Alura (Thrid and Final Part)

“Mr Malloy, we have had a major break through in the case and…”
“That’s great!” I interrupted “Do you know who did it then?”
“If you had let me finish I would have let you know. Now as I was saying, what we found were some skin cells underneath Stacey’s fingernails. They’ve been sent to the lab for analysis and from what we can gather they were from the same time as the murder”
“So you should know who killed her soon then right?”
“We certainly hope so but what we need from you is a sample of blood.”
“Why do you need that?”
“Well since you were recently in contact with Stacey we need to rule you out of the investigation. We are asking this of everyone who has been with Stacey in the last month that way we can eliminate those people.”
“Am I a suspect then?”
“No. This is just part of the procedure we need to take to make sure that everything is by the book. We’ve even gone to the extent of taking blood from the pizza guy who delivered her pizza last week. He must have been trying to pick her up because we found a receipt with his name and phone number on it.”

As I saw no problem with this they pulled out a needle and took some blood from my arm.

“Is there anything else that I can help you with?” I asked as I went to the kitchen to get a bandaid.
“No that’s all Mr Malloy. Thanks for your time and enjoy your day off.”
“That’s alright. Anything to help and thank you for keeping me informed like this. I know you don’t have to but I really appreciate it.

I got myself some lunch having gained a bit of my appetite back knowing that Stacey’s killer might finally get caught and be put to justice. I finished my lunch and was going to work on the perfume account but decided that as I some fresh air would do me good so I went down to the gym instead.

I had a good workout and was feeling a lot more motivated to about getting some work done. After the workout and a couple of laps of the pool as a warm down I jogged back home and on the way remembered that the phones were still unplugged.

I got home and was all set to plug the phones in when I thought that it could wait a little longer. After all if someone wanted me that desperately they could page me and I’d call them back but otherwise they would just have to wait.

Feeling more relaxed after having a good sleep and workout I was brimming with ideas and plans for the perfume account. I started to sketch out a storyboard for a television advert when I remembered that there was a show on television that I wanted to watch.

I switched on the show and it was during one of the advert breaks that I saw an advertisement for a movie marathon that was running tonight and it had three of my favourite movies playing.

I decided to splurge and taped the rest of show I was watching, had a quick shower and got dressed to go out. I was just walking out the door when I remembered that I was supposed to show my boss the ideas for the perfume account tomorrow.
Since I wasn’t going to be in I would have to email them to my assistant but I was already running late so resolved to do it when I got back. After all what’s the difference between doing it now or at six o’clock in the morning. So I left myself a note on my bedroom door to do it when I got back. I grabbed my jacket and keys and left for the cinema.

I got to the cinema just in time to see the first movie starting. There were only about ten people in the cinema as it was a weeknight so I had a huge range of seats to choose from. I picked one in the middle and settled in for the night.

The movies were better than I had remembered and after two drinks and a jumbo box of popcorn later the credits of the third movie started and the lights started to come back on. There were some people up the back sleeping but the rest of the people were awake and leaving. I was one of the last to leave and by the time I got to my car the sun was just starting to rise on the horizon.

I drove home slowly as there wasn’t much traffic and I was too tired to go the speed limit. (I was getting to old for all nighters). I pulled up in my driveway ten minutes later and went to my bedroom, ready to collapse on my bed when I saw the bright, green post-it note that I had left on my door.

I had completely forgotten about sending the email like I knew I would so instead of curling up in my nice, cosy bed like I wanted to I went over to the computer and turned it on.

I got all my work off of the kitchen table and scanned all the storyboards I had been working on as well as all the slogans and attached them to an email to my assistant. I also added for him to get out the advertising campaign rough draft from the top shelf of my filing cabinet.

I tried to send the email but I kept getting it rejected, it was then that I remembered that the phone still wasn’t connected. I plugged the chord back into the socket and tried to send the email again. Thankfully this time it worked and I was just getting up from the computer when I heard the familiar beeping that was my messenger logging in. This reminded me that I hadn’t checked the second email from Alura yet.

This was as good a time as any I decided. After all I was already connected to the Internet and not really in the frame of mind to worry too much about what it said.

I dragged the email onto the desktop icon and while the email was loading I went to the bathroom to splash some cold water on my face in an effort to wake myself up a bit more.

