Part I can be found here: Eric John

Part II can be found here: Eric John II

After Eric John’s mother dropped him off for school that morning from the bus stop, she headed for her own job like any other day.

Her walk to work each day was about a mile – it was good exercise and she enjoyed the morning solitude before the chaos of her day job. This particular morning the light breeze ruffled her dress and carried with it some fresh bakery scents. Some mornings she would stop to grab a pastry before heading to the office but this day she was more disciplined.

She thought fondly of her young son, he was such a gift to her and their life together filled her heart with joy. She enjoyed every moment they spent together and though their life was simple, she never wanted to change a thing. 

She had never spoken to Eric John about his father, never mentioned any of his grandparents either. It was safer with him not knowing and curbing his curiosity on these matters didn’t seem to faze him at all. She did tell him that all they had left were each other, she didn’t tell any details further than that and he never asked.

She was so wrapped in her own thoughts and enjoying the morning she barely felt the knife blade as it entered her side. She gasped a deep breath and tried to grab the spot where the puncture occurred. A hand clasped over her mouth and she was dragged backwards into a hallway. She felt another stab and another, her muffled cries didn’t bother her attacker at all – she could barely struggle against them.

She lay bleeding in the alley her vision going dark and her last thoughts were of Eric John – wanting him to run but realizing she had never let him know there was any danger at all. The perfect life she had built for them seemed danger free and as smart a boy as he was she feared for his life. Darkness took her and she was gone.

She was found in the alley that same afternoon. Her purse and belongings were gone and the police had no way of identifying her. She lay in the morgue, another victim of street crime that the police hoped to curb.

They weren’t hopeful on solving the crime, they found no evidence. The blood pool they had found her in held no clues to the identity of the killer or a motive for the crime. Mostly they hoped to find her identity and notify any next of kin that may be missing a loved one. Her fingerprints came up as unknown in the local data base, but they were hoping to expand their search to other databases and narrow down a list. No one had reported anyone missing yet, but that too might lead to solutions.

None of this was known to Eric John or his teachers, all they knew for sure was Eric needed help, and they wanted to get it to him.

The Next Chapter is here: Part IV