The Campus Killer (Detective Ali Ryan Series Book 1)

by Andrew Hess

  “You wanna come inside for a bit?”

  “Thought you’d never ask.” His hands wrapped around my waist; pulling me in for a deeper more passionate kiss. I could barely feel my feet on the ground. He hugged me tightly as we moved towards the front door; barely breaking from our intense lip lock.

  “You’re not gonna leave me again later,” I asked.

  “I’m yours all weekend,” Matthew smiled and kissed me again as I opened the door. It closed behind us, and every worry I had was left on the front lawn.

  Chapter 56

  I spent most of Saturday and part of Sunday in bed. It went against everything my mother told me when I was growing up, but for once I had a damn good reason.

  My eyes lifted to the heavy curtains draped across my bedroom window; trying desperately to keep the sun from entering the room. Matthew’s long smooth arm slowly covered my bare shoulder. His hand reached for mine as he pulled himself closer to me.

  A euphoric smile crept over my face. “Someone’s ready for another round.”

  “Sorry, I can’t help myself. You’re too tempting to pass up.”

  His lips caressed the back of my neck; making me bite my lip playfully as I anticipated his next move. And then the phone rang.

  “Don’t get it,” he whispered. “Whoever it is can wait.”

  I stretched my arm out; touching the face plate of the phone with my fingertips. The name Amanda flashed over the small screen in bright green letters.

  “Sorry, I have to take this. It’s my sister.”

  Matthew had a look of disappointment on his face as he fell onto his back; making a loud puff sound as his body connected with the pillows.

  “Amanda, hey, what’s up?”

  “Can you meet me for lunch later?”

  “Yeah sure; is everything all right?”

  “Shawn and I have been checking around campus for you and might have a few small leads.”

  I could feel Matthew’s lips pressing on the middle of my back; sending a pulsating shiver down my spine. A moan slipped out. “Ah; I mean oh okay sure. Give me a couple of h-hours”

  Matthew’s lips worked their way up my back while I kept the phone pressed to my ear. I tried swatting him away, but he was coming on stronger every time. It was getting harder to fend him off.

  “Am I interrupting something,” Amanda asked.

  “No, not at all,” I replied breathlessly. “I’ll pick you up from your dorm in a bit; bye.” I rushed her off the phone as I turned and lunged at Matthew; pelting him with barrage of kisses on his lips and neck. Damn he was hard to resist. And God help me I didn’t want to.

  Chapter 57

  I found Amanda sitting on the stone ledge outside the front doors of the Estrada building. She was bundled up with a large black hoodie with the band name Revolution on it. I recognized the name from a show Amanda made me go to last year where Shawn was the lead singer.

  I pulled up along the curb and waited for her to get in. “What are you hungry for,” I asked.

  “Anything other than campus food.”

  “I know just the place.” I pulled away from the curb and headed back out to Main Street; taking it down the long steep road to the end; finding a small cottage looking restaurant with a green and gold sign hanging in front door.

  I parked the car, but kept the doors locked as Amanda tried to push the passenger side open. “Not yet,” I said while keeping my finger pressed to the auto door lock button. “We can’t risk anyone overhearing us. What did you find out?”

  “I overheard a few girls talking about Rachel.”

  “Well, what did they say?”

  “One of them was saying how she’s not surprised she died that night. She was drinking like a man.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “She was out back doing keg stands and holding her own in drinking games all night. The girls said Rachel was looking for trouble or a man.”

  “Did you get these girls names?”

  Amanda shook her head. “You told me to be careful so I didn’t want them knowing I was listening in on them.”

  “Shit,” I shouted while slamming my hand on the steering wheel. “I need to know who she was with that night.”

  “I thought you had a list of her friends.”

  “We do, but all of them said she walked them to their dorm and was fine. She walked back to Estrada alone. I need a lead before the Lieutenant hangs me out to dry with the press.”

  Amanda’s eyes shifted with concern. “I thought he didn’t want you working the case.”

  “He didn’t, but I came across evidence that proved Nicole was in class the same time the suicide note was written on her computer as well as other incriminating evidence supporting my theory.”

  “So you mean there really is a killer on campus?”

  I pursed my lips together and nodded my head. “You have to promise me you and Shawn won’t go looking for trouble.”

  “I promise.”

  “And if you see anything suspicious or out of the ordinary, you get to a safe place and call me immediately.”

  “I promise,” Amanda shouted again. “Now, do you mind telling me what was going on when I called you this morning?”

  My cheeks flushed pink with embarrassment. How do you tell your little sister that you were about to have sex while talking to her on the phone?

  “I was uh working out.”

  “Uh huh sure you were.” She made a gagging face and reached for the door handle again. “Can we go inside now or are you going to make me lose my appetite too?”

  Chapter 58

  Mark followed a group of college students to a house on Grove Street on a cold dreary night. They arrived at the time and address they were told the party would be at, but by the looks of it; no one was home. The windows were boarded up with sheets of plywood; blocking anyone from catching a glimpse of light or from looking in.

