My dreams were rudely interrupted by the constant buzz of my alarm, my dreams have been leaving me unrested as of late. I was just about to hit the snooze button and try to get a little more sleep when my phone rang. The caller ID said that it was my partner, Mack. I inwardly groaned, what could possibly be so important this early in the morning?! I asked myself as I reached for the phone. Only Mack would call me this early but only if it was something important.
“Rise and shine! We have another one, so hurry up and get dressed and head down to the docks at Rice Marina.” He commanded.
“Ugh…you bringing coffee?” I knew that this was going to be a very long day, and everybody knows that I am not a morning person, well almost everyone. Leave it to a serial killer to start the day off with a fourth victim! “Mack, you know that I hate you when you are this cheerful at 5:00 am!”
Mack has been my partner for two long years, but we have been best friends for a little over sixteen years. We became friends in high school, and it felt like we were friends for our whole lives, we just had a connection. He joined the police force about five years ago in Nevada but transferred to Klamath Oregon two years ago. There are only two people in my life that know what I have been through. I keep my past extremely private; I don’t want pity for the trauma I sustained so I keep everything to myself.
“Oh, who are you kidding, you know that you absolutely love me! I mean, who else would be able to put up with your shit?!” Mack chuckled.
I could tell by the way that he talked that something had changed between his wife and him. He usually wasn’t this cheery or make jokes. I liked this side of him, he reminds me of how he used to be before the separation. I decide to let it go. “Give me half an hour to get ready.”
By the time I had hung up the phone with Mack I was already on my way towards the bathroom to take a quick shower. Normally I would let the hot water run over me and wash away some of the tiredness but unfortunately, I do not have time this morning so I am going to have to sustain myself with large amounts of coffee to be able to deal with what the day would bring.
As I was getting dressed, I was doing a mental run down of all of our victims, what they all had in common. So far, the only tangible l**k between all the victims was the way the torture they endured, sometimes for hours on end! They had all been held and tortured somewhere secluded so nobody would hear them scream while being tortured, they were then dumped in a very high trafficked area, like the docks. After months of tracking this psycho, they had nothing to show for it! He was very skilled at what he did, no forensic evidence, no clear motive other than this guy really got off on torturing.
When I finally reached the Rice Marina docks I was an hour and a half late, partially due to traffic. I had only made it a few feet from my car when the smell of decaying flesh hit my senses, making me feel like I was punched in the gut. This crime scene was grotesquely worse than any I have ever investigated. I pulled the sleeve of my jacket down and pressed it against my mouth and nose in hopes of dampening the smell. As I neared the body, or what was left of it, something metallic caught my eye. “Mack, what is that around the victim’s neck?”
The coroner was just finished examining the body. “Doc, could you please grab that so it can be bagged or evidence please?” Mack was inching towards the coroner, as not to disturb any evidence, to allow the doc to put the evidence in the open bag that Mack was holding. “It looks like a necklace of some sort.”
I didn’t need to see it up close to recognize what it was. I had that locket specifically made for my friend, Sheila Andercroft, for her birthday last month! My heart seized in my chest and I could barely breath! I needed to get away from the scene before I lost the contents of my stomach.
Xavier Collans had been looking for Sierra Ryas for years now, one of his contacts finally came through with her location. She lived in Klamath Oregon; he was eagerly on his way there the moment he found out. When he arrived, he felt like a stalker watching her from the shadows of a large Elm tree. She was headed from the deli around the corner to her apartment located in the Emerald Knight Apartment building. His anxiety calmed down a bit knowing that she was alive, but his uneasiness didn’t lessen. He was so lost in his thoughts about the past that he wasn’t aware of another presence in the area until the stranger was almost upon Sierra. She was almost to her door, so he needed to act fast. As he looked around, he was thankful that she lived on a street that was isolated from heavy traffic, it made it easier to transform without being seen. He would have to talk to her sooner or later about her past but for right now there were mor
The minute I entered the station house, Mack greeted me with a large mocha with hazelnut flavoring. “There had better be an extra shot of espresso in here!” I grumbled as I brought the cup up to my lips and inhaling deeply. A slow smile spread on my face as I relished in the scent. It was good to have a friend that knew exactly what I liked, I thought to myself as I took my first sip. “Are you seriously asking me?” Mack demanded, playfully. “I think that I have trained you well.” I grinned from ear to ear as he rolled his eyes at me. I was very thankful and glad that we remained friends for all these years. I was taken back to the day a life changing event left me scarred for the rest of my life. My dad was frantically pacing around the kitchen, when Mack and I arrived at my house so many years ago. The ringing of the phones in the station brought me out of my memories. “Anything you want to get off
