Amycus held his phone in front of his face with his elbows propped up on his knees while he sat on the stoop of his apartment. He stared at the little screen of the phone, watching a recording of the local news from yesterday. He glanced up at a woman who walked past as the news anchor explained another murder had occurred that appeared to be connected to a serial killer’s case. Looking to the phone again, Amycus stared at the picture of the victim; it was an old picture they probably took off of her Facebook account.
She wasn’t blonde anymore. She’d dyed her hair brown. A car with a terribly loud engine drove down the street, drowning out the grisly description of the girl’s mangled body. They found her in the woods just outside a public park; a pair of teens, probably up to something sketchy had found her. Amycus was surprised they identified the body so quickly, but she had been missing as listed just earlier this week. They thought she had run away from home. A good, church going girl; her parents were convinced something bad had happened to their daughter.
At least they’d get closure. Though it’s be a closed casket funeral. Her face was a fucking mess. Amycus covered his mouth as he switched videos, instead opting to watch a video about the latest batman video game. It distracted him enough that it took a few extra moments for him to notice that someone had approached. Amycus flinched as he saw a pair of legs start to walk up the stoop next to him. Looking up at the person, it was just the guy who lived down the hall. Barty? His name was something longer, but he liked Barty.
As he looked up, Barty looked down at him, so Amycus took out one of his earbuds. “Hey.” he greeted quietly, glancing down to pause the video. “Did you do more, crazy, Law and Order shit at work?” Amycus had a vague understanding of Barty’s job, as far as Barty was aware. He’d been told he worked at the police department with some ‘heavy cases’. Amycus knew exactly what case Barty was working on. For a child prodigy, he didn’t actually seem that smart. Who didn’t catch a serial killer living right next door?