The Quenching of a Serial Killer

[ERedBoyd]

Harold Hugh Holmes kept a tight grip on his large briefcase as he stepped out of the darkened alley of New Chicago onto the main streets back towards his business office. He had done it again. He could still feel the last desperate breath of his latest victim as he stared down at the flailing body he had pinned to the floor in her small little condo. God it had been such a fucking rush watching the life go out of her small little body.

HH Holmes smiled as he glanced up the main street seeing his building just up ahead. He turned in his high end business suit, dress shoes, and nice tie, he headed towards his job. He was a cosmetic surgeon of all things and he had developed quite the reputation of turning trash into... well... expensive looking trash in all honesty. He hated his job there was no doubt, but there was a LOT of money to be made in physical appearance so he did it for a living though it never made him happy.

Stopping at the news stand, he noticed the headlines of the New Chicago Times and picked it up. 'Chicago Ripper strikes again! City in shock as Central High School teacher Annette Williams found sliced up in ally behind the Red Ribbon club. Police have been hesitant to talk about crime but...."

HH Holmes just smiled, folded the paper up and slid it into his briefcase next to Annette Williams school badge and his knife kits, then headed up to his office.

"Hello Bob!" HH said as he passed through security.

Robert Thurman was the 70 year old security officer who was a front desk officer for the Conway Tower Complex. The dark skinned man looked up at him and smiled and wave, "Holmes! You looking good."

"Feeling good Bob! Feeling good!" He said as he turned and darted a few steps to the elevator that was about to close saying, "Hold the elevator please!"

A soft sheer delicate hand reached out and pressed on the doors and caused them to open up. As he stepped in, he looked down at saw her... With a grin he held out his hand and said, "Why... hello there, my name is HH. I haven't seen you around here before, may I have the pleasure of your name?"

 

[TraineeTatum18]

Tatum, my name is Tatum.

 

[princesssexci]

Cadence Astor combed her fingers through her red hair as she furiously pressed the button to hold the elevator open. “Don’r close, don’t close…” she begged the mechanical machine. She was already running late for her new job as the receptionist at some doctors office but that was okay.

Surely, the doctor would understand.

It was still trying to close though. She quickly moved her hand between the door to stop it though, hoping that it didnt crush her fingers in the process. If it did, well—-at least she’d be working for a cosmetic surgeon?

Wow, that was pretty dark of her wasn’t it?
Technically, she didn’t have the job yet either and well, she didn’t know if the opening still existed or even existed, period. Still, Cadence needed a job and would beg if she had to.

When the man stepped into the elevator she smiled.

“Ah, good morning!” She said brightly. “Going up? Do you know if the um…the cosmetic surgeons office is open yet?”

In her other hand, she held her resume in hand. “I know its a bit early but I’m hoping I can catch him…or her. I dont want to be sexist. The doctor could be a female though Im not sure many women want to cut into body parts to rearrange the body. Just the thought makes me a bit nauseated but…”

Fuck, she rambling. She did that when she was nervous. “Anyways…” her voice trailed off, not sure of what to say.

Oh, right. He’d asked her name hadn’t he?

“Sorry, its Cadence. Cadence Astor. I’m new in town.”

 

[ERedBoyd]

Hughes smiled as she stepped inside the elevator. His eyes locked on hers and gave a half a smile saying, "It's nice to meet you Cadence. My name is Doctor Hughes and I believe your appointment was meant for me."

He took her hand and shook it politely as his mind began to plot on ways he could erase her from history like he had his last 12 victims. It was instinct... almost a thought that he couldn't suppress even though he tried. He saw her face flush and he said, "My last secretary chose to go off and get pregnant of all things so she quit and decided to go raise a family now." He shrugged his shoulders a moment as if it had been a great failure in his life.

Truth was he had a direct part in Alice Goodens, his former secretary, decision to leave her job and go home. He worked in a complex that housed at least a half dozen plastic surgeons in it and each of them had a secretary of their own to track their work. He had heard Alice talking with the other ladies about this Ripper guy scaring her and how she had been thinking about remaining outside of the city, since it seemed the Ripper's territory was exclusively within New Chicago. She had followed through with her fears when the latest victim Robin Hamm had turned up naked, spread eagle, and dead in the middle of the Main Park no more than a half a mile from where they worked.

As the elevator doors opened, he walked out saying, "This is the floor in which we work, the doctor's names are on the wall over there. A half dozen clients all sat in the waiting room and all suffering from one commonality. Every one of them was already beautiful in their own rights, but wanted to improve something on themselves. Their lips, their tits, their ass, their thighs... it was always something... the arrogant vain narcissists the entire lot of them.

He pointed to the other 5 secretaries already at their places saying, "That is Liza, Anne, Tuscini, Brianna, and Amber. Ladies!" He gave his award winning smile to them and they all glanced up and smiled, some blushing others not. The main waiting area held a large front desk with several places for secretaries and assistants to work and process their clients. He said, "Behind that wall is medical processing, records, finance, and all the usual. My office is on the far left."

He spun to look at her and said, "You are the first interview of the day so you have the advantage of making a very good impression with me... but ... a hint... cutting up body parts to rearrange the body... is kind of what I do so maybe find a nicer way of describing it."

It was then at that moment it happened.... her eyes lifted to his and for the first time he got a really good look at her... she was absolutely stunning and there was ... something in those eyes. Something amazing! He felt a quiver in his gut that only came when one thing happened in his life. He knew... Cadence Aster was going to be the Ripper's next victim.

 

[princesssexci]

"It's nice to meet you Cadence. My name is Doctor Hughes and I believe your appointment was meant for me."

Well that was a shame wasn’t it? That meant he was her boss or would be her boss if she were hired. That meant dating was probably out of the question. Cadence gave Dr. Hughes a dazzling smile regardless.

“Oh. “ Cadence laughed nervously. “Well, its nice to meet you Dr. Hughes.”

