A Killer's Prey

by M. J. Eason

  Davis drew a deep breath then pushed the door open completely. It took a full minute for his eyes to adjust to the light. It was even darker in here. Someone had placed black plastic garbage bags over all the windows. As his eyes grew accustomed to the light, he saw something that took his breath away.

  The crime scene of the last original Angel killing. He remembered it well even though it had been destroyed in the fire Frankie started to be able to flee the scene. Six years ago today. The killers had recreated the scene once more, right down to the mattress and scarf. All that was lacking was the final victim. Kara.

  “Davis, there you are.”

  Hearing Ryan’s voice, Davis let go of the breath he’d been unconsciously holding. He tucked his weapon behind his back once more then turned to Ryan.

  It took a few seconds to make out Ryan’s expression. But when he did, his blood ran cold. He barely recognized him. This wasn’t the man he knew so well. The twisted grin on Ryan’s face made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Instinctively, Davis backed away from the sheer depravity he saw there, but Ryan moved closer.

  “What took you so long?” Ryan asked, seemingly unaware of Davis’s reaction.

  Ryan was his friend. He couldn’t be capable of such evil. But when Ryan chuckled gleefully, spotting Davis’s fear, he knew he’d been wrong all along. This man standing before him now was capable of so much more.

  Davis’s left hand went inside his pocket. Did he have time to reach the weapon? His fingers clasped the cell phone and hit the redial button. He tried to remember the last person he’d called. Dear God, let it be Ed.

  “You figured it out, didn’t you?” Ryan sounded impressed. “Good for you, buddy! I was beginning to think I’d have to spell it out for you but now I see you’re with the program. Good. She had your thoughts muddled for a while, didn’t she? Glad to have you back, Davis.”

  “Ryan, why? Why would you do this?”

  “Oh, now dammit, Davis, you don’t need to know those things. All you need to know is that this is where it ends. At least for you, buddy. And her. I’ll take care of her too, like I took care of Rachel and Jessica. You didn’t deserve any of them. Rachel always was too good for you but she never stopped loving you even after the divorce. And Jessica, well, she never stopped hoping right up to the end.”

  “Oh my God…” Davis fumbled with the redial button.

  Please God. Let someone answer.

  “Why did you kill them, Ryan? They were your friends as well.” He still couldn’t believe it. His thoughts reeled.

  “You want to know don’t you? Well too bad, buddy. I’m not going to tell you. You’re going to your grave not knowing the reason behind any of this.” Ryan laughed hysterically then drew his weapon, aiming at Davis’s chest.

  “You were so close to finding out the truth. You shouldn’t have gotten Rocky involved in this, buddy.” Davis flinched at the implication. Rocky was dead. And he’d led Ryan right to him.

  “I really wanted to follow through with the whole Angel angle thing in killing you Davis, even though your initials don’t really match but unfortunately I can’t. You see, I have to call this in. I figure I’ll tell them you were trying to kill me because I discovered the truth about you at last. Even though I didn’t want to believe it. I’ll tell them I figured out what you had planned for our girl, Kara.” Ryan smiled then aimed the weapon at Davis’s head. “Nice try on the vest. It won’t work though. In just a few minutes, you’re going to know what it feels like to die. Say hello to all the people you’ve hurt along the way when you get there.”

  Ryan sighted the gun between Davis’s eyes. Davis was aware of things happening quickly around him, even while his reactions felt as if they’d slipped into slow motion.

  The phone inside his pocket vibrated, his finger touched the connect button once more, and then he reached for his Glock and lunged for Ryan’s gun.

  Their struggle seemed surreal until a shot fired into the silent room resembled lightning striking. The burning pain searing through his head held the power of a thousand headaches combined. The last thing Davis remembered was the sound of Ed calling his name followed by laughter.

  The maniacal laugh of the Death Angel.

  ****

  She screamed. Something literally propelled her up from the chair. The cards she held in her hands slipped to the floor. She was aware of two sets of eyes watching her in shock. The sound of her watch ticked off the seconds it took for them to react.

  “What is it?” Geneva stood close to her.

  “It’s Davis!” She could feel him leaving her with every tick of the watch. “He’s been shot.”