The man turned up the volume on the television, the then o’clock news was covering his handiwork. Sheila Andercroft was a fiery tempered woman, and he had a lot of fun breaking her! Every artist has to see what impact his work has on the public! He thought to himself, not really paying attention to the comments from the news crew. He remembered the day he ‘met’ her. He “accidentally” bumped into her at a supermarket about two weeks ago. She was browsing the pasta aisle. She never suspected what he was like when she agreed to have dinner with him three days ago, he was able to overpower her quite easily. When she was unconscious, he took her to his playground, for a little bit of fun, his fun! An image on the television screen brought him out of his thoughts, he was glad to see Detective Sierra Ryans. He was quickly seeing her as a worthy adversary, he didn’t deny that she was very attractive and did thin
Xavier realized that Sierra was hard enough to watch over, even without the added danger of the serial killer’s threat hanging over her head. He definitely had his work cut out for him; especially how independent she is. The only true way of knowing, exactly, what the killer was up to was to get all the information. Once he had a nice chat with Agent Miller, he finally understood just what he was up against. He also knew that to keep Sierra safe he needed to help the FBI apprehend this psycho any way he could. He wasn’t ready to leave Sierra alone but what he was about to do next he didn’t want her to see him…yet. He waited in his hiding spot a little while longer just until he was sure he could leave her. The sudden darkness of her apartment let him know that it was safe to leave. He sat in the shadows of the nearest tree that gave him an unobstructed view of her apartment. Once he was absolutely sure she had retired for the n
By six o’ clock, I was really anxious to get home and take some aspirin and take a scalding hot shower! I need to ease the tension out of my body and hopefully my migraine will ease up too. My cell rang as I was digging out my keys, as I approached the front door of my apartment. What the hell could it be now?! I looked at the screen and saw that my on again off again boyfriend, Tucker! I haven’t talked to him in a month, why would he be calling now? I took a slow breath, trying to slow my heartbeat. “Hello?” I was surprised at how calm my voice was given my sporadic heartbeat. “Hey there good looking! It is so good to hear your voice, I have been thinking about you all day!” His voice sounded husky. He had always been able to make her weak in the knees when he spoke. I had a smile on my face just remembering the last time Tucker and I were together. “It good to hear your
I was greeted by Mack the next morning. “You look exhausted. Are your nightmares getting worse?” I just let my grin spread. “Nope, to have nightmares one has to be asleep!” I didn’t deny that I felt exhausted, but my body was still buzzing with the events of last night. “Don’t tell me that you didn’t stay here last night, obsessing about this case?” Mack asked, concerned. “Actually, I didn’t stay here, I had a date last night.” My face blushed. Mack could not contain his shock. “Now not to do the whole overprotective brotherly thing…who is he and what does he do for a living and how come I haven’t heard about him until now?!” I chuckled. “Buy me lunch and I will tell you everything you want to know.” “Deal, now will you at least tell me his name?” I knew why he asked but couldn’t resist my grin. “Fine, but don’t make a big deal about it, you have to promise.” Mac
I will need to get some supplies before I start on my next project. Professor Evans thought to himself as he drove to work. I will need tape, rope, super glue… he never had to worry about forgetting what he needs because of years of mental challenges. He knew that he couldn’t’ afford to keep notes or any records of his acts, he always had to stay on guard. The only thing that has kept him from getting caught was his rule; leave no evidence behind. So far, it’s worked for him. He pulled off the main road and onto a dirt road he continued down the road for about a mile then passed through one of two gates that lead to Knightly Tanner College. The school was actually an old castle style stone building that used to house the insane. Some fifty years ago it was converted into a college, he found it somewhat soothing. The Dean of the school wanted to remodel the school, but the locals banded together in a stri
“Hello?” Dwight was perplexed when she answered the phone. The last he knew, his number was unlisted, and it couldn’t be a friend calling, he didn’t have any. So, who the fuck would be calling me? “Do you have any information yet?” “Xavier how did you get my number?” Dwight all but growled. “Dude, you have had the same number for years! Stop being so paranoid.” Xavier chuckled. Dwight couldn’t believe that he had remembered his number! Damn! Dude had an impeccable memory…looks like I’ll just have to change my number then! “It’s not safe to talk over the phone, how fast can you be here?” “How fast can you get to the front door?” Dwight hung up the phone while heading toward the front door, swearing the whole way. Only Xavier could piss him off this much! “You are a real asshole, you know that! Why didn’t you just tell me that you were at my front d