When I got back to the computer the email was ninety-five percent complete so I sat back and waited for it to finish. Finally the second email from Alura was deciphered. The first page was the same as the last revealing that it was the same type of email as the last one. The next eight pages followed true to form with the repetitious “OBEY OBEY OBEY OBEY” over and over again. It was when I got to the tenth page that I started to really get scared.

The last page was different this time though instead of being just a single line there was a short message. It wasn’t very long but what it said worried me. The email said:

YOU WILL OBEY ME
If asked if you killed Stacey you WILL say YES
You WILL tell them that you did it because you wanted to
You WILL NOT show remorse but SMILE when talking about it
You did kill Stacey and did so because I told you to when I called you last
Thursday at work but you remember it being a prank call
You picked up the knife that killed Stacey in the park and threw the paper
away like I told you to
You did it on Friday night
If asked where the knife is you will tell the police the knife it’s in your wall safe
If you try to tell anyone about any of this you won’t be able to
If you try you to communicate this in any way you will feel yourself starting
to CHOKE
Any evidence of me MUST BE DESTROYED
Have a nice life. I hope you like jail.

ALURA

I couldn’t believe that any of this was true. I pushed print so that I had a record of this just in case it was true and I ran to the wall safe. I fumbled to put in the right combination but eventually got it right and I opened the safe door.

At first I didn’t see anything but then I noticed the gleam of something metallic in the back of the safe. I reached my hand in and felt the cool touch of a metallic blade but there was something sticky as well. I wrenched my arm out and looked at my hand it was covered in a rust coloured substance. It was then that I recognised it as dried blood.
I knew now that everything that the email had said was true. I turned back to the safe and frantically started searching for the printout of the first email from Alura. I had to show it to the police. I looked on both shelves but it wasn’t there. It was then that I noticed a burnt out match on the top shelf where I had placed the printout.

I picked up the match and I realised that the message had somehow made me destroy the email print off that I had done while I was asleep. That was what the burning was the previous morning not a fire outside.

I raced back to the other room where the computer was and went to print the first email out again. When I got there I moved the mouse to wake the computer up but it didn’t work. I checked that all the chords were plugged in right and tried to turn it on again. It wouldn’t work for some reason. The computer seemed to have died. I checked the printer to see if the second email I had printed had worked but there was nothing there.

I was scared, more than scared I was terrified. I went to the lounge and picked up the phone to call the police for help when my door was busted open. A squad of ten officers came in lead by Detective Kraft and closely followed by Constable Klein.
With his gun pointed at me Detective Kraft shouted at me. I didn’t hear what he said the firs time. He yelled again.
“Drop the phone Mr Malloy and put your hands up where we can see them.”
I let the phone go more out of shock than anything else and as soon as the phone was out of my hands I had my arms twisted behind my back and they were handcuffed.
Constable Klein and another police officer grabbed my shoulders and started to take me out the front door. “You are under arrest for the vicious murder of Stacey Alice. You have the right to remain silent but anything you say will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney one will be appointed for you. Do you understand your rights?”
“Yes.” I mumbled in a state of shock as they lead me to a patrol car.

I tried to tell them that I hadn’t killed Stacey but before I had even got one word out I started to choke and then I passed out. When I woke up I was in a cell at the police station under close watch.
“I’d like to speak to Detective Kraft please.”
The officer on duty went to the phone and gave him a call. Within five minutes he was at my cell door.
“What do you want?” his tone filled with anger, very different to that of the police officer who I had first met a week ago.
“I want to speak to my lawyer.”
The detective let me out of my cell and took me to the phone. I called my lawyer and she came down to the police station.
The moment she arrived I was taken to an interrogation room and the questioning began.

