by Andrew Hess
Matthew pulled me back. “Let it go to voicemail. You’re off the clock.” His hands grabbed my waist; pulling me in closer as the phone stopped ringing. “I think I need to arrest you and bring you to our interrogation room.” He raised his eyebrows with a cocky smile and nodded towards the bedroom.
“You sure you don’t wanna pat me down first?”
“No, but a strip search might be in order.”
I raised my hands in surrender; that was until my phone went off again. “I’m sorry; I need to see who it is.” I hurried to my bag and saw Amanda’s name on the caller ID. “It’s Amanda,” I shouted.
Amanda’s voice echoed through the speaker loudly. “Another body turned up. You need to get down here now!”
I didn’t bother to ask where. I knew it had to be the same guy and most likely the same building. “We need to go now. Someone’s been attacked on campus.”
“Is your sister okay?”
“She sounded all right; maybe a little spooked. I need you to come with me and take her to Shawn’s room; keep her safe.”
“Don’t worry about Amanda. I’ll keep her safe.”
Chapter 66
I called Rodney from the road and told him about Amanda’s frantic call. My heart was racing a mile a minute but was thankful Rodney told me he was on his way. Three dead bodies; I thought as my hands gripped the steering wheel tightly. This asshole killed three innocent people.
Matthew put his hand on my lap and I flinched at the mere touch. “It’s okay Ali, she’s safe.”
He didn’t understand. It wasn’t just the thought of Amanda being on campus with some sadistic killer hell bent on killing women and making it look like a suicide. No, it was the thought that another girl died because we couldn’t catch the killer before he struck again.
When we arrived on campus, police cars sectioned off the road from the commuter parking lot to the dorms. I parked on the side of the road and badged my way through the barricade.
“Ali,” Amanda’s voice shouted from a crowd of students. I craned my neck and found her running towards me. She threw her arms around me and hugged tightly.
“We’ll talk later. Go with Matthew; he’s going to wait with you at Shawn’s.”
“But…”
“Trust me; you need to go now. If anyone from the station sees you here, I won’t be able to work the case.”
Matthew put a hand on Amanda’s shoulder. “It’s for the best.”
Amanda tried to smile but we could see the fear in her eyes. Two women already turned up dead in her dorm; and a third appeared in front of the dorm across the street from hers.
If there was any doubt before, there wasn’t any more. New Paltz had a serial killer on the loose.
“I’m sorry Miss,” a campus officer said as he prevented me from moving passed the yellow tape.
I held up my badge. “I’m Detective Ali Ryan.”
“Sorry Detective.” He raised the tape for me to duck under.
“What do we got?”
“Female victim in her early twenties; possibly a resident fell from a window on the third floor. She seemed to have died on impact.”
“All right, I want a tight perimeter surrounding the dorm; no one in or out. This is officially a homicide investigation.”
Chapter 67
I ran to the victim’s side. She was a beautiful girl; early twenties with short curly hair. My fists clenched at the sight of her lifeless body lying on the ground. A part of me felt that this was my fault. I should’ve pushed harder to turn the previous cases from suicide to homicide. Maybe if I did, I could’ve found a suspect by now.
“Excuse me,” a woman said from behind. I turned to find an attractive woman; maybe a little older than the victim. “Are you Detective Ryan?”
“Yes, how can I help you?”
The woman explained how Amanda found her and told her to wait for me because she had important evidence to disclose.
“The girl’s name is Christina Tyler,” the woman said as she pointed to the dead girl’s body. “I ran into her this morning; said she lost her ID card over the weekend.”
“And?”
“And I made her sign some paperwork stating I was opening her room for her and told her to get a replacement card immediately.”
I grabbed the girl by her shoulders. “Did you see anyone lurking around the building recently or anyone else go near her room?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so.” Her eyes filled with a mix of tears and horror. “You don’t think…”
I placed a finger to my lips as a symbol for her to keep quiet. She was about to blurt out there was a killer on the loose and I couldn’t have her cause mass panic; not now; not in the middle of a crime scene.
“You need to come with me and keep quiet. I need access to her room and any possible surveillance videos you have of this dorm.”
I placed my hand on the small of her back; pushing her towards the front doors when I saw a mid to late thirties Asian man walking up the path.
“Wait here I told her.” I rushed over to Fred and cornered him before he had a chance to go over the body. “Don’t let anyone else go near the body until I come back down here.”
“Nice to see you too,” he scoffed.
“I mean it Fred. This is connected to the other two deaths.”
“Okay, you have my word.”
“Great, and if you see the C.S.U. team, send them upstairs t me. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Fred reached into his bag and pulled out a big professional looking camera before heading to the body. I watched him take a few test photos before focusing on Christina Tyler as Rodney skirted around the crime tape and hurried to catch up.
“Where you off to in such a hurry,” he asked.
“We’re about to check out the victim’s room.”
His eyes flickered to Christina Tyler’s body. “Ali, I’m sorry I didn’t believe you sooner. You were right.”
