1

Love, Passion, Trust. All three just words and nothing more.

Silence is the key I found myself repeating in my head while making my way up the

seemingly endless staircase; every time my foot tapped the wooden steps I stopped in place as

my heart skipped a beat. My navy blue jeans and striped grey shirt made me almost invisible in

the blackness of the house. Slowly after approaching the top of the staircase I convoyed down

the short hallway illuminated by a single candle at the end of the passageway and curved into the

desolate bedroom. Hayden laid graciously asleep on the queen sized bed, the secrecy of the room

made it twice as easy to hear his steady paced breathing in the dead of night. A quick glance at

the clock told me it was well past midnight.

Shit.

Briskly I pulled the lightweight silver revolver from my back pocket as I made my way

across the room and into the bathroom. I sealed the door shut behind me and snapped on the

light. Instantly I dropped to the floor and ran my fingers through the ruts of the tiles searching for

an opening, a crack, a loose tile. After what seemed like minutes of oppressive searching I found

the loose tile and lifted it from the ground. Underneath the loose tile was a small square shaped

nook, promptly I took the revolver, threw it in and sealed the floor soundlessly. As I rose from

the tiled floor I was interrupted by a knock on the door.

Riley, are you coming to bed? Hayden asked in a jaded voice. Its almost three.

In the mirror across from me I could see Haydens brown-blondish hair drop into the doorway,

followed by his lightly tanned spotless face, and complete with a smile that could make Satan

fall in love.

Yeah just let me take a shower and Ill be right out. I replied as calm as a man who just

hid a gun under the floorboards could be.

Hayden nodded and closed the door smoothly. After waiting to see if Hayden would

come back I walked over to the shower, turned on the water, stripped down, and stumbled in.

Mercy. Was his famous last word. Today I killed an innocent man for no reason. I began

to wash my bruised body and clean the dried blood out of my sandy blonde hair. When I close

my eyes all I can see are the memories of me taking a knife to the head of a middle aged man and

running it down to his mouth and out his throat. I can still see the blackness of his internal blood

flowing past the garbage cans behind that Las Vegas casino. I split his skull completely in half, I

buried his body thirty miles out in the cold wet rain and I went back home like it meant

absolutely nothing.

Because it didnt.

After eloping from under the shower head I navigated back to the mirror and actually took the

time to look at my face. Instantaneously my eyes locked onto a deep cut wound on my right

cheek from my brawl earlier in Vegas. I must of accidentally cut myself and didnt even notice

or feel it.

How the hell am I supposed to explain this to Hayden? My mind screamed as I searched

the medicine cabinets for a band aid. Please, please, please, dont let him notice. I began to

hesitate as I took the band aid I found buried deep in the cabinet and implanted it on the cut. I

looked back up at the mirror and into my mantis green eyes, my blonde short hair swerved to the

left.

You look like hell. I whispered to the man in the mirror then without looking back I turned out

the lights and hopelessly wandered into bed to be embraced by my one love and the rest of the

night felt like ecstasy.

2

As the sun glanced into the window of my urban Las Vegas apartment building the next

day I noticed Hayden was gone, but in the mess of the white sheets he left behind a black rose.

My favorite. The candy sweet smell of the rose was like a kiss on the cheek from him and

whenever I had questioned him about the rose he would always give me his mesmerizing grin

that he does so well and whisper Because I can.

Ascending up from the sheets of my bed and taking a quick glance out the window told

me it was already around eleven oclock in the morning. Swiftly I hopped out of bed landing

barefoot onto the brisk wooden floor and hobbled to the closet in an attempt to get dressed.

After dressing I shuffled into the bathroom and like a reflex the first thing my eyes turned

to was the tile I had hidden my revolver under. Rapidly my eyes searched for any signs of

change since I had last been in the room. Knowing the only gun I had in the house hadnt been

touched I had the will power to go to the sink and continue to get ready.

Jesus Christ if my paranoia got any worse I might as well go to rehab for gun owners.

My brain muttered as I washed my face in the soothing lukewarm water. It feels like every

waking moment I dont spend keeping my mind occupied is an opening for a thought about me

being arrested to pop in. As I crossed the bathroom floor and bent over to dry my face in a warm

towel my mind was corrupted by the sudden images of the bloodshed I had committed last night.

All I can see is that man I attacked and I cannot help but feel no pity for him.

My body leaped slightly as the ring from my cell phone occupied the air in the bedroom.

Quickly but calmly I scampered to the next room and grabbed it off the ebony chest height

dresser. Without looking at the caller id I abruptly pressed the answer button.

Hello. I answered already wanting to hang up the phone.

Yes hello, Riley? A familiar elderly voice suddenly illuminated my eardrum at last allowing

my body to relax for a few minutes.

Kate. I said this time with a lot more happiness and confidence in my voice. What do you

have for me?

I called to let you know that I will be at your house today at around six oclock. She declared

changing her tone from innocent to serious in a heartbeat.

What for? I asked now being pushed back into the paranoid state feeling there was absolutely

something wrong.

Six oclock. she repeated not answering my question.

Sure, Six. I confirmed and without a single goodbye Kate ended the call.

The fact that Hayden worked late today made my heart beat a little slower considering he hasnt

even met Kate, and I hope to god he never has to.

Sometimes I still wonder why I work with that crazy old woman.

Still trying to sort out everything that had just happened I made my way back into the

bathroom. Acting on instinct I hesitatingly paced over to the loose tile on the floor and snagged

the Revolver from underneath it then loosely placed it in the inner pocket of my grey trench coat

I had salvaged from my closet earlier this morning.

After leaving the bathroom once again I glanced at my wrist watch.