  The world around her exploded into action. Geneva and Judy exchanged a disturbed look before Geneva reached for the phone. Judy drew her weapon ineptly looking for something solid to fight.

  And the watch ticked off more seconds.

  “Are you sure?” Geneva shouted, trying to force Kara to focus on what she’d said.

  “He’s dying!” she started for the door but Judy stopped her.

  “Hold on. Where is he?”

  “I don’t know. It’s dark there. Abandoned. Dusty. Do something!” she screamed but Judy could only shake her head. Kara turned to Geneva.

  She was speaking to someone. Ed. Kara listened to their quiet conversation, peppered with quick glances her way. Geneva knew something but wasn’t prepared to tell Kara.

  “What did he say?” Kara demanded when the silence lengthened and the ticks continued.

  “He doesn’t know anything yet, Kara. He’s talking to another agent right now. Just calm down.”

  “I can’t. I can’t wait here and do nothing. He’s dying.”

  “Stop it, Kara. You don’t know that.”

  “I do,” she told Geneva. “I do know that. I need to be with him.”

  Tick, tick, tick…

  “Please!” Sympathetic glances followed her as she paced the tiny room.

  Kara turned away from their pity and tried to reach Davis. His thoughts were becoming jumbled—distant. He was losing consciousness.

  Almost gone.

  “Hold on, Davis. Someone’s coming. Please hold on.” She tried to tell Geneva to call Ryan but no words would come. An uncontrollable darkness seemed to descend upon her with each new tick. Kara felt herself sinking into it. Letting go. Then everything went black and she could no longer feel Davis, or herself, or the world around her.

  ****

  “Ryan? What in God’s name happened here?” Ed demanded the moment he reached the crime scene.

  He’d wanted to wait, to make sure Davis was dead but someone, no doubt that bitch he’d been screwing, reached Ed and called in backup. The EMS team arrived seconds before Ed. They were taking Davis away. But he knew it would all be for protocol.

  Davis Martin was dead.

  “He went crazy, Ed! He asked me to meet him here. Said he’d figured it all out. When I got here I found this.” Ryan pointed in the direction of the recreated crime scene. “I didn’t recognize him. He came at me—drew his weapon. He confessed everything, Ed. Davis confessed to all the Angel murders.”

  “Dear God,” Ed surveyed the scene. Somehow, Ryan kept his excitement from showing. Ed was such an idiot. The pompous jerk didn’t have a clue how to run a division. He needed him to save his ass. Well, he’d done that. His time was coming though. Once things settled down, he’d be gone as well.

  Maybe suicide. A fitting end for such a pompous jerk.

  “Ryan, I can’t believe it’s true. When you first told me, well I thought you’d lost your mind. Dear God, this is going to be a nightmare when it hits the press.”

  “I can handle the press. I know how hard this is for you.” He put on his best understanding face and forced back the contempt he felt for the idiot.

  “Ryan, but you know the routine. I’ll need your weapon, and you need to leave the scene. We can’t afford any more mistakes here, right?”

  Although he knew this wo
uld be coming, he still needed time to search Davis’s car. Davis had said something earlier to cause him concern. Something about finding a key piece of the puzzle. What exactly had he uncovered? Not that it mattered. He could fix any of Davis’s screw-ups. No one would believe anything he’d found out anymore.

  “I know, and someone needs to tell Kara. I think it should be me.”

  “Shit. She knows something’s up. She had a premonition or something. One of the officers watching her called me already. I can’t keep this from her long. Would you mind staying with her? I think she’ll need your support, since you were closest to Davis.”

  “You know I will do whatever you need me to do. But are you sure you don’t want me to stick around here for a bit? I mean I know procedure and all but I could check out Davis’s car. See if he left any clues there. Answer any questions the team might have.”

  “You know I can’t let you do that. Go to Kara and tell her Davis’s been hurt but don’t give her any more details than that. Stay with her. I’ll call you once we get the official word from the hospital about his death. Dammit, I hate this shit! Davis Martin was like a son to me.”

  Ryan placed a comforting hand on Ed’s shoulder. “I know. He had us all fooled, didn’t he?”