“My last secretary chose to go off and get pregnant of all things so she quit and decided to go raise a family now.”

She followed him to the office. “Well everyone needs time for family. You must keep your secretaries incredibly busy for her to feel that way.”

Cadence was still silently reeling from
having ranted about working at a cosmetic surgeons office to the surgeon himself. Fuck.

“This is the floor in which we work, the doctor's names are on the wall over there. A half dozen clients all sat in the waiting room and all suffering from one commonality. Every one of them was already beautiful in their own rights, but wanted to improve something on themselves. Their lips, their tits, their ass, their thighs... it was always something... the arrogant vain narcissists the entire lot of them.”
Cadence tried to supress her giggle at his own ranting. “Well, you must do a great job since you seem to be pretty popular.”

"That is Liza, Anne, Tuscini, Brianna, and Amber. Ladies!"

She smiled at the other women. Already, Cady wasn’t going to lie to herself and say she had a shot with this guy. There were too many of the other women in the office smiling dreamily at him. No, she would just focus on the important task, getting the job.

That was why she was here. Cady waved at the women and the ones who were smiling at Dr. Hughes gave her dirty looks while the others waved.

Odd, she didn’t really see herself as a threat. After he explained where all the offices were, she blushed at his next set of words.

“You are the first interview of the day so you have the advantage of making a very good impression with me... but ... a hint... cutting up body parts to rearrange the body... is kind of what I do so maybe find a nicer way of describing it."
“Riiight, um…like I said earlier can we pretend I didn’t say any of that and start over? I never would have said anything if I’d known…” her voice trailed off,”Uh yeah fresh start, pretty please?”

Cady looked into his eyes and swallowed hard. It was almost hard to look away, she forced herself to and stepped back some. “Hi, Im Cadence your first interview for the job and your last. I’m cut throat like that.”

 

[ERedBoyd]

Doctor Holmes stopped at his door as they talked and he held his hand out once more for a handshake saying, "I am Doctor Holmes. I am your interviewer..." He gave her a warm smile and said, "Please. Come in."

He watched as she slipped into his large bookshelf lined office and gave a couple of glances back and forth to see if anyone else was watching, the slowly closed the doors behind him. His eyes almost immediately began at her feet and scanned up her body in the most subtle way possible. It was a habit he had developed over the course of his ... hobby after hours.

The reporters and detectives who were investigating the Ripper case hadn't come forward with any real leads or clues for the public. They were no doubt keeping a lid on it. The only connections they had found with these women were they were all attractive and middle class and whoever was doing this was choking their victims and surgically cutting them open like Jack the Ripper of the old days. They hadn't put together any of his other clues when it came to this so I wasn't terribly worried. There were about 45,000 doctors, dentists, and surgeons in this city.

He saw her turn to look at him and he smiled. So far she had fit the criteria. She was beautiful and middle class. Now... if she only met the others... she had to be single and detached... preferably living alone without any family. Family always made this so much more personal that it needed to be. Also, if she met him with those.... eyes... those needy longing eyes... that would seal the deal.

He said, "Have a seat. Would you like a cup of coffee or a water? Tea?"

 

[princesssexci]

"I am Doctor Holmes. I am your interviewer..." He gave her a warm smile and said, "Please. Come in."

The office itself was gorgeous, very well decorated. Clean. She glanced at the diplomas and awards hanging on his wall as most doctors had. Cadence turned to look at Doctor Holmes. “Doctor Holmes like….” She looked thoughtful and grinned, “Like Sherlock Holmes.”

Her puns were terrible, sad really.

"Have a seat. Would you like a cup of coffee or a water? Tea?"

At his question, she looked up and made eye contact with him; to show she was confident. She’d read in an article that if you kept your eyes lowered it showed lack of confidence. Cadence didn’t want to display that during an interview.

“No thank you. I actually brought my own.” She pulled a small water bottle out of her purse. “I am often very prepared. More prepared then I should be. Its one of my many talents…and downfalls.”

 

[ERedBoyd]

"I see." HHH said with a smile and gave her a respectful nod, "Very well." He set a electric kettle to boil and put a black tea bag into a clear tea cup and a single sugar. He then turned and said, "So, if you made it to this level interview, that means you have going through about 4 interviews already, told all the requirements and tasks, your credentials have been checked and approved to meet my needs, and all the perks of the job described. Should I hesitate a guess, you have interviewed with a snivelling wirey man HR interviewer named Marcus with a bunch of standard HR basic job requirements questions over the phone, then a much more confident red headed woman name Lucy Palmer who gave you your first real face to face and found you adequate to proceed forward, your third was a panel with 2 HR people and one of this floors secretaries named Helen Down who is oddly attracted to you though she would never admit it, and the final one was with a man who looked like a character out of BraveHeart, an Scottish man known as Lloyd who told you about this interview, the perks of the job and because he knows my particular needs the most of all those HR people."

By the time he was done talking, the water was boiling and he pulled it and poured it into his tea cup to let things seep. Putting the kettle back, he took his tea and walked to his desk and sat down looking up at her saying, "I do my homework too." The confidence he was trying to portray though... was only a cover to the butterflies he was feeling and he wasn't sure why. What was it about this woman?

He stirred his tea cup and said, "So this interview is your last stop to the job. The entire purpose of it is simply to see if I... like you."

HHH stopped stirring his tea and then stared into her perfect eyes. They were intoxicating eyes and his heart raced just a bit. He said nothing to her to the point there the silence grew a bit awkward and she shifted uncomfortably. He smiled at her first shift of uneasiness as if that was the sign he was looking forward and said, "So... make me... like you."

 

[princesssexci]

Cadence chewed on her lip. She actually hadn’t gone through any of that. She had actually just hoped the job was still open and was just going to drop off her resume. That had been the plan, at least.

“I…uh yep. Yea.I did all of that.” she lied then flashed a too bright and cheerful smile. Now, she had to make him like her? God, how was she supposed to do that?

