The Evil One (Guess The Killer Book 3)

by Cyrus Winters

  Ryan pushed open his door and went to get out of the car.

  Nadine stopped him.

  “But it shouldn’t surprise you that you’re a suspect in either scenario.”

  “Get your hands off me,” Ryan said.

  She let go.

  He stepped out onto the road and slammed the door shut.

  As he turned round he saw Justin exiting from the back entrance. Ryan crossed the road to meet him on the footpath.

  “Do you have my phone?” Justin asked.

  “Uh, yeah, sure.” He handed it back.

  Justin looked at it. “Anyone try and call?”

  “No. I don’t believe so.”

  “Any new emails?”

  “Didn’t see any.”

  Justin fixated on the screen, scrolling through.

  “Where’s Kellie?” Ryan asked.

  “Back inside,” Justin said absently.

  “Okay. Well, Detective Shields and I are taking this matter seriously. We’ll need to –”

  “Shields?”

  “She’s new. Taylor Shandling’s partner.”

  “I know who she is.”

  Ryan glanced back at the car. Nadine was just getting out.

  “What’s our next move?” Justin asked.

  “I think Shields wants you, Kellie and Amelia to all come back with us. Then we’ll try and figure out who sent the emails and get in touch with everyone in the class photo.”

  “Right on.” Justin put his phone away. “It’s like almost twenty past ten now. Maybe the whole thing was a joke.”

  “That’s what I was thinking.”

  “You don’t know anything about that, do you?”

  “Me? God no,” Ryan gushed.

  Nadine approached from across the road. Ryan stepped back.

  “Hello. Uh… Detective Shields,” Justin said. Ryan noticed an odd tone to his voice.

  “Yeah, it’s me,” Nadine said. “You’ve got a dog detective for your dog case.”

  “Okay.”

  “Go back inside and get Amelia and Kellie, like Officer Dobbs should have instructed you over the phone.”

  “Right.” Justin hesitated.

  “Now, Officer.”

  He turned around and re-entered the building.

  Ryan looked at her sideways. “You met him before?”

  Nadine nodded. “He’s a nice fellow.”

  “Uh. Yeah. He is.”

  “But you can go off him.”

  “Um…”

  “You can go wait in the car, if you like.” Nadine pulled a cigarette out. Started smoking.

  Ryan stuffed his hands in his pockets. Began walking across the road.

  Halfway across he stopped.

  A voice was crying out inside.

  “This is nuts,” he murmured. Then turned. “Nadine.”

  “Yeah?”

  “This is totally nuts.”

  “What is?”

  Ryan looked to either side of the empty road. “It’s exactly what they want. Getting us all worked up like this. But … I see it now. It might not be a prank. But this guy is just fucking with us.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “I mean wherever this guy is. He’s watching us. He’s laughing at us. But he would never –”

  At that exact moment something dropped out of the sky and landed on the road between Ryan and Nadine.

  There was a twisting, crunch sound upon impact, the bones and skull shattering like a cracked egg.

  Blood, pulp, pieces of tissue and some of what used to be Kellie’s brain, splattered all over Ryan’s face and jacket. As he was still speaking. Midsentence.

  He looked down at the ground.

  “FFFUUUCCCCKKK –”

  Chapter 16

  The music hadn’t been turned down. If anything it was louder. Justin splashed water on his face opposite the bathroom mirror, then proceeded to dry his face with a towel. There was something shaking. A constant hum. A constant vibration. More than the noise. More than the spinning lights. The axis had been disturbed.

  Justin stepped out of the bathroom, walking headfirst into Ryan’s roommate, Chip Hannebury.

  The basket of nuts flew out of his hand and sprayed across the floor.

  “Ouch,” Chip said rubbing his head. “Watch where you’re going.”

  “Sorry,” Justin muttered.

  Chip moved by him to use the bathroom.

  “Listen, have you seen Kellie?” Justin asked. “Did she go out or something?”

  “I don’t know,” Chip said. “I thought you were with her on the balcony.”

  “Yeah,” Justin said. “That was before.”

  Chip closed the door.

  Justin moved round into the living room. The party was in full motion.

  Amelia stood up from the sofa amidst a group of people and walked over to him.

  “Where’s Kellie?” he asked.

  Amelia shrugged.

  Justin sighed. “Alright. That’s it.”

  He went round to the sound setup and crawled underneath the table to yank out the power chords. The commotion of people conversing quickly died along with the music.

  “I’m really sorry,” Justin said, standing back up. “We’ve had some noise complaints, and I need everyone to leave.”

  The crowd appeared startled.

  Eventually someone piped up. “Where’s Kellie?”

  “Yeah, where’s Kellie?”

  “Kellie said we could be here until after one.”

  “Kellie said we could stay the night.”

  “Kellie…?”

  “Kellie!”

  She wasn’t there. She wasn’t answering.

  Justin turned back to Amelia. “Are you sure you haven’t seen her?”

  “She was just out on the balcony,” one of the friends said. “By herself.”

  “I saw someone else out there,” someone else said.

  “Alright, alright,” Justin said. “Well, she’s not there now. Everybody I need you to leave –”

  A loud crash came from the other end of the apartment, with the front door banging open, and people barking orders.