I wanted to smile; to joke about how I usually was right or chastise Rodney for not believing me, but I couldn’t. The only words I could muster were of regret.
“For once I wish I was wrong.”
Chapter 68
We walked up to the third floor; letting the RA guide us to Christina Tyler’s room. She inserted a card into the door and heard it click.
“Don’t touch the handle,” I snapped. I knew there were probably a thousand finger prints on the door handle, but I wanted to preserve it on the rare chance the killer left even a partial print on it.
I took a small latex glove from my pocket and used it to open the door. The room inside was a little messy. Jeans, shirts, shoes, and underwear were scattered all over the floor.
Rodney entered the room; examining the bed. He hooked his pinky finger around a strap and held up a leather cat outfit. “Someone was planning on having some fun,” he laughed.
I did too, but then I noticed something at his feet. “Rodney, don’t move,” I shouted as I pointed out the white towel that sat three inches to his left. I put the gloves on and used the inside of my wrist to feel if it was still wet.
“Well,” Rodney asked.
“Still wet,” I replied. “She must have just gotten out of the shower.” I pushed the RA out of the room and had Rodney escort her downstairs. “Find me something on the cameras,” I whispered as he brushed passed me. “And call the Lieutenant; make sure the crime unit gets down here ASAP.”
He nodded and hurried off with the girl while punching numbers into his phone. I tiptoed around the room a bit; noticing the window was left wide open.
“At least he did something right,” I muttered. I wanted to take notes of the crime scene; browse through the victim’s phone to see who she last talked to; look at her computer, but I couldn’t do any of that; not yet. Instead I was forced to sit outside the dorm room and wait for the C.S.U. team to arrive.
Chapter 69
I watched the minutes tick by on my watch; waiting for someone to
check out Christina Tyler’s room so I could begin my investigation. A half hour went by before anyone showed.
“Right on time,” I said sarcastically. Two men with large bags and cameras walked down the hall accompanied by a young officer I met a few weeks earlier.
“Give me a break Detective,” one of the men in a navy blue jacket said. “We got here as fast as we could.”
I tapped my foot impatiently. “It’s fine; I just wanna look over the evidence while the M.E. is checking out the vic.”
They nodded their heads and began taking pictures of the room while I poked my head inside.
“Such a shame,” the young officer said. That’s the third girl in almost two months; right?”
A look of anger and repulsion made my lips quiver. “Yes,” I replied; my voice pushing the sadness away becoming controlled.
“Have you turned up anything on a possible suspect?”
I looked the young cop over. He seemed younger than I remembered like he was just out of the academy. I turned my head away and shook it from side to side.
“Anything I can do to help?”
My eyes were locked on the C.S.U. team as they waived me into the room. “Just keep everyone without a badge away from this room.” It was cold, but the last thing I needed was some fresh meat rookie getting involved in the case and screwing up something so minor that it could cause damage to a case when it went to trial.
I entered the room and pointed to the wet towel; making sure the team bagged it properly. Next I grabbed the clothes from the floor and checked every inch of them for her ID card; knowing full well it wouldn’t turn up.
“I want all of these clothes bagged and tagged as well.” I picked up her cell phone and checked the call log; writing down the last five numbers that she was in contact with before placing it in an evidence bag.
“Anything else Detective?”
I walked around the room; puzzled that there were no signs of a struggle. I knew the killer couldn’t have been as smart as he thought he was. He had to have left some evidence behind. And then my eyes zoomed in on the windowsill.
“Did you guys get a good look at this?” I pointed to the sides and top; finding tiny scratch marks. Both men looked confused; wondering what I was rambling about.
I moved to the next window, unlocked it and pulled it up. The window only gave a foot and a half opening before I was unable to push it up any further.
“Someone tampered with the window.”
“Maybe the victim did it?”
“Somehow I doubt it.”
“What? Chicks can use tools too Detective,” the other C.S.U. man laughed.
“Thank you for enlightening me, but she doesn’t seem like the type that would keep a tool box in her room.”
“You never know.”
“Fine, you find me the tool box and drinks are on me tonight. If not, you guys owe Rodney and me a steak and lobster dinner.”
Their heads turned away; refusing to make the deal with me. They focused their cameras on the window frame and tried taking it down for evidence.
As they walked the frame out of the room, I noticed the light on her computer was still on. I touched the mouse pad and found the music player still on along with a document. I knew what it was. It was the killer’s attempt to fool us again; to make us think Christina Tyler committed suicide.
This is the end. I can’t live without him anymore. I loved him for too long only to get rejected the moment I put myself out there. I can’t face him. I can’t face anyone after making such a fool out of myself. So this is it; my final chance to show Kevin how much he means to me. Maybe now he’ll know what he lost out on.
I printed out a copy of the letter and closed the laptop. There was no doubt in my mind there was a killer roaming around the New Paltz campus and I had proof he was trying to cover up the murders by making them look like suicides.
Chapter 70
I met Fred downstairs as he finished looking over the body. His camera hung around his neck; filled with various pictures of the victim at different angles.