Maybe she could get by with him just liking her enough to hire Cadence.

“Well, as I said I come very prepared.” Cadence puffed air into her cheeks making herself look like a blow fish, something that eventually if Dr. H did hire her would notice she’d do if she got super anxious or nervous.

“I am very efficient with keeping patient confidentiality. My friends have always told me Im way too good with keeping secrets.” She paused then added,”Whatever happens in your office stays in your office. You have a celebrity client? My lips are sealed. You could murder someone and I wouldn’t tell a soul.” she laughed at her incredibly dumb joke and then cleared her throat because she wasn’t sure if that joke landed well or not.

“I also have a very dark sense of humor as you can tell. So most of your days will either start or end with me telling a really bad dark dad joke.”

Oh god, she hoped she wasn’t fucking herself over.”And just to be clear, I was joking about the murder thing. That was just a good example of how well I can keep secrets.” She flashed another quick smile. God, she hated interviews.

 

[ERedBoyd]

Holmes chuckled with the murder thing as well. If she only knew just how close she had been with that particular example. He said, "I... would imagine murder is not on the menu so to speak. But it is good to know the lengths you would go to keep my ... secrets. We do have a variety of clients that come through here who prefer their confidentiality so knowing when to remain quiet is critical. It's one reason this job is open as it is."

He heard a chirp on his laptop and used it as an excuse to do something. He said, "Excuse me a moment please." He lifted the laptop and pulls up an app. He had installed a bluetooth sensor scanner into the very chair she had set in. This scanner allowed him to pull her DNA and run a full medical scan of her body as well as her history which quickly would transfer into a file that he would review later. It was 'illegal' tech yes. Gather information without consent, but, what he did off duty wasn't exactly legal either.

He quickly closed his laptop after sending the file to his home system off line and said, "A doc's day is never done." He leaned forward and studied her saying, "So... as I stated, all the official stuff has already been taken care of with getting to this level. Getting hear means you are green lighted so what it's my call who I hire. I like to know who I will be working with. Do you have... family, friends, kids?"

 

[princesssexci]

“I... would imagine murder is not on the menu so to speak. But it is good to know the lengths you would go to keep my ... secrets. We do have a variety of clients that come through here who prefer their confidentiality so knowing when to remain quiet is critical. It's one reason this job is open as it is."

Cadence nodded her head,”Well like I said, I wouldn’t say if a pin dropped!”

It went quiet for a minute and he glanced at his computer. She waited patiently as he checked his computer and got slightly nervous. Had he looked into whether she had dealt with the HR department and found out she hadn’t.

She shouldn’t have lied, she was a compulsive liar but it was probably the worst time to do that.

"A doc's day is never done." He leaned forward and studied her saying, "So... as I stated, all the official stuff has already been taken care of with getting to this level. Getting hear means you are green lighted so what it's my call who I hire. I like to know who I will be working with. Do you have... family, friends, kids?"

“My fiance and I are no longer together so I guess that makes him my ex fiance, doesn’t it? Both my parents died a year ago. I actually moved out here because my best friend is out here and I needed to get away from my ex fiance. “

She hoped she wasn’t talking too much about her persobal life but reminded herself that he had asked. It wss a very unconventional question but she was going to just trust the process.

“That being said since I just moved here I dont have much of a life yet so maybe you’ll be able to help with that?”

Okay, that came off too flirty for a job interview.

“You know, um…work wise.” Cadence laughed nervously.

 

[ERedBoyd]

Holmes smirked saying, "Well... perhaps... work wise."

He was used women kind of hitting on him so he let it roll over him like water over a duck's back. He had been blessed with good looks and always enjoyed the benefits of that and his fit and shapely body. It had certainly made his urge to find victims so much easier for him.

He felt that awkward silence creep up on him once more. He hated these kinds of awkward silences but as she looked back up at him once more, he cleared his throat and said, "Well... traditionally I am supposed to let you go on your way and let HR handle whatever decisions I make. It's supposed to add a level of separation for us to the dismissal process."

Holmes could see disappointment in her eyes at the word. She looked like a balloon that was quickly losing it's air. He stood up slowly and cleared his throat once more, before opening a cabinet drawer and pulling out a small set of office keys. He walked around the desk to look down at her, keys in hand and said, "But it also denies us the opportunity to look our new hire in the eyes when we offer them the position." He reached out and offered her the set of office keys.

10 minutes later after the excitement of the moment began to cool he just smiled at her and said, "I like you. I think we are going to do well together." How many hugs did she give him just a moment ago? 4... 7? Each hug validated one more thing too... her breasts felt amazing on his chest. But he was her boss now and couldn't think that way.

He then said, "If you will gather your things, we can go down to HR and I can let them know my decision right now and they can go ahead and finalize the paperwork for you. If you will come with me..."

He walked to the door and held it open for her. One thing he was for sure was chivalrous. Despite his ... urges... he loved being chivalrous. They walked out into the hallway and down to the elevator. It didn't take long for HR to be notified. He left her in their capable hands with orders to have her first day Wednesday, which would give her a day to prepare herself.

And... as expected... by the time he made it back to his office, he had gotten yet another nasty gram human resources about overriding their processes once again. He just smiled... and caught a faint whiff of her perfume she had tormented his nostrils with during the interview. yes... she would do just fine.

 

[princesssexci]

"Well... perhaps... work wise."

There was a moment of awkward silence between the two of them and Cadence brushed her fingers through her hair before smiling at the cosmetic surgeon when he cleared his throat.

"Well... traditionally I am supposed to let you go on your way and let HR handle whatever decisions I make. It's supposed to add a level of separation for us to the dismissal process."

Cadence’s smile fell and she looked instantly disappointed at that. She shouldn’t have though. This would give her time to unpack in her apartment.

Still, she didn’t really want to deal with HR or any questions they might have. Frankly, she thought she and doctor Holmes got along really well.

