“Alright shut your fucking mouth, you fucking bitch –”
“Whoa. Don’t get carried away.”
“I’m sorry, I just –” Nadine stopped herself. “Nothing happened.”
“Really?”
“Not how you think.”
Bang – Bang –
“Nadine, are you ready?” the Captain’s voice called from the other side of the door. “Everyone’s waiting for you.”
“One minute!” Nadine called back. She looked down at her phone. “Please don’t say anything, Taylor. I can trust you, can’t I? Have you got my back on this one?”
There was some rustling on Taylor’s end. She thought she heard Taylor groan.
“Taylor?”
“I won’t say anything,” Taylor said quietly. “You’re not a psycho or anything, are you?”
Nadine went red. “What?”
“You’re not the killer, are you? You didn’t write the email?”
“God no,” Nadine gushed. “Justin’s cool and everything but I don’t think he’s worth killing someone over –”
“It was a joke, Nadine. I was joking.”
“Oh.”
“Try not to be too weird with everyone.”
“Thank you –”
Taylor hung up.
Nadine stared down at her phone nervously. Heart rate slowly coming back down. A look of mischievous recognition in the mirror.
She picked up the glasses and hid her face.
SUBJECT: Hello
To Nadine,
Do you know where I am right now? You should know.
I’m standing over my eleven o’clock victim. The lips look like they’re smiling, but really they’re going the other way. I’ve got the bugger trapped upside down.
It is interesting to me. To see the veins in the neck spasm. I can touch them with my fingers if I want to. Feel the sweat. Feel the pulse. Do you know what this is like, Detective?
I hope you’re ready. Once I’m done here, I’m going to double my quota for dead bodies every hour, starting at midnight. And I won’t stop until every fucking person in that photograph is dead.
This is on you now, Detective.
Do you know where I am?
I’m WATCHING YOU Nadine…
Yours Sincerely,
THE EVIL ONE
Chapter 21
Ryan walked over to where Justin was by the wall, his face sullen, his shoulders crushed. He crouched down and handed him the paper cup containing a white coffee with one sugar, which Justin accepted gratefully. “It still hasn’t hit me,” Justin said. “None of this is real. I’m in some kind of horrible nightmare where I need to wake up.”
Ryan eyed him carefully. “Are you sure you want to be here?”
Justin shrugged. “No.”
“If you can’t make it through, then say so now. We’ll take you to the common room, or to sick bay if –”
“Man. I don’t have a choice.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s my fucking fault she’s dead,” Justin said. “I should have got her out of there…”
Ryan sighed. “Someone actually did kill her. Someone wrote that email. Don’t lose sight of the true enemy.”
Justin looked up at him. “You’re right.”
Ryan nodded.
“It’s hard you know, it’s –”
At that point Captain Culhane entered the room with Nadine at his side.
“Okay everyone, listen up,” the Captain announced. “I know it’s late and everyone’s tired. Some of you have been working since this morning – we get it. But there’s a situation that needs attention. Our precinct has been attacked. Our home – the home of one of our loyal officers – has been destroyed. An innocent, beautiful loving fiancé has been killed at the hands of a maniac. Please take the time to be quiet and respectful. Detective Nadine Shields will be heading the investigation and all motions on this go through her. Now please, again, give her your respect along with your attention. Over to you. Nadine…”
Ryan made a move to sit down just as Justin got to his feet. He then took Justin by the arm and led him around the platform to where the others were seated.
The Captain had moved off to the side leaving Nadine in the centre of the room, in front of the whiteboards. She had her glasses on and was looking down.
At her phone.
Chapter 22
Nadine’s lips quivered. Her hands began to tremble.
She inhaled through her nose slowly, guiding her thumb about the screen, trying to shut off the phone.
The email stayed in the background for a few more moments. The phone company’s logo spinning about in the forefront as it prepared to shut down.
Nadine could still see the email. She could see the letters and the words.
She could see the attached photos at the bottom.
“Uh … Nadine…?” Captain Culhane prompted. “Are you ready?”
Nadine forced a smile. She dropped the phone onto the desk along with the rest of everything else.
Then looked up.
“Hi,” she said softly. “Um … I … Hello…”
She opened the laptop on the desk. Moved the mouse around. Turned on the power presentation.
The image projected onto the whiteboard.
“This is a class photo taken in 2005. The students are all seventeen or eighteen years old. Their final year.” Nadine cleared her throat. “Five boys on top. Five girls on the bottom. Two boys and three girls in the middle row. Top row, second from the right, Officer Justin Hodge is pictured. On the bottom row, second from the left is Kellie Fellows. Kellie was Justin’s high school sweetheart and till tonight, fiancé. Sadly she was … thrown off her balcony just a few hours ago.”
Someone coughed in the back. The side door opened and a young officer carrying a stack of papers had a quiet word with the Captain. She then nodded to Nadine and then started passing around the reports.
