MYSTERY: Laying on the cross - ONE STEP AHEAD: (Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Suspense Crime Thriller) (ADDITIONAL BOOK INCLUDED ) (Suspense Thriller Mystery: Laying on the cross)

by James Tayler

  Mystery:

  Laying on the Cross :

  One step ahead

  James Taylor

  4

  Copyright © 2015 James Taylor

  All rights reserved.

  Table Of Content

  Copyright

  Summary

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter3

  Free Book

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  Copyright 2015

  All Right Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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  Laying on the Cross Part 4

  One step ahead

  Death has always been a constant companion of Gillian Christian from a very early age. Seeing her friend die had set her on a course of self destruction and justice for those that slipped through the cracks. The subjects in question have been vetted carefully, but her vigilante ways will not be tolerated by those in law enforcement. There is significance to the number 13 and she uses her skills in dealing that final death blow to make a statement. She does not contend herself with using one mode of operating. There is a semblance of a religious tone to the deaths that she has caused. She is being framed for murders of those that did not deserve her type of justice. She’s been placed into a corner and you know what they say about putting an animal in a corner. There will be blood spilled and how she goes about tracking down the person responsible will forever stain her soul with those memories that she cannot run from.

  Chapter one

  I hear the incessant buzzing of the light bulb over my head and it keeps me up with a constant string of migraines beating a drum inside my head. The hotel is the only thing that I can afford. My resources have been limited and my only recourse is to do the one thing that this person that is framing me will know that I’m going to do. It’s a risk, but it’s one that could pay off in big dividends. I could not only have money at my disposal, but also the means to get out of this city without being cornered like some kind of animal.

  “I need you to get out of there by 12:00 PM, or I’m going to call the police.” I could hear the whining drone of the man that managed this establishment. “You were supposed to be out of here by 10:00 AM and it’s already 11:00 AM.” I had enough on me for one night in a fleabag motel that most likely catered to those that were 1 hour specials. “I need that room cleaned for our next guest.” The next guest in question was some sleazebag that had dragged an unsuspecting hooker off the street for an hour of pleasure.

  “I’ll be down to check out in a few minutes and I just need to freshen up.” I was already dressed and lying on the bed like some comatose patient in a sanitarium. I’d already counted the many marks on the ceiling over and over again. “You don’t have to worry and I’ll be out of here by the time that your noon hour specials begin.” At the very notion that I had an idea of what was going on around here, he decided to air on the side of caution.

  “Make sure of that and we won’t have any problems. I won’t even charge you for the extra couple of hours that you squatted in there. I’m sorry to be such a hard ass, but maybe there is something that we can do to stretch your accommodations. The obvious tone of his voice told me that he was thinking something along a sexual component. I had no interest in throwing my body onto the table. No matter if it was for my own survival that was one line that I wouldn’t cross. “Come on, you and I both know that you could make a lot of money. You just need to loosen up a little and I’m sure that Maxey boy here can help you do that.” By talking about himself in the third person, he had become even sleazier than the moment that I had recognized the player underneath the starched white suit in the lobby.

  Last night was not one of my proudest moments. Staring into the abyss and picking up that letter had certainly changed everything and not for the better. This person was obviously out to get me. They were watching for some time. I would’ve thought that I would have noticed or even felt that somebody was on to me. Maybe I had become too complacent and didn’t really believe that anybody could stop me.

  Leaving there, I was at an all time low. I had no money, except for those few dollars that I still had in my pocket. My apartment had burned in a controlled fire meant to get rid of any kind of evidence. My best friend Thomas would be thrown out on the street with no place to go. I needed someplace to lie low and the only place that I could think of was this one place on the edge of humanity.

  I really didn’t want to lie down, knowing full well that there was a lot more here than just bedbugs to worry about. I thought that it was a safe bet to lie on top of the bed. I needed sleep, but rest was something that was never going to happen. Seeing a police officer die in my arms and knowing that he had seen something in me had really shaken me. He told me that I was not a police officer and that I was something else. He didn’t get a chance to elaborate further, as the death shroud took him. He was killed by two brothers that could have probably been taken down easier than they were.

  I got up slowly, feeling that weight of depression coming down on top of my head. I placed my two hands over my temples, trying my best to drown out the fact that I was now the prey. I still had that one client that needed my brand stamped on him. I was not one to back down. Once the money was transferred, I had no choice, but to follow through. Those funds were safely locked up in that security lock box. I was going to have to retrieve it, use the codes within the flash drive to access those funds.

