Moonlit whispers

1: First encounter

Luna's POV

"What do you think?" A voice said behind me and I shifted my attention away from the dead body to see an extremely handsome young man dressed in a striped, blue shirt walking towards me. The hands of the shirt were folded halfway and they revealed hairy forearms.

"What do I think?" I asked, wondering what he was talking about. He thrust his hands into his pocket as he came to stand beside me.

He stared at the dead body for a few moments before bringing his eyes up to meet mine. "Of the corpse. Brutal, isn't it?"

"Oh," I said and returned my attention to it. "I don't know. Probably an accident or something."

"You're kidding, right?"

"No. I'm serious," I answered. I could feel his eyes on me and I avoided meeting them.

"We both know this isn't an accident. Doesn't even look close to it. This is something more....." he struggled to find the words, ".......deliberate. And calculated."

"Yeah, I guess," I said, feigning disinterest.

"I don't think I've seen you around here before. You're new to the town, yeah?"

"Yes. I've only been living here for a week now."

He crouched suddenly and with his other hand, he pulled out a pair of gloves from his pocket. "These marks," he said as he wore the gloves, "they don't look normal. Have a look."

"I don't think that would be necessary. The cops are responsible for that, aren't they? And I can tell you are one. I am nothing but a concerned citizen."

"Are you?" He asked as he traced the large slashes across the victim's chest.

"Excuse me?" I said, surprised by his question. I had a very good idea of what caused those slashes but I dare not mention it to anyone. Not if I intended to live a quiet life like I planned to do in the town.

He grunted as he rose to his feet then he removed the gloves from his hand. "This is the second murder in three days and this is also the second time I am seeing you, the first being at the scene of the first murder. I doubt if that is a coincidence."

"What are you accusing me of?" I asked. I was starting to get irritated by him and I felt the need to leave.

He smiled and said, "Relax. I am not accusing you of anything. I am just stating my observations." He held out one slender, well-manicured hand to me. "Alex. Detective Alex Carter."

"Luna Blackwood," I replied as I shook his hand. "If you don't mind, Detective Carter, I have to head back to work."

"Oh. Where do you work? I might have a few questions for you later."

I eyed him skeptically and he chuckled. "Don't worry. I am not trying to hit on you or anything. All I care about is solving these murders and I would stop at nothing to achieve that. If you don't want to tell me where you work, then you can just give me your contact information instead."

He was reaching into his pocket for his phone when I said, "Josie's bookstore. It is-"

"The small bookstore on Glendale," he interrupted. "I am familiar with it. I guess I'll see you later then, Blackwood."

He smiled at me again and I returned a half smile to him before walking away. He seemed very friendly and I wondered if he was like that with everyone or it was just me. As I made my way back to the small flat I lived in, I found myself more and more interested in the detective. He hadn't seemed surprised by the corpse and that made me suspect that he knew more than he was letting on.

The sun was already rising when I got to the bookstore and I checked the time on my watch. It was just a few minutes past eight yet the bookstore was almost filled with people. I made my way to the small area with a desk which served as my workspace and I was just setting in when Josie appeared.

"You're late," she remarked.

"Yeah. Sorry about that. I had to attend to something important," I replied as I turned on the computer on my desk.

"Have you seen Mrs. Winslow? She's been asking for you since she got here."

I jerked my head up to look at her when I heard that. "What for? I already did everything she wanted yesterday."

"If there's one thing you would have learned by now, it is that you can never satisfy that woman. I'm even surprised she hasn't gone bananas on you yet." She turned sideways and her eyes widened in mock surprise. "Uh-oh, here she comes. Goodluck." She winked at me and hurried away.

The old woman appeared before my desk and the look on her face told me that a storm was coming.

"Mrs. Winslow. Good morning," I said in a very polite manner. "What can I do for you today?"

She sized me up with her eyes, ignoring my greeting, then she brought out a small list from her bag which, as it turned out, contained a list of ridiculous books she wanted. I spent the next hour trying to fulfill her request only for her to tell me that she would no longer be needing them and she left before I could even react. I was so furious that I nearly yelled after her as she walked away. Instead, I sighed and returned to my desk to do other things. I had barely been in my chair for two minutes when I noticed someone looming over me.

Looking up, I found myself staring at none other than the handsome detective from the murder scene.

"Hi, Blackwood," he said. He looked very worried and I was about to ask him what happened when he produced his phone and thrust it at me.

I looked at what he was showing me and I found myself staring at something I had never expected to see again in my life