The Campus Killer (Detective Ali Ryan Series Book 1)

by Andrew Hess

  I walked into the station Monday morning feeling more relaxed than I had in a long time. I walked to my desk finding my partner already working on a small stack of paperwork from the tickets he handed out over the weekend.

  “Someone’s in a good mood,” Rodney shouted as he noticed the ear to ear grin I had on my face. He looked me over carefully. “I know that look.”

  “What look?”

  He leaned in close to whisper in my ear. “Someone got lucky this weekend.” Rodney laughed and I responded with a punch to his arm.

  “Cut the crap,” I said while pulling my chair out. “We need to get to work on the case before the Lieutenant blows another gasket on me.”

  “There’s not much we can do here.”

  I grabbed my phone and dialed the number for the D.A. to set up an appointment for later that day. All I told her was I needed a warrant to check out records at the New Paltz campus.

  I placed the phone back on the receiver and looked up at Rodney. “We’ve got a meeting in a half hour to convince her to get us the warrant.”

  Rodney gave me a “you gotta be kidding me” look before shoving his paperwork aside. He knew it would take him half the day to finish everything and he definitely didn’t expect me to drop this on him this early.

  As I got up from my chair, I turned around to see the Lieutenant staring at us from his doorway. He stretched out two fingers; pointing to Rodney and me and signaled for us to follow him. We knew this was his way of quietly asking about the case.

  We entered his office and closed the door behind us. I took the seat in front of the Lieutenant’s desk while Rodney leaned against the window so no one could see what was going on.

  “I want an update on the case,” Esposito quietly demanded.

  “I just arranged a meeting with the D.A. to get a warrant to check the school’s attendance records for the day of Nicole Sherman’s death.”

  “Sounds like a good starting point to me. Anything else?”

  Rodney shook his head at the Lieutenant. “We don’t have much to go on at the moment; not until we get warrants.”

  “Fine, I’ll call the D.A. and make sure she moves things along quickly for you.” He stood up; leaning over the desk to make himself look taller and more intimidating. “You better give me something to work with and fast. It’s only a matter of time before the media gets a hold of this.”

  I knew the Lieutenant was right, but I was more concerned that the killer already left town; taking any chance of us arresting him and threw it in the garbage. It was a possible scenario that worked through my mind. I’d rather track down a suspect in hiding than facing the alternative. The killer could be setting up his next victim.

  Chapter 62

  Three hours; it took us three hours to get our hands on the warrant we needed to truly begin our investigation. It took us a half hour to present our evidence to the D.A. before she contacted the court house. Another forty-five minutes before the judge would see us and another hour and a half before the judge rendered his decision.

  “So much for moving things along quickly,” I snapped as Rodney and I walked towards our squad car.

  “It’s not a big deal. We’ve got the warrant.”

  “Yeah and by the time we get to the school, we’ll be lucky if anyone is still there that can help us.” I ripped the keys from Rodney’s hand. “Sorry, I’m driving this time.”

  I plopped myself down in the driver’s seat and revved the engine. I waited until Rodney was situated in the passenger seat before flicking the lights and siren on.

  “Why do I get the feeling I’d be safer back there,” Rodney shouted and pointed to the back seat behind the metal gate.

  “Stop being such a baby. I’m not that bad of a driver.”

  I threw the car into drive and sped out of the parking. Rodney’s head jerked back against the chair as he braced himself with his right hand pressed firmly against the passenger side door. It was a rush to fly through the streets; watching Kingston pass by in a blur. I swerved in and out of traffic as cars tried to pull to the side of the road for us.

  “You’re going to get us killed Ali,” Rodney shouted as we sped through another red light.

  “Do you wanna be pushing papers all week, or do you wanna help me catch a killer?”

  “You know I want to bring this bastard down.” Rodney held his breath as we crossed into oncoming traffic to get around another driver. He exhaled deeply. “But I also wanna get home safe to see my wife and kids again.”