  Justin moved round to hallway just as Ryan and Nadine entered with their weapons drawn, forcing the others forward.

  “No one is leaving!” Ryan announced.

  “Why?” Justin demanded. “What’s going on?”

  “One of these people is a killer,” Nadine said.

  Chapter 17

  Leoncelli got to the bar a little after ten thirty. He found a quiet place in the corner where he got seated. In front of him were two shots of whiskey and a glass of beer. Enough to get him started. It had been quite a day.

  With only a few minutes gone by he had demolished the shots and half the beer. He remained seated, soaking in the warm aromas of his surroundings. His thoughts, when left unchecked, fell back into what was left of his family. The tragedies. And mild accidents. And hurtful words and screaming. It all washed along his brain like liquor. With effort, he could allow himself to think about other things. All of his good deeds. And the misdeeds. In a way things would never end for him. But he was grateful for the pause.

  “Drunk already then?”

  Leoncelli looked up. A tall, swaggering individual by the name of Special Agent Dwayne Ross stepped in the other side of his booth, throwing a small stack of files onto the table. A bar attendee quickly followed him in from behind, taking his drink order, and renewing Leoncelli’s.

  “So how’d it go then?” he asked Ross once the attendee left.

  Ross patted the files. “Everything you asked for.”

  “You looked at any of it?”

  “A quick look, yeah.”

  “Anything stand out to you?”

  Ross pulled the first manila folder off the pile and separated it from the others. “Officer Justin Hodge. Twenty-eight-years-old. Recently engaged to be married. Graduated from the academy at twenty-three. Has a well-off family. Both parents are respected pro
fessionals in the medical community. His cousins are –”

  “Dirt,” Leoncelli said. “Have you got any dirt on him?”

  “This one, is pretty clean,” Ross answered. “Got busted for public transport fare evasion a few years ago, but –”

  “That’s it?”

  Ross shrugged. “Shall we move on?”

  Leoncelli took the folder from him and opened it. Looked through.

  Nodded.

  “Next up, Officer Ryan Dobbs. Twenty-seven-years-old. Graduated at –”

  “Get to the point.”

  “Well, he’s another squeaky-clean kid who’s done his training. Marks never outstanding but a far cry from below average. High level of fitness. Athletic body, athletic mind. No dirt on him, however if you allow me to present you with Exhibit C. There is a file on his older brother Lachlan Dobbs.”

  “Is he in the force?”

  “Uh. No.”

  Ross planted it in front of him as Leoncelli pushed the other too away.

  This one was a bit meatier.

  He opened it.

  “Lachlan Dobbs is what we’ll refer to as a ‘youtube prankster’. He’s been arrested a bunch of times but nothing has ever stuck. Usually because the victims refuse to press charges.”

  “What sort of views does he get?”

  “I don’t know. He’s meant to have half a million subscribers though so I’m sure it’s a fair bit.”

  “No kidding.”

  “Yeah. There’s a bit of reading there. But before you get busy with that file I have another one for you – perhaps the juiciest of all.”

  Leoncelli looked up. “Detective Shields?”

  Ross put it on the table. “There’s some rather ugly stuff in that. Was reasonably hard to get my hands on as well. I’d say she has people higher up the chain looking after her.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “I mean, people don’t want the likes of us sniffing around this woman.”

  “What’s there to find?”

  “A history of mental illness to start with. She’s been in and out of doctor’s offices since she was in high school.”

  Leoncelli stopped flipping through. “Where does it lead?”

  “You’ll have to read it yourself to find out.”

  Leoncelli looked up at him. “I thought you said you had something for me. Something … worthwhile.”

  “I do. And I’m sorry I haven’t been able to absorb every word and detail from these pages in the five minutes I had them. But anyway, I ran that email address you gave me.”

  “Yes.”

  “It was sent on an anonymous network as you suspected.”

  “Naturally.”

  “But I was able to break the encryption. It was sent from an internet café just around the corner.”

  “They have surveillance in there.”

  “Apparently they do. Haven’t swung by there yet, so –”

  Leoncelli stood up just as the attendee was arriving with their drinks.

  “Heading out guys?” the attendee asked.

  Ross patiently accepted his drink and turned it slowly along the table’s surface.

  Leoncelli sat back down. “Not just yet, I guess.”

  Chapter 18

  Ten to eleven. Justin was on the floor in the corner of one of the interrogation rooms. The door was closed, locked. The chairs and table upended. All of which at some point, had been thrown at the door.

  His face was red. His eyes filled with tears. Their last moments together hadn’t been all that pleasant or memorable, but that didn’t change the fact that Justin had just lost the love of his life.

  To a killer.

  No doubt, someone along the way would suggest she’d thrown herself off. Or that she fell. They were still trying to figure out what had happened.

  Justin, of course, knew what had happened. He’d received an email telling him all about it. That’s the original email being referred to. There was no second email. There was no contact. And now his phone was in the hands of the precinct. And he was locked up here. Like a suspect.

  Before he could lose himself completely in thought, the door buzzed open again and Ryan entered with Detective Shields and the precinct Captain, Miguel Culhane.

