The Campus Killer (Detective Ali Ryan Series Book 1)

by Andrew Hess

  “Yup, last night; you like?”

  Amanda fitted a small silver studded item into her nose and looked back at Shawn. “Now we match,” she giggled. “You ready to go?”

  “You sure this is a good idea? I always get the feeling your sister doesn’t like me.”

  “That’s just her being over protective. Plus she’s a cop so she probably thinks you’re some punk kid that’s just trying to get in my pants.”

  Shawn put his arms around Amanda; cupping a hand to her ass; pulling her in closer as he planted a big wet one on her. “I would’ve been gone almost a year ago if that was the case.”

  Amanda placed a hand over his mouth. “Let’s just keep that between us tonight. Remember, she’s a cop so she’s always got a gun with her.”

  The color drained from Shawn’s face; turning him ghostly white. “She wouldn’t shoot me over that; would she?”

  “Nah, I don’t think she would.” Amanda used her index finger and thumb to stroke her chin. “But come to think of it, no one’s heard from the last guy I introduced to her.” She stared blankly at Shawn; reading the petrified look on his face before cracking a smile. “I’m only joking. Besides, she wants to introduce us to her new boyfriend.”

  Shawn pretended to wipe the sweat off his forehead and smiled. “Man, I hope the next girl I date doesn’t have a cop in the family.”

  Amanda stopped in mid step. Her head snapped back and her eyes were locked on Shawn.

  He held up his hands. “I’m joking; I’m joking.”

  “Uh huh, sure you were,” she laughed while opening the door.

  Chapter 39

  Matthew picked me up promptly at seven for our double date with my sister. It was the first time he would meet anyone I cared about. My leg bounced up and down in the passenger seat in anticipation; hoping she saw the things in him that I did.

  Matthew placed his hand on my knee. I could feel the warmth of his hand on my bare skin. “Relax,” he said softly. “What are you so nervous about?”

  “Sorry, just a little excited for you to meet my sister.”

  “Me too,” he smiled.

  We pulled around the large beige brick building and headed into Pasquales Pizza and Italian Restaurant. Amanda and Shawn were standing inside waiting. She was dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and teal tank top while Shawn was in a pair of baggy cammo shorts and black t-shirt.

  Amanda and I hugged as I introduced her to Matthew. I nodded at Shawn and watched the men shake hands.

  “So Matthew,” Amanda began. “Tell me about yourself.”

  Matthew chuckled as he looked down at the menu; deciding what to order. “There’s not much to know. I grew up Albany as the oldest of three. I have a younger brother and sister.”

  Matthew pulled out a wad of money; held together with a gold money clip. Shawn stared at the money. “Dude, where’d you get all that cash?”

  “My company does very well for itself.”

  “What kind of business do you work for,” Amanda asked.

  Matthew raised an eyebrow but shrugged off Amanda’s question. “What kind of pizza does everyone want?”

  Shawn immediately chimed in. “I could go for a few meat lovers slices.”

  I walked up to the counter. “Can we get a large pie; half meat lovers and half chicken and broccoli?”

  The woman nodded and asked if we wanted any drinks which I replied four. The woman passed me the medium cups with the colors of the Italian flag painted all over it.

  “So what are your intentions with my sister,” Amanda asked as she pushed her way in front of Matthew.

  “Excuse me,” he replied.

  “Amanda,” I shouted and pulled her away from our boyfriends. “What the hell has gotten into you?”

  “I’m just curious about your boyfriend. I wanna make sure he’s not just here to get some.”

  “Well even if he is, that’s none of your business. Just remember; I’m the older sister.”

  She folded her arms muttering fine under her breath. We walked over to the guys and found them sitting down at a table facing Main Street.

  Amanda grabbed my hand back. “Can you just do me a favor and be nice to Shawn for once?”

  “For you; anything.” I looked at the table; seeing Shawn with his facial piercings and clothes. “But can you do something with his wardrobe; like burn it.”

