Mirror Man

Red and blue lights flittered around the neighborhood. Jen Lenton sat on the porch crying while an officer strung the yellow tape around the yard, warning everyone that her mother's house was now a crime scene.


Detective Rawlins offered her a tissue and took a seat beside her on the step. "Ms. Lenton, I know this isn't the best time, but we need a statement tonight, while the events are still fresh in your mind. We need to take you to the station."


She rose up from the steps. "Okay, I'll do whatever it takes to catch the creep."


Detective Rawlins pushed himself up and held Jen's arm as he escorted her to the car. As they pulled away from the house, Jen gazed at the terrified faces of the neighbors who congregated behind the police tape.


When they arrived at the station, Jen was put into a small room with a table, three chairs, and a microphone on the table. On the wall in front of her, a square of one-way glass and a camera in the corner above the door.


Detective Rawlins came through the door with a notepad. He took a seat, reached over and pushed the record button on the recorder. "Ms. Lenton, our conversation is going to be recorded."


"Fine, I just want to get..." Her hands shook as she wiped her nose. "I just want to get this over with."


"Why were you staying at your mother's house?"


"She was sick. I wanted to keep an eye on her."


"Can you tell me what took place? Start with what time you went to bed, and what woke you."


Jen breathed deeply. "We went to bed around ten. Mom had a headache, so she took a couple of Tylenol before turning in. I got her a glass of juice and turned in."


"Where were you sleeping?"


"The couch. I only remember hearing my mother scream my name, then details are fuzzy, but when I went into her bedroom I saw his reflection in the mirror. He, he was strangling her with the telephone cord. I, I ran to the kitchen to get a knife, but when I got back to the room he was gone."


"Did you know how long you were asleep?"


"I'm not sure. Behind him, in the mirror, the hands on my mother's wall clock glowed in the dark, but the second hand wasn't moving. It was almost as if time had stopped."


"That's understandable considering your situation. You say you saw his reflection, did he see you?"


Jen wrung her tissue in her hands. "He stared right at me, almost as if he could see through me."


"Can you describe him?"


"All I can picture is the wild look in his eyes."


"Do you know of anyone who might want to harm your mother? Any enemies?"


"No, no... everyone loved her."


"There was no sign of forced entry to the house. Do you know how someone might have gotten in?"


"No, I'm almost positive I locked the doors before going to bed." Tears began to slide down her cheeks. "It's my fault, isn't it? I forgot to lock the door or something, didn't I?"


Detective Rawlins turned off the recorder. "Ms. Lenton, none of this is your fault." He got up and sat on the edge of the table beside her. "Is there a friend or family member you can stay with tonight, and if I need to talk to you, I'll call you tomorrow."




"Yeah, my friend Amy."


"I'll have someone take you."




Officer Denton drove Jen to Amy's apartment. She thanked him and went up to her door and rang the doorbell.


Amy opened the door and wrapped her arms around Jen. "I heard what happened on the news."


"Is it all right for me to stay here?"


"Of course, come on in."


Jen waved to Denton and went inside. "So, it's all over the news, huh?"


"Yeah, I tried to call you, but then I realized how stupid that was because you'd be at the police station."


Jen didn't speak, she sat and stared at the news report.


"I'll get you a blanket and pillow. I know it'll be hard, but you do need some rest."


"I know."


"Well, it's almost three, so I going to turn in. If you need anything at all, come wake me." Amy kissed Jen top of the head.


Jen lay on the sofa for hours before finally drifting off to sleep.

***

The next morning, Jen woke up realizing her nightmare was real, and the event from the night before really happened.


"Hey, did you get some sleep?" Amy asked. She handed Jen some coffee.


"Yeah, a little." She blew on her coffee and took a sip. "I need to go make arrangements for my mom today."


Amy sat beside Jen and rubbed her back. "Did you need me to go with you? I can call into work."


"No. I'll be okay. I don't want to get into trouble with your boss."


Amy grabbed her purse and keys. "Okay then, I'll see after work, won't I? You were planning to stay tonight, right?"


Jen nodded. "Yes, thank you."


Jen visited the funeral home to make arrangements for her mother. The reality of what happened still seemed surreal. How could someone murder her mother? It just didn't make sense.


That afternoon she met up with Amy, so they could have dinner and go back to her place.


"Amy, thank you for letting me stay another night. I'm so scared to be alone."


Amy gave Jen a hug. "No problem. What are besties for?"

The two watched movies for a few hours before Amy was ready to turn in. "I'm turning in," she yawned, "or I'll never get up for work in the morning."


"That's fine. I'll probably just watch television until I doze off, if that's okay."
"Sure, Jen, and if you need anything come wake me up, okay? Anything at all."


"Okay," Jen smiled.


Later that night, Jen awoke to a shrill scream. Opening her eyes, she realized she was standing in Amy's room. Amy lay on her bed with blood pooled around her head. Jen spun around, frantically running for the phone. She called for help.


The police arrived, taping off Amy's apartment just as they had done to her mother's house.


Jen sat in a police car, watching her friend's body being brought out covered with a sheet.


"Please, someone tell me this is a nightmare. I can't believe this has happening again."


Detective Rawlins peeked in through the car window. "Looks like the same situation. The clocks were all turned off. We've lifted some prints off the clocks and the murder weapon. It was a hammer from her utility closet."


"Oh my God, I can't believe this is happening."


"I know you said your mother had no enemies, but what about you? Can you think of anyone who might want to hurt the people you love?"


"No, I...I have no clue."Jen looked up. "Why not me? Why doesn't he just kill me instead?"


"We're going back down to the station. I hate to do this, but you were at both the crime scenes, so we have to ask you some more questions. Also, I'd like to take your fingerprints."


"Okay, I'll do whatever you need, if it will help."