  I took a quick shower, feeling a little better, but very much aware that my life was not my own. The letter was meant, as some kind of statement. It was in the exact same way that the man that had held me and my friend those 13 days would have acted. I thought that he was long gone and moved on to other subjects in other states. Why he had turned his wrath back towards me was only going to get him on the receiving end of my wrath. He was making this personal, like I had done something to him and not the other way around.

  I picked up my go bag, but I had already checked to find that everything that I had inside was replaced with a litter of blank paper. The man that had gotten in under the guise of being my brother had certainly cleaned me out in more ways than one. I couldn’t get over how easily I had been manipulated. There was no way to fight back without knowing the enemy. Over the years, I had tracked several murders in the same method that had happened to me and my friend. It dried up about a year ago. I even found out his name was Curtis. It wasn’t foolproof and the only way that I found out that was through the dark web. There were those that talked about him like he was some sort of legend, but to me he was my worst nightmare come to life.

  I walked down the stairs after changing into something a little less flattering. I had on a bulky black sweater and black pants. They were perfect for taking away the attention from my overripe and very overactive glands. My breasts were now contained and I felt like I should do something to mitigate that kind of attention from the male populous. I had thought about getting some reduction surgery, but I never did find the time. With my world unraveling, I might be able to take a step back.

  I never thought that I would have a moment of reprieve. The only
sense of peace I got was from bringing those people down to their knees that needed a wakeup call to their actions. The man that I was currently tracking was one of the worst yet. He would use his vehicle, as a mode of deadly transportation to take out unsuspecting victims. He would pick them at random, but the location where he found his victims would be his downfall. He had become a menace and the police had finally gotten their hooks into him, only to have the eyewitness disappear.

  The eye witness’s mother came forward in the dark web of all places to initiate contact with me. I don’t think that she was actually gunning for me personally, but her pleas had been met by a very careful ear.

  I had everything in my phone, which was the one device that had never left my side. The person that was doing this to me could never get a hold of it or even clone it for that matter. I had the resources of a very tech savvy kid that could do marvels with anything that had wires connected to it. I could reach out to him, but to do that would put him in the line of fire. I just didn’t know if I had any other choice.

  “I meant it what I said at your door. We can come to some sort of arrangement to let you stay here indefinitely. You could make a lot of money. I have these connections that can get you top dollar.” I had to remain vigil and not be overwhelmed to the point that I was going to grab this man by the lapels and shake the living daylights out of him. I was also consciously aware of that cross around my neck that had the knife inside. It had two functions in my life. It allowed me to use my faith to act, as a messenger of god to those that didn’t deserve to breathe the same air, as the rest of us.

  With my teeth grinding together, I said the only thing that I could. “I appreciate the offer. I’m not really in any position to go down that road at this time. If things change, I will be sure to get in contact with you.” He was obviously a man that had low connections. I could never be desperate enough to get on my knees to service a client in an anonymous transaction of body fluids. I would rather rob a bank in broad daylight with the cops coming with everything that they had at their disposal. I would never put myself in a degrading position of selling my body for money. “You have a good day now.” It took all of my willpower not to rip his throat open with that knife inside that cross. It was very sharp and it had already rendered many suspects incapacitated to the point of drowning in their own fluids.

  “The offer is open any time.” The salacious way that he was looking at me made me feel dirty. I had to turn away, cringing at the very thought that he would touch me with those meaty paws. I walked out of there fully aware of the fact that he was staring at my fine ass. He obviously had taste, but that did not negate the fact that he would put others in the same position that he had just requested of me. I couldn’t take my aggression out on him, even though I really really wanted to.

  Chapter two

  Everything in my go bag was gone, including the wigs that made it possible for me to disappear in broad daylight. “I’m sure that we can find you something for that party that you’ve been talking about. We may not be the most high end costume shop, but we do cater to those that are looking for a bargain.” This flamboyant man really did make those that were in the closet seemed like they were doing a disservice to themselves. “I could give you these three wigs for the price of one.” I had very little money, but was thankful that he was willing to at least make a deal.

  He was wearing a pink shirt with the first couple buttons undone and the kind of hair that was made to make sure that it was in place. No hair was moved and the kind of product that he put in his follicles had certainly made it, so that not even a windstorm could ruffle that mane of blond hair “I would like to try them on, along with a couple of these vintage pieces of clothing.” I went to the dressing room, looked at myself in the various disguises and I felt secure that I could blend into any surrounding.

  It was the platinum blond wig that really fit me perfectly. I had a pair of dark sunglasses, not to mention a few well placed clip on accessories to make my transformation complete. The clothes were something that I just couldn’t afford. I had no choice, but to stuff them up underneath what I was already wearing. I felt bad that I was treating him like that, but I didn’t think that a few pieces would be missed.