While the police set up the machine to record the interview my lawyer had a couple of quiet words to me.
“Tony you are in a lot of trouble. You don’t need to answer any of their questions. Let me deal with them.”
“Okay Katrina you’re the lawyer after all.”
Before Katrina could say anything else to me Constable Klein started the interview.
“This is an interview between Mr Tony Malloy, his lawyer Katrina Lorne and Detective Kraft and Constable Klein in the matter of the homicide of Ms Stacey Alice. The time is 9:15 am on this the 29th October 2004.”
Detective Kraft turned to face me and with that same look of hate I saw earlier he started his questioning.
“Mr Malloy did you kill Ms Stacey Alice on the night of Friday the 22nd October 2004?”
Before my lawyer or I could stop me I found myself starting to answer.
“Yes.”
Everyone was shocked by what I said as much as I was but I saw my reflection in the one-way mirrors on the walls and true to what the email said I found myself smiling a huge, satisfied grin. I hadn’t realised I’d even done it.
“You sick bastard. The whole time we were around your place you were playing us for chumps weren’t you?”
Again I felt myself being compelled to say something but first I chuckled about the situation, “Yes I was.” Inside I was feeling violently ill and I struggled so much to say the truth but it wouldn’t come out. I started to have a fit of the giggles.
Detective Kraft stood up and slammed his fists on the table.
“Do you think this s funny Mr Malloy. Well here is another joke for you. I am formerly charging you with the murder of Stacey Alice.”
I burst into laughter at this and the expression on my face in the mirror was that of a stranger.

All in ten minutes I had gone from being innocent to guilty with my trial date being set for Monday morning at nine. Bail was denied to me due to the nature of my crime so I was made to stay in the cell by myself for the entire weekend leading up to my case.

No one came to visit me, as my lawyer was busy preparing a defence for my case so I had a lot of time to myself to think. I went over all the events of the past week and everything started to fall into place as I finally began to understand what had happened. The scratch on my face, the bruising on my wrist and my exhaustion all must have been from Stacey trying to fight me off. I tried to think about what I had done but know matter what I couldn’t seem to remember what I’d done.

I tried to tell the police over and over again about Alura and the emails that I had got but every time I would choke and pass out. They got a doctor to check me out but I came back negative to everything.

Monday morning came and I was put on the stand for murdering Stacey. The judge looked down at me from her seat for a long minute before starting to speak to me.
“Mr Malloy are you innocent or guilty for murdering Ms Stacey Alice.”
I looked up at the judge and try as I might even though I wanted to say innocent all I could get out was guilty.
“Are you sure Mr Malloy, this is your last chance before I pass sentence on you.”
“Yes. I killed Stacey.” As I said this I laughed but all I wanted to do was cry.
“Okay I’m ready to pass sentence then. Mr Malloy for the vicious nature of your crime I am sentencing you to life imprisonment in a maximum-security facility with no option for parole. You will remain there for the rest of your days.”
That was it the trial was over and done with in a matter of minutes. It was the fastest one that has ever been done still to this day.
















Epilogue
I was sent to a maximum-security prison not too far from the city where I used to live. My days are filled with boredom now and I spend most of my time in my cell wondering how this was done and by whom.
I was in my cell one day when the guard came up to my cell door
“Malloy there’s a package here for ya.” And threw the box onto my bed next to me.
“Thanks Bill.”
I opened the box and inside was a letter from Jim with a video. I pulled the letter out and started to read.
Dear Tony,
I hope this letter finds you healthy and well. How are you doing in prison?
I’m just writing to let you know what has been going on in the big, wide world.
I got a promotion and now I’m the marketing executive. Yes that’s right I’ve got
your job. Surprising isn’t it. I thought I’d send you this video of my first job.
Have a look at it and let me know what you think.
Have a nice life. Hope you like jail.
Jim
That was a weird thing to write and those words were familiar but I was too excited at having outside contact to care. I grabbed the video and went to speak to Bill.
“Bill, I got a video from my ex-assistant, can I go watch it on the VCR in the media room?”
“Sure Tony, since you’ve been a good I’ll see what I can organise.”
I was escorted there by two guards who stood outside the door as I put the tape in. I turned the television on and sat on the lounge.
The advert looked familiar to me and it was then I realised what it was. This was the advert that I’d planned for the perfume account. I watched it intently to see how it turned out. The whole thing was what I had designed to the smallest detail. At the end came the slogan and when I saw the slogan all the questions I’d been pondering were answered. I started to scream and the guards rushed in. I was sedated but not before I’d managed to point at the screen however when they turned the screen was blank.
Only I had seen it and only I knew what it meant. The slogan was
“Alura, it’s hypnotic and you will obey."