by A P Morgan
“My brother is dead.” Tom’s voice rang out clearly. “Follow the blood and you’ll find your killer. He was born in violence and pain.”
“Why?”
“Why was he born that way?” Tom answered my question patiently. “Every once in a while, someone is born that has to do things for themselves. They must try it, and be the best at what they do. When this happens to someone that is pure evil, the only things those around them can do is try to keep the damage at a minimum.”
Tom held up his hands. “I was innocent, but I know who did it, and they aren’t who they claim to be.”
His hands started to drip with blood that was coming from above us. “If you don’t stop them from becoming evil, it grows until you are part of their schemes, even if you try to ignore who and what they’ve become.”
“Who is he, Tom?” I cried as the figure melted away, leaving only the blood drops on the floor.
He was here. I could feel him. No, that wasn’t the killer, it was a softer presence.
A smile lit my face. Flora.
“Hi, friend. I’ve come to warn you. Those who lurk in the moments between life and death are those who hold the power to choose who lives and dies. The one you are chasing is hoarding death. When he takes a life, he inhales their essence, converting their presence to darkness.”
“I need to find him. How can I see this darkness?” I asked, bewildered.
“You will know and learn. He wears a mask, but even those closest to him aren’t his friends. To be in his presence is to be touched by evil. You will only find death surrounding him.” Flora looked around, worried. “I must leave, and so must you. The evil is trying to get into the dream.”
She blew me a kiss as she, too, faded.
With her gone, the feeling of darkness closing in grew, but I had no idea how to leave this in-between place.
“Wake up. I have to wake up.”
An evil laugh echoed around me. “I’ll have you, my pretty little thing.”
“No, wake up!” I screamed, sitting upright in the bed.
The room was dark, but light was streaming in through the window.
I raced over and threw open the curtains, drinking in the sunlight. I wanted to chase away all forms of the shadows that had been in my dreams.
The lock clicked, and I was about to dive for my gun when Ryan entered.
“Um, everything okay?” He held up a coffee as a peace offering.
“Yeah. Bad dream.” I brushed my hand across my face without wincing at my stitches. “Thank you.” I took the coffee he offered and sat on the edge of the bed with my knees pulled up to my chest.
He took in my protective position. “That bad, huh?”
I nodded, clutching the coffee in my hand. “What time is it?” I asked, wondering if Ryan had even slept at all.
“It’s a little after two in the afternoon. I came in last night, or rather this morning, but I could only sleep a few hours. I kept wanting to find out how the hunt was going.” He gestured to the coffee. “I figured if you were going to wake up to hear what we discovered, then you might want coffee to get your brain going.”
“Oh yeah, sure. What did they find?” I took a sip and tried to calm the tension running through my body.
“They found two more burial sites on the other side of the highway. They looked in a few of the places, but when they walked up to the first one, it was obvious they’d found one of them. If anyone was looking, you could find them. Now we just have to find his last one before he finishes his mission.”
“Um, about that…I dreamed about Tom.” I was going to leave out anything to do with Flora unless I had to, because Ryan was already a sceptic, and this was pretty unbelievable.
“He knew who the killer was, or rather, who the killer is.” I took another sip to help calm my nerves. “I think he was related to Tom, or had something to do with the death of his parents and brother.”
“But his brother was declared dead years after the parents’ death, wasn’t he?” Ryan raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, but I think the brother died when they did. Whatever happened, it’s a family secret. One that the killer was afraid Tom might tell us of, and he couldn’t take that chance.”
“So what are you suggesting?”
“I’m going to go over to their county records office and search the deaths of Tom’s family. Maybe the papers will have a report as well. Something happened, because Tom felt guilty for not stopping the killer. He was innocent, but by keeping quiet, he felt condemned.”
“How can you be sure that it wasn’t just a dream?” Ryan’s voice was laced with skepticism.
“Well, it felt real. I could feel the evil coming into my dream and trying to overpower me.”
“That’s why you were standing in the window, trying to get rid of the darkness.”
“Yeah, but how did you know that?” I frowned. “It sounds like you’ve had a similar dream.”
He shook his head. “No, it wasn’t a dream. More like a presence of evil. I can’t escape it since Jesse’s death. It follows me around. That’s why I don’t sleep very long. It makes me restless.”
“I’m so sorry. I was hoping that we could catch this guy and get some answers to find the Zodiac Master.”
“Well, the day’s not over yet, and we have records to check. Ready to face Agent Perez?”
“Nope. Which is exactly what I’m not going to do. I can find out what I need over at the records office before I have to be in the same room with her.” I grinned. “Sometimes, old files are a welcome relief.”
“Chicken,” Ryan teased.
“You bet. I can take her if I need to, but I don’t really want to.”
“I’ll say it again—chicken. Let me know when you want to go to battle.”
“You know, chicken does sound good. I wonder if the diner has something on the menu with chicken in it?”
The door shutting on Ryan’s retreating figure made me laugh.
