In the red cave of his private darkroom, blood-warm fluids made his hands puffy and succulent. Everybody has a secret, something no one knows about. His was his love for what he called art, the art of life and death more precisely. The lamp outside was the sign no one was allowed to enter. It was more to make it complete not that there was a person on earth who ever could or would. Those he met never stayed. It was just a brief moment of taking that matched them. The photos, thousands of photos, impressed him more than any human being could ever do.
A letter left underneath his door waited for him as he entered his hallway. The handwriting wasn't familiar but it was clear the sender knew who he was, knew he was interested. It should have been a clear warning but the attraction was too strong. His heart beat faster as he started his computer ready to join the private auction mentioned. The instructions were clear, he had to mention the number given to him in the letter. He thought...howmuch was he willing to spend, could he invest? He had some saving, money he had washed white by trading it into cryptocurrencies. It had turned out to be very easy and with a click on the button it was send and a few minutes later received. It wasn't that bank weren't safe but working this way kept him out of the hands of the taxes, scammers and those who said his life and interests we're disgusting, people like him deserved to die.
The sound of water made Anna start the computer. The letter she received had surprised her and she had no intention to share the information with her partner. As long as the water ran she could check the computer and it's history. It was a brand new one, fast and it didn't need long to start. The instructions we're clear and within 15 minutes she had done as asked, closed the computer, switched it off and the television on and watched the latest news. News was always good to distract people no matter how old it was. "How weird how easily news can be made out of nothing, " she murmered, "it feels as if real news items no longer exist."
The face of an ugly doll was shown and the reporter mentioned the doll was found and the owner could pick it up at the police station.
"I doubt some kid lost it it's more likely thrown away. Who gives such a scary toy to a child anyway?"
"Isn't that 'the Hallowe' doll?" a voice behind her said. I could swear that family had exactly such a doll. Can't you remember the kid?"
"Hallowe?" She frowned.
"You know Hall Weed, the home made, whatever he may be, crypto millionaire no one knows about. I wonder what became out of him."
"Weed will survive, no pesticide or pandemic can destroy him but if this is his doll he will try to get it back. For some reason it's important to him."
"If it's that valuable to him why did he let a child play with it?"
Thorn curtains, broken dishes, the floor covered with trash was the place where he hid. He had heard the news and followed it from the first day on with his small transistor. The old man said he would take care of it but he wasn't sure about it. The others didn't either. Just like him they hadn't said a word but he was sure they all had a plan B of their own. "Never trust a cop," was what his mentor always had said. How come he suddenly thought of that old man after all those years? How long had it been the man died? The old man was a cop once and he had never really liked him, his attitude, the way he treated his wife and those children. He swallowed, those poor children. He didn't feel guilty about what he did but they would treat him like a backstabber and that was reason enough for all of them to hunt for him, kill him.
He kept the knife in his fist and pressed it against him. His plan B was as good as theirs and he wouldn't take the blame for what he never did.
Hopefully she's out of danger, safe after all these years. I wasn't able to safe him but I saved her. Shouldn't that be good for something?
You really did a good job.keep this keep this dear.