Untainted: (Crime Romance: The Photographer Trilogy #3)

by Sarah Robinson

  UNTAINTED

  The Final Book of The Photographer Trilogy

  By

  Sarah Robinson

  Untainted © Sarah Robinson

  Editing by Michael R. Burhans

  Formatting by Michael R. Burhans

  Balaat Professional Services

  Find Michael on Facebook, Twitter, or his Website.

  Email Michael at baalatproservices@gmail.com

  Cover Design by Kim Black

  Check out the amazingly talented Kim Black, Author of The Cover Series.

  Find Kim’s books on Amazon and other retailers, or her design service on Facebook.

  Email Kim at bookcoversbykim@gmail.com.

  Copyright © 2014 by Sarah Robinson

  All rights reserved. This document may not be reproduced in any way without the expressed written consent of the author. The ideas, characters, and situations presented in this story are strictly fictional and any unintentional likeness to real people or real situations is completely coincidental.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please delete and support the author by purchasing the book from one of its many distributors. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  DISCLAIMER:

  Due to violent and dark subject matters, this book is meant for 18+ years of age only.

  Dedication

  This series is dedicated to my husband, Justin, who is the best police officer I know and the inspiration for all the law enforcement parts of The Photographer Trilogy. He read every bit of this series before anyone else, and made sure every police procedure and reference was correct- but most importantly, he was there for me. He watched me cry and bleed my past into this book and encouraged me to continue, knowing that I needed to write Kate’s story, my story, in order to heal.

  This book, and the entire Photographer Trilogy, is dedicated to every woman who has survived a sexual assault of any kind. To every woman whose stomach clenches when she walks down a dark alley. To every woman who has looked evil in the face and can still hold her head high, still love, and still remember that there is good in this world if you are willing to look for it.

  To everyone who has learned that the evil we’ve seen and the evil we’ve been...

  will never define who we are inside.

  The world might be tainted, but we don’t have to be.

  CONNECT ON SOCIAL MEDIA

  with Sarah

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  Read Books 1 & 2 IN

  the photographer trilogy

  Find Tainted Bodies on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, and Createspace.

  Find Tainted Pictures on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, and Createspace.

  Signed paperbacks are available on Author website.

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  Dear Readers-

  I spoke about this a bit in the Author’s Note in the revised version of Tainted Bodies (Sept. 2014), but I want to reiterate this important topic as the trilogy comes to a close. While the entire trilogy does broach the topic of sexual assault, Untainted in particular is a darker than average read. People are hurt. People are killed. People make mistakes, the kind that will have you screaming at your e-reader with rage, maybe even disgust.

  Sexual assault and child abuse are openly discussed and somewhat detailed; however, please know that I am fully aware of how difficult those sections might be to read for most people. I am not, nor would I ever, write scenes like that for the “thrill” or “shock” value, or just to upset you. I write those specific scenes because this is based on a real story that deserves the harsh truth to be told. Even if it was a complete work of fiction, these are situations and crimes that do occur in our world much more often, and much closer to us, than we would like to think.

  I ask you to go into this story with an open mind, not only because this is based on a true story, but because these topics are important to discuss. These evils need to be understood and not hidden. Survivors need outlets to be able to feel and share their stories, it is the only way that healing can occur. I urge anyone with triggers from abuse to take care of themselves while reading any part of this trilogy. Use this reading as a form of healing, revenge, and justice- let it be the words you might not have gotten the chance to say. Most importantly, please know that there is always someone to call and resources available.

  You are never alone.

  The world might be tainted, but we don’t have to be.

  Love,

  Sarah Robinson

  emergency numbers

  If you feel like you might hurt yourself, please call 911 immediately.

  If you need someone to talk to,

  please call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at

  1-800-656-HOPE or 1-800-656-4673 (open 24/7 and has an online hotline as well).

  If you are feeling depressed or suicidal, please feel free to utilize the

  National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (open 24/7) at

  1-800-273-TALK or 1-800-273-8255.

  If you are aware or suspect child abuse of any type, please call the

  National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.

  **These numbers are accurate as of October 2014. If they do not work at the time you try them, please Google the updated numbers or call 911 if it’s an emergency.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Sarah Robinson is the four-time Amazon Bestselling Author of Sand & Clay, Logan’s Story, Tainted Bodies, and Tainted Pictures. Her very popular trilogy, The Photographer Trilogy, includes Tainted Bodies, Tainted Pictures, and this current book, Untainted. Her latest publications include Sand & Clay and Logan’s Story, both in the Sand & Clay Series. All of her novels have reached Amazon’s Bestseller Rank in Crime, Crime, Thriller, Contemporary Romance, and/or Romantic Suspense. She also has a very large social media following with over twelve thousand Facebook fans.

