The Ravens Call

Hello all, I was first introduced to the idea of this by dshell99. I loved the idea so much I thought I would give it a shot myself. I really look forward to hearing what you guys think and don't worry, I know this is starting off a bit slow but I will do my best to make it work and to make it worth it. :)

Boxes still littered the large apartment as the last of the furniture was moved to their respective places. After pushing the couch against one wall Kevin stood up straight again and stretched trying to work out the strain he now felt in his back and neck. Days of travel and unpacking for most of the day had left him exhausted, after looking around the dimly lit room he reserved to leave the boxes where they lie for now. Slowly he walked over to his newly assembled desk and opened his laptop. As the screen illuminated and the computer booted up he rested his glasses on his nose and pulled the pack of cigarettes from the front pocket of his button up shirt, pulling one of them out along with his zippo lighter and set his saving grace from the stressful day ablaze as he took a long smooth drag. As he exhaled he opened his eyes to see a blank page, the blinking line on it seemingly mocking him as he watched it.

"This is unbelievable," he set his cigarette in the ash tray and leaned his head back rubbing his eyes, "It's been three weeks and still nothing, either my mind is turning to mush or writers block is an even crueler mistress than I ever imagined."

The red head minimized the window and opened the internet, perhaps he just needed to take his mind off of work for a while. As his homepage opened he noticed a news story he wasn't expecting to see, at least not this soon. "Body of man wanted in connection with sex trafficking found tortured and mutilated ." Kevin took another drag from his cigarette leaving it in his lips as he navigated the news site reading more on the story posted that morning. "A man whose identity still has yet to be released was found brutally murdered Thursday evening. Police say the man had been dead for at least three days. The victim's body was found along with a large amount of evidence linking him to a human trafficking ring in the area. According to credible sources, he had been under investigation by the FBI for some time now, but federal agents had not been able to find any tangible evidence against the victim. Many in the area and those who have heard similar stories in the news will recognize this as what is becoming known as the calling card of a person local authorities and the FBI are now calling, The Peach Creek Butcher. The FBI has now confirmed that they are treating this and other similar deaths as the work of a serial killer.

Kevin glanced down at his keyboard for a moment thinking back to a few days before leaving to come to California. He remembered the two-way mirror and the dull off white paint on the walls of the interrogation room, the hideous color was almost enough to give him a headache. Across from him sat a clean cut man wearing a black suit, untailored and off the rack, standard issue for FBI investigators. Kevin was by no means what someone would call a "neat freak" but he couldn't help but be put off by anyone who would wear ill-fitting formal wear, it just looked…wrong. The gentleman held his hands together resting them on the stainless steel table as Kevin looked back at him, his left foot resting on his right thigh as he stared into the agent's eyes. His look was calm, but contemplative.

The agent eventually spoke up again, "Mr. Barr I know this must be a surprise for you but we need an answer."

"My apologies agent Donahue but I'm not sure how I could be of very much help, if any. I'm just a simple author."

The man leaned forward in his seat, "Simple isn't the word I would use to describe you Mr. Barr, your books have won you multiple decorations from the literary community and it is -what- you write about that makes us believe you can be an asset to us. You seem to have a rather working knowledge of the psychology of serial killers, we could use any help we can find in this investigation."

"Agent Donahue, my books are works of fiction. I assure you my knowledge of psychology is rudimentary at best, I would be nothing but a hindrance to your investigation. I'm sorry, but I can't help you. I wish I could"

"Mr. Barr this killer is one of the most intelligent I've ever seen; without some outside perspective I don't think we ever will catch him."

His tone shifted, possibly without him even realizing it, but Kevin caught it quickly. It was almost…patronizing.

"I mean look at all of his kills, flawless. He has left us without a shred of evidence to go on. I believe you could find things in his work that we couldn't. Is there anything I can say to change your mind?"

"I'm sorry Agent, I wish I could help you but I have nothing to contribute to you or your team. I would simply get in the way," Kevin glanced down at his watch and then back to the man across the table from him. "If you have no further questions for me I would like to get back to work."

"Of course," Agent Donahue stood and Kevin did as well, taking the agent's hand as he extended it, "thank you for your time Mr. Barr."

Kevin scanned him up and down quickly as the two shook hands, the look in his eyes buried under all of the false politeness, the grip in his handshake, attempting to hide his grinding teeth. These little details that most would miss showed Kevin exactly what he was feeling: distain.

Kevin opened his eyes and looked back at his computer screen seeing Agent Donahue's face again next to his comment on the crime scene, which was of course, "no comment." Kevin cracked a half smile as he had when the man was shaking his hand trying to hide his hate, he had suspected what the agent had been doing but it wasn't until now that he was sure.

"Attempting to stroke my ego in order to trick a confession out of me, my dear Agent Donahue how insulting. You must really beleive I'm a fool..."

Kevin laughed in his throat before taking a final drag from his cigarette before putting it out in the ash tray.

"If I had to guess… I'd say you are on your way, that is if you aren't here already. And here I thought I would have at least a few weeks of peace and quiet…oh well."

Kevin smiled as he moved back to the news site, as he scrolled down a local story caught his eye. Lecture this Saturday, 8:00 AM. "The Creation of a Killer", guest speaker – Professor Eddward M. Vincent. The picture below the name only peaked his interest further. The red head cracked another smile as he wrote the date, time, and location on a sticky note, posting it up on the calendar hanging on the wall as he moved into his bedroom.