  “He sure as hell did. I thought Davis Martin was as good as they came.”

  “Me too, Ed. Me, too.” Ryan turned away and smiled with satisfaction at a job well done. He was so far above this thing. But the time had come to take his next victim. Of course, none of them would be aware of that now. They thought it had ended here with Davis.

  “Kara.

  “I’m coming for you now, Kara. I’ve waited six years to finish this game and now no one is standing in my way. I can’t wait a minute longer.”

  ****

  Someone tried waking her but she couldn’t go back there just yet. She felt comforted here.

  Vaguely she heard his voice.

  “I’m coming for you now, Kara.”

  But there was no more fear. This place was bright and pleasant. She could see Davis smiling, their daughter laughing. They were together as a family at last. She was happy. No more death. No more Angel. Only happiness. It made him angry. He wanted her fear. She laughed at his anger.

  Don’t worry. Everything will be okay.

  “Davis!”

  Slowly, Kara opened her eyes and smiled. The worried faces of Geneva and Judy watched her. And then she remembered.

  Davis!

  ****

  The fool. Did Ed Zamora really think he could keep her hidden from him? The Death Angel. He’d make sure to let Zamora know later what a huge mistake he’d made when he framed the wrong man.

  The hotel was one of the more expensive ones. Surprisingly, the Bureau had gone to great expense. But then, this wasn’t any normal case and she wasn’t the usual witness.

  She didn’t know Davis was dead just yet. He could feel her trying to reach out to him. Identify him. Let her try. He’d become stronger than the teacher. He couldn’t wait to surprise her with the truth.

  Ryan didn’t bother with secrecy. After all, the two officers would never suspect a thing. They had the Angel already.

  He knocked on the door of her suite and waited until someone answered. A tall, thin woman opened the door slightly.

  “Agent Anderson?”

  “Yes.” He’d perfected the smile. Just the right amount of caring and humility. She opened the door without a second thought, letting him inside.

  “She’s in the bedroom. She’s very upset. Has something happened?” the officer who identified herself as Judy Montana asked.

  “Yes, we’ve caught the Death Angel at last.”

  “Well, that’s great! She’ll be happy to have this thing over, right?”

  “No. It’s someone she knows. Someone she loves. Davis Martin.”

  “Oh my God.”

  “I need to take her back to headquarters. We’ll need to question her. She’s been with him the most over the past few days. I think maybe she knows more than she realizes.”

  “She’s not really in any state of mind to answer a lot of questions right now, Agent Anderson.”

  “I’m not insensitive, Officer Montana. She’s a friend of mine as well. As was Davis.” Ryan walked past the officer, opening the door to the room she’d indicated.

  “Kara?” He stepped inside and saw another officer seated next to the bed.

  “Who are you?” the woman asked but Kara stopped her.

  “It’s okay,” Kara, told her. “I know him. She sat up in bed and looked into his eyes. She suspected nothing. But she knew something.

  “It’s Davis.” Her voice sounded weak. It annoyed him. She was supposed to be his greatest challenge. Instead, her gift grew weaker.

  “Yes.” He turned to the officer. “Can you leave us alone for a second?” Ryan smiled politely. The officer was immediately convinced she could trust her charge to him. She had no idea.

  “I’ll be right outside, Kara, if you need me.” She got to her feet and smiled at Ryan. He could feel her attraction.

  He sat down close to her and took her hand. Just touching her accelerated his excitement. They were so close. He couldn’t wait to take her.

  “Where’s Davis?”

  “I don’t know how to tell you this. He’s dead.” He met her stricken gaze and saw her pain. His body came to life with anticipation.

  “No,” she whispered.

  “Kara, it’s true.”

  “No. No, it can’t be.” She tried to pull her hand free but he simply took her in his arms, comforting her for now. It was almost too thrilling to keep to himself. But he must be patient until they reached the place he had set up for her death.

  She pulled away. She suspected something. Good. She would make it challenging after all.

  “I’m going to take you home now. Back to Davis’s place,” he said gently. “It’s all over now, Kara. Not the way either of us wanted it to be but it’s over just the same. Ed will meet us there. He has some questions for you. They’re finished with the crime scene. There wasn’t much to investigate really. Davis confessed to everything.”

