Chapter 4
1678 Words
Alexander walks into his house, dropping the keys to his brand-new car in the bowl with all the others, and takes off his jacket. His day was okay, but not being able to see her wasn’t!
Thanks to his parent's many charity events, he had to spend the morning with the unbearable Cristal hanging on his arm. That woman’s laugh is like nails on a chalkboard!
But unfortunately, if he wants to keep living the life he is living, certain sacrifices have to be made. He walks into his bedroom, stripping off his tie and shirt, before walking into his closet to put on his favourite pair of black cargo pants and a black vest.
His latest treasure is waiting downstairs, and he can’t wait to try what he dreamed about last night. That is probably why he felt so irritated about being at the event. He was looking forward to spending this time on his latest project.
Since he was a young boy, he found it interesting to see what people would do for money, and since he has so much of it, he has been able to buy anything and anyone he wants.
The only problem came in when his first few projects wouldn’t let him do what he wanted after they took his money. So, they had to pay him back in some way, which led him to meet the amazing Detective Gemma Paterson.
Now there is one woman he won’t be able to buy…
But…
He does have something that she wants.
He walks down the stairs to his basement, taking in the scent of the leather. Switching on the light, the black leather shines and the silver studs shimmer in the light.
Small cries come from the corner of the room, but he ignores her as he scans over his pleasure palace. What is he going to do today that will relieve the stress he is feeling after this morning?
It has to be spectacular! The tension in his shoulders is too much and since dear Gemma decided to shack up with that damn i***t partner of hers…
He will get her attention back. He is not going to let that i***t take her away from him.
Grabbing the whip, he walks over to the girl hanging from the St. Andrews cross. He can almost taste the fear in the air as he cracks the whip once, and she cries out in pain.
***
Gemma walks out of the third and last house sighing. They just told the parents of a girl who seemed to be a good girl that their daughter was dead. Just like the other two, she wasn’t into any kind of “sordid” behaviour. She can understand why parents always think the best of their children, but from her experience, people don’t know the people they love as well as they think they do.
On the surface, the girls all had something in common. They were all proper girls, from good homes. They were straight “A” students, and when she checked their bedrooms, she couldn’t find anything strange. They did seem innocent if you looked at their rooms.
“They all seem innocent!” Her eyes grow wide, and she looks at Tank as he slides into the driver’s seat next to her.
“Too innocent for their ages. How often do you meet girls in their mid-twenties who still live with their parents and their rooms look as if they were thirteen-year-old?”
Tank frowns.
“What are you thinking?”
“I’m not sure yet… But it does seem strange. Let’s go back to the station, I want to check on something in the missing person files.”
Her phone rings, and it’s an unknown number. She looks at Tank before answering.
“Hello.”
“Detective, it’s really good to hear your voice. I wasn’t pleased to find out that you didn’t eat your dinner, and then I found out that you weren’t home.”
“Listen here, you bastard!”
“Language, my darling! Pretty girls like yourself should not be using such language, but before I forget why I was calling… I left you a little present at Petal Gardens. Her screams were, dare I say, delicious. Now, enjoy your present, and next time… Eat your dinner.”
The line dies, and she looks at her phone for a moment in horror.
“Petal Gardens! Now!” She shouts at Tank, and he turns the car around.
***
Rushing into the park, they hear a scream and run in the direction of it. Just as she expected, the naked body of a young woman is splayed out on the lawn, only this time it’s out in public!
Tank rushes to get the people that are gathering around to move away so nobody can contaminate the crime scene while she calls it in.
As with all the other cases, there is no identification on her. From what Gemma can assess quickly, she has also been tortured in some way. None of the other girls had been hurt like this, or at least not in a way that could be seen.
When the crime scene investigators arrive, she walks over to Tank where he is talking to the witness that found the body. The area is cordoned off and the process of collecting as much evidence as possible is started.
Tank pulls Gemma to one side after they finish with the witness.
“Nobody saw anything.”
“But it’s broad daylight! How could nobody see someone dragging a poor girl here?”
“Gemma, what exactly did he tell you on the phone?”
“I’m not sure… He sounded almost as if he was angry with me. He kept talking about the damn dinner he sent over and the fact that I didn’t eat it!”
“So, he is watching you.”
“Yes, he knows that I’m not staying at the apartment.”
“Did he say anything else?”
“He sounded polite… Too polite! Correcting me on the use of my language and then telling me to eat my dinner. Tank, none of this makes any sense.”
“I beg to differ; I think we are starting to see a profile forming. Come on, let’s get you out of here. He is probably watching us, and I don’t want him to relish in your displeasure.”
He puts his arm around her shoulders and walks her to the car.
***
They drive to the station in silence as each of them processes what they saw, and Gemma tries to make sense of why this killer seems to have latched onto her. It was almost as if he thought he left her a gift! As if he was proud of his work, and she should be too!
When they walked in, the station went silent, and she looked up to find everyone looking at her.
“Tank, Paterson,” Cappie waves them to his office. “Don’t the rest of you have work to do?” He barks and closes the door behind him.
“What happened? Are you okay?” Concern floods his face as he looks at Gemma.
“Yes, yes, I’m fine.” She waves it off.
Cappie asks a bunch of questions, but she feels as if she’s in a daze answering them. Her mind is trying to process what happened and trying to find the link between the girls. When she tells the captain that she wants to start searching through missing persons to identify the bodies they haven’t identified yet, he shakes his head.
“You aren’t going to do anything today. Tank will take you to a safehouse. I’m not taking any chances of this guy taking one of my detectives!”
“Captain. With all due respect. The more I hide, the more he is going to kill!”
“I agree with her, Cappie. This last murder was more personal.”
“Fine, what do you suggest we do?”
They discuss what their options are, and he lets her take home the files with the missing person reports that she thinks might link up with what they are looking for. They stop over at Tank’s house to grab some of his clothes and then drive to her apartment.
“I don’t know if staying over is such a good idea. What if he finds out? I can’t bear another girl being punished like that because a damn killer is angry at me.”
“That wasn’t your fault, Gemma! And I’m staying with you whether you like it or not.”
They pull up to the apartments, and he takes his bag out of the back of the car, walking her inside. When she walks into her apartment, there is a bunch of blood-red roses on her dining room table and a brand-new coffee table in her living room.
“I didn’t order that! Did you?” Fear rushes through her veins as ice-cold adrenaline pumps into her entire body.
“Someone must have seen who was here!” Tank puts his bag down and calls the station.
Half an hour later, her apartment is swarming with officers again, and she feels as if she can’t breathe! Why is he doing this to her?! Who is he? She’s not this damn damsel in distress that she feels like right now, and she hates it that he is making her feel like this.
“This has to stop! Get out! Get out, all of you! If he is the killer, I think he is, you aren’t going to find any evidence, so just get out!”
Tank nods at one of the officers, and they pack up and leave.
“Gemma, they are just doing their jobs.”
“Yeah, and aggravating an already aggravated serial killer! I’m going to take a shower.” She rushes out of the living room and slams the bathroom door behind her.
- Writer