Cady hadn’t really picked up on what was happening until she stared at the office keys. She got the job???? She blinked still trying to make it register in her mind. Holy shit! She got the job!


Before Cady knew what was happening she had reached for the keys before running over and hugging him over and over and ovrr and over and over again.

She flushed and then backed away. “Sorry.” She muttered, she did tend to get carried away when she was excited about something. “I mean thank you very much!”

Then came more awkward silence.

Even though she hadn’t been hugging him anymore she could still feel the hard press of his body against hers and wondered…

No. No wondering. She didn’t need to fuck this up.

"I like you. I think we are going to do well together."

“Oh me too! Don’t worry, I will be the perfect secretary. I promise. The only response you will ever get from me is yes sir.” She frowned then added,”unless the answer requires a no.”

"If you will gather your things, we can go down to HR and I can let them know my decision right now and they can go ahead and finalize the paperwork for you. If you will come with me..."

Cadence did just that, following behind him. She wasnt sure how she was going to explain that she hadn’t gone through the usual protocols but as soon as Dr. Holmes left her there, she did complete the paperwork even if it took about an hour.

She would need to go buy some clothes though and made a note to do that. It wasn’t that she didn’t have office clothes, just not enough.

So that was what she did the next day, headed to the mall to buy clothes, maybe head to Target.

Heading into the shopping center, she started window shopping stopping in a few shops purchasing various blouses and skirts.

 

[ERedBoyd]

Holmes had tried to put Cadence out of his mind to be perfectly honest as he finished out his day and left the office late at night. The truth was, he had found his mind going back to another woman... Annette Williams, his pretty little school teacher who was showing up on all the news outlets as the Ripper's latest victim. Sitting down on the subway, he shoved his hand into his medical bag and wrapped his cold fingers around Annette's ID Card and that small little baggie which contained her ring and necklace.

Just feeling those two things in his hand calmed his mind, settled his soul, and relaxed his heart. Down deep inside, he knew this was wrong to it's very core. He knew something was broken inside him which made him feel the way he felt when he killed. It had discovered it for the first time purely by accident in truth. His own older sister Jasmine and him had been playing when they were children and she had stolen one of his action figures from him. In truth, Jasmine had always been kind of mean spirited in truth and on that particular day, she had taken one of his favorite toys, his old Optimus Prime toy. He had tried to get it back as she took it to the stream threatening to toss the toy in. He remembered it was a crisp October morning in the back woods of his parents property and he had begged and pleaded for her not to throw it in, but after his last ditch effort to stop her, she actually had thrown in the rather deep stream! He recalled for the first time that feral rage in him towards his sister as he picked up a big rock and threw it hard, catching her upside the head with it and causing her to fall into the stream as well. He didn't recall much of the few minutes to follow though, of him turning her face down in the water and pushing her head completely under. He could vaguely remember her arms and legs flailing, bubbles exploding to the surface as she tried to scream out, and the slowing down at her arms and legs till she lay still. Of course, he was horrified about what he had done and at the same time, infinitely relieved that his torturous sister was no longer going to ever bother him again. He recalled letting her body float down the stream where the police recovered it about 20 miles down the way. The autopsy concluded she had fallen in the stream recieving head trauma and ruled her drowning an accident. He had gotten away with his first murder.

A crude voice snapped him back to reality, "Yo! Ol'Timer! What's in the case?"

Holmes eyes lifted, his hand released from the items in his case and he looked up to see 5 young black men of about 16 years of age. They wore the usual baggy pants and sports shirts, overpriced sneakers and rings and necklaces made of fool's gold. He quickly spotted two of then had pistols tucked in this saggy pants. Holmes just rolled his eyes and looked back down at the novel he held in his hand said, "Leave me alone please."

"Yo! Cracker! You deaf?! I say, what's in the case!?" The first boy said. The others laughed and scoffed while he fingered the grip of his gun. He stepped a little closer saying, "I is talkin to you fuck stick!"

"Fuck Stick? That is a new one. I guess with such a poor education as you clearly have sustained growing up, I should expect you to be able to talk of a neanderthal." Holmes said as he remained still and kept his eyes on his book, "Run along now and play with someone else before you regret it."

"What da'fuk you say?!" The guy said gripping the pistol and yanking it out of his pants to aim at him. That is when Holmes struck! The moment the pistol was being turned and aimed at him, he threw the book he had directly at the other pistol holder catching him square in the throat sending him flying away in silent screams of pain! The leader of this pack turned to see what was happening and Holmes did a simple wrist lock to wrench the gun from his hand and coldcocked him hard to the head, sending him to the ground. Holmes then quickly grabbed his fro and pulled his head back to Holmes where he pressed the gun to his temple just as the others pulled weapons of their own to aim at him!

Holmes simply said, "We are coming to a stop as you can tell by the subway slowing, you will tell your boys to get off on the next stop or I will put a bullet through your temple..."

"AIGHT!!! STOPSTOPSTOP!!!" The leader of the crew screamed out putting his hands out in front of them and screamed to his crew, "GET OFF!! GET OFF NOW!"

As the train picked up speed after the next stop, Holmes had not let up at all with the gun to the temple. His crew and backup was gone at the last stop and Holmes leaned down at said, "Listen to me carefully. You and I are going to take a little walk at the next stop. You are going to help me with a little problem... " It was risky and foolhardy to have his itch scratched so soon between but it was an itch he needed scratched.

WEDNESDAY Morning

"Did I hear right, HHH?!?! Word is you got mugged?!" Dr. Devon Walden said to Holmes as he leaned on Holme's office door, his ankles and arms crossed casually.

"Mugged? No. Not mugged. They attempted to mug me yeah, but I took care of it and sent them packing." Holmes said as he noted Cadence walking to the door... He felt something strange inside him when he saw her too... he felt... his itch being scratched once more for a third time... and she was still alive and looking at him as it happened. It struck him as very odd... but he found he liked it. He would have to kill her next... most likely.