  Feels like home to me, Mark thought as he reached the steps to the front door. He rubbed his hands together in anticipation of what the night would bring.

  One of the girls shrieked as a rubber spider fell from the awning and landed on her shoulder. She tripped and fell onto a chair with what appeared to be a fake dead body strategically placed there. The arms of the dead man moved swiftly; grabbing the girl around the waist. Her screams were met with laughter as their host opened the front door.

  “Enough Jason,” Kevin shouted through his laughter. He patted the arm of the man in the chair. “I think they get the point.”

  The dead man’s arms dropped to the side allowing the girl to jump to her feet shouting asshole at Kevin and Jason as she rejoined the group.

  “Come on in,” Kevin said as he waived to the group.

  They entered the house; huddled together to make sure nothing else popped out or tried to grab them. Mark stuck to the middle of the pack; concealing himself with the herd as his eyes darted around the small house.

  After walking through a narrow hallway, the group entered the crowded kitchen. A few of the Outdoors Club members were already in the midst of taking orange, red, and green Jell-O shots from small white paper cups. But Mark’s eyes caught a glimpse of a few other unexpected guests; people that Mark met a few times when Kevin threw several parties the year before. They were his friends from Westchester that only came down when Kevin decided to throw a huge bash.

  “What’s in these Jell-O shots,” a woman asked Christina as she pranced around in a sexy cat costume; handing the shots out to the guests.

  She pointed out the variety of colors on her tray. “The orange ones have vodka, the red ones have rum, and the green shots have tequila in them.” She turned her head to look back at the counter. “You might wanna hurry up. There’s not many green ones left over there.”

  Mark eyed her up; half turned on by Christina shaking her ass in the tight cat costume, but the other half of him wanted her dead. He slid between her and another guest. His hand grazed the top of her leg as
he passed. She smiled and turned as he pushed passed another couple standing near the counter.

  “Hey hold up,” Christina shouted over the music, but Mark continued down the hall. She put the tray down and jogged after him. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards her. Christina’s eyes scanned Mark’s face. “You look really familiar. Where do I know you from?”

  Mark bit the inside of his cheek; contemplating his next move. He knew it was only a matter of time before she figured out who he was and he needed to be smart about.

  His eyes dropped to the top of Christina’s leather cat costume; watching her chest rise and fall rapidly before bringing his eyes up to meet hers.

  “Yeah, you’re in the Outdoors Club with me; right?”

  “Yes, but…” she paused wondering how crazy she was going to look as she questioned who he was. “Kevin and I swear we’ve met you before.”

  “Sorry; can’t say that we have.” He turned to walk off.

  “What was your name again?”

  “Marcus, but my friends call me Mark.” He held out his hand; placing a fake smile on his face.

  Christina accepted his hand and replied with her name. “It’s just so weird; you remind me of an old housemate of ours.”

  Mark’s eyes grew wide as she got closer to the truth. He forced the smile a little longer and placed his hand on the small of her back; helping her back to the kitchen.

  “You want another drink?”

  Christina shrugged her shoulders. “Sure; why not?”

  They entered the kitchen and walked up to the counter; finding only five Jell-O shots sitting on the tray.

  “I guess someone was thirsty,” Mark laughed as he picked up a white paper cup and threw its contents down his throat. He watched Christina do the same; making sure he pushed the last green shot towards her. “So who’s this old roommate I remind you of?”

  “His name was Nick. He was a decent guy I guess. He kept mostly to himself and his girlfriend; didn’t have time for us. So we carried on as a house and left him to do whatever he wanted.”

  “That’s kind of a mean way to look at it.”

  Christina watched him from the corner of her eye; almost convinced Mark was her old roommate. “We did what was best for us. We couldn’t wait for him every time we wanted to go somewhere or do something.”

  “So what happened to Nick?”

  Christina threw back another shot. “He moved out at the end of the year and haven’t seen him since.”

  “So now it’s just you and your boyfriend?”

  “Kevin?” A part of Christina was shocked to hear Mark accuse Kevin of being her boyfriend, but she toyed around with the idea in her head a few times and a few more since they camping trip. She shook her head. “We’re just friends. He lets me stay here on weekends like this so I don’t have to walk back to my dorm.”

  The light bulb went off in Mark’s head. “I don’t plan on drinking any more tonight. I could give you a ride back to your dorm if you want.”

  “Thanks, but I think I’m just gonna stay here tonight. I already have a change of clothes in Kevin’s room.”

  Mark put his hand inside his pocket and set off the ringer on his cell phone. He took it out; pretending to read the name. “Sorry, I need to take this.” He rushed to the other side of the kitchen; finding a small wooden door next to the fridge and slipped inside.

  Mark kept his back to the door and reached behind his back; turning the knob slowly until he felt the door open behind him. He slipped inside the dark room and used the light from his cell to search for Christina’s bag; finding the small peach colored satchel sitting on Kevin’s black comforter.

  Mark plunged his hands inside; brushing his hands against the silky smooth underwear and bra. His hand connected with a hard piece of plastic. He raised it to the light of his phone; seeing Christina’s picture staring back at him.

