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Boston showed up about twenty minutes after I made that last post.

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He sat down across from me with a grunt, ordered the Lumberjack breakfast with coffee and then proceeded to pour the remainder of whatever booze he had in his flask into said coffee. I didn't even need to order, I usually come here after my late shifts which used to be daily, but had recently changed to only about three times a week. My usual waitress, a short, plump Asian women named Cindy who was awful for conversation-which is fine, so am I- brought my order first. The 2 by 2 by 2. Two eggs, two pancakes, two sausage. I gave her a thin smile and nod and she left without a word, going to to deal with a new customer who'd just walked in, a scruffy looking guy in a stained shirt. Like me, he came in often, and his clothes were usually stained despite being business casual. This time I almost swore it looked like blood.

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Yeah, I think I'm going to keep our ongoing relationship of never interacting, ever, the same as it's always been.

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"So," Boston finally spoke up after loudly slurping his spiked coffee, "You handled that situation well back there all things considered, minus losing your lunch. You deal with that lot often?" I held up a finger, wanting to finish chewing my food before talking. Scruffy was taken to the complete opposite end of the Denny's, out of sight. His usual seating arrangement. After swallowing, I answered, "Yeah, they'd come by about once, maybe twice a week, all asking for books that don't exist. They'd never attacked before though. Always seemed pretty docile, just annoying as shit." "They tend to be picky with who they nab. Luckily for you, squirt, I don't think they'll be bugging you again any time soon."

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Jesus Christ, nobody had called me 'squirt' in years. I wasn't sure how to feel about it. If he called me champ though, I was gonna deck him.

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Never call me champ.

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"What's your name, squirt?" Boston at least had the decency not to talk while eating. I was hesitant at first to give my name. I always was, it carried a weight I had no interest in. Licking my lips I glanced out the window. The sun had gone down hours ago and while I wouldn't say Cleveland, or at least this part of Cleveland, had much of a night life it was still pretty busy out there. "Liberty." I said finally, "Liberty Rings." If Boston was familiar with the name, he didn't let on. The Rings family is decently well known in Ohio, and a good chunk of other states too. Oil tycoons and all that shit. I wasn't in all that, hadn't been for a long time. When your family is that big a deal and you don't meet their standards? They don't keep you around long. Boston cut into his piece of ham before pointing his fork at me, "That's a stupid name."

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I know it's true, but hey!

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"You should get yourself another name to go by." He continued, stopping only to shove the ham into his mouth. I rolled my eyes and cut into my own food. "My friends call me Libby. Weren't you here for some important investigation and not to, you know, shit on my name?" "Hey, it was just a suggestion kid..Libby. Anywho, what can you tell me about that boss of yours, Pete Ness?" Despite getting his food after me, Boston had already torn through half of it. The guy ate like a vacuum. I set my silverware down to think. I'd worked in the university's book store for almost a year now, under Pete the whole time. He was a short, slimy man. Literally, his skin always had a sheen of sweat that looked like slime, which fit because he had the appearance of a frog and a hair line to rival Elon Musk's. Why pretty girls like those Boston was searching for would have anything to do with him was beyond me. "He's a shitty boss." I replied, "Normally he never shows up for work, on time or otherwise, but lately he has been taking the nigh shift over. Claims it's so I can focus on my homework more." "You don't find him attractive, do you?" Boston asked and then chuckled when he saw me immediately cringe. "Yeah, I didn't think so. Good, good.." "The guy smells like day old salami left in the sun, why the hell would I find that attractive?"

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Boston slapped the table so loud both Cindy and scruffy came to see what was going on. My dinner date was rocking in his seat, continuing to slap the table as he laughed a deep belly laugh. It actually sounded..nice, and in that moment, under all the stains and cheap cologne, Boston looked like the friendliest person you could find this side of Cleveland. Scruffy? Not so much. His eyes darted between me and Boston for a moment and they looked almost wild. Not entirely human. It even looked like he was sniffing the air. But once they both saw that nothing was going on, he and Cindy left.

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This moment, one I could almost call warm in a way, was short lived.

