Black Rose

by Steele, Suzanne

  That fucking Black Rose—if he wants war he has got it. This is like something from a movie. The guy is challenging me by sending those black roses to my ex-fiancée. The only thing that isn’t making any sense to me is why. I’m not even bothered by the fact that he knows I’m a serial killer. He has too much to lose to go the police like a normal citizen would. No… this is a mind-fuck of sorts and I’m not beyond partaking in a good ole fashioned duel of wits.

  I’m shocked when I go to his website. The guy has a cult following and I can’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy. There is page after page of love letters, art work, and even marriage proposals. Women have sent their pictures in and, whether it’s of their face or a body part, I can tell they are all beautiful women that any man would love to have pining after him. Why don’t I have any fans like that? What does he have that I don’t?

  I hate this man. In just one afternoon, he has taken me back to the nightmare of high school and has me feeling like a wallflower geek again. I was finally getting the respect I deserve as a serial killer, and he comes in like some superstar villain and takes it all away. Seriously, what is this? Battle of the blood thirsty serial killers? I mean, really, he started this when he sent those fucking ugly ass black roses to Evelyn. He’s purposely trying to make it look like I’m responsible for the black rose killings. His timing couldn’t have been worse either. Those agents sitting in my office when Evelyn came in screeching like she thought she was getting a second chance at love was beyond inconvenient.

  I’m back to plan A, but with a twist. I’m going to kill that whore, Selena and then frame Black Rose for it. I’m going to give him a dose of his own medicine. I know I’m acting like a petulant child but I can’t seem to help myself right now. If that guy Black Rose wants a fight, then I’ll damn sure give him one. I’m going to enjoy killing her after what her hero of a boyfriend did to me. I was already angry due to needing another kill under my belt, but now…I’m enraged, and there is no one I would rather see suffer my wrath than that no good whore. I’m mad enough to kill and I’m mad at three specific people right now: Black Rose, Dr. Ozment, and that whore, Selena.

  They’re all going to be sorry they have provoked me… very, very, sorry. I turn off the computer in disgust and decide right then and there to build my own website, one better than his… I really need to kill someone to blow off some of this steam. I’m pissed!

  Chapter Twenty Four

  Selena

  “Oh my gosh, you are relentless, Eric. I’m calling her now. I’m also going home to start dinner.”

  He kisses me on the cheek and allows me to exit his office. Everyone speaks to me or nods as I make my way through the hospital halls. Even doctors I don’t know acknowledge me. It amazes me how everyone knows we are dating. This place really is its own separate entity.

  I dial Rene’s number to inform her about issues I had been discussing with Eric. I think it’s silly to contact her but he insists after I was threatened. Though he doesn’t believe Bill could be a serial killer, he does find it to be very disturbing that he enjoys icing women down before he sleeps with him. Who does that? I have to agree that I find it to be very creepy too.

  Rene answers the phone.

  “Hello?” I immediately sense her hesitation, due to my number being unmarked.

  “Hi, I’m not certain if you will even remember me. We met at Diego’s club and my name is Selena.” She directs me to continue after she says she vaguely remembers me. “I believe I may have some information concerning one of your cases. Could we possibly meet somewhere?”

  I’m shocked when she agrees to meet me right away. We both decide on a coffee shop near Eric’s home and I juggle my bags, making my way to my car as I hang up. Unlike most people at work, I keep my laptop with me wherever I go and that means carrying it back and forth to work. I struggle getting my door open because there is a van parked much too close to me. I never see the man who opens the sliding door. I just feel a prick in my skin and then darkness.

  I have no way of knowing I have become a serial killer’s obsession and, most certainly, not in a good way. There will be no mercy shown to me because the man who now has me in his possession hates me, detests my boyfriend, and, most certainly, loathes the new life I am trying to build. There will be no mercy for me… only revenge…

  Dr. Anderson

  A wave of adrenaline courses through me as I pull her body into the van and yank the cap down over my eyes. I make my way out of the hospital parking garage without worry because it’s broad daylight and there is no security on guard.

  I can feel my cock thicken as I listen to her moans coming from behind my seat. She is so drugged that all of her muscles are affected and even simple motor skills have become a challenge for her to perform. I like to either restrain a woman or drug her to the point where she is incapacitated, but not completely paralyzed. In my mind, complete immobilization should be saved for the moment of death. When a woman is no longer moving, she is at her most vulnerable and beautiful state because she is bereft of life. She leaves this world as she came—with nothing. I am powerful at that moment because I am the deity who ensnared her and obtained her all. It is as if her strength and vitality flow out of her and enter into my very being when I take her body. It is the last time she will ever be fucked by a man and I am that man. It is all so very euphoric to a morbid beast like me. In these last moments of a woman’s life, I become strong. I become powerful. I become… a god.

  I drive to an industrial park in Louisville where I have purchased a warehouse for situations just like this. I pull up to the loading dock and drag her body in, locking the door behind me. I make my way over to the large, metal, operating table and hoist her body up onto its cold surface. I am eagerly anticipating the moment her body will be as cold and as lifeless as the table she now lies on.

  First things first though… I reach for a small metal table with wheels on it and pull it up to gain better access to the implements neatly arranged on its surface. Ahh, where to start… A pair of industrial strength scissors catches my eye and I begin the process of cutting off her clothes.

