Past Unveiling

by Audrey Walker

  “What’s that?” Kyle asked, noticing her expression. She let him read the note, her own thoughts running wild.

  “What game is he playing now?” Kyle asked.

  “I don’t know,” Robin said. “But this necklace belonged to his mother. There is a crest on it, Maybe a family crest? Let’s see what we can find out about it.”

  “Robin,” he whispered. “This will have to wait. We have a killer on our hands.”

  “I know; I will look into the cab driver,” she said.

  “No,” he said softly. “If you really want to help me arrest Danvers, then do it. Otherwise, I am taking matters into my own hands.”

  He walked away, and Robin sighed, wondering what else could go wrong.

  Chapter Ten

  “This is Detective Matthews, isn’t it?” the voice said on the other side. “This is Detective Pickles from Brooklyn. I looked into your reports, and it seems you were right. I found two residents who claim that someone with that description was living there. It is possible the man was the Butcher. The time and everything else matches.”

  “Did he have another man living with him? Somewhere around nineteen, twenty?” she asked.

  “Yes, that’s right,” he said. “They claimed that the young man looked after his old father, who the residents never saw, except for the two witnesses who only saw the old man by accident. They claim he was horrible to look at, and the description matches how we assume the Butcher would look now. This report was one-year-old. They claim that the son and the Butcher disappeared one night and never returned.”

  “Can you send me their testimonies and all your findings?” Robin asked.

  “Yea, I will have someone email them,” he said.

  Robin ended the call and looked down at the necklace in front of her. The Executioner wanted her to find him. He wanted her to uncover his past. This what it has all been about. Robin was his past, and she had forgotten all about it. She still had gaps in her memory. The Executioner wanted Robin to remember him. She didn’t know why or why he was planning any of this, but she was determined to stop him this time.

  __

  “Oh, I feel horrible,” Abby groaned.

  “There, there,” Robin said, patting her back.

  “I can’t eat anything,” she said. “Any smell is enough to trigger nausea. All I have done is throw up since morning.”

  “Did you tell the doctor?” Robin asked.

  “Morning sickness is a normal part of pregnancy,” she said. “Every woman goes through it. It’s just three months, bear with it. That’s what he said! That pig! What would he know about pregnancy?”

  “I doubt he would know anything,” Robin said, laughing.

  “He should! He is my doctor!” Abby protested. “This is all Jim’s fault! I should have never listened to him.”

  “Come on, what will one time do? It’s just once!” Abby said, imitating Jim.

  She grabbed her sister and said, “Once is enough! Don’t let a man talk you into anything. Ever. They are all evil! If Kyle ever says, just do it once. Don’t!”

  Robin rolled her eyes and said, “I am not sleeping with Kyle.”

  “What? I thought you guys liked each other and stuff,” she said.

  “Yeah, and after that, neither of us talked about it,” Robin said. “It’s complicated, Abby.”

  “Really?” She asked. “What’s complicated. You like him. He likes you. Just make out already!”

  Robin laughed and shook her head as her sister snuggled up to her.

  “I can’t believe I have you home after so long,” Abby said. “I can’t remember the last time we just sat and talked.”

  “I can’t tell you how hectic everything has been lately,” Robin said. “We have a copycat killer on our hands. But you can’t tell anyone that. We don’t want the media knowing about it yet.”

  “A copycat? Really?” she asked.

  Robin gave her a bit of an explanation, and Abby sighed.

  “You know, this reminds me of this novel I read,” Abby said. “It was the ABC murders. It had Hercule Poirot in it. This serial killer was doing these murders, and while I don’t remember the exact story, I remember the ending. It turned out that the killer only wanted to kill one specific person, but to hide the crime, he made it seem like serial killing, committing more murders. The police were looking for a serial killer, and the crime’s real motive wasn’t looked into. All along, the motive was to kill just that one person, but since the police were looking for a serial killer, they never investigated the intended victim’s family.”

  “So, we don’t have a copycat killer,” Robin whispered. “We have someone who wanted to kill the Mayor’s daughter. He disguised it as the work of the Executioner, hoping we would blame him.”

  “Well, it’s an idea,” Abby said.

  “Abby,” Robin whispered. “You are a genius.”

  “Hmm, sounds right,” Abby laughed. “Maybe I should take over all your jobs. I seem to be good at this.”

  “I have another problem,” Robin said. “Kyle. You know Danvers is back, right?”

  “Yes, I know,” Abby said. “Does he still think Danvers killed his wife?”

  “He does, and I believe him,” she said. “One thing I know is that Kyle is one hell of a Detective, and if this is what he believes, there is a good chance it’s true.”

  “Robin,” Abby suddenly said. “Can I ask you something? The killer who was after you, is he still there?”

  “Why do you ask that?” Robin asked.

  “Because as long as he is out there, you are in danger,” Abby whispered. “I still get nightmares about losing you. I see that basement and James and–.”

  “I know,” Robin said, hugging her sister. “I am sorry you had to go through that.”

  “How do you deal with it?” Abby asked. “How do you live after seeing all that?”