 

[princesssexci]

The next few days had been a success for Cadence, she had managed to get all the clothes she needed. They were all cute yet professional outfits, some were tight form fitting skirt suits while others were dresses.

She had even managed to buy some new shoes as well, cute heels to match each outfit she had. Honestly, Cady had been surprised that she had managed to get the job.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t qualified, no she was more than qualified.

Cadence had her own secrets. She was an undercover cop and because many of the victims from murders had been happening so frequently, she had been given this case. She was sure it was because she was pretty and it would lure the murderer out.

She was not put on this case because of her talent. Everything she had told Dr. Holmes had been true. She did just move in this city, transferred to take on the case. The main similarities with all of the victims was that they had been patients of Doctor Holmes so everyone at the precinct made the assumption that he had something to do with it or that it was someone else that worked in the office.

Cady just thought it was a coincidence.

That Wednesday morning, Cadence walked into the office wearing a jungle green suit with a black silk blouse underneath her suit jacket. The blouse didn’t hug her tightly but if she bent down some of her cleavage would show.

Cady smiled at Dr. Holmes. “Good morning!” She held up the two cups of coffee that she’d purchased from Starbucks. “I brought a thank you gift. Sorry, I didn’t know what kind of coffee to get you so I got you just black and asked for some creamer and sugar just in case.” She gave a bashful smile.

 

[ERedBoyd]

HH Holmes stared at Cady with a most curious look as she held the coffee out for him and said, "You... bought me... coffee?"

Seeing the awkwardness that was starting to grow on her face, he quickly reached out for the cup, but caught not only the cup by the hand as well. He hesitated a moment and then gently pulled the cup away from her saying, "I... I mean, thank you."

"Who is this?" Dr. Walden said as he let his eyes move quickly up and down the new arrival with a friendly grin on his face.

"My apologies Devon... this is Cadence Astor, my new secretary." HH said as he glanced from her hand to his face.

Devon's eyes shifted slightly towards his friend and his head cocked a moment, before shifting to Cadence saying, "My name is Doctor Devon Walden. It is a pleasure to get to meet you. Hope you know what you are getting into with this guy. He is quite a handful to work with."

"Anyways... that's enough for now..." He said calmly as he caught her arm with his hand and said, "Let me show you the job... See you later Dev..."

Devon only chuckled and said, "Right... see you H." He chuckled knowingly to himself and then turned and walked away. He walked off holding his clipboard as he prepared for his first client of the day.

HH sipped on the coffee, he liked it black, and said, "This is your desk. This is your computer system. HR gave you your access to the system I am assuming right? Of course they did. So go ahead and log in and check my schedule for...."

"HH?" A woman said walking to the two of them saying, "Who is this?"

"Can't you see... I am training doc?" HH said calmly as he turned and gave a rolling eyes towards her.

"I can see that but what I can't see is why I don't have a file on the new secretary...." She said calmly and turned her eyes towards the new woman saying, "I am Doctor Lisa Gideon, Dean of Medicine of this facility. Clearly, we haven't had a chance to meet yet..."

"I was getting around to it. Do you really have to make a scene now... trying to working with my new hire..." He said.

"She isn't a new hire till I sign off and I haven't signed off yet." She retorted back to him.

For a moment, that itch grew in Holmes again to do something nasty to Lisa but stamped it down. She was safe so far as he was concerned. He didn't need the attention on the facility of him. He sighed heavily and rolled his eyes and said, "Fine.. you win boss... Cady... go with...."

"Cady?!" Lisa said with disbelief, "You are already on a first name basis with her?"

HH sighed again and said, "Miss Astro... please go with Doctor Lisa Gideon, Dean of Medicine..." He saw Lisa's irritation grow in the mocking way he spoke to her and added, "Figured I would keep my formalities with you boss.... oops... Dean of Medicine."

Lisa just rolled her eyes once more and looked to Cadence and said, "Come with me please. We need to talk." She turned and walked away with every expectation of being followed.

 

[princesssexci]

"You... bought me... coffee?"

Cady blinked a few times still holding out the coffee. “Yes, was I…should I not have done that? You’re not allergic to caffeine are you? I just thought that you might like it…” Her voice trailed off.

Stupid, stupid, stupi—

Maybe not? Since he took the cup from her.

There was a bit of awkward silence between them.

, "I... I mean, thank you."

Cady brightened,”You’re welcome!”

Why did she feel so flustered by him simply thanking her. He was definitely enigmatic. Cady was not a dumb girl, in fact she was far from it.


She was good at playing that though.

“My apologies Devon... this is Cadence Astor, my new secretary."

This brought Cady back to the present. “Hello. Its a pleasure to meet you.”

"My name is Doctor Devon Walden. It is a pleasure to get to meet you. Hope you know what you are getting into with this guy. He is quite a handful to work with."

“A handful?” Cady glanced between the two men curiously.

Before she could get a full explanation Dr. Hh was already pulling her to their workspace. She glanced around as he showed her where everything was pausing only when a woman stopped in front of them.

"This is your desk. This is your computer system. HR gave you your access to the system I am assuming right? Of course they did. So go ahead and log in and check my schedule for...."

Cady moved to sit down but was stopped by a woman. She feigned innocence and tilted her head curiously as both Hh and the dean of medicine went back and forth.

Had the woman caught on that she wasn’t who she said she was? Fuck.

“Miss Astro... please go with Doctor Lisa Gideon, Dean of Medicine..." He saw Lisa's irritation grow in the mocking way he spoke to her and added, "Figured I would keep my formalities with you boss.... oops... Dean of Medicine."

“Yes sir.” She said to Dr. Hh and followed the dean to her office.

Clearing her throat, she sat down. “Im sorrt, I know this is all going really fast but Im a great worker.”

Cady couldn’t fuck this up. While she didn’t think Doc HH was guilty of any sort of murder she also didn’t want to get fired from her actual job.

