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Knight’s loafers scraped across the cement floor, drawing closer to her current position. “Come on, Ana.”
The lights above them blew in a flash of sparks. Between the sparks from the bulbs, Anastacia watched over the top of her hiding place. Jason covered his head as Knight spun in a tight circle. A sudden chill embraced the room as Jason and Knight’s breaths turned to mist. The window covers for the skylights closed on their own, throwing the men into complete darkness.
“Shit! Shit!” Jason cursed, panic setting into his voice.
“Calm your fucking shit!” Knight raged, fishing out his flashlight, and aiming it along with his firearm. Following the wall, Anastacia froze as soon as the light hit her, the first bullet sending pieces of drywall flying as it flew in front of her. A warning shot. “There you are,cher.”
“Not the best thing to call me, Knight.” Anastacia frowned, putting her hands up in reluctant surrender. “I remember what you told me it was supposed to mean.”
“I was getting attached to you,” he admitted as he waved at her to come forward. “Where’s the evidence? All neat and ready to show the world it was me who killed him?”
“And tried to kill me.”
“That was Curtis both times,” he tried to correct her.
“Murder for hire is still a felony.”
"Is it in the bag?”
“Well, notthisbag.” Anastacia tossed the satchel and a small pile of blank papers, along with a digital recorder popped out, sliding across the floor.
“What’s this?”
“I’m smarter than you think I am.” She smirked. “You think I didn’t know you were tracking my phone? That I mistakenly called the captain on a line you can tap into?”
“You have nothing on me," he exhaled, relieved.
“Oh no, don’t get confused. I do. More than you may think a lone consultant can dig up. But even if I didn’t, your admissions would be an excellent place to start. The recorder there is Bluetooth. I'm uploading this conversation to the station… live. Actually, a few stations. Just in case. Everyone knows now. They’ll know if you kill me, too, but if you do I don’t have any regrets. Your move, Detective Knight.”
He stomped on the recorder, crushing it in half. Laughing maniacally, he directed the flashlight at her, gun ready to fire. “Now they can’t hear you.”
His finger began to squeeze the trigger when his flashlight blinked out, and Anastacia felt whisked away into the dark. Knight fired twice in her direction. Mel covered Anastacia with his body before shoving her behind other boxes.
“You should get a good view from here,” Mel whispered as he disappeared into the dark again. Anastacia turned toward the murderers’ voices.
“Damn it! I shoulda stayed out of this!” Jason cried into the darkness.
“Get a hold of your balls!” Knight bit out.
Behind Knight and Jason, a light flickered from the door. Both men turned, and a gasp escaped from Jason as a body laid just inside the room. The form highlighted as it slowly became solid, sitting up before it faced them.
“See me?” Mel’s eyes burned with rage as he stared down his murderers.
Jason dropped his gun, stepping back, farther and farther from the specter that was his friend. “What the fuck? He— we—”
Mel grinned at both men as he stood. “Oh good, you can. I have a few things to say.”
Knight didn’t waste any time, three bullets ripped through the body. Mel only dusted himself off and kept walking forward, his original bullet wound from the night he died the only one visible. The lights buzzed along the walls,flickering on and off depending on where he walked in the room.
“You killed me and had the gall to ‘solve my murder.’ I wonder… How many have you killed, Knight?” Another bullet went through Mel’s form as the lights went out again.
Jason tripped over a single box, rolling onto all fours. He crawled across the cement floor toward the door as Mel’s laughter echoed around the room. Reaching the door, Jason pushed at the lock, but it wouldn’t move an inch. Standing to open the stubborn door, a coldness grew beside him.
“Where ya heading off to, Jay?” Mel whispered, his form barely seen in the darkness. “My good friend Jason.”
“M—Mel, I meant nothing by it, man. We, we, w-we needed the money for the business. It was for the best, for our dream. You remember our dream, right? It’s just business.”
“Just another form I had to sign, huh? No need to explain it was a life insurance policy. You get one too, Jay?” The light flickered on above them. Jason’s eyes widened at the blood trickling from Mel’s mouth, the rage contorting Mel’s features. “After all, it’s just business.”
