The Secrets Within Pages

Progress

Breaths, ragged and short, I reach the police station and leap towards the entry. A woman stands near the door, smoking.

"Eleanor?" She asks, grabbing a hold of my shoulders to keep me up.

Sonders.

"Take this!" I rasp, throwing the device to her.

"What's this?" She asks, assisting me into the station.

Falling into a chair, I drink the water she offers.

"Whats going on?" Asks Hart as he and-

Silas of all people, walk in.

"She came running and gave me this." She says, holding up the device.

"You look awful, Burroughs. Sickly pale." Golding taunts, putting a cup of steaming coffee on the table.

"Play the tape, now." I demand urgently.

Sonders places the tape down and presses it.

Sputtering and pausing, I smack the recorder and it plays.

The conversation between the Irish man's and Dalal.

I look at their faces, inquisitory and focused.

Just before the mention of Thallium arose, Hart accidentally hit the coffee, spilling it all over the device.

"No! No, no, no." I yell, grabbing it as I try helplessly to fix it.

"I'm so sorry, Eleanor!" He amends, attempting to assist me.

"What is going on, Miss. Burroughs?" Sonders asks with a quizzical brow.

"I followed Dalal. He left work early today and slipped into the darkest parts of town and met with a guy in an alleyway. He was worried and asked about a poison. Thallium." I rose, explaining as I paced up and down the room. "Poison. Vincent was poisoned. And you know who else was poisoned? Romeo. It hit me in that moment, the pattern. He's killing by Shakespeare's tragedies, specifically the ones Osbourne taught us."

"10/4. Osbourne died on the 10/4." Mumbled Sonders. "How many tragedies did Shakespeare write?"

I thought for a moment.

"Ten." I reply, questions roaring in my mind.

"If ten tragedies then..." I vocalise my thoughts. "Shakepeare died in the month of April. The fourth month of the year."

"10/4." Hart stares at us in awe, in worry. "So, Dalal killed Osbourne out of revenge for their rivalry according to the Shakesperean tragedies you learn in the literature course? And he poisoned Vincent with... Thallium?"

"He killed them all. Even Quill. Perhaps because as their teacher he favoured Osbourne more." I say, every bit falling into place.

I look at Silas, his face inquistory.

"We need to arrest him, now. We have the evidence." Sonders explains, looking at Hart.

"Not explicitly we don't. The recording broke down before we heard the exchange about Thallium. Right now all we have is hearsay." He admits, looking at me.

"Hart, for the short amount of time I've known you, you have proven to be the single most useless officer I have ever encountered. If you're not going to arrest him, Sonders will. It seems one word out of her is worth more than your whole career." I say sternly, looking him straight in the eye.

He stares back, "Who on this bloody earth do you think you are?!" He yells, reddening to a shade of crimson with rage.

Seemed I had offended him. Good.