“Officer Hodge received an email about an hour before her death this evening. This email, sent by an anonymous person, claimed to be have some type of vendetta against Justin and Kellie. Particularly – there were threats made about the people in this photograph. At the time it was difficult to know whether or not they were serious. But unless by unlikely coincidence Kellie spontaneously took a suicidal turn and threw herself off the balcony – someone killed her. Most likely the same person who sent Justin the email prior. Now. Hopefully you can locate it in front of you. I’ll give you a minute to look it over.”
Pages turned. Muffled conversation stirred.
Nadine placed her hands on the edge of the desk.
Leaned forward for support.
“It’s on page three,” Captain Culhane spoke up. “Subject – The Game Begins. To Justin. Yours Sincerely The Evil One. Attached along with the class photo were several photos – omitted from your report – depicting Justin and his fiancé in various stages of nudity. We are still looking into the source of these images –”
“I’m sorry,” Justin said interrupting. “Nope. Just. That’s enough.”
“Alright, man you need to –” Officer Dobbs began.
“It doesn’t matter what this freak sent me. Pictures or words or otherwise! He’s crazy. He’s just … he’s fucking crazy.”
The chatter got louder.
“Hey!” Justin shouted. “Did you hear what I said?”
The Captain made an attempt to lead Justin off.
Instead he pushed the Captain aside. He climbed up on the desk in front of Nadine and gestured towards the class photo on the whiteboard.
“You see this?” Justin demanded. “This is bullshit. One of the people at my apartment tonight killed her. Yeah that’s right. One of her friends. One of my friends. I don’t know which of them it was but it was someone there.”
“Justin,” Nadine whispered.
“We’ve got them all chained up in holding, just waiting to be interrogated. One of them is bound to break. Even if they w
eren’t the one who pushed her, there’s bound to be someone who saw the killer –”
“Justin!” Nadine screeched.
He turned. Looked down at her.
“We have surveillance footage of the corridor outside your apartment.”
“What?” Justin said.
“We believe we’ve found the killer.”
Chapter 23
It was either a man of short stature. Or a woman of average size. Justin shut out the rest of the room as the hooded figure appeared in the corridor in centre frame. Hands in pockets. Moving further and further away from the camera. Until they were outside their apartment. Their head tilted, facing away.
Justin’s tongue smoothed over his lips. “Why is he just standing there? What’s he doing?”
Nadine hunched over the laptop. Brought the footage forward a few minutes.
Justin’s mouth fell open as he saw himself exiting the apartment.He left the door hanging wide open, swinging back slowly as he moved down the corridor towards the camera.
The hooded figure glanced at him briefly. Then stepped inside the apartment before the door closed.
Justin looked away.
There were no words.
“What time is that exactly?” someone piped up.
“10:16pm,” Nadine answered. “Officer Hodge was making his way outside the building where Officer Dobbs and I were waiting.”
“Wait – you guys were already there?”
“Too late, unfortunately,” Ryan said. “We were still trying to determine what to do with the email that had been sent.”
The footage fast forwarded.
Justin was seen re-entering the apartment.
Twenty seconds later the hooded figure from earlier exited, going out the fire escape door.
“Oh shit,” Justin breathed. “That’s them. That was them. I let him in…”
“We don’t know whether this hooded person is guilty,” Nadine said. “At this stage they remain unidentified.”
“Have you asked everyone else whether anyone they recognize them?” Justin asked.
Nadine turned to the Captain.
Justin followed her gaze.
“We’re looking into that,” the Captain answered.
“Well get on it,” Justin exhaled. “Jesus!”
Ryan approached him from the side, attempting to lead him away.
Justin resisted. “No! Not till we’re done!”
“Come on buddy,” Ryan said. “You’re not in any state –”
“Just get off me alright!”
Justin pushed past him and ran for the door. He pushed it open and staggered into the corridor.
His cheeks flushed.
Eyes watering.
Ryan’s shadow followed in behind.
“Go away! Leave me alone…”
Ryan stepped in front of him. Placed his hands on his shoulders.
“You’re not alone, Justin,” he said. “Not tonight. Not ever. No one is going to forget what happened here. Because it didn’t happen to you, do you understand?”
“What?”
“It happened to us. Say it with me. ‘It happened to us’. Say it.”
Justin shook his head. “It happened to Kellie.”
“Kellie is us. It happened to us.”
Justin forced him away. Continued moving down the corridor.
“Where are you going?” Ryan called after him.
“I don’t know,” Justin said. “I don’t know anything anymore.”
Chapter 24
Detective Leoncelli got to the precinct a little after eleven-thirty as Shields was wrapping up her presentation. He waited in the corner at the back as the rest of the taskforce was saddled with tracking down the remaining people in the old high school picture Justin had been sent. Leoncelli waited for the room to disperse. For those who wanted their one on ones with the Captain and Shields to have them.
