May 21, 1954

On this day, I politely asked for the freshest bread alongside the finest wine the merchant had to offer me.
The merchant handed me a knife.
The merchant also provided me with what I asked for; he stays whole for now.
Unfortunately, what I was given doesn’t.
With this blade in hand, I sliced the warm-blooded bread into pieces.
The dissected pieces of bread were left in a grim and soulless state.
Time passes by, the merchant returns and gives me a chalice.
With this chalice, I poured the wine into it, and drank.
The bitter-sweet taste of blood always arouses me, constantly lusting for more.
Some dare to claim this is an addiction, wrong.
It’s a lifestyle, my lifestyle.
A lifestyle nobody shall trespass.
For as long as I live.

*

Monday, May 24th, 1954. 7:30 AM Pacific Standard Time.

Good morning California, for today’s forecast, there has been an increasing amount of reports of missing children all across Los Angeles. I’d recommend families that care about their children to keep them away from the streets alone.
I say this, because there was a dead body found last night.
The victim’s name was Vanessa Brown, who recently turned 17 years old. She was found in the middle of an alleyway with her body completely dismembered, and her stomach ripped from the inside out. The victim’s family stated she was 8 months pregnant before the time of her murder, however when authorities arrived at the scene, no fetus was found within or around the corpse. The only thing found that remained whole was the victim’s head, with a thin metal pole pierced through her head, with a note left on top. The police are currently holding an investigation, if anyone knows anything about the case, then please report it to authorities. The police also have given a name to the killer, called “Bloody Merchant.” That’s all for the morning news today, my name is Charles Davidson, brought to you live by NBC News, enjoy the rest of your day.

. . .

Every morning before school, Robert puts on his white buttoned long shirt with black jeans, his belt, old brown shoes given by his father, dad socks, combs his hair to the side, and sprays some cologne. Once he’s ready, he goes to the dining room where his breakfast has been waiting for him. His mother always waits for him across the table to sit down, so she can turn on the TV, and listen to the morning news with him. Keeping up to date with the latest news has always been important to him, not only to be aware of current events, but also to study how news reporters commentate. He wants to become a news reporter himself, but not just any news reporter, but the best one there is, even going on his own investigations to report the news as accurately as possible to his future viewership. Nobody understands why but it doesn’t matter to him, as long as he gets to fulfill his dream, he’ll do whatever it takes, even risking his own life just to feel a glimpse of glory. After hearing the news, although paying respect for the death of Vanessa, his eyes lit up to the opportunity to make his big break. His mother looks at Robert and says, “If you have any ideas of trying to figure out who this killer is, don’t do it.”

“But why not?!” he exclaims. “I understand that it’s dangerous, but I have to do this. This could be the only chance where I could become a reporter!”

“No it isn’t, what you’re asking for is to be killed.”

“There’s a whole killer on the loose, if I help the authorities, they might ask me to help them out more with future cases. Sure it’s not reporting news, but not only would I be able to get all the information I need for my reports, I’d be able to help with potential cases. It’d help me with my career.”

“If you want to have a job as a news reporter, go to college. You thinking they’d just allow you to work with them when you’re unqualified is delusional.”

“No it isn’t Mom, you don’t understand what I’m trying to do.”

“I’m not going to let my son get killed, you will stay away from him at all times, got it?”

“Fine,” he whispers

“What was that?”

“I said fine!”

He gets up from the table, goes back to his room to grabs his backpack and leaves without saying goodbye. It isn’t unusual for the two of them to get into arguments, but he at least says goodbye and gives his mom a hug; today’s different though. Robert truly believes he’d be able to get his name out there, so for his mother to disapprove immediately leaves Robert in a frenzied state.

He’s disappointed and angry, certain yet uncertain if he should listen to her or not. It’s like if a rat found food under a street light. The food is out in the open but it leaves the rat questioning whether to head towards the food or not. While heading towards school, he walks past a TV store where a crowd of people were listening in on the news. In his head he hears them chant the words:

“Catch the Bloody Merchant”
“Catch the Bloody Merchant”
“Catch the Bloody Merchant”

Each time he hears that phrase, it grows louder causing him to rush past the TV store. The chanter creates an even bigger inner debate in his mind. He is even more puzzled than before. Suddenly, someone shouts, “Robert, wait up!”

He hears a voice behind him from a distance.

“Robert!”

“Mary?”

Mary, excited to see Robert, runs up to him holding a notebook in her hands. Mary and Robert are both high school students, both in sophomore year.

“Hey Robert! How was your weekend?”

“It was okay, I’ve just been trying to find stuff to do. I’m bored out of my mind at home.”

“Well you can always come over to my place if you want to read some of my poems. I really like sharing them with you..”

“I’ll think about it. How was your weekend though?”

“It was okay as well. You heard the news today? Something about a Bloody Merchant.”

“Yeah, I heard about it. You know I always do, but I’m surprised you listened to the news this time.”

“Well I wanted to understand why you’re so obsessed with watching the news. You always talk about it, so yeah.”

“Why though?”

“I don’t know, I just wanted to.”

