Queen Media Collective

The person in the mirror was none other than himself, Mr. Cary Nickel.

“But how could this be? I was asleep. And who are you?”

“It’s me. We will talk again. Have a good day.”

And just like that, Cary was just a man by himself in his vehicle. The version of him talking in the mirror was no more and he was visibly shaken in his car. He was perplexed as to how this happened and even more, he was trying to figure out how the clothes and murder weapons were gone. After sitting in his car for a minute trying to figure it out, Mr. Nickel received a call.

“Hey! Are you still on your way to get me for dinner?”

“Dinner? Oh. I’m sorry. I am. Getting ready to pull out of my driveway.”

“Okay. Just started to worry about you since you were supposed to be here thirty minutes ago.”

Mr. Nickel had been so caught up in this moment that he had lost track of time and sat there for a while. His girlfriend, Sandra, wasn’t upset at all though. She was just worried about him. She knew of the past and what it took for him to get over the things that happened in his life. Sandra had been dating Cary for almost two years now. She found him, like other people, volunteering with kids. She admired how he was so involved and how he wanted to help them so much. Cary saw her watching him and approached Sandra.

“How are you? My name is Cary Nickel. What’s your name?”

From there, Cary asked her out and they had been dating ever since. The vibe between them was good, but she always felt something was off. Just when she would start to get close to him, he would push her away, like he was afraid of something. Over time, she had fallen into this pattern with him and she was okay with it, considering the trauma he had experienced.

As Cary was driving there, he could not escape the thoughts of the voice he heard. This voice had been there for years now. It was scraggly, deep and powerful.  He had dealt with this voice for a while. Ever since his wife’s death, this voice had been within him. And while he feels he can handle it, he seemingly cannot because it still gives him chills when he hears it. He had been trying to deal with this voice since he started his therapy, which he still goes to when he needs it.

When he pulled up to Sandra’s house, he was still trying to get himself together. He had a fresh coat of sweat on his forehead as he hopped out of his car. He started replaying the moment that happened in his car all over again when suddenly the front door opened and out walked Sandra. Cary couldn’t help but be mesmerized by her. She stood at 5’7, had chocolate-brown skin, beautiful brown eyes and an athletic build that still stood the test of time from her days as a volleyball and basketball player in high school.

“So, how is my favorite community leader?” she said with a smile.

All those worries about what had happened in the car went away when Cary saw her and she smiled at him.

“I’m doing great. Are you ready to get something to eat?”

“I was ready a while ago,” she said as she laughed.

Cary opened the door for Sandra as they got in the vehicle and headed to dinner. The first stop though, was for Cary to get her some flowers. He had felt bad for leaving her waiting. As he pulled up to the store, hopped out of his car and started walking inside, a flashback suddenly hit him. He saw himself walking down an alley and two other people in his flashback: one being DeAndre and the other being a shadowy figure. DeAndre was running from Cary and the shadowy figure . When Cary fell, he saw the shadowy figure catch up to DeAndre. From there, Cary snapped out of his daze in just enough time to avoid running into the door of the store. He got his flowers and he returned to the car, presenting them to Sandra.

“I hope you like them.”

“Are you okay Cary? I noticed you having a moment walking into the store.”

“I’m fine.”

“You sure?”

“Yes! I’m fine,” said Cary with a little more emotion.

They continued on to dinner at a fancy Italian restaurant in the heart of the city. Cary had told Sandra to dress up and she definitely did that, wearing a stunning red dress that form-fitted her figure to the tee.  As they hopped out of the car, Cary noticed a familiar face was there. It was Detective Porter.

“How are you doing tonight Detective?”

“Doing great Mr. Nickel. ”

“Oh I’m sorry. I didn’t introduce you to my girlfriend. This is Sandra. Sandra, this is Detective Porter.”

“Nice to meet you. I’ll see you all inside. It seems like we are all wanting to eat Italian tonight.”

Cary and Sandra went inside to continue their date night while Detective Porter continued to hang outside. While he said he was there to eat, he was really there for official business. There was a witness at the scene of the crime that mentioned seeing a vehicle. The vehicle was a 2010 Black Nissan Maxima and the tags seemed to match the vehicle Cary Nickel was driving. Porter was there to spy on Nickel and find out what was really going on.

Inside the restaurant, Cary and Sandra were laughing, eating and having a good time. They talked about everything and were there for so long that they lost track of time.

“Excuse me sir. Our kitchen is about to close. Did you all want to order anything else?” said the waiter.

“Nothing else. I think we are done.”

Cary and Sandra exited the restaurant and got in Cary’s vehicle. As soon as they pulled off, Detective Porter was right behind them, trying to find out what Cary was up to. He followed Cary as he dropped Sandra off and then tailed him home. Cary would then exit his vehicle and head into the house for the night, turning on the front porch light.

“What do you know about this murder Mr. Nickel?”

Detective Porter stuck around and continued to ask himself questions about what Mr. Nickel knew and how he was involved in this murder. He sat out there all night long watching his house and then he caught a break, seeing Mr. Nickel in all black clothing leaving his home. Cary hopped in his car and sped off.  Detective Porter didn’t want to lose him, so he stepped on it and was on his way. Where Cary was going, no one knew, but Porter was excited as he chased Cary through the night.