The Ashtray

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Memory is a fragile thing – sometimes mercifully so. For Paul DeCiano, a Las Vegas eBay seller with an eye for vintage treasures, the boundary between forgotten history and horrifying reality shatters when he purchases a set of elegant glass ashtrays with sterling silver trim from the Albright estate sale.

The familiar feeling these objects trigger isn't simple déjà vu, but something far more sinister. As Paul polishes the silver bands, fractured images begin to surface – a lavish room, expensive perfume, a violent struggle. When research reveals these ashtrays match those found near socialite Eleanor Albright's body in her unsolved 1988 murder, Paul's curiosity becomes an obsession. His call to retired detective Chris O'Brien sets off a chain of events that neither man anticipated.

While O'Brien dusts off old case files and discovers a witness description that matches a younger Paul, the eBay seller faces a psychological breakdown as repressed memories flood back with terrifying clarity. The ashtrays weren't just evidence – they were his murder weapon. As Paul examines his extensive collection of vintage items, each piece begins whispering its own dark story: a letter opener connected to an alleyway stabbing, a paperweight used in rage, dolls that witnessed terror, a brass candlestick wielded with deadly force, a locket taken from a strangling victim. What began as a single recovered memory expands into the realization that Paul has been a prolific killer with the convenient blessing of amnesia.

The story concludes with a chilling twist: Detective O'Brien vanishes while investigating Paul, becoming potentially the fourteenth victim of a man who continues his seemingly ordinary life, surrounded by the silent trophies of his forgotten crimes. As Paul attends more estate sales, we're left wondering: how many killers walk among us, their darkest deeds locked away even from themselves?

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