  “You live for the people who love you,” Robin said. “If I didn’t have you, Abby, I think I would have gone insane ages ago. But I have you, and it gives me a reason to keep living, to keep fighting. You live for the people who love you.”

  “Jim is still traumatized by all that,” Abby said. “I can see it. He doesn’t sleep, Robin. He feels so guilty about everything. He keeps getting scared something will happen to me. I don’t know what to do anymore.”

  Robin pulled her sister into a hug and kissed her cheek.

  She didn’t know what to do either.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Alright,” Robin said. “Let’s go over the facts of everything that happened, and then let’s see what evidence we have.”

  “It won’t help,” Kyle whispered. He rubbed his eyes, looking gaunt and drained. He looked as if he hadn’t slept in days. His eyes were bloodshot, and there were dark circles under his eyes. His face was covered with stubble, making him look less than alive. He lit another cigarette and took a drag, relishing the nicotine that flooded his lungs.

  Robin looked around the dirty apartment, noticing the mess of beer bottles and takeout food boxes. She sighed to herself before turning her attention toward her friend.

  “Kyle,” she said. “We need to do this.”

  “Do you know how often I have gone over it?” he whispered, looking up at her with vacant eyes. “Do you know how long I have poured over the facts and the evidence and all that crap? Five years. For the past five years, I have thought about it every day. I know the facts by heart, Robin. And they all say one thing – he killed her. Do you know what evidence we have to support that? Nothing. The commissioner shut me down before I could even investigate the man properly. It’s been five years, Robin. Do you think we will find any evidence now?”

  He stood up, grabbing his head and pacing around the room.

  “I thought I had accepted my fate,” he whispered to himself. “I thought I had accepted that I could never find justice for Rose. I had buried it somewhere deep within me. I struggled with the pain and void in my heart, trying to live withou
t her, but it’s so hard. But still, I managed to move on. Yet, seeing that man again, it boils my blood!”

  He slammed his hand on the mirror that hung on the wall, shattering it.

  “Kyle!” Robin shouted, running to him. She grabbed his hand, which was covered in shards of glass and oozing blood.

  “You don’t understand!” he gasped, his eyes wide. There was a look in his eyes that was all too familiar to Robin. She saw in it a crazy desire for revenge. It appeared that Kyle had a thirst for justice and the need to avenge the woman he loved. She knew it all too well. And she knows that it drives a man to do things that were too horrible to even think about.

  “You don’t feel my pain!” he shouted. “Seeing him every day, walking around, living his life, it’s too much! He has money, power, success. Everything! Where is his consequence? Where is his suffering? Where is justice? Do you want to go over the facts? Let’s go over the facts then!”

  He tore his hand away from Robin, ignoring the blood that dripped from it. He started to pace around, and his voice became oddly calm.

  “Rose Grange, twenty-eight, was found in a quarry on the 31st March, five years ago. She was reported missing a few days ago by her husband, Kyle Grange. A search was started for her, and she was eventually found dead. She had been raped before being shot by a gun that was later identified as a Glock. The body had been in the quarry for at least two days, and no evidence could be found. She was killed elsewhere before being dumped there.” Kyle’s voice was monotone, lacking any inflection or emotion.

  Robin’s heart gave a sympathetic pang as she looked at her friend’s broken face.

  “She reported to her husband that she was receiving unwanted advances by her boss, but she ignored them because she was desperate for her job. On the night she disappeared, she was working overtime at the company. She was last seen by one of the office clerks, who claimed that Danvers, her boss, asked her to stay after all the employees had left. The CCTV footage shows she never exited that building. An hour after the clerk had left, Danvers was seen exiting and leaving in his car, alone.” Kyle summarized.

  “After that, there was no sign of her anywhere until she was found dead,” he said. “On interrogation, Danvers insisted that she left work earlier, and he had no clue about what had happened to her. He lawyered up after that, and we received orders to leave Danvers alone. And that is how far our investigation went. We weren’t allowed to sweep his office, and by the time we got the warrant, there was no evidence to be found.”

  “Kyle, you don’t need to do this,” Robin whispered.

  “There is nothing that can be done, little bird,” he said, swallowing his tears. “We can’t legally punish that man, no matter how hard we try. So, that’s that. I either accept the fact that he will remain a free man, or I take matters into my own hands.”

  “I know what you are thinking,” Robin said. “I know what you are feeling. I lost my parents, remember? You remind me of a question he asked me; the child. He asked me if I had the chance to have my revenge on the Butcher, would I? I told him I wouldn’t, but I knew it was a lie. Deep down, I knew if I had the chance to kill him, I would take it. I think he saw right through me. He could peer into my soul and see that I would do it in a blink of an eye. And now, you are at the same crossroads.”

  Robin walked toward him, her eyes boring into his. She reached forward and grabbed his hands, taking them into hers. She leaned forward and kissed both his cheeks softly before laying one at his lips.

