The sound of the rain trickling down the window sill sounded through my ears as I sat at my desk in my office. Typical weather for a FBI office building in the city of Seattle. I’m shuffling through files of criminals and convicts. The names flow through my head. Thomas Shelton, Clara Walters, Josh Flinter, Theodore Rodriguez, Sebastian Smith, Jessica Berkley… My thinking was disrupted by a loud and forceful knock on the door. I immediately put my files down and glanced at the door with a flat and emotionless stare.

“Come in” I said very uninterested.

The door creaked open and my boss, Bill Brown, came walking through the door. His eyes full of determination but I was too tired to care.

I simply asked, “What do you need, Bill?”

He answered audaciously, “I need you, to do your job, Levi.”

He places a case on my desk and walks right out the door and leaves it wide open.
I open the case up and find a load of crime scene photos. One by one, I go through them. Each photo contains a girl covered in deep red blood and brutally murdered. I couldn’t see what was so special about this case and why it was assigned to me. Why would they give an ordinary case to me, a high educated FBI officer?
The more and more I investigated this case file the more I noticed that it was messy and ordinary. Then, I came across a picture. It seemed like a normal picture at first, but the closer I got to it I noticed that each girl was missing something. They were each missing a different tooth. It was almost like this killer wanted to keep a souvenir of each of his killings or he was just crazy.

The next morning, I was heading towards the office building as usual, holding a steaming cup of coffee that was probably too bitter for anyone else’s liking. Then, I was bombarded with a crowd of flashes and lights coming from noisy cameras held by annoying reporters.

One reporter said with a microphone, “What do you think the killer’s motive was?”

Another reporter said, “Is it true that you have narrowed it down to 3 suspects for the murder case?!”
“I think—,” I started to say when I was abruptly interrupted with a firm hand pulling me into the building.

My eyes slowly moved up his body trying to find any identification of who it could be. My confusion started to blur my surroundings but I could still see some distinct characteristics. His arms were buff and bulky and he was wearing a business suit of the colors, sky blue and dark grey. Once I was clear of the blinding lights, I could finally see who this mysterious man was. His face became clear and I could distinguish that it was Mark, my only friend in the office.

“It’s your first day on this case,” he said.

“I—”

      “Don't mess this up,” he said with a laugh, “Good luck!”

I wandered down the endless hallway with dull grey walls. I turned my head over my shoulder to say goodbye to Mark, but he was gone. I didn’t think much of it. I shrugged and figured that he had gone back to his office. I got to my destination in a matter of seconds and walked into the interrogation room. I sat down, dropping my pile of files down onto the desk indicating that I was ready to go.
Suspect #1…
Hair as curly as can be and glasses that looked like they were too heavy for his small and round head to hold.  He was the nerdiest nerd of the whole society of nerds. His facial expression was bold and wise. I couldn’t even believe he was a suspect. His name was Wayne. How lame is that?

“Hello, Wayne Johnson”

“Hello.”

“Do you know why you are here?”

“In all honesty, no. I was told I fit the standards of being a killer to some girls that I briefly knew in my life.”

“Really? Her family claims that you were extremely close with them?”

“If you call tutoring close then sure!”

“Okay, may I ask you some questions?”

“Go ahead.”

“What were you doing the night of the murders of these women?”

“I was probably doing some calc homework, I don’t exactly know.”

Many questions followed this interrogation but nothing resulted from it. He was not the murderer, he was innocent. I let him go and I moved on.

Suspect #2…
He was a man. No, he was a boy. He probably had just dropped out of college and looked like he shopped at thrift stores. It looked like he came out of Dumb and Dumber with his googly eyes and crooked teeth. I had a feeling that he was not the killer… but I guess I shall see.

To start off the interrogation, I said, “Hello, Brett Manson. How are you?”

“Was that suppose to be funny?,” Brett answered.

“Do I look like I’m joking?” I stated with a blank expression.

“Ha ha ha! Why am I here? I’ve got procrastinating to do and if you’re gonna ask me if I’m sorry for speeding, I say no.”