He had brought more light into the room than the sun had. Today was the day we were going to get the bastard. I could feel it.
Chapter 11
Ryan
The phone rang with a strange number, but considering that I was in a room with FBI agents, I answered. Because last time I hadn’t answered, I’d lost a good friend.
“Yes?”
“Ryan, its Flora. Do you know where Leslie is? Can you see her right now?”
“Oh, hey, Flora. Um, now that you mention it, I haven’t seen her in a while. She was looking up some records.” A sinking sensation hit my chest as I waited for Flora to confirm it.
“The killer has her. She’s alive right now, but at dark, he’s going to send her out to hunt her, and you only have a few hours to save her.”
While I totally didn’t believe in psychics, Flora somehow had a connection with our killer, and had good information that had already helped us. I couldn’t lose Leslie either, not so soon after Jesse. “We’ll find her. I’ll call you when I know something. Text me if you learn anything else that might be helpful.”
“Ryan, this is why you were meant to be her partner. You can save her, but you have to hurry. He’s going to enjoy hunting her for the fun of it, and not because of her birthdate. Go.” Flora had hung up before I could even push the button to disconnect us.
“Agent Perez, we have a problem! Leslie’s missing! He has her!” I shouted to get everyone’s attention.
“Detective Boxe is gone? But wasn’t she here just a few minutes ago? Does anyone know where she could have gotten to? Did she drive or walk?” Agent Perez motioned for everyone to get moving as she came over to me.
“Why do you think she’s gone and that the killer has her?” Agent Perez directed her furious gaze to me.
“I know this is going to sound crazy, and I didn’t believe it when it happened two months ago, but there’s a psychic that’s been getting visions, I guess. Anyway, she just called and said that he has Leslie. We only have until dark before he
starts hunting her.” I could see the disbelief in her stare. “I know it’s crazy. She knew the name of the last killer, and there wasn’t any connection between them. They were states apart, and yet Flora pointed us in the right direction. If it means listening to her to save Leslie, or ignoring it and having another dead body, I’m going to follow the psychic even if it goes against all my training.” I went over to where the maps were laid out.
“She would do the same for you, even though she doesn’t like you. She wouldn’t give up on you just to prove a point.” I wasn’t going to waste any time trying to convince her.
“Where was the last area that Detective Boxe was looking at as potential burial sites?”
A hand shot up from the back of the room, and a mousy woman with glasses moved toward us as everyone gave her room. “She was looking at two different properties: one owned by the Spring family, and another by the Urban Energy Company. They’re in opposite directions, and I have no idea which one she went to check out. She said she’d call if she found something.”
The woman looked as if she was about to cry. “You did good, Agent…?” I left the question open.
“Martha Tubbs. I can track her phone for you if that’ll help,” she suggested, eager to help.
“That would be great, Martha. If we can narrow down our resources, that would be a huge time saver.” I’d taken over, but Leslie was my partner, and I didn’t care if the FBI liked it or not. “Agent Perez, I would recommend that we send a few agents to the other site, but concentrate our efforts on the direction that her phone went in just in case this guy tries to outsmart us.”
She nodded her approval. “Let’s load up and be ready to move out as soon as we get the ping. You make sure that you put a vest on and stay in contact with me, understood?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I’ve got it!” Agent Tubbs yelled. “She went toward the Spring property instead of the Urban Energy property.”
That made sense since she’d been looking at records, trying to find a connection between Tom and the past.
“You heard the woman, move out. Agents Diaz, Philips, and Jones, you’ll take the Urban Energy property. The last two killers have been linked with the company, and we don’t want to be misled when someone’s life is at stake. Load up.” She’d put aside whatever problems she had with Leslie, and was doing something to help find her.
“I’ll drive,” Sheriff Turner volunteered. “I know these back roads, and can get us there much faster, even though it’s in the next county.”
“Let’s just pray that Detective Boxe can stay out of the killer’s path until we catch up.”
A mad dash through the countryside brought us to the edge of the property lines. Everyone piled out of the vehicles and gathered around Agent Perez.
“Just because this is the property line, doesn’t mean that this man won’t cross them. He’s a killer, and lines don’t bother someone like him. Remember that there may be another woman or two out here with Detective Boxe. Only take a shot if you’re sure that you have it. We want them alive, and we don’t want to hurt one of our own. Be careful. Friendly fire won’t help either.” Agent Perez picked up the rifle that they handed her from the back of one of the vans.
“There’s a small cabin in the middle of the property that I’m sure has been his base of operations. He may have her there, but I think we both know that he’s going to try hunting her first.” I’d done a quick study of both properties, and it seemed the most likely scenario.
Two hours of traipsing through the woods later, we’d found no sign of Leslie or the killer. It was getting dark, and the woods got darker earlier than other places.
“How could we have missed them?” I questioned as each group regathered at the vehicles in frustration.
“We didn’t. We’ve searched this area thoroughly, and our other group came up empty as well.” Agent Perez made sure that everyone was back before ordering them to pack it up. “Where else could she have gone in connection with Tom Prings or the Springs’?”