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Pete Ness, that slimy toad, walked past our window, talking to some young woman who held onto his arm. she was beautiful, dark skin and long brown curls that tumbled down her back. Once again I couldn't understand what someone like her could see in my shitty boss. Pete happened to glance over and waved when he saw me, wiggling his fat fingers and giving a wide smile. Too wide. Just enough that it wasn't right. Boston gulped down the rest of his coffee in one motion and rose to his feet, walking to the front desk. I pushed my seat back and followed after, just in time to see him slam down a hundred dollar bill, mutter to Cindy to keep the change, and rush out of the Denny's. Cindy just grunted, putting the money in the register. I shouted a thank you to Cindy before taking off after Boston, glad that I had always been a fast runner. It had often been a necessity growing up. "Are we following him?" I asked, and Boston glanced at me from the corner of his eye. "We?" "If my boss is like, a serial killer or some shit then I want to know!" "Curious, huh?" Boston's tone was stern, "You know, curiosity killed the cat." "And satisfaction brought it back." I snapped back. I was managing to keep pace with his long strides, not taking my eyes off of him. The sigh Boston gave was one of exasperation, but the grin on his face told another story. He grabbed my arm and quickened his pace. "Alright kid, keep up then."

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We weaved through the crowds, most students I vaguely recognized, having left school for the night and going out to party or eat and head home. We were far enough behind Pete to keep an eye on him without him easily noticing. He and the girl were heading back towards the university. Good. That was a straight shot, no twists and turns where we could possibly lose them.

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And then we lost them.

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Pete and the girl veered off the path leading to the university, instead opting to go through the back alleys. I don't know what sort of crazy spell Pete had over this girl, but she seemed fine and dandy following him through the cramped, unlit alleyways. She was even giggling as he said some stuff I couldn't hear. Then, after about five minutes of going left and right around corners, they were gone. I'm not sure how they managed to slip off without being seen, maybe we'd stayed too far behind them in a bid to remain unnoticed, but they were just gone either way. "Shit." Boston hissed and held a hand out in front of me, reaching into his pocket and removing a revolver from it. "Kid, stay behind me." Is a gun really necessary?" I whispered to him, following his direction as he began to creep forward slowly. The weapon made me uncomfortable. "If your boss ends up being a serial killer? Then yes, my little friend Peacebringer here is necessary." For fucks sake, he named the thing. "Okay, okay, fair, just watch where you're pointing that thing." Boston grunted in response, and then stopped dead in his tracks.

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A soft, metallic twang had filled the air and I immediately knew what it was. I'd gotten enough busted noses as a kid to know what blood smelt like. I craned my neck looking this way and that, trying to find the source of the scent, but Boston found it first. He crept forward, past one alleyway. Two. At the third he stopped, gun raised. As I got closer, pausing to look into each alley I passed, I finally saw the blood pooling at the entrance of the one Boston stood at. I licked my lips, a lump in my throat. Everything in my brain was screaming at me to run. My survival instinct was trying to kick in, trying to get me the hell out of there. But I was just too damn curious. "...Anyone there?" Boston called out, but not a soul answered. We glanced back at me, whispering, "You got one of those fancy little flashlights by chance? The sort to go on keychains or something?" Luckily I did. I turned it on and handed it to him. Boston pushed forward and stepped into the alley, gun and light aimed together. I went in after him and regretted it.

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What I'm about to describe is not for the weak of heart. Or in my case, stomach. Not even five seconds had passed before I was bent over, hand pressed against a nearby wall as I puked up all of the dinner I'd eaten not even an hour before.

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The beautiful woman Pete had been walking with literal moments before was sprawled out on the ground, her limps twisted and her mouth cracked open, fresh blood still dripping the corners of her lips as she stared dead eyed at the night sky. Her chest had been torn open, like by an animal, ribs poked out and chunks of flesh littered the ground around her. Flesh, and a pair of breast implants. From where they sat on the ground and the blood on the walls it was safe to assume that whatever or whoever had done this had thrown them. Angry like.

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"Fuck." I heard Boston curse over my retching. He turned to speak to me, then finally noticed the state I was in. With a sigh he put the gun away and made his way over, taking my long black hair in his fists and doing his best to hold it back for me. "..Come on kid. Once you can hold it in we're getting you home. There's nothing we can do here."

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After another minute of me adding to the mess on the ground, Boston grabbed some of the newspaper that littered the ground and used it to clean my mess before calling the police. It was smart, we didn't want any evidence that we had been here when the cops showed up. My head was spinning as we walked together towards the university, where my car was waiting. My throat burned. I was exhausted. I was beginning to regret getting involved. Then I remembered Heather. Finding her dead like that, and how little the cops put in to investigating it. To this day it's still unsolved, a cold case. I couldn't make myself drop this. I guess my curiosity is just too strong.

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