  I had forgotten how beautiful she is until she smiles at me, turning her head in my direction and looking at me as if I am the love of her life. Though I’m well aware the drugs have her in a euphoric state, it is extremely satisfying to have such a gorgeous woman eyeing me as if she wants me. All my life I have been ignored by beautiful women, but not today. Today I am her beginning, her end, and her everything in between.

  I take my time stroking my fingers over her beautiful, brown nipples. My cock jumps when they peak at my touch and she starts to writhe in sexual need. The drug I have given her also contains an aphrodisiac and she is responding so well. I can almost believe she is truly turned on by me.

  “I’m going to kill you, my precious love, and then I’m going to fuck your cold, lifeless body. It will be the last time any man ever uses you for pleasure. Mine will be the last face you ever see.”

  Her beautiful, chocolate brown eyes shine in the dimly lit room as she relinquishes her will to me due to her drugged state. There is no fight or resistance. There is only her submission to me—the omnipotent holder of life and death…

  Black Rose

  I knew as soon as he logged onto my site, that I had him hook, line, and sinker. Sending those black roses to his Evelyn must have really pissed him off. He did what all notorious killers do when they get angry—he reacted out of emotion rather than using logic.

  I’m surprised he decided to abduct this specific woman. I had been under the erroneous assumption that he would kill his ex-fiancée just to rid himself of her. I’m glad I went with my gut instinct to follow him.

  I remove a pair of bolt cutters from my trunk and sidle over to the door of the warehouse. I’m not prepared for the locking mechanism he has on the door so I ease against the building and make my around to a window. I can clearly see a nude woman lying on a metal table. The mad doctor has his back to
me and is already molesting her drugged body with his fingers and hands. I’m relieved she is still alive.

  The music in the makeshift operating room is blaring and I use it to cover the sound as I smash out the window and climb through. Unfortunately, I don’t go unnoticed and a struggle ensues.

  “You think you can make me irrelevant because of your cult following? Everyone will know my name after today when I kill the famous Black Rose Killer. You’ll be nothing but an insignificant memory.”

  He escapes my grip and moves to raise the scissors up in his hand. The maneuver provides me the perfect opportunity to reach into my pocket and pull out my gun. I put a bullet right between his eyes; I don’t have time to fuck around. I grab his cell phone with my gloved hand after I verify that he is truly dead. I suddenly start thinking about that children’s movie with the little people, you know, that part when the munchkin doctor declares the witch is most certainly dead. I swear, the oddest things go through your head when you kill someone.

  I dial Agent Turner’s number and say nothing. I just leave the line open, knowing that he’ll be able to track it. I reach in my coat and remove the one black rose I have brought with me and place it on the chest of a man who is no more. The wind blows my coat so that it billows out behind me, much like the cape of a super hero, as I make my way back out to my car, bolt cutters in hand.

  I am a killer—a monster to some, a vigilante to others, and Black Rose to my fans. Long live my legacy…

  Agent Turner

  I fight off a feeling I’m very unfamiliar with—panic. After Selena failed to make her appointment with Rene, supposedly to reveal information vital to our case, we immediately head to the hospital. The parking garage has now become a taped off crime scene and her boyfriend is as panicked as I am. I’m grateful for my ability to hide my emotions because the doctor is not able to exercise control over his right now. I feel for him because I know how I would feel if it was the woman I have come to know as my Mistress.

  It is evident she has been abducted. The spilled contents of her purse and her car door being left open both indicate that she was forcibly taken against her will. We are presently viewing the surveillance tape on our phones but it is giving us no leads. This girl is going to get killed. She has no cell phone in her possession and, right now, she is at the mercy of a crazed necrophiliac with a vendetta against her boyfriend.

  Our first lead comes when my cell phone rings with an unidentified number. I grab Rene and we make our way to the car, not knowing yet where we are headed. The tech I contacted will be able to track the phone and relay where the call originated. She does so in a matter of moments and I can only hope and pray that we make it in time to save this woman.

  We arrive in the warehouse district in record time. The large, sliding door has been left open as if anticipating our arrival. Music blares from the speakers as we enter to view the subject of a killer’s obsession on a large metal table. I rush over to discover a faint pulse and immediately call for an ambulance. She is alive but drugged. I can’t remember a time I have ever been as relieved as I am right at this moment. I reach over to grab Rene and hug her. It’s odd, the things that go through your mind when a case affects you this deeply.

  I look over in the corner and see the lifeless body of our serial killer. His eyes are open and he stares off into space. He has the look of a man who has breathed his last breath and entered the portals of hell. I’m sure a special place has been reserved just for his sick, demented soul.

  My eye immediately catches the black rose and note neatly placed on the corpse.

  Agent Turner—so we meet again. I keep telling you that I’m the good guy. One day, you will realize I am not the enemy. I believe I am not being egotistical in saying this is our first case that we’ve solved together. I look forward to working with you again…

  Sincerely, Black Rose

  Rene looks up at me surreptitiously and I know what question she is secretly asking me. I respond with an almost imperceptible nod of my head and she reaches down to grab the evidence of the rose and the note just as we hear the wail of an approaching siren in the distance. The secret of Black Rose will go with us to our graves…

  Prologue for The Hit Man:

  Reading order: # 1 The Hit Man, # 2 The Contract, # 3 Bound by Blood

  This story unfolds over four volumes, approximately 25 - 30,000 words each.

  By the time you look into my eyes, nine times out of ten, it's too late.

  I have two rules that I live by: Never fuck a woman more than once, and never kill one. I'm getting ready to break both of those rules…