I honked at the car in front of me. God, why were they driving so slowly? It seemed as if the world was trying to piss me off. Finally, after what felt like forever, I pulled into the parking lot of the almost abandoned gas station. There was a gas station just 2 minutes away from me, but no, way too many cameras. Which is why I had to drive 10 miles away, inconvenient, but I could make it work.

Glancing up at the flashing sign that was supposed to read 'Charles Gas Station', but was missing letters, I walked into the store. The bells above the door chimed distinctively. I gave a slight nod to the middle-aged woman at the register. I read the tag on her shirt, it read 'Julia'.

"Nice name." I thought.

I looked around at the aisles before finally finding the aisle that read, 'Cleaning Supplies'. Walking quickly, I grabbed the bleach and arrived at the register.

"Just this, please." I tried to stop my voice from shaking, but I saw that she could tell anyway.

"Oh? Lots of bleach you've got here. Must've made a very big mess..." She raised her brow at me, I could tell that she had so many questions. But to my absolute relief, she just sighed and said,

"Okay, that'll be 7.64, will you be paying with cash or card?"

"...cash, please." I fumbled through my wallet, grabbing a 20 dollar bill and handing it to her.

Julia just nodded, putting the bill into the cash register and started to put the huge jug into a bag, quickly snatching the receipt and dropping it in.

"Have a good night, miss."

"You too." I replied.

The drive back to the house was, well, nerve-wracking. It seemed as if I was the only one on the road, even though I knew that this was supposed to be a busy road. And after what seemed to be hours on the highway, checking my rear mirror and being paranoid, I pressed the key and watched as the garage door lifted. And as I pulled into the garage, I felt relief wash over me. I was half expecting the key to not work. I hopped out of my car with a sigh, grabbed the bag from my trunk and stepped into the house. It smelled sweetly of vanilla, the pastries I supposed Mrs. Miller had baked just hours ago. For a quick moment I felt a hint of...guilt? Or maybe it was just first minute jitters. Even after months of doing this, some parts of me still felt as nervous as my first day. I promised myself that I would stop after the first few, but after realizing how good the pay was, I might be hooked. But whatever the feeling was, I brushed it aside. I needed the money for my student loans, and my 9 to 5 job wasn't paying any higher.

I leaned down, reached into the bag, grabbed the bleach, my supplies and made my way down into the basement. As I made my way down the stairs, I almost turned back around as the smell of iron and pain got stronger with every step. Don't even get me started on the creepy sounds. I could hear the soft dripping of water from somewhere, my heart was beginning to sink, I swore I could hear breathing on my neck. Eventually, I stepped into the dark room, feeling around the moist, rough wall for the light switch. I smelt it before I even saw the mess that awaited me.

The sight was gruesome, even to me. Blood everywhere, on walls, ceilings, every surface was covered in it. Some bright red, some brown like it had been there for a while. And in the middle of it all, a large black bag.It was surprising that a little old lady had managed to do this, but oh well, I didn't ask questions. That wasn't what I was paid for. I didn't discriminate either, deep down, everyone was capable of murder. Even sweet little old cat ladies like Mrs. Miller. But, on the bright side, at least Mrs. Miller had taken the time out of her day to help out with the body.

And with that, I took out my supplies. A towel, mop, bleach and air freshener that would, hopefully, help with the smell. With a soft sigh I looked once more at the word that awaited me. I muttered a prayer for the victim as per usual. But if what they had done was enough to piss off the sweet old lady that had called me, voice warm, offered a hefty price for my services. And when I arrived, force fed me her famous sweets and gave me coffee just this morning, maybe they deserved it.