Silent Death: A Chilling Serial Killer Thriller (A Caine & Murphy Thriller Book 3)

by Dominika Waclawiak

  “They aren’t there. I think Janice gave them to someone as an insurance policy.”

  “Johan, don’t do this alone. Please, at least, promise me you’ll call Eva. She doesn’t have to go in with you but she’ll have your back.” He pulled away from her.

  “I can’t. I swore I’d come alone. This is too important to mess up. Lorelei, all those girls. We are the only ones who can finish this. He needs to be banished back to the hell he came from. Look at all the lives he’s destroyed.” Sara nodded, still not fully understanding why he didn’t want to bring Eva.

  “I don’t want to argue with you.” He craned his neck around the dumpster. “You need to find the ring your father possessed. The Ring of Solomon.” His frantic look around made Sara imagine a clock ticktocking down to their deaths.

  “How do you know about the souls?”

  “Demons consume the energy of their hosts. The host can’t survive this long inhabited by a demon. He needs to replenish the life force. By my calculations, Asmodeus has been in this one body for the last 15 years. The flesh would have rotted and peeling off long ago. He figured out how to consume the energy of a soul.”

  Sara didn’t know how to respond. The idea was as crazy as it was chilling.

  “You need to find the Ring of Solomon, Sara,” he said again. A loud crash from the coffee shop made them freeze. When the door stayed closed, Sara breathed in relief.

  “Asmodeus has it, doesn’t he? We assumed the ring was in the suitcase he took with him the night he killed my father and my mother?”

  “He doesn’t have it. If he did, he wouldn’t need the souls. The ring has enough power to sustain him.”

  “Where do I even start?”

  “There must be something of your father’s that we haven’t found yet. Madeleine Richards was helping him with the missing girls. Could she have stashed it somewhere? Forget Eva Murphy. She can’t help you with this.”

  “Ritchie could track down Madeleine’s assets,” Sara finished for him. “What about Lorelei?”

  “I’m hoping I can make a trade. The films for her,” Johan said. He checked the time and took both of her hands in his. “You can do this, Sara. I have to go.”

  “Who are you meeting?” He ignored her question and instead pulled her into him.

  He kissed her. “I love you.”

  Blood flowed into her face as they separated. “Come back. Just come back,” Sara pleaded.

  “I promise I will. One way or another.” He kissed her again and opened the door to the coffee shop. He let go of her hand and gently brushed away the tears she didn’t even realize were falling down her cheek. Why did it feel like she would never see him again?

  “I believe in you,” he said. Sara wiped her eyes and when she could see again, he was gone. The sounds of the coffee shop receded as panic took hold. How was she going to find a ring missing for over fifteen years?

  Before she could formulate another thought, an arm wrapped around her shoulders and spun her around. Sara squeezed her eyes shut. This was it. She would die in the back of a coffee shop on Sunset Boulevard.

  “Please don’t hurt me,” she whimpered.

  “Get a grip, Sara,” a familiar voice said.

  Sara knew that voice.

  She opened her eyes and found Eva Murphy blocking out the light from the interior of the coffee shop.

  “Where’s Johan?”

  43

  “Where is he? Has he left? Did he tell you where he was going?” Eva asked, pulling her toward where she’d just come from.

  “I tried to convince him to call you. To take you with him. You left me at the side of the road!” Sara fumed as the two women burst into the alleyway.

  “Johan?” Eva hissed. “Johan!” She called out louder but there was no answer. “I’m too late.” She pulled out her cellphone and dialed him. A buzzing sound came from the dumpster. Eva reached inside and pulled out Johan’s cellphone.

  “Damn you, Johan,” was all Eva said.

  “For what? What are you too late for?” Sara demanded. “Why did he get rid of his cellphone? What the hell is going on?”

  “He didn’t want to be traced, why?” Eva said out loud and Sara realized Eva wasn’t speaking to her. When her inner dialogue with Anderson ended, she turned back to Sara. “Johan went to meet someone, yes?”

  “If you know this already, why are you asking me?”

  “It’s a trap, Sara. He’s walking into a trap. Did you see what car he came in?”

  “No. He was all cloak and dagger. He said someone was following me. Was that you?”

  “Yes. I knew he’d come find you.”

  “Well, why didn’t you talk to him then?”

  Eva flushed red. “He wasn’t picking up my calls, and I became...” she searched for the right word. “Occupied. I managed to extricate myself and now I’m too late.”

  “Why is he walking into a trap?” Sara asked, nausea swirling up through her esophagus. “What do you know?”

  “Special Agent Kate Harper called me an hour ago. The kidnapper wants a ransom tonight from the Senator. I spoke to Johan this morning, and he told me about his meet up at midnight tonight. He didn’t want to tell me anymore to protect me in case it went sideways.”

