The Angel's Silence: Part Three

Lying on the ground was the headless remains of a small boy. He was missing parts, and his body had been drained of blood, but this was different. This was the first time that the murderer had killed a male.
Everyone gasped.
All of the teachers from the school came running out to see what was wrong. Everyone was horrified.
This was just a little boy.
No older than five.

Mr. Antonov stood behind Rayna, placed both of his hands on her shoulders, and whispered,
"Come on, Rayna. You don't want to see this."

He walked with her away from the crime scene.

The police were there within minutes.

"That was somebody's son."
Said Rayna, trying desperately to hold back the tears in front of Mr. Antonov.

Nearly the whole town watched as the victim's parents' showed up. The police tried their best to keep them away from the boy, but they pushed their way through them.
They were understandably hysterical. They were screaming.

Even the boy's tongue had been cut out, and place next to the victim's left foot.
His right foot had been carefully removed.

Many of the cops had to step away for a moment.
It was bad enough when he was killing adults, but now he was after children.

"What kind of monster could do this to an innocent child?"
Asked one of the officers to another

"I don't know, but now I am really angry. I am going to catch this psycho if it is the last thing I do."
Answered the other cop

It was a chilling scene

Everyone's heart sank as they heard the boy's mother's cries.

The murders in Valle Pacifica had gone national.
It was on the cover of every paper, every magazine, and every television channel. The FBI was now involved.

The Valle Pacifica residents wondered why it took so long for people to start paying attention to what was going on in their small town. This was the 21st person killed.

Mr. Antonov offered to drive Rayna home.
She said "no" twice, but he insisted.

"I don't want you to be the killer's next victim."

After he said that, she agreed.

She gave him her address, and he drove her home.
Once she was home, she told Dana what had happened. She called Antanas, but he had heard the news already on the radio. She also called Maya, but she did not pick up the phone.

For the first time, people finally realized that this was more than just a small problem.

No one felt safe.
Everyone was buying security systems for their homes.
They had upgraded the security at all the schools and other public buildings.

Cameras were placed everywhere the killer had previously placed the corpses before.

It was the middle of the night, and Dana awoke to the sound of the front door opening.
Just then, the security system went off.
It woke up Rayna and Antanas.

He called the police.
They were there within minutes.
The intruder was handcuffed, and put into the back of the police car.

Antanas walked out of the house to see the face of the one who was so close to killing his whole family, but was surprised to see who it was.
Maya!

"Police.
I am sorry, but there has been a mistake.
That's my daughter, Maya."

"Is that right?"
Said one of the cops

"Well, I guess you weren't lying to us after all.
You're free to go."

Maya was released.
When she walked into the house, she was greeted with hugs.

"What is wrong with everyone?
You all are acting strange.
Why did you get a security system?"
Said Maya

"Where have you been, Maya."
Said Dana

"Haven't you heard about the killer?"

"Of course I have heard about the killer. I haven't been gone that long."
Said Maya

They continued talking for a few more minutes before going to sleep.

Two days had passed, and it was now Friday.
Mr. Antonov's last day

Rayna was disappointed.
She felt she would never see him again.
She has passed the exam that Mr. Antonov had let her redo. She got an almost perfect score.

Class was over, and Rayna was waiting for everyone to leave, so she could ask Mr. Antonov the question that had been on her mind since the first time she saw him...
Where was he from? But she turned her head for a slight second to see if Maya had left yet, but he had disappeared. She ran out of the building, and he was just getting into his car.

"Mr. Antonov. I'm glad I caught you just in time."
Said an breathless Rayna

"What can I do for you, Miss Alekseev?"
Said the soft spoken Aleksandar Antonov

"There's something that I have been wanting to ask you, sir."
Said a nervous Rayna

"And what is that?"
Asked Mr. Antonov

"I was wondering where you were from? Your accent is different."
Said Rayna

"I am from here, just like you. Well, that is where I was born at least. My family left Valle Pacifica when I was seven, and moved to Wales. I lived there for most of my life. I moved back here 9 years ago to teach history."
Said Mr. Antonov

"Thank you, sir.
You've been very helpful since you came here."
Said Rayna

"Thank you, Rayna.
I hope to see you next year at Vittoria University.
Maybe in my class."
Said Mr. Antonov with a smile

"Maybe."
Stated Rayna

She watched as he slowly drove away. She was sad, but in a way, relieved. She knew nothing was going to happen with him. He was more than 20 years older than she was, and probably married. She never thought to check for a ring.

She went to on to next class, which she was late for.
As usual, Maya was nowhere to be seen.

A while later, she finally showed up.
She about to take her seat, when she collapsed.

(To Be Continued)