  I slowed down as we drew closer to Route 299. I could hear Rodney whispering thank god under his breath as I made the turn.

  I pointed to the time on the dashboard. “See we made excellent time thanks to my great driving skills.”

  “Pull over,” Rodney moaned. “I think I’m gonna be sick.”

  I wanted to laugh, but the color in Rodney’s face dropped to a ghostly shade of white for his dark complexion. “Okay you win. I’ll take it slower.” I pulled to the side of the road and watched my partner exit and hunch over a cluster of bushes. “I guess you don’t do well with rollercoasters,” I shouted.

  Rodney responded with the one finger salute while dry heaving. He came back a minute later with sweat pouring down the sides of his face.

  “Don’t ever do that shit again.”

  “Come on; it wasn’t that bad.”

  Rodney wiped the sweat from his face and buckled himself back in. “Let’s just get down to the school in one piece.”

  Chapter 63

  Hours passed slowly as Mark sat at Christina’s desk with her laptop opened. His fingers rapidly moved on the keyboard; typing a letter he intended the police to find later. He looked at the bottom of the screen and saw it was almost eight.

  “Let the games begin,” Mark said as he pushed the chair out from the desk. He closed the laptop and took his place under Christina’s bed.

  The door opened with a bubbly voice talking loudly. “Hey, I was wondering if you were gonna call…Tonight? Yeah I’m free…Give me about an hour to shower and get ready.”

  Christina threw her bag down on her bed along with her cell phone before rummaging through her dresser; pulling out a pair of black jeans and a low cut long sleeve silky pink shirt.

  “This’ll be perfect,” she said as she held the shirt up against her chest before placing them gently on the bed.

  She began undressing; removing her shoes and socks first before letting her tight black dress pants shimmy down her legs. Her bare feet were inches from Mark’s face. He wanted push himself out and look up at her; get a good look at her amazing curves and the rack he’d been dying. His eyes glazed over; thinking back to when he lived in the same house with Christina. He would come down the stairs to the first floor just as she crossed into the bathroom with a baby blue towel covering her most intimate areas.

  Mark always wished the towel would open up just enough to expose her or that it would fall to the floor giving him the front row seat to her little show, but it never did. She was always too careful and too quick.

  As Mark continued dreaming about his time living with Christina, a white button down shirt dropped in front of him. This is it; my chance to see her in all her glory. He crawled towards the pile of clothes; hoping to get a peek before she put more clothes on, but watched as her bare feet carried her away to the bathroom. Mark grimaced and silently pounded his fist into the floor. The one chance he had was gone; that was until he heard the squeaking sound of the faucet handles turning and the rush of water spraying from the shower head.

  It wasn’t his idea of a perfect opportunity, but it was close enough for Mark. He crawled out from under the bed and pulled a small bag of tools out with him. He flipped the laptop open and searched through Christina’s music; setting it to one of her favorite playlists; one he recognized her listening to over and over again at the house. It was the distraction he needed to ensure no one heard him as he tampered with the window; smashing a hammer onto the yellow handle o
f a straight slot screwdriver.

  It took several minutes for Mark to break the locks; allowing him to move the window to a higher point than it usually rose to. There was a loud high pitched squeak coming from the bathroom. The water pressure eased before turning into nothing more than a drip.

  Mark darted around the room as he quickly packed his tools back into the bag and slid under the roommate’s bed. His head protruded from the frame just enough that the comforter gave him a view yet still concealed him. He took a deep breath and exhaled as Christina’s bare feet danced onto the carpet.

  Does she really think she turned the music on, Mark whispered as he enjoyed the view. He couldn’t help himself watch her drop the white towel to the floor; exposing her naked body. It was better than he expected. His eyes were glued to her as they worked their way up her legs and over her ass. “Come on; turn around,” he whispered. It was almost as if she heard him and decided to comply with his orders.

