CHAPTER 1 Red Rose café

She was driving the Red Mercedes SUV, not any luxury or costly brand of the wagon but yet not any cheap one, revealing a truly nominal financial condition of hers.

Her pace of the ride is less than normal, like her mood, and perfectly matching her calm temperament. She is driving on hilly roads calmly like she is not in a hurry to reach her destination in this fastest moving world.

She lowered the window and let the chilling air in and touch her face deliberately, which started floating her golden brown long hairs in the air and kissing her white beautiful face.

Her white cheeks and nose slowly started turning Red, and she was quivering from the cold, but she didn’t care about it all. It seems like she is so harsh to care for herself. 

With a Red mid-length frock, she was only wearing a black overcoat to protect herself from the freezing air of the hill station. 

Beautiful, tall, model figured, fair skinned with pretty big brown eyes and naturally long eyelashes, straight bridge nose and dimple cheeks made girl Rose Walton is an aloof beauty.

Rose Walton was a calm, indifferent and unaffected girl from anything, listening to music matched to her temperament to ease her mind as she was enjoying the slow ride of hilly areas.

She was all drowned in calm music when suddenly the music stopped which was playing on the radio station and a piece of sensational breaking news started touching her ears.

Another mysterious murder, The victim’s corpse was hanging to the light pole near the sunset point just a few moments before when a terrified citizen reported to the police. 

Corpse is still unidentified, but many injuries on the corpse proved that the killer tortured the victim badly before hanged him to death. Again, the killer left his sign, a lone red rose in the square pocket of the body who was putting on a suit.

Who is this red rose? This is the fifth murder by the red rose, why is he/ she killing people of our city Duluth?

Even police couldn’t good to find this mysterious serial killer Red Rose, what is his/ her hostility with these innocent nations.

After listening to the breaking news, relaxing Rose Walton stiffen her back, at once turned off the radio and closed the wind-threatening window, and then speed up her car to its peak pace.

After driving for a few more minutes, she stopped the car at its destination, lift her head up in the car, and gaze at the glowing signboard in front of her from the windshield, ‘Red Rose café’ glittering with red lights.

Rose Walton gave a glance to her delicate wristwatch, 10: 50 pm, ten minutes to eleven. She drops a sigh, ‘still, it leaves ten minutes for the café to close for the work.’

Rose thought and hurriedly came out of the car, locked it and moved inside the café at a fast speed, as she pushed open the door she again releases a sigh of relief seeing only two customers are there at different tables and Laura was serving them.

As she entered the café Laura came to her, “Rose, you seemed late today, where did you go?”

Rose can see the concern in her eyes for her, she knows the reason. “Why? Anything happened?” 

Rose is always cold and indifferently and moved towards the counter.

Laura moved behind her, looked back and forth, tiptoed a little because of the height difference between them, and whisper in her ears, “I heard the news of another murder by Red Rose.”

After saying this Laura looked towards Rose’s eyes keenly, like trying to read it, but her entire expression was indifferent.

“I too.” 

Rose again answers in the same usual cold and indifferent tone and glanced towards the customer who stood up from their chairs and strode out of the café after wishing her adieu.

They are the regular customers of her café. Rose is running this café for the past 5 years. It’s one of the best café and is in a very prime location of Duluth City.

After some mysterious killer killed her father brutally and Walton grouped faced bankruptcy, this is the only home her dad left for her. 

The three-storage big building and some land attached to this house her father named after her, since then she shifted to the third floor of this house with Laura and living a self-dependent life, she faced many trials at a very young age but didn’t seek anybody’s help in this cruel world.

Laura observed her gaze at the last customer left she shut the door without wasting even a second and said with all her concern for her best friend cum master.

“If he would come again, then?”

Though Laura was highly anxious Rose was still indifferent she behaves in the same indifferent way, “That doesn’t matter to me anymore, we are not together anymore, and we will never be in the future.”

Post saying this Rose once again spare a casual glance to her wristwatch and release a sigh when the clock struck 11:00 pm it’s time to close the business, and she is particular about timings.

Rose lifts her head from the wristwatch, she spoke in a careless tone, “Laura you go home first, you also need rest, I will close the café today.”

Laura didn’t argue seeing her cold temperament is icy today and just nod and walked towards home from the inner stairs near the tail door of the café.

Usually at 11:00 pm after collecting money from the cash counter Rose goes home from the inner stairs near the back door of the café and Laura after performing the cleaning chores closed the main door of café from out and moves home from the external stairs of the building.

But Rose is really considerate about Laura, she is her only family and many times she asks her to first to rest and herself complete the remaining chores just like today.

After completing cleaning duties, she unlocked the cash counter, took out all money and started counting it. After completing the counting and leaving some amount in the box, she carried the rest of the money to the kitchen of the café.

Open its medium size cabinet and took out two big cookie jars and just touched the last tile behind the cabinet where the cookie jar was, the cabinet wall was split into two parts, and a biometric locked big safety vault appeared behind the cabinet, Rose put her right hand’s middle finger on the lock, and it opens.

There are many stacks of money in a big walk-in vault proving the holder is a billionaire, but the owner, Rose Walton was, as usual, calm put this pea-sized amount on a stack and walked out, closed it, and closed the kitchen cabinet as it was.

Walked out of the kitchen, she strode towards the end of the corridor which connects the café hall to the kitchen. There on the front wall, Lord Jesus’s big picture was hanging, and beside it, her deceased parents.

She lights a candle in face of Lord Jesus photo and began praying.

“I am sorry lord today I am too late in lighting the candle in front of you but you see how much I love and worship you and I hope you will excuse me.”

“Actually, I know you will forgive me because you also know how much I love my mom and dad; I am sorry but little more than you and don’t be jealous ok, just take care of them nicely they are with you in heaven.”

“Today I came late because of them I was busy otherwise I considerate you first. Thanks for all your help in my hardship.”

“And with your blessings, I am very near to my most awaiting goal, just keep your considerate blessings to me always.”

Rose finished her prayers and the smile which appeared on her face while talking to lord Jesus has disappeared she once again transforms into the same cold and indifferent Rose.

She closed all lights of the café, came out, shut its all door, locked and moved towards the side of the building to take its external stairs. Those are usually for outsiders to go their home.

When she was passing from the dark street beside the building when suddenly someone pulled her harshly with all the energy.

The person pinned her to the wall, and before she could resist, he started kissing her like a maniac.