  Her writing often concentrates on the complexity of love in emotions, combining psychological complexities and human flaws to create very real characters that readers can relate with. Her work focuses on redemption and forgiveness, learning to build on what has been broken. Her characters are often in conflicting situations, leaving the reader to decide what is right and what is wrong. She uses her stories to hold a mirror up to the reader and ask them to see things they never knew, or had forgotten, about themselves.

  Sarah Robinson is a native of the Washington, DC area and has both her Bachelors and Masters Degrees in criminal psychology. She is newly married to her soul mate, Justin, who is just as much of an animal rescue enthusiasts as she is. Together, they own a zoo of rescues including dogs, cats, and turtles, as well as volunteering and fostering for multiple animal shelters.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Death is nothing like the movies. Spending your whole life watching crime shows and scary movies, you see murder scenes that range from comical to gruesome. You think you have seen it all. You think you know what it would be like.

  You think you know what to expect.

  You don’t.

  ~~~~~~

  D
errick slowly walked down the front steps of Kate’s apartment building onto the sidewalk, not even aware of the flashing cameras or murmuring crowd gathered around. The front of the building was roped off with crime scene tape and barricades, keeping the curious neighbors and passersby at bay while investigators tried to manage the harrowing scene they had just been presented with.

  Even though it was very early on a bright Saturday morning, the crowd was quite sizable as no one seemed able to pass up the chance to stand and gawk at the drama unfolding before them.

  Some people were still wearing pajamas and robes, mothers were hushing their children, and a few stragglers looked like they were just getting home from last night. Everyone was craning their necks hoping to see something, anything that they could gossip and brag about later online.

  Excitement and fear rippled through the crowd like a rumor impossible to cage once it’s been released. Derrick clenched his jaw as he surveyed everyone standing around watching, feeling a slight flare of anger rumble up through him. If any of these people actually saw what he had just seen, they wouldn’t be eagerly standing around for more.

  A high pitched wailing and hoarse sobbing came from an ambulance about ten feet away from him parked on the street within the barricades. The back doors were open and Annie was sitting there, wrapped in multiple blankets with several paramedics hovering around her trying to calm her down.

  Annie was Kate’s baby sister and her sobs ripped at everyone’s hearts as they thought of everything that she had just lost. Derrick watched her, his face stone cold. He hadn’t cried yet. He couldn’t even bring himself to understand what had just happened, let alone allow himself to feel the magnitude of pain creeping up on him. So he stood there, silent and blank faced.

  He didn’t want to feel any of this.

  A paramedic draped a thick and itchy blanket over Derrick’s shoulders and tried to wrap him in it, but Derrick just pushed the young man away. He pulled the blanket tightly around himself, not wanting anyone else to touch him. He was still standing on the sidewalk when he heard some commotion behind him causing him to turn and look.

  Multiple crime scene technicians were emerging from the front of the building and bringing a large gurney along with them. Strapped down to the gurney was a large black bag in the silhouette of a person. Even though it was zipped up and hidden from sight, the smell of death crept out from its plastic and hung in the air leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind as to what it held inside.

  Derrick’s breath caught in his throat and he felt dizzy, suddenly needing to find something sturdy to steady himself. He grabbed the railing on the outside of the building’s steps and took a deep breath. He couldn’t stop the images of the last hour from replaying in his mind again and again.

  Real blood isn’t the corn syrup and red dye mockingly used in films. Real blood doesn’t have that bright red sheen or stay on the other side of a television screen so you can’t smell the coppery scent stinging your nostrils. Only an hour ago, Derrick had rushed into Kate’s apartment and everything he saw was real.

  The dark red blood pooling beneath the body was real.

  The vacant stare and bludgeoned face that once use to smile was real.

  The pungent odor of dying flesh, vacated bowels, and blood was real.

  Detective McCraig had been the first one through the door as he kicked it right off its hinges, splitting the wood. Detective Snow had immediately followed him and Derrick knew things were going south when he saw her turn away, her face pale and sickly looking, as she leaned her hand against her partner’s shoulder for support.

  Derrick tried to grab Annie right then, knowing she shouldn’t see whatever hell was awaiting them in that apartment, but she was too fast for him. She flung past all three of them and the scream that followed stabbed at everyone’s heart. He heard that scream every time he closed his eyes.

  Reluctantly and with fear coursing through his body, Derrick took a few more steps forward until he was next to the detectives and in full view of the crime scene before him. The apartment he had been in hundreds of times, Kate’s apartment, was unrecognizable.