  Christina bent down to pick up the towel and started drying off the droplets of water from her body; exposing her large c-cup breasts to her former roommate without realizing it.

  Mark wore a more than satisfied smile as he reached back into his pocket; pulling a small phone from it and aiming it at his soon to be victim as she pulled a pair of black lace panties up her legs.

  He snapped a few pictures. It was a bit pervy; he knew, but thought he’d never get a chance to see Christina Tyler in all her glory again; might as well make the most of it.

  His eyes were locked on her body as he slid the phone back into his pocket. He thought; how could he kill a woman so beautiful; especially after seeing this side of her? He continued watching as Christina slid the pair of black jeans on. It was almost like foreplay to Mark. His heart was beating fast; eagerly anticipating the moment where he could slide out from under the bed and make his move on his unsuspecting victim.

  Christina pulled the silky pink top over her head and checked herself in the mirror; feeling like a million bucks. Her legs continued to dance; moving her closer to the desk to change the song. It was only a matter of time before she found the note Mark left.

  The moment to strike was at hand. He quietly slid out from the bed and tiptoed towards the desk; positioning himself behind Christina as she read the note.

  “What the fuck is this?

  “You’re suicide note,” Mark whispered in her ear as he wrenched his arm under her throat and pulled it tightly towards him.

  Christina tried to scream for help, but her cries were silenced by the crushing of her windpipe. Her hands flailed in the air; trying desperately to smack, pull or gauge her way out of this choke hold. Her feet flung backwards; kicking Mark hard in the shin. His grip loosened momentarily but synched it in tighter instantly. Christina knew there was no way out. She did the only thing she could. She placed her foot between his legs and drove the heel into Mark’s groin.

  He let out a low groan before pulling back tighter and watched as Christina Tyler’s arms fell limp to her side. He lowered her gently to the ground and stood over her; massaging his bruised body parts.

  “Such a shame it had to end this way,” Mark said as he hovered over her unconscious body. “We could’ve had a lot of fun together.”

  Mark pulled out the tool box to work on the window; propping it up until it was big enough to fit a body through it. He turned to find Christina gasping for breath. She turned to her side, but Mark was right there waiting for her. He picked her up by her arms and placed them over his head. They were face to face with each other; closer than they ever were.

  Her vision came back into focus and saw Mark’s face. “I know you,” Christina breathlessly whispered. “You’re not Mark.” Her eyes flashed open in panic as Mark carried her to the windowsill. “Oh my god; you’re...”

  He placed his lips on hers to silence her. He didn’t want her to say his name. He didn’t want anything from her, except to watch her die.

  “Sorry sweetie; you’re window of opportunity has closed.”

  Christina Tyler’s body was dropped from the third floor window. Her arms clawed the air as if she would magically find a ledge to grab on to. The fear welled up in her eyes as she came closer to the ground until her body smashed into the cold hard concrete outside Lennox Hall.

  “OH MY GOD,” someone shouted from below. “I NEED HELP. SOMEONE CALL 9-1-1; A GIRL JUST FELL OUT OF A WINDOW.

  Chapter 64

  Students poured out of the building after hearing Christina Tyler’s screams while she plummeted to her death. But it was the young Asian boy that saw her fall. He ran from the sidewalk; shouting for help and pleading with someone to call 9-1-1.

  Within minutes a small crowd formed around Christina Tyler’s lifeless body while others peered out from their windows like a nosey neighbor spying on something good. The boys stood with their eyes popping out of their heads. They never expected something like this to happen; not in front of them; not on campus. The nearby girls were sobbing into the arms of their friends and boyfriends; everyone except Amanda.

  She pushed her way through the crowd; passing the hysterical girls until she found Christina Tyler’s body lying motionless on the ground. She gasped as she noticed the blood trickling out from the corners of Christina’s mouth and her eyes were still staring at the open window on the third floor.

  Amanda ran to the young Asian boy who sat at Christina’s side. “What the hell happened,” she shouted. There was a sense of panic and urgency in her voice; more commanding and forceful than she thought she could be.

