1 A NEW BEGINNING

"911, what's your emergency?"

"He's gonna kill me! He's gonna kill me! Help! Rael... My boyfriend's gonna kill me... HELP!"

"Too late, sweetheart. You're in too deep now. Nobody can save you from me," Rael whispered in my ear as he stood no more than an inch behind me, sniggering. I froze.

He continued, "You can drop this act now. You already know what's about to happen. It's not really a surprise anymore; it's been a long time coming."

"I used to dread coming here as a child. My asshole of a dad often took me here with his whore wife. I never knew that my shitty life would end here," I spoke, knowing this was the end.

"To a new beginning."

"To a new beginning," I whispered my last words, finally facing him.

And then I fell. Backward. Into the cursed lake. I screamed as loud as I could. I knew the police were on their way as the nearest station was merely half a mile away built specifically because of the number of suicides that happened here. I struggled and I struggled. Then I struggled some more, you know, just in case. All to no avail. Daddy never thought his little princess could one day use some swimming lessons.

I knew I was dying when I stopped breathing. I knew I would die when my lungs filled up with water. I knew I would die the moment my body cut through the sheet of water. It was as easy as a knife slicing a cake. I knew I would die the moment I stepped onto the bridge conveniently perched at the top of the lake. I knew I would die the moment I stepped into his life.

I died right before the sirens could reach my ears. Rael stood exactly where I had left him looking into the lake - smirking - like he had everything figured out. The police got to him and read him his rights as he was cuffed. He didn't say anything. It was almost like he wanted to get arrested. They took him towards the cop car.

It was an open and shut case unless Rael chose to say something. Who am I kidding? It was an open and shut case anyway. I had called the police and told them he wanted me dead. They found him at the murder spot. What more evidence would they need? There was nobody else there. He needs to pay else I died in vain...

It was merely my first week as the Sergeant of the 66th precinct when Detective Miller informed me about a call received not more than 20 seconds ago that shook the whole department. It wasn't every day that you got a call from a "celebrity" like Nebula Williams about her boyfriend, Rael Rivera, trying to kill her.

As soon as we got hold of her coordinates we made our way to Tod Lake which was infamous for the number of suicides and murders that were committed there. Two cop cars made their way to the crime scene. I wondered why the lake had such a common and boring name…

We arrested Rael Rivera and took him to the station. He was eerily silent. Almost like he wanted to get arrested.

"Would you like to call your lawyer, Mr. Rivera?" I asked him when we reached the station.

"Yes," he spoke matter-of-factly.

"Too much of an attitude for a killer who can't even do his job properly," I murmured to myself as I let him make his call.

I proceeded towards Captain Evans' office, feeling Rael eyeing my behind for a few seconds longer than is appropriate. As the Sergeant, it was my duty to report to him, especially after such a high-profile murder case.

"Sir," I began, "it's a simple case. Miss Williams called us before he could kill her. It's very obvious that he's guilty. He didn't even resist arrest."

The Captain replied, "Sergeant Garcia, I realize the apparent simplicity of this case. But, considering the suspect's as well as the victim's reputation, I would advise you to dig deeper into the matter. Nevertheless, I trust your judgment and expect you to take the right action. Dismissed."

I came back to my desk where I found an eager Joel Miller standing. "So, what do you think Sergeant?" he asked.

"Isn't it apparent?"

"I don't know. Something about this seems off. Why buy a 3-carat diamond ring to propose to someone, leave it in your car and then decide to kill them instead?"

"What?"

"Sergeant, we looked about the suspect's car. There was a coat in his backseat, most

probably his own, that had a 3-carat diamond ring in its inside pocket. It was engraved with both the suspect and the victim's names. My guess is that he took her there to propose to her -"

"But then what the fuck happened that he killed her instead? Good lord, that must've been

one helluva fight."

*****