  Almost every piece of furniture had been upended or knocked over. Shattered glass from a picture frame crunched beneath his feet. A broken mirror littered the floor a few feet away from him. A potted plant tossed dirt across the hallway. They were standing in the entrance to her living room and even with all the surrounding wreckage, the first thing everyone saw was the body in the center of the room.

  Derrick’s feet felt as if they had been glued to the floor, unable to move, as he stared wide-eyed at Annie who had flung herself onto the body and was screaming at top volume. Her cries filled the silence from the rest of the group as everyone absorbed the scene around them.

  Annie was rocking back and forth while hugging his head against her chest, cradling him. She was screaming again and again for her Uncle Lenny to wake up. Her voice was frantic and panicked but filled with sorrow at the same time.

  Detective McCraig stepped forward and pulled her up, telling her she couldn’t touch the body, and she threw herself at McCraig clinging to him and crying into his shirt.

  Uncle Lenny was not sleeping.

  Uncle Lenny was dead.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Just because she was in law enforcement and had been at crime scenes before, didn’t mean that she was prepared for the blood bath that she had walked into in the early hours of this Saturday morning. Detective Elizabeth Snow, who normally went by just Liz, followed the coroner out of the apartment building and then stood on the top steps looking down at the scene below her.

  She wasn’t ready to go down and join the chaos, but glad to be out of the horrors a few floors above her. For a precious moment, she wanted to stay in her homemade limbo and run from the gore above her and the grief below her.

  She saw Derrick standing to the side at the bottom of the stairs, leaning one hand on the railing to steady himself. The look on his face was hard to decipher, some combination of fear, guilt, and disbelief. He just kept shaking his head and staring at the concrete below him, as if he hoped it would cave in and he could drop into a hell he could actually understand.

  Liz felt a pang in her heart for him and she realized that this would always be a part of the job that she would never be comfortable with. There is no easy way to tell someone that the love of their life is missing and most likely dead. That you did nothing to stop it.

  She had known that the Photographer was lurking around her and Kate, somehow still just inches out of their grasp. She had a police cruiser go by Kate’s apartment every 15 minutes for protection and yet the officers had seen nothing.

  They even drove past multiple times while Lenny was being bludgeoned to death. She felt her stomach flip over again at the thought of the sticky, brown blood all over the floor and walls upstairs.

  She noticed that Kate’s little sister, Annie, was finally quieting down after having spent the last hour, since they discovered the disaster, wailing at the top of her lungs. She was hysterical over the death of her uncle, which was understandable, because Lenny and Kate were the only family that she had in the entire world. Now they were both gone. Lenny was dead and Kate was missing.

  Kate was missing.

  Liz closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she thought about the new and budding friendship that she had been forming with Kate. She worked in a profession that was all men and masculinity, so her first female friendship in a while had become precious to her.

  She genuinely enjoyed Kate as a person and spending time with her, even though the only time that they had spent together so far was usually related to Kate’s case. Their banter and conversations weren’t always though, and they had gotten to know each other well over the many weeks since Kate’s first attack.

  Mike McCraig, Liz’s partner walked up to her after escorting Lenny’s body into the coroner’s van. She noticed dark bags under his eyes and a downward tilt on the corner of his lips. He was
not one to show his emotions, so she was fascinated by even this small hint of feeling etched onto his face.

  “Coroner found this tucked into the front pocket of Lenny’s pants.” He handed her a plastic bag with a small instant photograph inside.

  “Of course, he left a photograph. Fucker.” Liz held it up closer to get a better look.

  The photograph was black and white, but Kate’s face was clear as day. She looked terrified and there was duct tape across her mouth.

  “You think this means he is keeping her alive? Maybe ransom?” McCraig asked his partner.

  “I don’t think this bastard cares about money at this point.” Liz countered, studying the photograph.

  “This was taken in her apartment, up against the window. He wanted us to know he didn’t care if people could see him. He’s become brazen, fuck, he might even know that we know who he is now.” Liz handed the photo back to McCraig.

  “Liz, I’m going to call the magistrate and try to get us a warrant for Frank’s place. We need more evidence connecting him if we are going to get any magistrate to sign. What do you have?” He asked her, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

  “Let’s look into his background. I guarantee you if we do, we will find the link between him and Craig. With that, plus his connection to Lenny, being his assistant and all... I mean, it’s gotta be him!” Liz stammered, trying to pull pieces together in her brain and hoping that they fit.

  “Crap, this is going to take a while and time isn’t exactly on our side right now. Kate has already been gone over an hour.” Liz continued, groaning.