“Im a really quick typist, Im super bubbly. People love me.” Cady insisted then stopped talking in hopes that this woman was smart and wouldn’t fire her.

 

[ERedBoyd]

~~~~ Doctor Harold Holmes ~~~~

Holmes was a mix of feelings upon seeing the two women in his life walking away from him. Doctor Lisa Gideon had been his third dean of medicine that had come through the system since he had been hired on. The previous two, a Doctor Max Horton and Doctor Judas Himlin had both held the office of Dean of Medicine prior. Max had been the one to hire him due to his medical intuitiveness and had considered Holmes a genius in his practice despite clashing with some of Holmes own personality clicks. However, Max walked away from his post to take another role in another hospital. He never said it outright, but it was clear Max never liked Holmes.

Judas had been much more to Holme's liking though Judas had never liked him at all. The arrogant condescending fool quickly grew to not trust Holmes outside of office hours and tried on several occasions to fire the doctor though Holmes had made a dance out of getting away from each firing. It had almost been a personal challenge to see how close Holmes could get to being fired and then getting away with his actions. Ultimately, Judas had died of a heart attack while in his own office... ironically in the middle of an argument that had gotten ugly. Holmes had been questioned about the man's death but ultimately Judas death had been ruled a heart attack. Holmes had been able to hide his own role in the untimely demise. Of course, that had nearly gotten Holmes fired too but skated through it as well.

There was no secret the doctor was a relatively thin ice with the board, but he also was able to bring in the biggest and most famous clients to do work on themselves... he had become legendary in his medical skills. So when Lisa came into his life, he at first considered her a possible target, but quickly ruled it out as it would bring too much heat onto him having two bosses in a row dead. He opted a different path with her... he opted to play nice with her though not so much she could relax around him. Lisa was hired from within from the pool of doctors already at the hospital from the cardio-ward and was a highly talented and skilled doctor all on her own. She had been warned by the board about Holmes and he kept her dancing to his tune usually. So he smiled at her when Lisa glanced back one last time as they turned the corner for the elevator.

The woman who really had his attention through walked next to her. Cadence had his full attention and had since she walked through the doors for the job. He didn't know what it was about her, but he felt like he needed to be closer to her... get to know her... be with her. What REALLY twisted his stomach through was unlike all the other women he had felt that way about, such as his precious school teacher Annette, he didn't want to feel Cadence die in his hands. He ... well.. he wanted his hands on her yes... but not to hurt her. He ... wanted something.... different. And when she glanced back at him as the two entered the elevator, he felt butterflies in his stomach.

~~~~ Dr Lisa Gideon ~~~~

LIsa locked the door behind the two of them after they got into the office and pointed to a chair in front of her desk saying, "Please... have a seat. Water?"

She didn't really pay heed to her answer as she walked to the mini-fridge and pulled two bottles out and offered Cadence one before walking back around to her seat. Her entire persona seemed nervous... nearly afraid. She took a seat and set the personnel file down in front of her a moment. She twisted the bottle off the water and then took a few long slow drinks, mostly to have a moment to clear her thoughts. She had a love hate relationship with Doctor Holmes. On one hand, there was no doubt the man had connections everywhere and always managed to find ways to bring glory and fame and money to the hospital. His professional reputation was nearly spotless and he was one of the best in the business. The hospital board deemed Doctor Holmes as one of their primary and greatest assets to the company and it would take him doing something like murder for them to even consider removing him from the hospital.

On the flip side, Doctor Holmes was flippant, insolent, rude, and disrespectful all rolled into one. If it didn't involve working with his clients, he didn't take anything seriously. The board had even made allusions towards the idea that Holmes had been involved in Judas' demise as well. Of course nothing could be proven so nothing could be done about it. Regardless, Lisa had been offered personal security as part of her role but she had opted against that. Now... there was this issue with the new secretary....

She put the bottle of water down and looked at her and said, "I don't like this... I don't like this one bit."

Seeing the confusion on her face, she rolled her eyes and said, "Don't play dumb with me agent." She spoke a little louder. "You can come on out."

FBI Task Force Commander Mark Guerrero opened the bathroom connected inside the main office of the dean in his grey suit and tie. His eyes locked on Cady and said, "Hello Officer Astor."

Before words could be said, Lisa stood up and said, "You realize what a risk this is, don't you? I don't like this!"

"We understand your concern.... we really do." Mark said to Lisa as if repeating himself for the 10th time... he said, "As I told you, we are nearly 100% certain the Ripper works for you somewhere. We don't know who, but we have ruled out all other hospitals and clinics in the area. Yours employs the most doctors in the area and ultimately has the highest percentage of being employed here."

"How do you know he is a doctor?!?! That is what I am saying? Anyone with access to Youtube and Netflix can figure out how to do what the Ripper is doing!" She said.

Mark faced her and said, "I know you are afraid. We understand that. We have agents throughout the entire building, we have tapped into your internal security systems, running background checks on everyone, and we are going through an ruling out as many potential suspects as we can. But that is going to take time as you employ so many doctors and medical experts. In the meantime, Officer Astor here is going to be our bait in hopes of catching the killer. She is single, beautiful, fits all the characteristics of all the other victims. She is well versed in defense and one of our best officers we got. So please, you need to be patient while we work. If the killer gets spooked off, we could lose them."

Lisa paced back and forth nervously as she glanced to Cady and back to Mark, "Why didn't you tell me board then?"

"They are all doctors... hence... suspects." The task force commander said.

"And me?" Lisa said.

"We ruled you out. When Ruth was killed, you were confirmed on a flight to Dallas. In addition, during the murder of Melanie Franks, you were at a conference downtown giving your speech and highly visible. Your alibi's checked out. It isn't you. You are the only one we can trust here but you have to work with our officer here and as soon as we can figure out which of these doctors it is... we will pick them up and get out of your hair."