  Justin slowly lifted himself up the wall.

  “How are you feeling?” Captain Culhane asked.

  “No one’s telling me anything,” Justin snapped. “You’ve just thrown me in here –”

  Culhane waved his hand, silencing him. “You haven’t been here that long. Let’s not get ourselves out of place.”

  Justin shook his head. “Do you know about the email I got?”

  “Yes, I’ve been apprised,” Culhane said. “We have some work ahead of us. I’ve appointed Detective Shields head of the investigation into your fiancé’s death, with the obvious possibility of more lives being at stake. I’ve put in a request for some help from the C.I.D. office so some of their agents may also get involved. In the meantime I’d like the three of you to put together a profile before they get here.”

  “You mean I’m not a suspect?” Justin asked. “You’re letting me in on this thing?”

  “Not – not exactly,” Shields answered.

  Culhane looked at her. “Just get to work on the profile. We’ll see where we go from there.”

  He stood aside, leaving the doorway open.

  “Thank God,” Justin muttered under his breath.

  They exited the room.

  Chapter 19

  Special Agent Ross put his phone away, twisting in the dim footpath outside the café. “He’ll be here in ten minutes.”

  Leoncelli’s back rested against the brick wall. He inhaled from his cigarette.

  Then breathed out.

  “Want me to hang around I suppose?” Ross asked.

  “You have somewhere else to be?”

  “I always do. Unless…”

  “Unless?”

  Ross chuckled. “I don’t know.” He pulled a smoke out and joined Leoncelli in tobacco inhalation. “I’m always on the lookout for that next big case. You know. How it used to be in the old days. Where one or two men could make a difference.”

  “I can relate.” Leoncelli held the cigarette to his lips. Paused. “I don’t think this is one of those though.”

  “Probably not, I suppose.”

  “I’ll give Detective Shields a call. Make sure there aren’t any developments.”

  “You do that. I’ll be right here.”

  “Yeah.”

  Detective Leoncelli flicked his cigarette away and bounced off the wall. He took a few steps down the path, the phone to his ear. The dial tone caressing the insides of his brain –

  “Not a good time,” Detective Shields said, answering her phone. “Call me back in half an hour.”

  “Wait just a second,” Leoncelli said quickly. “I’m with you on this freaky email case. I’m running up a lead right now. I just need to know whether anything’s happened yet.”

  A pause. “I’m surprised it isn’t all over your updates.”

  “Who reads those,” Leoncelli muttered.

  “Look. Officer Hodge’s fiancé has been killed. I’m in charge of the investigation, at least for now. When you’re done with the lead meet us down at the precinct and we’ll crack this thing together.”

  “Alright. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  Leoncelli put his phone away. Turned back to Special Agent Ross.

  “Any developments?” Ross asked.

  Leoncelli stuffed his hands in his pockets and trudged on over. Looked at the sky a moment. Images flickering through his mind.

  “Nothing yet,” Leoncelli said. “It’s looking more and more like a hoax. You can run along to your other thing if you want. I’ll finish up with the owner here.”

  Ross frowned. His eyes grew smaller. “Are you sure?”

  Leoncelli looked at him without replying.

  Ross’s head went back. Then he nodded. “I�
��ll check in on you later. Make sure things are still going smoothly.”

  Leoncelli smiled. “Your services are always welcome.”

  Chapter 20

  Detective Nadine Shields was in the restroom with the door locked, the water running. Her phone and sunglasses sitting on the counter. She stared at herself in the mirror, as her fingers passed through the water’s flow. Tingly. Prickly. Static. A current swam through her body. Her face was a mask out there, amongst her colleagues. Confident but not arrogant. Considering but not sly. She dressed for the part – her face every bit as fabric as her clothing. She knew what she wanted. But she would have to sell it to them. She would have sell why they should listen to her. Why she even mattered at all.

  The phone was on speaker and dialing her partner. Two calls had already gone through unanswered. She kept on pressing connect. Any excuse not to face them. Any way out so she wouldn’t be centre stage.

  “Hello?”

  Finally.

  “Hi Taylor,” Nadine said. “I’ve been trying to reach you.”

  “Oh. I know.”

  Nadine smiled thinly. Waited.

  “I was just looking at this stuff you sent me.” A pause. “And what the Captain posted.”

  “They want me to go lead on this,” Nadine said. “I’m not sure I’m ready. It’s probably better if you came in and took over.”

  “I’m not doing that.”

  “What? Why not?”

  “Because you need this. You need them to see that you’re a good detective.”

  “You don’t think that about me –”

  “I don’t think what?”

  “That I’m good.”

  “You are good. Seriously. I mean, I can come in if you really need me, if it gets too much for you. But the Captain’s given you the lead, so I think you should take it. Your observations about what we should be doing all seem in order. I think you’ll be okay.”

  Nadine nodded. Exhaled deeply. “It’s just so personal. It being Justin’s fiancé at all –”

  “Yeah. I wouldn’t bring that stuff up.”

  “What stuff?”

  “Between you and Justin.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m not an idiot, Nadine. I saw how the two of you were behaving last week –”