  We laughed and picked up the pizza; rejoining our men for a nice peaceful dinner.

  Chapter 40

  Mark sat down across from Jess. His eyes beamed with happiness and desire at her while they waited for the waiter to call them for their pizza.

  “Thanks for coming out tonight,” Mark said.

  Jess smiled shyly. “I never mind grabbing a bite with a good friend.” A woman at the counter called their number. “That’s us,” Jess smiled as she stood up from her chair. Mark did the same. “Relax, I got it.” She pushed in her chair as Mark raised an eyebrow of concern. “I’ll be right back.”

  Mark watched Jess leave the table. The smile quickly faded from his face; turning the corners of his mouth down. He thought this was the perfect setup for their first date; the night he asked her to be his girlfriend. But Jess put a halt on that; rendering him in the friend zone; a place Mark was too familiar with.

  When Jess arrived back at the table, Mark forced a smile and reached for Jess’s hand. She gladly accepted it, but her eyes had an uneasy look to them.

  Mark knew he only had one chance to get out of the friend zone. He had to confess his feelings for her. “Jess, you know how you were saying we were good friends?”

  “Yeah,” her eyes darted around the room. Oh god; don’t say it; she thought with the words shouting loudly in her head.

  “I’ve been thinking about it.”

  No, don’t ruin it. She knew where he was going with his speech and didn’t want him to force her to make a decision that could impact their friendship.

  “I’ve liked you for a long time and well…I was hoping you’d wanna go out for real; you know on a date; as a couple.”

  It was the conversation Jess dreaded having. She knew Mark for over a year and was happy watching movies together in their rooms; making popcorn or ordering in, but she never wanted anything more than friendship with him.

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  They were the only words Mark needed to hear. “You’re sorry,” he snapped. A few heads turned in their direction.

  “Look, you’re a great friend and I like you a lot, but not in that way. You understand; right?”

  Mark didn’t understand. Part of his transformation was to get the girl he wanted only to find her rejecting him in front of several customers in a pizzeria.

  Mark pulled his hand away. “Yeah, I understand all right.” He got up and walked to the counter to get his two slices of white pizza.

  He noticed two women walking towards him. One was around his age; maybe a year or two younger. He recognized her from campus; even thought they might’ve had a class together. But the older woman stood out like a sore thumb to him. She had long black curly hair just like he remembered.

  His mind flashed instantly and recalled seeing the woman the morning after he killed Rachel Walker. Mark Thompson was staring at the detective that roamed through the Estrada halls searching for him.

  Mark turned back to the woman at the counter. “On second thought; could I have this to go?”

  The woman gave an annoyed sigh and took the tray off the counter; slapping both slices of pizza into a small white box and shoved it towards Mark.

  He hurried back to the table. “Sorry Jess, something came up at work and they need me to go in tonight.”

  Her face went pale; thinking Mark was making an excuse just to leave. “Are you sure? I didn’t mean to…” Jess looked up to find Mark storming out the front door. He was gone and she knew their friendship was as good as dead.

  Chapter 41

  Two weeks had passed; bringing in October quicker than I
had hoped. I shuffled around the station doing busy body work hoping to keep myself out of the Lieutenant’s dog house. But I knew he was watching. I could feel his intense stare everywhere I went. I caught him keeping an eye on me through the blinds on his office windows as he pretended no one saw him hovering over us. It was almost as if he was begging for one of us to slip up; namely me.

  Rodney saw it too, but used his size to capture moments of my time; using his large bulky frame to block the Lieutenant’s view. He hovered over my shoulder and brought his voice to a whisper.

  “Have you found any new leads on those cases you were working on?” I was surprised he had the gall to ask me that while we were at the station, but thought he might’ve found something I could use.

  I put my finger to the lips and nodded back to the Lieutenant’s office. I knew it was impossible and downright illegal, but part of me wondered if the Lieutenant found a way to bug my desk.