Lisa turned and walked towards the large plate window that gave her a sensational view of the city. She put a knuckle in her mouth to chew on scared about of her mind. The Ripper killer could work here? She nearly wanted to soil herself at the thought. It terrified her.... and she wasn't sure she had the strength to help...

Mark watched Lisa retreat and stare out of the window. It was evident she was terrified of what was happening and the enormous responsibilities being forced upon her. He walked over to Cady and spoke softly, "I am sorry I didn't announce myself beforehand. Listen... see what you can do with her. She looks terrified."

 

[princesssexci]

Cadence glanced behind her as she followed Lisa. The way that Dr. H looked at her made her wonder what he was like outside of working. Though, she hadnt known him all that well yet; that first meeting between them once again made her wish she wasnt on thus stupid case.

She had told her superiors that she didn’t think the serial killer was anyone in this office. It was too easy. Murders didn’t always happen under your nose.

Usually it was the person you expected the killer to be. Why would any docyor risk their license?

"Please... have a seat. Water?"

Cadence blinked a few times and shook her head no. She felt a bit nervous. If this woman was the HR for this place and had figured out she wasn’t who she said she was…

"I don't like this... I don't like this one bit."

“Im sorry what…what are you talking about?” Cadence asked. She was confused now. What did this woman mean?

"Don't play dumb with me agent." She spoke a little louder. "You can come on out."

Cadence’s eyes widened as the FBI commander stepped out from behind the shadows. ,”Commander Guerrero.” She said as she sat up a bit straighter more to show she was taking this under cover mission seriously.

“You realize what a risk this is, don't you? I don't like this!"

Officer Astor couldn’t get a word in past her greeting to the commander. So this woman knew who she was, that took the surprise out of everything didn’t it?

"We understand your concern.... we really do." Mark said to Lisa as if repeating himself for the 10th time... he said, "As I told you, we are nearly 100% certain the Ripper works for you somewhere. We don't know who, but we have ruled out all other hospitals and clinics in the area. Yours employs the most doctors in the area and ultimately has the highest percentage of being employed here."

She watched the two fight back and forth about the probability of someone in this office being the serial killer. The unique thing about most of the victims was that they had some sort of cosmetic surgery done.

“I know you are afraid. We understand that. We have agents throughout the entire building, we have tapped into your internal security systems, running background checks on everyone, and we are going through an ruling out as many potential suspects as we can. But that is going to take time as you employ so many doctors and medical experts. In the meantime, Officer Astor here is going to be our bait in hopes of catching the killer. She is single, beautiful, fits all the characteristics of all the other victims. She is well versed in defense and one of our best officers we got. So please, you need to be patient while we work. If the killer gets spooked off, we could lose them."

She gave whatever her name was a reassuring smile. Was it Lisa or Linda? Fuck, she couldn’t remember.

, "Why didn't you tell me board then?"

"They are all doctors... hence... suspects." The task force commander said.

Cadence sat there quietly listening until the conversation was over and waited until Lisa walked to the window.

“I wasn’t expecting you, at all.” Cady said.

It was always unnerving when officers and FBI worked together. Sometimes it felt like they were breathing down the police department’s back, overseeing everything was going according to their plan as opposed to the police department,

"I am sorry I didn't announce myself beforehand. Listen... see what you can do with her. She looks terrified."

“I will make sure she looks as if she just drilled me with questions.” She said softly.

Cady pushed herself up off the chair and walked over to Lisa.”There is no need to worry. Im pretty good at what I do. Obviously, Im playing the dumb naive receptionist. As long as you don’t panic no one will think anything is wrong. If the killer works here we dont want to make anything seem out of the ordinary. We just want to make sure all our i’s are dotted and t’s crossed. Once we are able to prove everyone is safe we will be gone and everything can go back to normal.” Cady gave Lisa a friendly smile.

 

[ERedBoyd]

Lisa wouldn't lie... there was a killer in her building... one of his staff. It could be anyone.... literally anyone. She rode the elevator up this morning with Doctor Marshall from Obstetrics.... could he have been the killer? She had gotten a cup of coffee and two of her doctors were there talking among themselves, Doctor Reynolds and Doctor Steele. Both had smiled and greeted her but could one of them been the killer?

She studied Cady a moment and said, "You.... God I think I might hurl." She spun and grabbed her waste basket and then hesitated as the basket was one of those holey baskets rather than a solid wall one. Stupid idea that was.... she set the basket down and took some long deep breaths.

She felt Cady's hand on her shoulder and she raised a hand indicating she was going to be okay. Mark turned and said, "Listen I know there is a lot to take in here and I respect your nervousness about it, but the faster we can rule these people out, the better. Can you give me some names of doctors you think we can quickly rule out? Any doctors you might suspect?"

Lisa turned and sat down on the edge of her desk, for no other reason than to keep her legs from causing her to crumble. This was a LOT to bear. She had a gun... she should start bringing her gun... yes.... she will be armed till this is done. She looked to Mark and said, "I... have interviewed each of them and done a thorough background check on each. HR runs a program searching out all online references to them as well and if anything suspicious comes up at all... it is flagged and shown to me. Usually, I can get a pretty good gauge on my people through their flags."

"We are going to need access to those files." He said looking to Cady, "Who are you assigned too?"

"Doctor Holmes." Lisa said and then her eyes went wide, "He could be the killer too...."

Mark turned to look at Lisa, "What makes you say that?"

Lisa's mind raced and said, "Any of them could. I am sorry Officer, I am just... scared."

Dismissing the statement as an reaction to fear, he said, "Lisa, we are going to need you to maintain things as a close to normal as you can. If the killer picks up on the investigation, he or she may bolt."

"She? You ... you think the killer could be a she?" SHe asked in surprise, only filtering male doctors as suspects in her mind.

"We aren't ruling anyone out. Maintain your schedule, keep calm, we are going to wire you up as well if that is okay when you leave." He offers her an exact duplicate of a fountain pin that she wears in her breast pocket of her coat and said, "Click here and it activates a camera. Click it again and it shuts off. Keep the clip facing front. Like those body cams that cops wear."