  “That wig looks absolutely to die for. Whatever man you are going to see tonight is going to drop his jaw on the floor.” He was too kind and I was tempted to just take the clothes out from underneath my own and give it back to him. I didn’t do that, because it was necessary. I was hoping that eventually I could come back and give him something for his troubles. I didn’t like taking something that wasn’t mine. I was more conscientious of people’s feelings and maybe that was the reason why I had turned to a life of being a vigilante.

  “Trust me, the man that I’m going to see wearing this wig is going to get a big bang out of it.” I was almost laughing inside at my choice of words. This man was going to die slowly, but in the end a bullet blessed with holy water would send him to the next phase of his life. I believed that there was reincarnation. He would be born again and whether it was male or female was anybody’s guess. Only god knew what his ultimate plan was for humanity. I wondered briefly what he thought of me playing judge, jury and executioner. Would he permit me to walk into those gates, or send me down to eternal damnation?

  “Just between you and me, I think that any man would be stupid not to want to be with you. You have this sense of mystery and there’s also something very hardened about your stare. You’ve had a lonely existence. Maybe it’s time that you finally let things go. It’s not too late to make a new start. Everybody deserves a second chance.” I paid for those items that I had brought up to the counter. I breathed a sigh of relief going through the door, not hearing any kind of internal alarm to indicate that I had purposely taken something without permission.

  It was kind of ironic to step onto the sidewalk and meet a police officer on his beat. He had no idea that I was a criminal or that I was probably getting the royal treatment with several sketches being bandied about from one law enforcement agency to the next. They would be quite shocked to see that I was inside the very department that had come under fire by those two brothers. I had no reason not to doubt that there were cameras in the bullpen to make sure that everything was videotaped. It could be used in a court of law.

  I walked down to the small café, sitting there and drinking a cup of earl grey tea. With the mirrored sunglasses, I could watch for that ugly brown sedan that people had talked about. Of course, he was being watched by the police, but this man wanted to snub his nose at the law every chance that he could get. He knew that eventually they would have to pull back. He was biding his time and I could only imagine that he was chomping at the bit to use that same vehicle in another homicide.

  “Madam, I think that this belongs to you. A man stopped me and told me that you dropped this phone.” I was a little shocked by the distraction. This comely young waitress with the white shirt and black tie had interrupted my surveillance. “He said that he didn’t want anything for its return. He wanted to be a Good Samaritan. Can you imagine that there are people still like that in this day and age?” She placed the phone in front of me and I looked down at it and I knew instinctively that it wasn’t mine.

  I put my hand up and my mouth open to say something, but she had already turned on her heels to serve another patron that had made a checking formation with his two fingers. I heard the buzz of the phone and I casually made a glance towards it. The number was unsolicited and there was no caller ID to indicate who was on the other end.

  I picked it up slowly, turning on the device and hearing a voice from the past. “I have to admit that I thought that you would be halfway out of town by now. It appears that not even the threat of being incarcerated or shot down in the street is going to take you from your appointed rounds. That shows either that you are foolish, or that you just can’t walk away. It doesn’t matter which one, as they both fall into my trap quite nicely. You have slipped through
the net, but eventually it’s going to snag you and there will be no way out. Don’t worry; I’m not going to interfere in what you are going to do. That is between you and your god. I’m just not going to make it easier on you.”

  “I don’t know what I did to you. If I get my hands on that neck of yours, then you can expect the same kind of treatment that I give anybody else.” My flippant attitude was met with a cackle of laughter on the other end of the line. “I don’t see that there’s anything funny about any of this. Curtis… If this is you, then you can expect that I will be coming for you. I’ve gotten close over the years and what I did on that last day that you held me is nothing compared to what I’m going to do.” I had escaped, but only by the skin of my teeth. I wasn’t being truthful with myself. I made myself believe that I had been left there to be discovered by the authorities.

  Every month that went by, there was a difference in the story that I told myself. The truth was a little hard to digest. I didn’t even want to think about it, but it appeared that my past indiscretions were coming back to bite me where the sun didn’t shine.

  “You’ve made this personal and trust me it does not get any more personal than this.” The line went dead. That marked momentary pause made me aware that he said something that he didn’t want to say. His words lingered in the air, but I did not have time to fully contemplate what they could mean. The ugly brown sedan with the rusted rocker panels and the hood that was a different color from the rest of the car had now arrived at the café.

  I’d already found out that the police presence had been taken off of him. They were just going to have to wait, until he did something again to pounce on him. He got out and he was wearing a very distinctive red shirt with the stain of grease underneath his fingernails. He was perturbed and he was rushing in to get his order. He drummed his fingers on the desk, waiting for that jolt of caffeine to put him in a better mood.