It was a quarter to midnight by the time he finally flagged her down.
“Excellent work, Detective Shields,” Leoncelli said catching her just outside the meeting room. “You finally got those suckers to listen.”
She glanced back at him and brushed aside the other detectives she was in conversation with.
Leoncelli stood next to her by the wall, watching them leave.
“I didn’t see you come in,” Shields said.
“I caught the end of it. Did the Captain really allow Officer Hodge into that room with you?”
“He did.”
“And it didn’t go too well?”
“Not exactly.”
“Do you even know where he is now?”
“Should I?”
Leoncelli chuckled. “Oh boy. Alright. I think I’m going to help you on this one.”
“Well, you don’t have to –”
“Yes, I do.” Leoncelli glanced around. “Why don’t you go and find that other officer – Dobbs, I think’s his name – go find him and then the two of you swing by my office ASAP.”
“What would be the purpose in –?”
“Shut up and do it,” Leoncelli ordered. “You don’t want me to give Shandling a call do you? Because I could get her down for this if you’re not willing to –”
“No need for that,” Shields said quickly. “Me and Officer Dobbs. We’ll see you soon.”
Leoncelli winked at her and stepped away from the wall.
He made it four or five steps.
“Detective Leoncelli?”
He stopped.
Looked back at her.
“Justin and I had sex at my place last weekend,” she said.
Leoncelli’s eyes fluttered. An awkward swallow.
Detective Shields took off her sunglasses.
Stared at him with her piercing blue eyes.
“This guy we’re after,” she said. “He knows who I am. He knows what Justin and I did.”
Detective Leoncelli exhaled.
His vision was starting to blur. Detective Shield’s figure blending into the background in front of him.
He blinked.
Readjusted his focus.
“Thanks for telling me,” Leoncelli said.
Then he turned and walked away.
Chapter 25
After swinging by his locker for a couple of essentials, Justin made his way back around to level three’s interrogation section. He pulled a clipboard off an unmanned desk and located the name and number he required.
She was upon him almost as soon as he opened the door.
A few hurried steps towards him and Amelia’s arms were draped around his neck, pulling their bodies close together. Justin was caught off guard. He hadn’t been expecting it. Her touch caused his body to shiver and shake. It reminded him of how weak he was.
“What is happening?” she asked, pulling away.
Justin stared at her. Unable to utter the words.
She saw into him.
Saw through him.
She understood the impact of what had happened.
“Justin…” she tried again. “Tell me…”
“They don’t know what they’re doing. They have no idea who is behind this.”
“So?”
Justin sighed. He had to look away.
“Justin!” Amelia cried. “What are we gonna do?”
“We need to find the other people in that photo. Our … former classmates.” His eyes lifted. “Before it’s too late.”
“I might know where a whole bunch of them are.”
“Where?”
“I have to check my Facebook to confirm.”
“Right.”
“So do you want to get me out of here? Or are we waiting around till someone comes along and arrests you again?”
Justin nodded. He went over to the door and opened it for her.
As she walked by she grabbed his arm.
She held it.
“We’re gonna get through this,” she said. “You and me, Justin. We’re a team. Right?”
Justin
forced a smile. “Right.”
Chapter 26
Officer Dobb’s phone was buzzing. He took it from his jacket and put it to his ear, still peering around the corner. “Hello.”
“Officer Dobbs?”
“Yes.”
“It’s Shields here. I’m trying to find you. Are you still in the building?”
“Yeah.”
“Where are you exactly?”
Justin and Amelia were exiting the interrogation room. As they moved down the opposite end of the corridor, Dobbs left his place by the wall and followed them.
“I’m around. I’ll come to you.”
“Alright. Level two. Detective Leoncelli’s office. You know where to find it?”
“Uh-huh.”
“I’ll see you soon then.”
“Bye.”
He put the phone away.
He watched on ahead as Justin and Amelia ducked into one of the offices, avoiding a band of detectives on the march ahead.
Dobbs slowed down his pace and hung by the wall as they passed him by.
As his friends made their way out again, checking if the coast was clear, he made his approach.
“Jesus,” Justin murmured. “Are you stalking me?”
“Buddy,” Ryan replied. “I’m watching your back.”
“Hi Ryan,” Amelia said.
Ryan bowed his head in her direction.
“Look, don’t tell on me or anything. We’re sort of just trying to find Amelia’s handbag.”
“It’s back there. There’s on a corner –”
“Okay. I remember now.”
He went to move by him, but Ryan blocked his path.
“I know what you’re really doing,” Ryan said.
“What’s that?” Justin replied.
Ryan looked at both of them. “I’m on your side, guys. But you’ve got to be careful. You – the three of us – we’re all targets in this thing. You want to go off on your own – that’s fine. I’m not going to say anything. But listen to me. The person you’re looking for is crazy. And when they make their move, you’re not –”
The Evil One (Guess The Killer Book 3) Page 5