  “If you kill him, you are no better than him,” she said. “You are nothing more than a killer. If every person just started taking revenge – if everyone person just started taking the law into their own hands, there would be nothing but chaos all around us. That’s what separates you from the criminals, Kyle. That horrible man took Rose away from you, but don’t let him tear you away from yourself. Don’t let him turn you into a monster. Don’t let him destroy your soul. You know that’s not the man Rose loved. The man she loved was true and just. He wasn’t a murderer or a monster. Don’t do this for yourself, do this for Rose. Because I am sure, wherever she is, she is watching over you.”

  Kyle looked at her, his eyes filled with tears.

  “I can’t catch him, Robin,” he whispered. “I can’t find any evidence against him.”

  “I know,” she said.

  “Then I will have to let him go,” he gasped.

  “I know,” she whispered, pulling him into a hug.

  “For Rose,” he said hoarsely.

  “For Rose,” she said softly.

  Chapter Twelve

  “I think we can assume that the killer directly wanted to target the Mayor’s daughter,” Robin said. “He was hoping that if we accepted her as just another victim of the Executioner, we wouldn’t look too deeply into it. It was the perfect disguise. Everything puts it to the serial killer, and no one realizes that the Mayor’s daughter was killed by someone else for some other motive. They didn’t realize we would track down the taxi driver. When they got the hint of it, they killed him, but they didn’t have the time to arrange it as another Executioner victim.”

  “This idea of yours,” Burke said slowly. “It’s rather interesting.”

  Robin explained how Abby had given her the idea and where it had originated from.

  “A murder novel, eh?” he asked. “Well, it makes sense. It fits the facts we have available. We weren’t looking into any of the victim’s relatives or friends because we assumed it was a copycat killer. But if what you say is true, then we need to take a closer look at everyone possibly linked.”

  “Let’s have the boyfriend, the friend, and her guards in for an interrogation,” Andrews said.

  “Finally growing a spine,” Burke said, smirking and patting Andrews on the back. “Speaking up about your ideas instead of scuttling away from Matthews. I am proud of you. That sounds like a good idea. Let’s also look into the other tenants of the building where the taxi driver lived. Maybe someone saw this killer of ours.”

  “You are all crazy,” Lory said. “The easiest explanation is that Matthews did it. But I will check into all possible suspects before I start taking you down, Detective.”

  “Have fun, Lory,” Robin said, rolling her eyes. “Maybe you will find some common sense in this investigation of yours.”

  “Don’t try and be clever,” he snapped. “You will be begging me for mercy when I prove you are the killer.”

  “You sure dream big,” Robin said. “I hope you don’t drift too far off reality, Detective. You remember what happens when you fly too close to the sun?”

  Lory glared at her; his jaw clenched.

  Robin smirked at him and then tossed her hair and turned around. It was time to get to work.

  __

  “I already told you all everything,” Laila whispered. The girl had clearly been suffering ever since the death of her friend. She looked tired and haggard, with clear signs of drug abuse etched all over her face.

  “I know, but I just have a few questions,” Burke said. “I am sorry about this, but you will be free soon.”

  “Alright,” she said, sniffing.

  “Could you once again recount everything that happened that night?” Robin asked.

  “Kaila came to my house that evening to hang out,” she said. “She had a long day touring some stupid factories for her dad. Kaila came to me all excited and thrilled. She even sent her bodyguards away, saying that she will go to her boyfriend’s later. She and I usually hang around and smoke – stuff – but that night, she said that she didn’t want to. Then a few hours later, a taxi that her boyfriend had arranged came, and she left. That was the last I remember.”

  “Can you give us an exact time?” Robin asked.

  “I am sorry, I don’t remember…,” She stammered.

  “You mean you were too high to remember?” Burke snorted.

  “Who is this boyfriend of hers?” Robin asked. “Adrian Vince?”

  “I think so
,” Laila said, frowning. “I am not sure, actually. She never told me who he was. She was always so secretive about it. She kept it all hushed up because her father would disapprove of him. I assumed she was dating Adrian. The two of them had a thing going on lately, and I knew her Dad disapproved of him.”

  “What else can you tell us about her?” Burke asked. “Any enemies? Anyone who had been threatening her lately?”

  “I don’t think so,” she said. “She didn’t say anything. She didn’t seem worried or anxious. In fact, she seemed rather happy the last few days. She didn’t even complain about having to work for her Dad.”

  “I see,” Burke said. “Any other friends who might know more about her?”

  “Kaila didn’t have a lot of friends,” Laila said. “She was the Mayor’s daughter. She had a lot of acquaintances but minimal friends. She knew that there were very few around her who actually loved her for her.”

  At this, Laila burst into tears, burying her face in her hands.

  “Do you think I could have saved her?” she sobbed. “If only I had probed her about that boyfriend or where she was going. If only I had stopped her. Why didn’t I stop her?”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Robin said. “This was not your fault. There was nothing you could do.”

  Laila looked up, her eyes shining with tears.

  “I should have helped her,” she whispered. “I promised I would always be there for her, I promised.”

  “You promise?” The child’s green eyes peered into her eyes. He was holding onto her hand with desperation, his hands covered in blood.