“They’re at the Spring Mill. That has to be where he took her. We didn’t notice it because it’s owned by the family and not by him. There were tons of little out buildings, and a huge wooded area that connects to a forest reserve.” I knew as soon as the words formed that we were on the right track.
“It all used to belong to the Spring family, but as times changed, they sold off portions of it, and the forest reserve was an easy way to keep other big businesses from grabbing it all up. The back of his land is also on the other side of the reserve,” Sheriff Turner explained. “We should’ve put that together sooner, but I just didn’t think it could be one of the Spring boys. They’ve always been such good citizens.”
“Which is why you’ve never had any reason to suspect them of being serial killers,” Agent Perez assured him. “Let’s hope this is where they’re at, because otherwise, we’ll have to wait for daylight, and another psychic call before we set out on a wild goose chase.”
I ignored the dig at my information. If Flora hadn’t called, it might have been hours, or even the next morning before we realized that she was gone. I didn’t care, as long as we found her in time.
Chapter 12
Leslie
I’d been running for what seemed like hours, but was probably only a few minutes.
When he had noticed me headed out to the Spring Mill from the newspaper, he’d followed me. He knew the territory much better than I did, and had been able to get ahead of me to cut me off.
There had only been a slight sting of warning when the dart hit me, causing my body to collapse to the ground. I couldn’t move as he’d searched my pockets for my cell phone, keys, and gun.
“You won’t be needing these for the game I’ve got planned for you. The Zodiac Master may have given me strict instructions about killing only those with an Aries birthday, but you’re worth breaking the rules for.” He chuckled as he pulled my body up and slung it over his shoulder, leaving me to hang limply, upside down. I was still conscious, but I couldn’t move or control my own body.
“We’re going to see what kind of detective you really are when the sun goes down. That should give you enough time to sleep off the dart and make this a fun game.”
The ground didn’t give me much to go on in regards to where he was taking me, but I forced my eyes to stay open, hoping to find some clue as to where we were going.
Ten minutes later, we’d hiked a ways into the forest. While this man was a killer, I had to admire his stamina. I wasn’t a light, petite girl, and carrying me through the woods in the twilight wasn’t an easy task. Which meant that I would have to be smarter than his last victims. He would be able to chase me through the woods for hours without a problem. Even though I ran on a regular basis, it was on a treadmill or city street that didn’t have obstacles that could reach out and trip you in the dark. This was going to be a life or death race, and I was determined to live.
A small cabin, hidden by overgrown brush, alerted me to the fact that we had arrived wherever our destination was. I just hoped that when they realized I was missing, they would look for my car. I didn’t expect there to be cell service out here, and he was smart enough to turn it off so they couldn’t track me.
“Home sweet home,” he announced as he put me on a small mattress inside a cage. “I’ve got a friend for you, honey. Tonight’s the night for your birthday surprise.”
I tried to process his words, when I noticed another cage next to mine with another girl inside. He wasn’t speaking to me, but to her.
Crap. Now I was going to have to get her to safety too.
He turned a small lamp on before opening the door. “I’ll be back. I’ve got to go throw your friends off the trail or they’ll mess up my hunting grounds.” He grinned, holding up my phone for me to see before he closed the door, leaving us alone.
I still couldn’t move, and the girl next to me just whimpered. She had already been through more than I could imag
ine. I just hoped that he hadn’t broken her yet.
My eyes closed against my will. “Flora, tell Ryan I’m sorry,” I whispered.
A quiet whimper woke me up. “He’s gone again.”
“Who’s there?” I asked into the dark room.
“My name is Carol. He told me to count to five hundred and wake you up.”
I tried to move, and found my arms and legs were able to, but were still sluggish. It was completely dark, and it took a moment for my eyes to adjust while I carefully reached out to touch the cage.
Six inches separated the two cages, and Carol grabbed my hand through the metal wires. “I think he left the doors open this time.”
Letting go of her hand, I pushed on the wire door and it swung open. I crawled out, feeling my way to where he’d left the lamp. Then I realized that if he’d left the doors open, he was expecting us to come running out of the light, giving him a heads up. Our eyes would have to adjust to the dark again, and right now, we were on a level playing field if I didn’t turn on the lamp.
“Shouldn’t we stay here and hope he doesn’t come back?” Carol hung back when I opened the door to her cage.
“No. He’s going to kill us one way or another. The only chance we have is to run. He’s waiting for us, and wants us to give him a good hunt. I’m a detective, and my goal is going to be for you to get back to the main roads.”
I pulled on her hand, urging her out of the cage. “Do you have shoes on?”
“Yes. He left all of my clothes on, and didn’t try to hurt me.”
I gave her trembling body a hug. “Honey, that’s because he’s going to do that now. His job is to kill us. We just have to evade him and beat him at his own game.”
“I’ll trust you. I don’t want to die.”
“Honey, I couldn’t agree more. Just do exactly what I say and stay behind me.”