She replaced it and then looked to Cady, "Well... um... I guess you are hired...." She picked up the personnel forms and signed off on her approval. She said, "You... can ... go..." She spoke softer because she didn't want to be alone with the officer in the room or to endanger another woman by sending her out, "Please... be careful...."

 

[princesssexci]

Again, Cady listened quietly though she stared at Lisa sympathetically. She couldn’t imagine being concerned if a co worker or superior was a killer. Some of her assignments were especially concerning though. How many times had she gone out into the field and thought ‘Damn, Im so glad that isn’t me.’

This was one of those times. She came back to the conversation at hand missing only a part of the full statement Lisa had given.

“….. Usually, I can get a pretty good gauge on my people their flags."

"We are going to need access to those files." Mark said looking to Cady, "Who are you assigned to?"

Cady opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by Lisa and her eyes narrowed. She could answer for herself!

"Doctor Holmes." Lisa said and then her eyes went wide, "He could be the killer too...."

“Well, thats a bit presumptuous.” She muttered. From what she saw with Dr. Holmes, he seemed go professional amd put together.

Mark turned to look at Lisa, "What makes you say that?"

Lisa's mind raced and said, "Any of them could. I am sorry Officer, I am just... scared."

"Lisa, we are going to need you to maintain things as a close to normal as you can. If the killer picks up on the investigation, he or she may bolt."

"She? You ... you think the killer could be a she?" She asked in surprise, only filtering male doctors as suspects in her mind.

Lisa could have easily been the killer trying to throw them off. No, that was too easy. She smiled at Lisa as the HR woman waved her off and told her to be careful.

“Don’t worry, I live for these sorts of jobs.” Though she wouldn’t worry the woman by letting her know that she had a bad habit of getting too into character at times.

In fact, her last undercover job she almost fell into the trap of getting addicted to some high level drugs.

She hadn’t because thankfully she had a good partner at the time but it was close enough.

Cady almost hadn’t been put on this case. This would be easy though, there were no gangs involved in this crime no slipping undercover as a stripper.

Just finding the killer and arresting him or her.

“I will keep you updated.” She told Mark before walking out of the office and back to Dr. Holmes section of the building.

“She had me worried.” Cady said mildly once she peeked in his office. “For a minute I thought she was going to let me go after the first 20 minutes here. Im back though and ready for training.”

 

[ERedBoyd]

Doctor Holmes smiled and waved her into his office saying, "It was a bit... unusual for her to intercede like that. She and I have a ... well... a turbulent relationship at times..... I keep her life ... interesting."

He said, "So essentially, you are going to join the secretarial pool of sorts... primarily handling all my appointments as well as helping the others who will help you when you are being overworked. It's a team effort... But I think you are going to do very well!"

He walked around his desk and headed to her, taking her hand and kissed the top of it. It was out of place, but there was something about her that he just found... delicious.... not as much as the high school teacher Annette from the other day, but something almost as delicious. He said, "Let's get you started on your tasks."
Harold walked towards the office and to the pool where he introduced her to the ladies for which there were 6 of them. Annie, Bethany, Cindy, Daphne, Elaine, and Vicki all stood up and greeted the new arrival and said, "You will work here part of the day, these fine ladies will show you the ropes. Pretty straight forward. I will call on you from time to time to help me out with things...."

He returned to his office and his day. He had three procedures to work through that day and he spent most of it lost in his surgical practice not really giving anyone else much thought....

It wasn't until 4PM when he made it back to the office and found her, not at the pool, but her own desk on the phone. He waved at her and walked into his office clearly exhausted. Surgery always exhausted him.... but then again, so did killing. He walked to the electric tea kettle, poured some hot water into a two glasses of chamomile tea and then walked back to her desk and offered her one as he leaned on the corner of the desk and sipped on his. As she finished her call, he smiled and said, "Well... how was... the first day?"

 

[TeXXXintheCity]

Harold Hugh Holmes kept a tight grip on his large briefcase as he stepped out of the darkened alley of New Chicago onto the main streets back towards his business office. He had done it again. He could still feel the last desperate breath of his latest victim as he stared down at the flailing body he had pinned to the floor in her small little condo. God it had been such a fucking rush watching the life go out of her small little body.

HH Holmes smiled as he glanced up the main street seeing his building just up ahead. He turned in his high end business suit, dress shoes, and nice tie, he headed towards his job. He was a cosmetic surgeon of all things and he had developed quite the reputation of turning trash into... well... expensive looking trash in all honesty. He hated his job there was no doubt, but there was a LOT of money to be made in physical appearance so he did it for a living though it never made him happy.

Stopping at the news stand, he noticed the headlines of the New Chicago Times and picked it up. 'Chicago Ripper strikes again! City in shock as Central High School teacher Annette Williams found sliced up in ally behind the Red Ribbon club. Police have been hesitant to talk about crime but...."

HH Holmes just smiled, folded the paper up and slid it into his briefcase next to Annette Williams school badge and his knife kits, then headed up to his office.

"Hello Bob!" HH said as he passed through security.

Robert Thurman was the 70 year old security officer who was a front desk officer for the Conway Tower Complex. The dark skinned man looked up at him and smiled and wave, "Holmes! You looking good."

"Feeling good Bob! Feeling good!" He said as he turned and darted a few steps to the elevator that was about to close saying, "Hold the elevator please!"

A soft sheer delicate hand reached out and pressed on the doors and caused them to open up. As he stepped in, he looked down at saw her... With a grin he held out his hand and said, "Why... hello there, my name is HH. I haven't seen you around here before, may I have the pleasure of your name?"

She looked up at him and said nothing. Just stared. He had never seen dark, hollow eyes on a someone so gentle. He froze on them for a second and looked deep into nothing. Nothing at all.