Clearly this guy was clueless and absolutely innocent. If he thought the worst thing that could have led him to be in this room was speeding, I don’t really know what to tell him. All I could tell him to do was to leave.

“You may go now, I have enough information. Thank you.”

“Does this mean I still have a speeding ticket?”

“Just go.” I said as I shoved him up and out the door.

I walked out of the room and down to the cafeteria to get some tasteless coffee before I moved on to the last suspect. As I poured my excruciatingly hot cup of coffee, I heard a familiar voice speaking to me.

“How are the interrogations going?,” Mark said. 

“Useless, two out of the three suspects aren’t even close to being the killers,” I said with a sigh.

Mark looked at me with that “I’m sorry” look and I couldn’t take it. I didn’t need the sympathy, I just needed to work harder. I walked away with my shoulders and head laying low out of disappointment.
I heard Mark yell from afar, “If you're not too tired you can come to my place after work!”
I heard him yell, but I kept going down the hallway. I felt useless and unnecessary. This third suspect better be him or I might just quit.  

Suspect #3…
He was dressed like any other ordinary business man but there was something off about him. I couldn’t grasp onto what it was. He wore a stare that could win any staring contest and his posture was just so relaxed and unusual. Could this be the stare that killed these girls?

“Hello, Sebastian Smith.”

“Hello.”

I simply stated, “Are you the killer?”

“What do you think? Am I or am I not?”

“I’m the only one who can ask questions here!”

“Does it look like I care?”

“No more questions. What is your answer? Simply, yes or no?”

“No, but I know who is.”

“Who?”

“He’s in this building.”

“What?”

“I can not say anymore. He is watching me.”

“Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!” I screamed with an aggravation in myself that I had never felt before.

He would’nt speak anymore. 50 million questions and not one would be answered. I had no choice but to let him go but this was not the end. I will find this killer even if it is the last thing I do. In the meantime, I needed to apologize to Mark for my behavior. I also could use a relaxation after the intense day.
I walked through the dead street and through the blinding street lights to reach Mark’s apartment. 8 Grand Ave. Seattle, Oregon. I creaked open the door and walked up the old and rusty stairs till I reached the door with the 8 on it. Multiple knocks sounded through the quiet apartment building and not one answer. I turned the knob and it turned out the door was unlocked. I walked in and found an empty apartment with not a person or a piece of furniture in sight. It was so unusual and weird.
I picked up my phone and called the contact named Mark. The ringing of the phone rang through my ears and gave me a feeling of anxiety. The ringing never ending. I finally heard a voice speaking from the phone.

“You have reached an unknown number that does not seem to exist.”

I gasped and looked down to my phone to find the contact name not Mark anymore, it was some random number.
I fell to the floor with pure fear. I couldn’t find oxygen in the air anymore and I felt like I was suffocating. My mind swirled and twisted in too many directions. I screamed and cried and wailed my hands up in the air for help but I was helpless. This had to be a mistake. I was not going crazy, I was not crazy! My whole day flashed in front of me and one thing stood out to me. Sebastian's very own words.

“He is watching me.”

Who! Everything around me was crumbling into pieces and I couldn’t fix them. The only thing I seemed to care about was who this killer seemed to be. I needed to know who he is! I need some clarification! Some clarification that he isn’t me!
I ran down the stairs and took off out the door. I ran all the way down the dead street but I didn’t think the street was dead anymore, I was. I made it to the office building in time before it closed and made it up to my office room. I walked in and slammed the door behind me.
I was looking for the file of the case and I was so close to figuring this murder out. I could care less if it took all night. Who needs sleep anyway? I looked through every desk drawer and couldn’t find it.
I came across a locked drawer I had never knew of until now. I broke it open and found the file. The file was not a murder case anymore, it was blank. Not only was the file in there, their were the teeth of the girls who had been brutally murdered. I was the killer. A moment passed of pure surprise and those teeth weren’t teeth anymore. They were pills. They were the pills that I didn’t take. I finally realized that Mark wasn’t real, the murder case wasn’t real, and my sanity wasn't real. You know what was? My Schizophrenia.