  “I don’t believe you, Ryan. Are you sure?” she asked not wanting to accept it but left with little choice. Something of his excitement must have showed in his eyes. She was becoming a little more suspicious. He would need to get her out of here soon.

  “I know this is hard but it’s true. Now, I need you to come with me.”

  For a second, he thought she might refuse. She glanced at the phone as if she considered calling to check out his story. Then she got to her feet and pulled away from him.

  “All right. Let’s go. I just want to get this over with and then I want to see him.”

  “Of course. You’ll be with him soon. But there are a few things that must be cleared up first.”

  He followed her outside the bedroom.

  “I’ll be taking her with me, officers. You are relieved of your command. You may go. I’m taking her home.”

  He didn’t give them the chance to ask questions. He’d grown too excited to wait much longer. He took Kara’s arm and escorted her out into the hallway. The two officers didn’t follow.

  “I’m parked just outside,” he told her but she didn’t respond. She moved like a robot, following his command. Irritation dampened his earlier excitement. He didn’t want her like this. He wanted her to fight him every step of the way. Until the end.

  He opened the passenger door and waited while she slipped inside glancing briefly up at the room she’d just left.

  She closed her eyes. He could feel her reaching out to Davis. He tried to calm himself but he was too excited. Some of his resistance slipped away. She sensed something that unnerved her. She turned to him with a look of fear in her eyes now. She had begun to figure it out.

  Not yet…it’s too soon.

  He didn’t want the game to be over just yet. He’d planned to savor his time with her, every minute of it. The dri
ve to the crime scene. Her fear. He smiled calmly back.

  Kara looked a little more confused. Maybe she thought she could be losing her mind. She turned away and grew silent. He felt her thoughts move from what she had begun to suspect toward grief. Then she was reaching out to Davis again. Trying to put the pieces together.

  ****

  Something didn’t add up. Davis was dead? Not possible. She’d lost him for a moment but now she felt his presence. Something wasn’t right.

  Why would Ryan tell her this when she still felt him? Kara sat next to Ryan as he drove her to Davis’s home and all at once, shivers sped down her spine. Ryan told her the nightmare ended in the worst possible way and yet it didn’t feel over.

  “Ryan, I don’t believe Davis did this. He’s not capable of doing such things. I know he’s not.”

  “Maybe you didn’t know Davis as well as you thought. Maybe you don’t know a lot of things.”

  She turned to him. He smiled gently back at her. But she felt it again just as she had in the past. As she had right before they left the hotel. Something seemed almost twisted about Ryan’s reaction to Davis’s death.

  “What do you mean?” she asked, and then realized he wasn’t heading for Davis’s place at all. “Where are you going?” she said slowly, catching a glimpse of the expression in his eyes for the first time. It was like looking into the face of wickedness. She shivered at the very sight of it.

  “We’re going to the crime scene,” he told her with a hint of excitement creeping into his tone.

  “Why? I thought Ed wanted to meet us at Davis’s place?” Ryan gave her a gleeful look but didn’t answer.

  “Ryan?”

  “Just shut up and enjoy the game, Kara! This is going to be good for both of us. It had better be. I’ve waited long enough for you.”

  She fought to control the fear inside her from spinning out of control as the truth at last became apparent. His deranged laugher followed her realization. She glanced at the back seat and saw it. The white Hermès scarf. She didn’t even have to ask to know it would be her scarf.

  “Took you long enough! You didn’t have a clue did you? Isn’t it rich? The big-time psychic responsible for solving all the cases didn’t have a clue. You didn’t see that coming did you?” He tapped his palm on her forehead with another chilling laugh. “The Hermès scarves were a nice touch, don’t you think. Using the originals from the first victims was sheer brilliance on my part. Just enough of a subtle hint to question whether or not you and Davis actually solved the first set of murders and shed more doubt on Davis’s guilt. I used his name to sign off on the evidence. I admit you had me going for a little while. I couldn’t figure out when your scarf had gone missing, and then it hit me. I had to make a special trip to that hellhole you call home to get the scarf…just for you. You’d better be worth it.”