Jen spent hours in a small interrogation room before Rawlins came in to speak with her.


He sat down on the opposite side of the table. "Jen, the only fingerprints we found were yours and Amy's. Your fingerprints were on the clocks and the hammer. Do you have an explanation?"


"No, I don't know. I did have the hammer in my hand. I think he must have dropped it, and I picked it up when I was on my way into Amy's room."


"Where was the hammer?"


"I'm not sure. I just remember holding it in my hands as I ran to her room."


"We'll you've had a traumatic couple of days, you're under tremendous stress, and you've been here for a long time. I think what we'll do is send you home to rest. I'll have an officer outside your apartment building for protection. You come back tomorrow morning, okay?"


Jen nodded.



Officer Denton drove Jen to her apartment. He went inside with her to make sure it was safe. "Detective Rawlins wanted me to give you his card. His cell number is on the back. He said to call if you have any more information, or if you need anything at all. Remember, I will be right across the street keeping an eye on things."




"Thank you." Jen laid the card on the coffee table and locked the door after Officer Denton left. An eerie feeling swept over her, so she went to every window and made sure they were locked as well. She turned on the television, but every channel was talking about her mother's murder.


A forty-five-year-old woman was murdered in her home two nights ago. Details of the murder are not being released, but we do know that her twenty-five-year-old daughter was unharmed and questioned by police. Last night, the murder of young lady in the same town also has police baffled. The police are now looking for a killer the daughter saw in a mirror. Could a serial killer be on the loose in the area? The police say maybe.


Jen switched channels.




If you have information about the killer, the police are now calling the Mirror Man, please call...


Jen turned to another station. Old Three's Company reruns were on. She lay her head on the arm of the couch, but she couldn't relax. She kept going over the night's events in her head. I still have some sleeping pills. She went into the bathroom, searched through the medicine cabinet, found the pills, took one, and lay back down. She fell asleep while watching television.


Jen awoke the next morning, the sun peeking through the venetian blind shining on her face. Still groggy from the sleeping pill, she glanced up at the clock. Four a.m.? It can't be. I went to bed at three, and the sun's out. Jen felt as though she couldn't breathe. Racing down the hall she checked the alarm clock by her bed. They've all been shut off. She grabbed her phone and called the number on Detective Rawlins' card.


"Hello. It's Jen," she whispered. "I think he's been here... the mirror man."


"Get out of that apartment, now! Wait for me outside. I'll be right there."




Jen ran out the door and down the stairs and sat on the sidewalk, waiting.


Detective Rawlins pulled up to the curb, took his gun out of the holster, and cautiously went upstairs to check out the apartment. He came back down a few minutes later. "All clear. I'm going to have a forensic team come in and see what they can find."


She looked up. "I know I locked the doors and windows before I went to sleep. How could he have gotten in?"


"I'm not sure. And, I have to wonder why he turns off all the clocks." He sat down beside Jen. "A scare tactic maybe?"


"What happens now? I don't want to be alone.


"Would you be willing to stay here again tonight if I and another officer were to set up our equipment in an apartment across the street? If he comes back, we'll be waiting for him."


"You think he's going to come back?"


"I think it's a possibility We can also have an officer down stairs."


"All right, I'll do it.


"I'll have an officer escort you, and someone will stay here to keep an eye on things."


"Thank you. Is it okay to go inside the apartment and get my things?"


"You'll have to wait until the forensic team is finished."


That evening Jen returned home to a dark apartment. The phone rang as she walked through the door. "Hello."


"It's me, Detective Rawlins. Just go about your normal routine and don't close your blind."


"Okay."


"We've bugged the apartment, so keep in mind we can hear everything that goes on over there. We have an officer in the building, too."


"Okay, I understand. Bye." Jen's hand shook as she hung up the phone. Her apartment felt eerie, so slept on the couch to be closer to the door if she had to run for it.


Jen turned on the television and lay on the couch. She fell asleep quickly knowing the police were watching and listening.


At one a.m. Detective Rawlins noticed a shadow gliding along the wall of her apartment. He used his binoculars to try to get a better view, but all he could make out was a dark figure; it was removing the clock from the wall. "Come on. Something's up over there."


Officer Denton followed on his heels as they made their way across the street. Rawlins slowly opened the door and motioned for Denton to follow him. They crept down the hall to the bedroom. Denton screamed in pain. Rawlins spun around to see Jen, holding a bloody knife, and Denton laying on the floor, blood running down his back.


"Jen!" He pointed the gun at her. "Drop the weapon."


She stared past him, into the mirror behind him, not making a sound.


"Jen!"


She screamed dropping the knife, pointing a bloody finger at the mirror. "He's behind you."


Rawlins kicked the knife away. "No, Jen. That's you. The only reflection I see in the mirror is yours. Look at the red hair, the green eyes. It's you." He pulled out his handcuffs and placed them on her wrists. "You're under arrest for the murder of your mother, Amy and attempted murder of Officer Denton..."




Jen stood in the hallway staring into the mirror as if she were in a trance. Detective Rawlins called an ambulance, one for Denton, and one for Jen; she was taken to the psych ward.




The next day Rawlins went to see Denton in the hospital. "How you feeling,' buddy?"


"I'm just happy to be alive. So, how's the case going?"


"Jen's in the asylum. She still hasn't said a word."


"It's so strange. How could she not see herself in the mirror?"


Rawlins moved Denton's food tray and sat down on the end of his bed. "So far, the doctor's theory is that she has multiple personality disorder and that particular personality wanted to take over, so he began eliminating all the people in Jen's life."


"What about stopping the clocks?"


Rawlins shrugged. "Maybe he was trying to stop time, so he'd be in control longer. That's only my theory though? But we'll know for sure when, or maybe I should say if, Jen's mind can ever handle the shock."