Its Monday and I’m pulling up to the office and head in. David said he had a job for us but wouldn’t discuss it on the phone. That already tells me that its big and its unlike any job we’ve done before. I head upstairs and find David and Katy sat in my office. “I gotta change that lock.” I say as I close the door. As soon as im sat in my chair, David places a report in front of me. While I read David tells me about the case. “Tommy Bishop. He’s 24 and works at a bar on weekdays. Now he’s sitting in a jail cell facing murder charges. The victim was a young girl. Amy Trent. 19 years old, studying to be a nurse. Her body was found in a dumpster in an alley”. I look at the report and it tells me that the suspect was found in his bed covered in blood. The murder weapon, a butchers knife, was found in the kitchen. The police even have an eyewitness that saw him kill the victim. Now I’m a little confused. “Ok so what’s the problem? They have an eye witness, the weapon and the suspect. Why are we bothering with this?” “Because the suspect swears that he doesn’t remember anything. Says he passed out and woke up covered in blood. No drugs or alcohol in his system and no history of mental illness.” I look up at him confused before saying “Ok you’ve got my interest what does he want us to do?” “he wants us to find out what happened. He doesn’t deny killing anyone because the evidence is clear. He just wants to know what really happened.” I nod lightly still reading the report. “Ok we’ll take the case!” At that statement David’s eyes light up. “Let’s go talk to Mr Bishop shall we?”

Daniel, Same time somewhere else…

When your not getting an early wake up call from angry bikers, sleeping in hotels ain’t that bad. But I gotta keep moving. I’m driving down the freeway and it’s hot as balls out. On the other hand there’s plenty of things to keep my mind off the heat. A few minutes ago a ginger woman flashed her tits at me. Man I love this country. It’s getting dark and I know I’ll need to stop for the night soon. Once I turn off the freeway I find myself entering a town called Stormesville. Looks like a peaceful place but I have a feeling I should wait til the end of the night to make that claim.

I just hope its not one of those places where everyone dresses in cowboy boots and hats. I drive around for a while looking for a hotel. On my travels I notice a burger joint that I might go to later. A few minutes later I find a hotel and put myself down under the same fake name. First things first back to that burger restaurant. It doesn’t take me long to find it again and once I enter I see its nearly empty. I’m wearing my leather jacket and jeans again this time with a grey shirt. There’s a young red headed girl behind the counter who smiles upon seeing me enter. I sit in a booth in the corner. The red head wastes no time coming over with a menu. “Hey there! I’m Holly, what can I get ya?” She says smiling. I look her up and down simple waitress outfit. Stockings, black skirt, black shirt with the sleeves rolled up past her elbows. She has a nice heart shaped locket around her neck. She has a soft, beautiful face with pale skin. Her red hair is tied back in a bun. I guess I was looking longer than I should have because she’s blushing.

I smile at her and ask her when the restaurant closes to which she says “In 30 minutes.” I nod and say “In that case can I just get 2 cups of coffee please.” “Wow you must be tired.” She says writing my order down. “Nope, the second cup’s for you.” I say simply. She looks up at me with wide eyes. “You don’t have to do that.” She says. “2 cups of coffee please” I tell her smiling. She blushes again and walks away. It only takes 5 minutes for her to come back with the coffee. “Have a seat.” I say pointing at the chair opposite me. “I really should get back to work.” She says unsure. “The restaurant closes in 20 minutes, no one else is gonna come in. C’mon please don’t make me waste my money.” I tell her. She’s biting her lip thinking about it but eventually she takes a seat opposite me and sips her coffee.

“So what’s your full name?” I ask her. “Holly Blackwood.” She says. I extend my hand to her and say. “Daniel Green.” I say and she shakes my hand. I don’t know why I gave her my real name. It just sorta came out naturally. I’d forgotten for a moment that I was supposed to be keeping my cards close to my chest. But I tried to keep the conversation going. “so how long have you worked here Holly?” I ask her. “A few months now. It’s a nice place, good pay and it’s pretty easy.” “Sounds ideal.” I say sipping my coffees. “Yeah it’s great here but sometimes it feels like I could be doing more with my life.” I nod at her, I understand it’s the same way I felt back home. Its partly why I became Crossblade. “So what about you? I can tell your not from around here.” Holly asks. “I’m travelling. I’m looking for my family in Woodchip.” Holly smiles and says “That’s nice. It’ll be a good family reunion.” Says Holly. “You ever do any travelling?” I ask her. “No, I’ve never left the town. To be honest I don’t know what I’d do if I did.” At that moment I pull my wallet out and check the money situation. I still have a couple hundred bucks left. Easily enough to get me to Woodchip. I’m unsure about what I’m about to ask but I don’t want to lose contact with Holly. I like her. I like her alot.

“Holly how do you fancy a holiday?” I ask her and she smiles. “I could really use one but I just can’t afford it.” “No I mean why don’t you come with me to Woodchip?” I say and she chokes on her coffee. “But i just met you!?” She says, I knew it would go down like this. “I know but. I like you Holly and you deserve a break. Besides I’ll be glad to have a travelling companion.” She raises her eyebrow and says “you do know how dodgy you sound right now?” Says Holly and I have to laugh. “Yeah I guess I do sound creepy but I promise I don’t do this with all the girls I meet. I just want more time to get to know you.” “Ever heard of facebook.” She says quickly.