Almost eleven thirty.

Then I scurried downstairs and as I approached the front door of my decrepit urban apartment

building I did not fail to remember to pick up my mothers favorite pocket knife.

3

April 2012

Ambulance sirens are starting to become a regular sound. My mind uttered as I began to

make my way past the glistering yellow police tape and onto the crime scene in the sunset lit sky.

A quick overview of the papers I had been griping onto for the past hour told me that I wasnt

dealing with the usual homicide; I was dealing with a suicide. Something I had never covered

before.

Wonderful.

As I approached closer to the crime scene a small modern looking house began to come

into view and on the doorsteps sat a man around my age but could not have been any older than

twenty nine years old. I attempted to get a closer look at his face, although his head and mind

were completely focused on the raven colored rose sitting upon his lap.

His name was Hayden a co-worker had informed me as I calmly paced toward him. His

sister had just committed suicide and judging from the tears I can see on his face from the

distance, hes mauled by it.

Hayden. I spoke, noticing the slight jump he made when I said his name. Its getting late, and

the department wants me to give you a ride home.

I can walk. He quickly responded, his scratchy voice breaking the air.

Please, I Insist, Las Vegas can get pretty violent at night. I added knowing I couldnt let a man

we put on suicide watch walk home.

Hayden nodded and arose from the door steps beginning to slowly proceed after me back

to my iron colored pickup truck. The sun had disappeared into the horizon leaving my truck

almost invisible on the road as we began to pull out of the seemingly vacant neighborhood and

onto the main road.

So where do you live? I asked realizing I didnt even know if I was driving in the right

direction.

Spring Valley. He answered sounding more relaxed than before. He had the hood on his darkly

green colored jacket covering a small portion of his face as he rested his head on the window.

For the next ten minutes we sat in silence listening to the melody of alternative rock

playing faintly on the radio. Every couple of minutes or so I would glance over at Haydens face

checking to see if he was still awake.

My name is Riley by the way. I spoke in an attempt to break the silence.

Nice name. he responded, my mind trying to figure out if he just used sarcasm or was

genuinely interested.

Yeah, its not my favorite name but its been passed around my family for a while. I stated

suddenly thinking about my family.

My poor dead family.

Really? I think its rather cute. He breathed shocking me by the word cute.

My cheeks begin to heat up by the thought that somebody had just called me cute. I

glanced over at him to see him staring right back at me.

Cute? I asked in a questioning tone, just as I began to turn the car into the driveway of

Haydens townhome.

Yeah. Youre Cute.

As the car came to a stop we both jumped out and I began to walk Hayden to the front

door of his townhome the words cute still spinning in my head like crazy. When we approached

the door Hayden faced me with a light grin on his face.

Thanks, Riley. He breathed seductively but smoothly. Then with no hesitation or a single

movement I let him lean forward and kiss me with lips softer and more powerful than an angels

touch.

4

Confident and quickly I opened the door of the ebony colored sports car and climbed out

of the drivers seat. Almost like a sixth sense I glanced at my wrist watch and checked the time.

Four thirty-seven.

The sunlight shined in my eyes and I shielded them with my hand as I looked around at what

seemed like a perfect television ready suburban neighborhood. As far as I could see each house

had a perfectly clean yard, and strangely showed no sign of life anywhere.

Snapping back into reality I reached into my pocket and pulled out a slightly crumbled

piece of notebook paper. Reading what was on it revealed to me that I was at the right house at

the right time and all I needed to do was get inside to finish the job.

If you consider killing a politician for money a good job, but I guess you have to live

somehow.

I wandered toward the snow white two story house analyzing everything in view in case I

needed to get out in a hurry. Everything was painstakingly quiet as I began to move around the

side of the house and make my way to the backdoor. With every step I took I could hear the

muffled grass as it folded underneath my feet adding more paranoia to the stress I was already

under.

Upon reaching the backdoor I searched my body for my mothers pocket knife and held it

out ready for whatever was going to be behind the door and as I reached for the door knob and

opened the door I instantly became twice as more paranoid then I already was knowing that no

one in this world leaves the door unlocked on accident.

*****

Hayden was completely lost. He wandered through the lobby of the brightly sunlit office

complex desperately searching for conference room twelve. His charcoal black suit and blood

red tie stood out against the hundreds of people surrounding him in glistening colorful suits.

Although he was trying to just get to the office as fast and unseen as possible the sound of his

dress shoes clicking against the tile echoed in his head making what seemed to be the loudest

sound in existence.

Okay just find the office, sit down, listen to what the people have to say and get the hell

out. Hayden breathed to himself as he made his way down a hallway that suddenly looked

familiar from the last time he had been there.

It was strange that his manager had chosen him to go to the business meeting in northern

Las Vegas and even stranger because it wasnt the first time he had be chosen. The building

started to become more and more familiar as Hayden stumbled nervously through it. Then he

turned the corner coming to a stop as he reached the double doors that read Conference Room

Twelve.

Hayden walked into the large class room sized room filled with what couldnt have been

more than thirty associates sitting around a large oval shaped table in a windowless room leaving

the setting to look almost like a serious roundtable discussion. Soundlessly he paced across the

room and sat down in the only empty chair in between a man and woman who seemed to not

even notice him as he sat down. Just as a Hayden was situated the lights started to dim and the

double doors opened as a middle aged man walked in. The mans grey and black hair was perfect

to the point and his blue and white suit gave him an almost snobby but presidential look, Hayden

was prepared just to sit down and listen to the lecture but was completely dismayed when

everybody in the room was looking at him as the middle aged man held out a gun in point blank

range.