When news of a serial killer is leaked, a young reporter sets out to uncover the story and get to the truth. When she meets a young man who befriends her almost instantly, they are both amazed at how they get along.

Little does the young reporter know, she has befriended the one she seeks to uncover...

It was surprising all they had in common, the reporter and serial killer. Little did she know it was him. The one man that she had been writing about. She was well aware of everything he'd done, knee deep in finding out as much as she can about this man.

She slipped him her cell phone number during their first meeting, hoping to hear from him more often.

Charlie sat on his couch, after feeding his dog and himself. His dog, a large, male German Shepard, Bailey, was on the couch next to him, and the television was on. Charlie watched it without actually absorbing anything; he was deep in thought. He had met a woman today, the first in awhile. They had gotten along so well, after meeting in a cafe. She had come to town to report a story, though she hadn't told him what. Then again, she didn't have to. In the town and neighboring ones there had been a string of murders, which had been leaked to the press somehow. Strangely, she was the only one who had shown up in the town. She was brave indeed.

Even though he knew, he liked her. She had so much in common with him, and she seemed to like him also. He could keep the secret from her, Charlie thought to himself, there would be nothing to worry about. He had known she slipped him his number with the intent of wanting to talk to him more, and he wanted to speak to her as well. He picked up his home line and dialed the number in hand. He let it ring and waited for an answer, hoping she wasn't busy trying to catch him just yet...

Alicia was settled in her hotel room. She was propped up on the bed, most comfortable spot she could find. Her laptop on her lap and her fingers were plugging away. The internet was a good source to leak any hidden information. It could be a useful tool. Tomorrow she intended to get up early and scout the town, interview some people, possible witnesses. When that was over she was hoping to find time to visit the graves of the bodies that had been found. There had to be a pattern that was being overlooked. Though, that wasn't part of her job, but she had a high standard to meet. She didn't want to give any false information to the public.

She was so focused on reading up some information about the serial killer that she hadn't noticed her cell phone was ringing. When she did realize it her eyes adjusted to the room around her. Lifting the receiver on the third ring, she put the cell to her ear, "Hello?"

The first thing that came to her head when she picked up the phone was Charlie. She had hoped he was calling her back. It would be nice to know one person in town to keep her company while she here, and she figured she was going to be here for a while. Her boss wanted her to be in the center of this story.

It didn't seem like she was going to answer. Still, he wasn't going to hang up. He'd even leave a message, even though he wasn't sure that would be a good idea because of, you know, his hobby and all. When he heard the ringing stop, he then heard her voice on the other end. "Uhm, hi, Alicia?" he asked, "It's Charlie." he said, feeling the need to clarify. He knew he sounded different on the phone, so he wanted to make sure she knew so things didn't get... awkward.

Alicia smiled and it could be heard over the phone. Her tone changed, got lighter. She was happy he called. "Hi Charlie," she said warmly. "What's going on?" She wasn't exactly sure what he was calling for, yet, but she didn't want to appear too happy. That could possibly scare the man off.

Charlie laughed a little, "Not a lot, really. I just couldn't find a reason not to call you, so here we are. It's not a bad time, is it?" he asked, hoping he hadn't interrupted anything she may have been doing. He had no idea why to say though, so he hoped conversation would spur somehow.

"No, it's not a bad time. I was just hoping you would call. My eyes were starting to burn from staring at the computer screen for so long." Alicia laughed lightly before continuing on. "I'm just working on the local story. It's a lot of work, so I like getting some sort of break between, ya know?"

She felt like she was rambling on, so she quieted down and waited for Charlie to get some words in edgewise.

Charlie nodded, "Oh, well, I imagine a break from something like that would be required frequently as to keep your sanity. And eyesight, of course." he laughed. She had wanted him to call. That was exciting to Charlie, and it even gave him butterflies in his stomach. He continued to smile into the phone, even though he was sure she was writing about the monstrous side of him; the kind that liked killing person after person... He mentally shook the images away. He had to keep that a secret- no slip ups.

After the brief pause in which all that mental buzzing had occured, he asked, "What are you doing tomorrow? I'd like to see you again, and since you seem to need a break..." he laughed a little, waiting for a response.

If Alicia only knew that this man was the killer. Things would definitely be different between them. It had never occurred to her that Charlie could be the killer. A mutual friend had introduced them, actually, a good friend of hers, so she trusted that friend. It seemed to make the trust go a little deeper for Charlie.

"Tomorrow?" She paused for a moment. "I was going to go interview some people, but you could come with me or meet me after for lunch or dinner. I know when I'm finished with interviews I'm definitely going to need a break. Plus, I would like to see you again too, Charlie."

This was the perfect opportunity! If he went with her for the interviews, he could find out what people knew and who they were and where the lived... Charlie thought about this for a moment, then answered casually, "Well, I'd love to come with you. Maybe I can help you find some of the places. I know this place like the back of my hand." he laughed. Which would make his job all the easier later... "Do you want me to pick you up, or do you you want find me?" he laughed.