  “I-I don’t know,” the boy replied. “I was walking up to the dorm and heard a girl scream. I looked up and saw something falling from that window.” He pointed to the large illuminating opening on the third floor. “It looked like a person, but I wasn’t sure. So I ran over to see what it was and saw her like this.”

  Amanda looked around nervously for something out of the ordinary but only saw stunned and crying faces. “Has anyone called for help?”

  “I did,” a tall girl said. She stood in complete disbelief as her eyes fell on Christina’s face. “Oh my god; I can’t believe it. I just saw her a few hours ago.”

  “You know her,” Amanda asked in a more demanding tone.

  “I met her today. She came into the office saying she lost her key card and needed help getting back to her room.”

  Amanda’s eyes lit up. She rushed over to the woman and placed her hands on her shoulder. “Stay right here and don’t go anywhere.” Amanda looked around the group of onlookers and focused on the boy sitting next to Christina Tyler. “Did you move or touch the body at all?”

  “Just to check for a pulse,” he replied.

  “Don’t let anyone touch her except the paramedics.” Amanda pushed her way through the crowd again and reached for her phone. There was only one person she could call. “Ali, it’s me. Another body just turned up; this time it was outside Lennox Hall. You need to get down here right away.”

  Chapter 65

  Rodney and I sat in my living room looking over the attendance record of every class between the day of and the Monday and Tuesday after Nicole Sherman’s death hoping we could find some link connecting a student that was absent those days as well along with students with a known past with both Rachel and Nicole.

  “This is useless,” Rodney snapped after having his third cup of coffee. “How are we supposed to pull a suspect from this? I mean; who’s to say the killer wasn’t off on Fridays and used his day off to carry out his plan?”

  Rodney was right. There was no telling if the killer had class on Friday or not. Hell, we didn’t know if the killer was even a current student.

  “Maybe you’re right.”

  Rodney sat straight up in his chair. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say those words to me.” A wide toothy smile spread over his face. “Say it again.”

  “Sorry you only get it once a decade.” I placed the papers on the table and paced the room. “You feel like getting Chin
ese tonight?”

  “I could go for some. Order in or you wanna go out?”

  Just as I touched the handle of the junk drawer in the kitchen, the doorbell rang. Who the hell was that; I wondered knowing I wasn’t expecting company.

  “You expecting someone,” Rodney asked as I re-entered the living room with a surprised look on my face.

  “Maybe the people at the Chinese food place got your telepathic signal and sent us some food.”

  “If only,” Rodney smirked.

  I opened the door; finding Matthew standing on my doorstep. He was holding a large pizza box and a six pack.

  “Matthew, what are you doing here?”

  He smiled a sexy grin that made me melt every time he flashed it at me. “I figured we could try that movie night again. Maybe we could actually get to watch those DVDs; emphasis on the maybe.”

  “I wish I knew you were coming over.”

  Matthew entered the house and saw Rodney sitting in a chair with his shirt half buttoned. “Am I interrupting something?”

  I brushed the loose strands of hair from my face. “We were looking over school attendance records in hopes of figuring out a suspect on this case we’re working.”

  “Oh,” Matthew’s face looked slightly defeated. “I guess I’ll get out of your way then.”

  Rodney stood up and grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair. “No, I’ll leave. I should be getting home to my wife and kids.”

  A wave of relief washed over all of us as Rodney extended his hand to Matthew and exited the house. I was just happy to have some more alone time with my guy.

  “I didn’t mean to get in the way of…”

  I pressed a finger to his lips. “We weren’t getting anywhere with it. I’m beginning to think this guy’s watched a little too much C.S.I.”

  We laughed as Matthew pulled me in close. “I’m sure you’ll take this asshole down.” He pulled me in and planted a firm passionate kiss on me.

  It was just what I needed, but pulled away when I heard a low buzzing coming from my bag. “I should get that.”