I hurried to his side. “Tell me you got something for me.”
Fred sighed and shook his head. “I can confirm it’s a homicide. Based on her body position, it’s safe to say she was dropped from that window.” We looked up and saw the three floor drop that Christina Tyler fell from.
“You said dropped; not thrown?”
“If she was thrown, our victim would have landed with the side of her face hitting the pavement. If she took a swan dive, you’d find a similar result but her body would’ve landed with her face smashed into the ground.”
“What if she tried to turn to grab something; maybe try to break her fall?”
“Possible but unlikely. Falling from a third floor window like that wouldn’t take a lot of time before you hit the ground.” He brought me over to the body and continued his explanation. “Now if she was pushed out the window, her body would be laying perpendicular to where she is. She’d be facing towards the street or towards the building, but it’s not; it’s facing the field.”
“Was there any other physical trauma done to the body that the fall didn’t cause?”
Fred pointed to the red mark around her throat indicating Christina Tyler had suffered some sort of strangulation prior to being dropped from her window. He also pointed to a bruise on the bottom of her foot.
“Looks like she might have got a shot in on him before she died.” Fred laughed at the thought of this five foot three girl putting up such a fight against her attacker.
“It’s not much but it’s something,” I replied. There wasn’t much more I could do; not until the morning. It was time for Ali Ryan the detective to be off duty and time for Amanda’s sister to take over.
Chapter 71
After a night of consoling my sister, I hurried to the station to get to work on the case. Three college students; three young girls were dead, but for the life of me I couldn’t understand why. What was the link between these three women?
“Ryan, my office now,” the Lieutenant shouted.
Word had gotten out overnight that a third victim turned up on New Paltz campus. It was only a matter of time before the media stormed our doors looking for information or a quote before painting us as the incompetent police force that has failed to even turn up a single lead on a suspect for the case.
I entered the office and shut the door. The Lieutenant looked like he hadn’t slept in days. His tie was loose, the top buttons on his wrinkled white shirt were open and his graying hair was standing on end.
He ran his fingers through his hair as he paced the room. He never even glanced at me as I took a seat across his desk.
“Where are we on the Campus Killer Case?”
“Still no suspect, but I think we have a pattern.”
“Great, you can brief the squad room. I’ll give you ten minutes to get yourself ready.”
“Me? I’ve never done a briefing before.”
“It’s your case Ryan; you’re running the show.”
I was completely confused and didn’t know where to begin. I didn’t have much to say; no substantial evidence to present. All I had were my theories and suspicions that I obsessed over for nearly two months.
I ran back to my desk and pulled the files from the Rachel Walker and Nicole Sherman investigations. I pinned their pictures to a corkboard the Lieutenant had wheeled out to the pit.
“Can I have everyone’s attention,” the Lieutenant shouted. The room became quiet as if they entered a library and was just scolded by the librarian. “Our own Detective Ali Ryan has an update on the New Paltz murders. Let’s give her our full attention.”
All eyes were on me. My hands began to sweat and had to wipe them on my black dress pants. I was nervous, but something about it just felt right.
“I’ve been working this case since we found the first victim Rachel Walker. It was originally believed she died from alcohol poisoning, but have learned it was the fir
st in a series of murders. The killer has made it a point to cover them up at every possible opportunity; making each death seem like a suicide. It almost worked; that is until we realized the killer was taking trophies from the victims.”
“What kind of trophies,” one of the officers asked.
“The killer has taken each of their student IDs. We thoroughly checked for Rachel Walker’s and Nicole Sherman’s IDs and never found them. Last night I questioned one of the RAs at the Lennox dorm and found out our third victim reported hers missing that morning.”
“Do we have any suspects?”
“None at the moment, but from what we gathered the killer is male in his early twenties; most likely a junior and has been or currently is a student at New Paltz.”
“What do you base this off of,” another officer asked.
“All three victims were the same age. Other than their age and being female, there hasn’t been anything else connecting these girls.”
Lieutenant Esposito was leaning against a nearby desk watching me work the room, and decided to interrupt. “We need all hands on deck with this one. I want continuous patrols throughout campus. There have been three victims so far; let’s not give this killer a chance for a fourth.” He looked at the officers surrounding the room. His eyes swept from left to right. “Dismissed.”
I pulled the Lieutenant aside as everyone went back to their desks. “I was wondering if you could put a call in to the school; maybe find a way to get them to install more cameras at the dorms.”
His eyes had a defeated look about them. “Sure, I’ll see what I can do. Just get me a solid lead before the media eats us alive.”
I was bracing myself for the media onslaught we were about to face. We didn’t have anything concrete. We were about to jump into a tank of sharks that were looking for their next meal.
Chapter 72
I was prepared to walk out of the station to a barrage of reporters, photographers and citizens demanding answers. Thankfully no one was waiting for us; not yet anyway. My eyes searched the parking lot for any sign of a news van or crowd of an unruly mob forming, but all I saw was a tall thin bald headed man with facial piercings running towards the front doors.