Alicia smiled. She was ecstatic that Charlie would be joining her. She loved the company whenever she could get it. Especially when it was with someone that she enjoyed talking to.

"That'd be great! I would love the help." She paused a moment, in thought about if they should meet or ride together. "Do you mind picking me up? Since you know this place so well then I could just give you the address of the place. It seems easier."

It was perfect. He'd get to spend time with a woman he liked, and find out everything he could about an enemy. If he knew what she knew, and the witnesses knew, then it would make his life so much easier to clean up after. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer...

"Perfect!" he exclaimed, "Where are you staying? You're at the Marriott, right?" he asked, pulling out a piece of paper and pen to write it all down on. He was going to get all the information he needed up to this point.

Excellent. Alicia was happy with the outcome. She couldn't wait to spend the day with Charlie. It'd help keep her occupied between interviews. She probably would have a lot of competition but, as it seems, not too many reporters were brave enough to dive into the investigation for fear that the serial killer would come after them if they got too close. Of course, Alicia feared things like that too, but she felt this was her duty. To protect other people she would put her own life in jeopardy. It was part of the job, wasn't it?

"Yup, the Marriott. Let's shoot for about 9 in the morning, okay? That way we can get an early start, maybe get done early and have some free time after." She said, confident that she could get the interviews done in a timely fashion. "Oh, I'm in room 314. In case I'm not ready you can come up, but I'll try my best to be down at the front lobby by 9 o'clock."

Charlie smiled again, through the phone, "Sounds great." he said, writing down the room number and the time. His hand writing looked more like chicken scratch due to his excitement and not being able to hold the paper and talk on the phone at the same time. At average, everyday tasks, he just couldn't multitask. However, his hobby... well, he was just brilliant at it. Being able to get away with it for so very long...

Back to reality, he laughed a little, warning her, "I'll try to be on time to, but I have the tendency to get distracted." That bit was true. Charlie always had so many things to do, he'd often leave half a task completed, go do something else then go back to the original task.

"That works for me," Alicia said. Her mind was already wandering. She was thinking about what outfit she should wear tomorrow. Zoning back in she quickly added, "I'll talk to you in the morning then, Charlie."

She left with a soft goodbye and closed her cell phone. Immediately she hopped off the bed and began rummaging through her luggage. She needed something appropriate for the interviews, but she also wanted to look sexy. She practically brought her whole wardrobe with her, so it really shouldn't be that hard to pull off.

Charlie smiled, "Yeah, I'll see you in the morning." he said and hung up. Perfect. Entirely perfect... Not only was he going to make exceptional progress in his "hobby", but what was really on his mind was Alicia. She was a gorgeous woman, and he had great interest in her, and she seemed to at least like him a little as well.

He looked at the clock and then to Bailey, "Come on, boy." he said, flipping off the television and getting off the couch. He was tired and he did have a busy day ahead of him. He slept in his clothes, sleeping in his boxers, as usual, and climbed into bed. It didn't usually take Charlie so long to fall asleep, but he was excited. After awhile, he managed to fall asleep, not bothering to set an alarm because he was always up the same time every day anyway; six-thirty am, sharp.

The next morning Alicia got up and showered. It had taken her about an hour of going through clothes to come up with an outfit, which turned out to be a simple black dress with black heals. You could never go wrong with a black dress, it worked for the interviews and going out with Charlie after. To make the dress geared for work she decided to put on a black blazer over it. She could take it off when the interviews were done.

She fixed her blond hair into an up do. Her bangs were brushed slightly to the side, giving her a good view of her blue eyes. She never did wear much make-up. She believed that less was better. She liked to keep it light and fresh looking.

Glancing over at the clock she realized it was 8:55 am. She had to wrap this up. She lathered on some light pink lipstick and gathered up her purse. She didn't even need anything big for the interviews. She had a digital voice recorder that she kept in her purse at all times. That's all she would use for the interviews. She could type up what was said later.

Standing in the front lobby, near the doors, she waited for Charlie.

When Charlie awoke he was right on time as usually- six-thirty sharp. He had no work that day, and as he owned the business he could have taken it off anyway, but Charlie hated missing work. When he looked in the mirror, his short, bright red hair was sticking up in all directions and his half open hazel eyes had light bags under them. He opened his drawers to find something to wear. What was one supposed to wear to an interview? He didn't know, he had never been to one. Guys on TV were always in suits, but that would be a little too flashy... After a few minutes, Charlie settles on a simple, but kind of tight- seeing as it was old- light gray long sleeve shirt and typical blue jeans. He grabbed that and underwear, and the dirty clothes from the night before, and walked out of his room into the bathroom. He threw his the dirty clothes in the hamper and put the clean ones on top of it. Bailey followed him in, so he left the door open a bit so the dog could go in and out. Charlie lived alone, so no one would have a problem with it.

