a meeting with the staff and strongly advised us to tighten our security. Advice which the board has promised to take.’‘So…until then, what do we do, sir?’ He looked around the class hoping to gain more support than he already had. ‘Do we sit and wait for this killer to pick another target? I don’t know about the rest of you guys but I’ve got a bright future ahead of me and I’