  “Just what I needed,” Mark whispered. He ducked out of the room; making sure to close the door quietly behind him so that no one noticed. He strolled down the hall; clapping his hands together. “We’re gonna have some fun tomorrow night.”

  Chapter 59

  Monday mornings were typically the most hectic day of school each week. Students would wake up late; rushing to get their homework and term papers done last minute while others crammed for an early morning test. But Christina Tyler was looking forward to getting back to her normal schedule.

  Kevin dropped her off at Lenox Hall at ten. Her hair was a curly mess which she tied back as she exited his car and felt the bitter cold of the October morning. She slung her peach satchel over her shoulder and walked to the front doors; waving goodbye to her friend.

  Christina plunged her hands into her pockets. There was panic in her eyes as she let her fingers grope her legs. “Shit, where the fuck is it?” She slammed her bag on the concrete ledge; pulled the bag apart and frantically searched for her ID. Feeling defeated and knowing she was about to be late to class, Christina rushed to the lobby door and pounded on the glass until a woman turned the handle; leaving a crack open.

  “Can I help you?”

  “I can’t find my ID card and need to get up to my room. I’ve got a class in an hour.”

  The woman sighed heavily and waived Christina in. “I need your name, room number and some form of ID.”

  “Christina Tyler; room three twenty.” Christina reached into her bag and found her wallet with her driver’s license. She ripped it out of the clear plastic holder and handed it to the woman.

  “Come with me. You need to fill out some paperwork in the office before I bring you up to your room.”

  She followed the woman to the office; glancing back at the man sitting on a nearby couch with his face buried in a textbook. She could swear it was the same man she met the night before; the same man she swore was her former housemate.

  Christina turned towards the man; wanting to say something; wanting to know if it was Mark or Nick or whatever his name was. She took a step closer but felt a hand close around her arm. She looked back and found the woman pulling her into the front office. And just like that, her chance to confront the man slipped through her fingers.

  Chapter 60

  Mark intently watched Christina as she struggled with the R.A. and gain access to her room. He dropped his textbook onto his lap; revealing his devilish grin as his fingers dipped into his pocket and pulled out Christina’s ID card.

  He inched to the edge of his seat; just like a child checks to make sure his parents aren’t watching before they do something they knew they’d get in trouble for. Time to play.

  Mark raced upstairs towards room three twenty. He knocked twice and placed his ear to the door. He couldn’t hear anything; not a shuffling of feet; not a TV and no one talking. He took Christina’s card and swiped it against the lock to enter her room.

  A lavender area rug stretched across the middle of the room; placed between two twin sized beds. The large wooden closets were pushed together against the wall opposite the window.

  Mark knew he didn’t have much time before Christina came back to the room. He paced the floor; knowing this was an unplanned unexpected attack. Rachel and Nicole’s deaths were planned out thoroughly. He had spent months figuring out how and when they would die, but Christina was different. She was someone he hadn’t put much thought into her murder, but decided to take advantage of the opportunity.

  “We’re only going to do this once,” a woman’s voice said from the hallway. “You need to go down and get a replacement card immediately.”

  Mark’s heart began beating faster as he searched the room for a place to hide. He ran towards the closet. It was large enough to hide in but thought Christina would need to access it for a change of clothes. His head snapped in all directions until his eyes rested on her bed. He dropped to his knees and slid underneath; pushing boxes out of the way until he was completely concealed.

  “Thank you so much,” Christina said as the door clicked open. She entered
the room. “I’ll try to get down there later. I have a class and work.”

  “Just make sure you get down there before five.” The woman exited the room; closing the door behind her.

  Christina placed her bag on top of the bed and ripped everything out. Her books thumped onto the bed; papers were tossed aside until they fell to the floor.

  “Shit, I don’t have time for this.” She bent to pick up the papers. Her hands were less than two feet from Mark’s face as she scooped them into a pile and placed them on the bed. “Where the hell is it? I know I had the card yesterday.”

  Christina took out her sexy black stilettos and put them next to her bed as she pulled the sexy leather cat costume out. She smiled momentarily before letting it fall to the ground.

  “Did I leave it in my jeans?” She raced to the mesh hamper in the corner by her closet; pulling the sweat soaked clothes from her camping trip and rifling through the pockets. Her eyes shifted to the alarm clock. “Damn it; I gotta get to class.” She let out a heavy sigh before her hands made their way to her closet doors. She opened them; pulled out a pair of black dress pants and a white button down shirt and threw them in her peach satchel before running out the door.

  Mark waited two minutes before pushing his way out from under the bed. His face rested on the cat costume as he slid out from the boxes; inhaling Christina’s scent as he fantasized about her and how she looked in it.

  He hurried to the bathroom; noting the door was open and the light was off. “Looks like the coast is clear.” He reached into his jacket and slipped on a pair of latex gloves before flipping through her desk drawers; remembering the times he used to hang out in her room with her; back before they grew apart.

  Mark finally set his sights on Christina’s computer. “I wonder if I can still break into it.” He opened the laptop and tried several passwords before logging in. “Time to get this party started.”

  Chapter 61