He showered and dressed and looked at the clock. It was only seven-oh-three. He had spent a long time in the shower on purpose, so he didn't have to waste time just waiting around. He brushed his teeth then combed his hair, trying to decide if there was anything he should do with it. In the end, Charlie put a little gel in it and gave it that neat-messy look. It suited him, strangely enough. After that, he went and made some coffee, being too nervous to eat, and fed Bailey. When he decided it was about time to leave, after wasting time in the most creative ways possible, he put on his nicer pair of boots and a green camo jacket.

He made sure Bailey had food, and wasn't going to follow him, and that the back door was open to let the dog in and out. Charlie's house was in the middle of the woods, with only one neighboor to the right of his house, so Charlie didn't have to worry about anyone sneaking in. His neighbor was almost always home during the day, working at night and being a light enough sleeper to hear Bailey bark if anything went wrong. Not that Bailey would let anything or anyone even on the property to begin with.

Hopping in his truck, which wasn't as run down as one might expect him to have, he headed to the Marriott to pick up Alica, butterflies plaguing him the whole way. He made a quick stop along the way, but still stayed on time. When he got there, he found pulled up in front of the hotel, telling the valet just to keep an eye on it for a moment. When he entered, at nine-am sharp, he saw Alicia was already in the hall. He walked up to her, a hand behind his back and greeted her, "Hello, lovely lady." he smiled, taking the hand from behind his back and holding out to her a single rose, but it was white, not red. Charlie figured red were too overdone, and a white one would be even more special.

The moment Charlie entered the hotel Alicia saw him. She smiled brightly, happy to see him. He looked cute in his casual attire. She thought it was perfect. When he approached she noticed he hand one hand behind his back. As he brought it forward her cheeks turned a shade of pink. "A rose? Oh, that is so sweet of you, Charlie. My favorite color rose too." Stepping forward she accepted the rose and as a thank you she gave him a peck on the cheek.

"You look wonderful this morning. I hope you slept well?" She asked as she started walking towards the door. She was so nervous, yet excited. She noticed that whenever she was close to him that butterflies played in her stomach. "Is your car out front?"

She twirled the rose between her thumb and finger as she brought it up to her nose to inhale its scent. It smelt beautiful. "I'm so happy you could join me," she finally confessed.

Charlie was happy he had done something right- the right type of rose. His intuition was right on key. He looked down at her, "Well, I'm glad you like it." he said, blushing slightly as she laid a soft kiss on his cheek, "Yeah, I'm right out front. ...but I feel like I'm under dressed..." he told her, looking at the dress and heels she had on, compared to how casual he looked... He must have looked like like a slob to her.

"I'm really happy you invited me. I've been looking forward to seeing you again." he confessed in return. He watched her movements with a smile.

"I love it!" Alicia exclaimed. A couple came in through the doors that Alicia was about to exit, so she stepped aside and waited. Glancing back at Charlie, she smiled at his comment. "What you are wearing is perfect. I have to dress up, it's my job, but you can just sit back and watch me work."

When the couple passed she opened the door and walked aside. "I wanted to see you again, so I confess that I had a motive behind inviting you." Looking around she eyed the truck, but she wasn't sure if it was his or not. "That one?" She pointed. She could see Charlie driving a truck. It completely fit him.

Charlie smiled wide, feeling even more happy with himself. He smiled still as he listened to her, "Well, either way, I feel under dressed compared to you." he laughed, "Yup, the Toyota pick up. And I'm glad you wanted to see me again." he told her, walking with her to the truck and opening the door for her, and ready to help her in, seeing as she was in heels and there was no running board, which made it a bit of a step.

Alicia said her thanks for Charlie helping her into the truck. It was a bit intimidating. She was already guessing what might happen climbing into the truck. Once inside she looked around, gathering little pieces of evidence to describe more about Charlie.

When he got into the driver seat she pulled out her day planner to look up the address of the person's house that she wanted to interview. "Okay. The address is 1277 Harwood Road. I'm not too familiar with the area, so I hope you'll have an idea where this is at. If not we could stop for directions," she told him. After blurting out the address she reached over and put her seat belt on.

She didn't want to be riding in an uncomfortable silence, so she decided to inquire some things about Charlie. "So, how long have you lived here?"

"I know where it is, don't worry." he laughed. He had been down that road hundreds of times before on his way to the store from his house. It was a quiet, residential street lined with perfect little houses, and most them contained kids. It was very picturesque, and Charlie had hoped he'd be able to afford to live there someday, with a family of his own..

When he was asked the question, he looked at her briefly, "Haha, I didn't know I was being interviewed too!" he laughed, then answered the question directly after, "I lived here almost all my life. I lived in the same house as a kid, then went away to college for awhile. When my mother got sick, I came back and I've lived here ever since. I'd say it was about five years ago she got sick, and she died not long after that." He wasn't sure why he told her the whole story, but he couldn't stop himself. Charlie knew he should be careful about what he told her, but he didn't want to come off as too stand-offish, or reserved.

He remembered the day he came back up to the day his mother died... So much had happened in that short time... It hurt him to even think about it, though he tried not to let it show on his face. So much had happened that didn't need to, and someone needed to pay for what happened...