The Balcony Effigy Killer Chapter 2

BrawnyBrock: [My dude is a madman!]

The group chat went dead silent. Everyone was holding their breath, waiting for Finn’s update.

After about ten minutes, Finn sent a chain of voice messages. His voice was shaking, bordering on a sob.

“Oh my GOD! Ahhhhh!”

“No head! God, it has no head!”

“Call the cops! Call the cops right now! It’s a person! It’s missing its head!”

He was clearly terrified, incoherent save for the frantic calls to 911.

HarveyReno: [So… a corpse?]

BrawnyBrock: [I’ve already called the police! @SeraKnight, forget your job, get your butt back here! Something huge has happened!]

Brock, despite his mouth, was quick on the draw. He sent several messages urging me to return.

Me: [Dude, I can’t. The earliest red-eye flight I can catch won’t land until tomorrow morning.]

BrawnyBrock: [Someone’s dead, and you’re flying? Can’t you take an Uber? You sound guilty! Maybe you’re the killer!]

I snapped back: [I’m in Nashville! It would take two days of non-stop driving to get back! You’re awfully quick to throw accusations—are you looking for a scapegoat?]

RyanCole302: [Alright, stop fighting, guys.]

SweetSpot: [@RyanCole302, you’ve been quiet the whole time we were panicking. Where were you?]

RyanCole302: [Seriously? I was asleep, woman! Look at the time! I’d have been out cold if the chat hadn’t kept vibrating. Now you’re going to suspect me?]

SweetSpot: [Sorry, sorry. Been watching too many true-crime documentaries. A little jumpy…]

Pierce602: [Shut up. Sirens. The police are here.]

The group chat fell into a grave silence once more.

About twenty minutes later, Pierce602 posted four words, like a boulder dropped into a deep well:

[Someone is dead.]