  I pointed to the entrance and whispered; “not here; let’s talk outside.” Rodney followed me to the parking lot and stood next to me as I leaned up against my car shaking my head. “I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure it out, but haven’t found anything new to support my theory.” I pinched my thumb and forefinger to the inside corners of my eyes; massaging them gently. “And thanks to the Lieutenant being on my ass, I haven’t been able to talk to anyone at the dorms or on campus. All I have to go on are the files I copied from the initial investigations.”

  “I’m not surprised. Esposito has been monitoring everyone lately. I guess he thinks one of us would do the dirty work for you until you got the answers you were looking for.”

  “He should know me better than that. I wouldn’t ask anyone to stick their necks on the line for me; not like that anyway.”

  Rodney opened his car door and pulled out a black gym bag. I wanted to make a snarky comment about him finally going back to the gym, but he unzipped the bag and pulled out a stack of folders.

  “You can thank me later,” Rodney said while handing me the small stack of papers.

  “Thanks, but what is it?”

  “I called in a favor. One of my buddies managed to print out Nicole Sherman’s web history from the last month. Figured it would keep you busy for a while; maybe even turn up a lead or two.”

  I hugged him, told him thank you and placed the paperwork in the trunk of my car. As we walked back, my phone vibrated in my pocket.

  “Ryan here,” I answered.

  “Ah Detective Ryan,” Fred Wu’s monotone voice said. “I was wondering what you’re doing for dinner tonight.”

  I paused; wanting to make up a lie to blow him off, but remembered I owed him a favor. “Nothing really; why?”

  “I was wondering if you’d mind meeting me for some sushi. I know a great place in Poughkeepsie.”

  “I don’t know Fred,” I replied with a hint of uncertainty.

  Rodney nudged my arm. “You owe him,” he reminded me again. “We don’t need the M.E. pissed at us.”

  “Sure Fred, what time?”

  “Meet me at Osho around seven.”

  “Aw, looks like someone’s gotta crush on you Ali.”

  I shoved Rodney as we walked up to the double doors. Lieutenant Esposito was waiting for us; tapping his foot impatiently.

  “Where the hell were you two?”

  “We went for a smoke break,” I lied. There was no way I could let him know what we were talking about.

  “Neither of you smoke,” he replied; the bass in his voice increased the volume of his annoyance.

  “Consider it a fresh air break.”

  Lieutenant Esposito’s face was burning red; ready to snap at us. “There’s no such thing as a fresh air break.”

  “You mean to tell me smokers can get a fifteen minute break to light up a cigarette but two non-smokers can’t go outside for a few minutes for some fresh air? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were discriminating against non-smokers.”

  Esposito reached his breaking point. The vein was burst out of his head. “You keep running your mouth and I’ll have you working as the precinct janitor. Now get your ass back inside and get to work!”

  Chapter 42

  I met Fred in front of Osho at precisely seven; finding him dressed down in a pair of jeans and a black hoodie. He didn’t look like his usual self. In fact he seemed jumpy and nervous as he continuously glanced over his shoulders and around corners.

  “Everything okay,” I asked.

  He grabbed my hand; interlacing his fingers with mine and pulled me inside the restaurant. His palm was sweaty as it pressed against skin. He signaled two to the hostess and followed her; dragging me behind.

  We sat down in a small booth facing each other. Fred was quiet and was staring a hole through my head. I wondered if this was how Fred treated all of his dates. If so it would explain why he used his favor to ask me out.

  “Thank you for coming out tonight.” He reached for my hand again which I pulled away quickly.

  “I don’t know what this is, but I need to tell you; I have a boyfriend.” I waited for a response, but my words had seemingly no effect on him.

  Fred’s head bobbed around; scanning the restaurant. I snapped my fingers twice; bringing his attention back to me.

  “What’s that?”

  “I said I have a boyfriend.”

  Fred started chuckling. “Did you think I was asking you on a date?” Fred continued laughing and sat back in his chair. He looked me over and smiled. “Sorry, I don’t usually like to mix business and pleasure.”

