A New Life - Page 4

Back in her office, Teressa pinned the latest article on the Black Devil on her tracking board. Half the city has been abuzz on who the Black Devil really is, and being on the forefront of the news, Teressa is certain she’ll be the one to crack the mystery.

A map of the city was tacked onto the center of the board, pins studding the places where sightings and news of the vigilante has appeared. To an untrained eye, the pattern appears random, but Teressa is beginning to sense a pattern among the cluster of info.

A sudden knock at her door broke her line of thought, and a tall, scarecrow-like figure let himself in without waiting for her answer. Clad in an old long coat and fedora, Frank was one of her informants from the criminal underworld.

A long time ago, he had tipped her on a big news from the Mob, in return he often asked for information on some high profile persons in the city. Their mutual information sharing had been beneficial to Teressa, but it was strictly a business arrangement. She never felt comfortable having him around.

Frank always seems to carry a gloomy aura around him; world-weary eyes behind an indifferent mask that speaks of many sleepless nights. He went straight to business, asking Teressa, “What do you have on the Black Devil?”

“I’m as clueless as you are,” the reporter replied coldly. “and hello to you, too”

“No time to be coy, Tess”, Frank snapped back, arms on her desk leaning towards her, “The Mobs like an ant’s nest on fire with the Black Devil about. I need a lead, any lead.”

Teressa was reluctant to give him the clues, wanting to catch and unmask the Black Devil herself, but she does owe him from last time.

“It’s just pure speculation at this point,” Teressa finally said, “But the appearance all happened after the cases was reported onto the police net. Either the Black Devil is someone from the police, or someone with a police radio set, which could be anybody.”

“Heck, it could even be someone from the Mob,” she continued, “A mole, perhaps? Most of the cases seems to be targeted towards them.”

Teressa hoped the answer was sufficient, but vague enough so that he won’t know which haystack to look for the needle. Frank merely sighed, and made his way back towards the door.

Before he left, Frank turned towards her and said, “I can assure you it’s definitely not from the Mob, we have already taken care of that end.”

Artist's Note:
Shady things are afoot.