Mary goes quiet for a moment, embarrassed by Robert questioning her.

“But uh, how are you feeling about the case?”

“I have this urge to try to catch the killer myself, but my Mom already yelled at me and I didn’t even say anything. I don’t know why my Mom is so overprotective of me. If I die then it’s my fault, not hers. She shouldn’t feel the need to protect me. Eventually there’s going to be a day where she isn’t here anymore, it could be today, tomorrow, a week from now, a month, any day, you know what I mean?”

Mary nods in agreement

“I don’t know though.”

Mary looks at Robert concerned, trying to come up with something to say without hurting him.

“If you decide to find the killer, then let me know so I could help you.”

“Why would you want to help?”

“I don’t know, I just want to.”

“You already said that.”

“Just let me be there for you, why is that so difficult to understand?”

Both Mary and Robert stay quiet after that. They continue walking until they finally make it to school. The school isn’t as depressing as other students claim it to be, the school is average with a good personality. What’s around the school however is what makes it depressing to be in. Abandoned buildings, drug addicts usually overdosed, full of garbage and human waste. The streets are filled with the unpleasant smell of cigarettes, and at least one fight occurs in every corner. They go inside the school, say their goodbyes, and go on with their day of school. Throughout every class period, the idea of capturing the killer and exposing his identity to the public is constantly on Robert’s mind. It leaves him questioning whether to follow his mother’s words or to potentially start his career at an early age. He later goes home, eats dinner, and goes to sleep, but the thought never leaves his mind. It’s always there, lingering constantly until he takes action.

*

May 26, 1954

Bloody Merchant, I could get used to that name.
It suits me accurately, I do have to say.
I’ve told you this once, I don’t like to repeat,
So I’ll tell you what you need,
What you need to know
About him.

John V. Louis
Date of Birth: June 3rd 1946
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Hazel
Height: 5’11
Weight: 254 lbs
Shoe Size: 10

I hope this helps, especially the shoe size.

*

Friday, May 28th, 1954. 7:30 AM Pacific Standard Time.

Good morning California, for today’s forecast, there was another report of a young man named John V. Louis, found murdered in another alleyway. His body was found completely dismembered,, with no organs and blood, completely clean. How the authorities were able to identify the man was with another note found stuffed inside the victim’s hollow eyes. “The Bloody Merchant” gave all the information about the young man, mocking him and authorities in the process. Once again, if anyone has anything to report revolving around “The Bloody Merchant” then please report it to the authorities. We can’t allow a cannibal to be living amongst us, so please, report it to authorities. That’s all for the morning news today, my name is Charles Davidson, brought to you live by NBC News, enjoy the rest of your day.

Time has passed since the first victim was reported, giving Robert enough time to really think his idea through. He believed he was okay with risking his life just for the sake of getting his name out, but this time he really had to think this through. He remembered what Mary offered to him, wondering if she meant it. He never really trusted anybody before, so giving Mary enough trust allowing her to go along with him made things seem more possible. He gets ready for school, packs his things, says goodbye to his mother with a hug, and leaves for school, only taking a notebook and some pencils. He walks through the same street as he normally would, finding random homeless guys begging for money. One of the homeless guys has a gun on him, so Robert takes the gun from him. On his way he spots Mary, and runs up to her.

“Mary! Over here!”

Mary, surprised to see Robert, looks behind her and waits for him to get to her

“Good morning Robert. Why are you running so fast?”

“Mary, I decided that I’m going through with the investigation. I remembered what you told me, I want your help. I know it might seem scary but I trust you enough to tag along with me. I don’t want to die, I thought I was okay with it, but I can’t die yet. I need you to help me with this.”

“This is the first time you invited me to anything.”

“I’m sorry”

“I’m not complaining, as long as we don’t get killed, then I’m down!”

“Thank you so much, meet me here by 4:00pm.”

“I will.”

After that, they walk to school together, go through their classes, and meet up again at the same spot, at the time they agreed on. Robert has brought the gun, notebook and pencil he took from home, while Mary has brought a camera her father gave her as a birthday present and pork organs. Robert noticed that the killer had left his victims inside of alleyways, and came up with a plan. The plan was to bait out the killer with the pork organs, trick him into believing someone killed themselves, so he’ll eat the organ while Robert writes down a description of the killer, and once there’s a chance the killer shows his face, that’s when Mary will take a picture, then they’ll shoot the killer in the leg and run. Everything is set, with Robert believing it’ll work. Night comes, the plan is set.

*

Sunday, May 30th, 1954. 7:30 AM Pacific Standard Time.

Good morning California, for today’s forecast, there were two victims found on the alley way. One was Robert Farley, another was Mary Beatriz. Both held items that seemed like they tried figuring out who the killer was. Even though I respect them for trying, don’t be like them. Stay away from the killer at all times. If you discover anything about the killer, report them to the authorities. Don’t go out on the street late at night. That’s all for the morning news today, my name is Charles Davidson, brought to you live by NBC News, enjoy the rest of your day.

***

(Featured image from Pexels, used under CC0)