  I was relieved to hear Fred wasn’t interested in me, but confused as to why we were meeting for dinner. “Then why’d you ask me out for sushi?”

  “I need your help. I think someone’s following me.”

  “Following you? Why would someone be following you?”

  “I don’t know, but I swear someone is. Every morning I leave for work, I see the same blue van parked either across the street from, next door or down the street from my house.”

  “Maybe it’s a neighbor’s or someone spending the night.”

  “No, I asked a few neighbors. They’ve never seen it and don’t know who it belongs to.”

  “How long has it been going on for?”

  “A few weeks. The first time I noticed, I saw some guy sitting in the front seat. He was some big muscle bound blond guy.”

  “I’ll look into it for you; see if we can get a patrol unit to keep an eye on you; maybe swing by your house to make sure everything is okay.”

  “You think I’m just being paranoid. I mean I only see him stalking my house.”

  “No not at all,” I replied. “Tell me everything you know about this van.” As Fred described the blue van and the man he encountered, I had a thought cross my mind. I didn’t want to be the one to tell him why he thought he was being followed; so I reassured him instead.

  Fred’s head tilted to the side as a muscle bound blond man in a tight V-neck t-shirt entered the restaurant. Fred’s eyes grew large as he fidgeted in his chair.

  “That’s him; he’s here.”

  I turned to look at the man standing in the doorway. “Are you sure that’s him?”

  “Yes, yes I’m sure it’s him. What do we do?”

  “Stay here; I’ll handle it.”

  I rose to my feet; taking a step towards the man and reached into my back pocket for my badge. The man held the front door open; letting a small Asian woman enter behind him.

  Fred pushed me aside and hurried to the front of the restaurant. “Hannah, what are you doing here?” What are you doing with this-this…why the hell are you here with this guy?”

  The small Asian woman’s mouth hung open in disbelief. She tried to hide behind the muscle bound gorilla.

  The big guy stepped in front of Fred; holding his hand out to keep him back. “Step aside buddy. She’s with me.”

  “That’s my wife,” he shouted.

  The gorilla stared him down and laughe
d in his face. “Not anymore. She found herself a real man.”

  Fred shoved him as hard as he could; barely moving him an inch. The big man smiled, clenched his fist and slammed it hard into Fred’s jaw.

  Fred collapsed to the floor; his black rimmed glasses skidded across the wood surface next to his face.

  I hurried towards them to check on Fred as the gorilla sized man hovered over Fred with his fist still tight.

  “Get the fuck away,” I shouted.

  The man glanced back at me and then towards Fred. “Keep out of this lady. It’s none of your business.”

  “I’m making it my business.”

  “Get the fuck outta here lady.”

  I shoved the man aside and flashed my badge. “You’re under arrest,” I shouted.

  “You; you’re a cop?” He eyed me up; making me feel like a lion stalking its prey. “You should come down to my gym. I can help you stretch and work you out real good baby.”

  “You kidding me,” Hannah screeched.

  “I’ll pass; mostly on the count you’ll be in jail for assault. Plus, I don’t work out with low life douchebags.”

  I reached around for my handcuffs, but the man was quick to shove me to the ground. “Fuck you bitch,” he shouted while running out the door.

  I jumped to my feet, ran after him and dove shoulder first into the back of his left knee. The big man dropped instantly and struggled to his feet. I kicked at his other knee while placing the cuffs around my knuckles. I clenched my hand tightly and clocked him in the jaw.

  The big man was on the ground; making it easy for me to place the cold metal handcuffs around his massive wrists.

  “You have the right to remain silent.” I checked his face; finding his eyes closed. “I guess you’ll be silent for a little while.”

  I took my cell out; punched in the numbers to call in for backup. I gave them my badge number and told them I had a suspect in custody charging him with assault and resisting arrest. They told me to hold and there was a car five minutes out.

  Fred appeared moments later; holding a small bag of ice to his jaw. He pointed to the big man. “You do that to him?”