  “Sideways?”

  “I don’t know what that means either but that’s all I got out of him.”

  “I’m not following why this is a trap,” Sara asked.

  “The ransom drop-off is at midnight tonight as well. That can’t be a coincidence.” Eva said and motioned for them to go inside.

  “Johan will be implicated as the kidnapper.”

  “Exactly,” confirmed Eva. “He’s already the prime suspect in Madeleine Richard’s murder. Agent Harper shared with me he’s now the FBI’s number one suspect too.”

  “This can’t be happening. How can we stop this? Can we convince Agent Harper? Where is the drop-off?” Sara searched for some solution but came up empty. Without knowing where Johan was going, warning him was near to impossible.

  “She’s not the lead on the case anymore.” Eva said. Sara gave her a questioning look. “Politics,” Eva offered.

  “What do we do?” Sara asked.

  “I don’t know. I wish I had a contact at the FBI or...” Eva trailed off deep in thought.

  44

  Johan Luken checked his watch and found he had fifteen minutes to kill. DannyG had a job that would take him till 11pm somewhere in Hollywood or so he had told Johan. They had decided on meeting at midnight with DannyG hoping to make it on time. Johan had met the man once before and assumed he’d be late. He wanted to make sure he wasn’t walking into a trap. He didn’t trust the man and when he spoke with Janice before her murder, she’d told him that DannyG’s energy was bad news. It made little sense then that she’d given DannyG the rest of the film reels. He had been specific about what was on them though and must have watched them. In the end, Janice hadn’t trusted Johan with the truth.

  After circling the block several times, Johan parked a street away from DannyG’s loft. There was no light coming out of DannyG’s windows and Johan was positive he’d gotten there before him. Keeping to the shadows, Johan made his way to DannyG’s street-level front door. His habit of remaining inconspicuous at all times had served him well so far except at the Angelino Heights house but he’d made too many mistakes that night and wasn’t surprised he’d been caught.

  Johan looked up and down the street. Something wasn’t feeling right and he couldn’t place his finger on what it was. He checked his watch again, ten to midnight. He should leave, he thought. Find another way.

  He’d decided to go when he heard breaking glass come from inside DannyG’s loft. If he hadn’t been so close to the window, he’d have missed it.

  Johan backtracked to the door and glanced around. Seeing nothing that would give him pause, he put his ear to the door. Footsteps crunched over broken glass as they receded into the distance. Johan felt the prickles on the back of his
neck. Was Asmodeus on the other side of that door?

  The place fell silent. It was now or never, he thought, and tried the door handle. If it was DannyG stomping through his apartment, then he’d have some apologizing to do but he had to see for himself. The door was open. That wasn’t a good sign.

  He wiped the handle with his shirtsleeve getting rid of any prints he might have left. No need for anyone to know he had been there. Making sure he used his sleeve to mask any new fingerprints, he opened the door and stepped into the gloomy interior. Thick, velvet curtains blocked out most of the light from the streetlamps. Some thin slivers of light cut through the gloom and landed on red velvet furniture. And candles. There were candles everywhere. The place looked like a movie set out of some B movie horror film.

  His eyes adjusted better to the darkness and that’s when he saw it. A large wheel standing in the middle of what Johan would call the living room. A naked man was attached to it by chains into a position similar to Davinci’s Vitruvian man. Arms splayed out and up and legs out and down. The man’s middle was black.

  The smell of blood, metallic and earthy, filled Johan’s nostrils as he stepped closer. Ten slashes traversed DannyG’s stomach, ripping it into shredded pieces. His had been a painful death. He touched the naked man’s neck to check for a pulse and was startled to feel the skin still warm underneath his fingers.

  The killer hadn’t found what he was looking for, thought Johan as he glanced around the darkened loft. The place was gone over, but at a certain point, the searcher had raged and thrashed the place. Johan was sure that DannyG had the film reels, but where he had hidden them could very well have died with him. Even though Johan doubted he’d find anything, he searched the place anyway, just in case.

  45

  “We’re good to go. Address is 1475 Molino Street. That’s downtown Los Angeles in the Arts District. Senator Richards is almost ready,” Special Agent Kate Harper said to the two other agents in the surveillance vehicle. She pointed to the luxury Lexus parked several cars away from them. “That’s our package.” She sat shotgun while Agent Jerry Marks was behind the wheel and Agent Lucy Dale was in the backseat with a computer on her lap, coordinating the five other teams on this operation.

  Lipsky made her the point person on the small team charged with directly tracking Senator Richards and the ransom money and Kate was making the best of it. The obvious demotion in the middle of the case was making it difficult to delegate and interact with the two other agents on her team. Kate’s decision to take it in stride and not even address the situation was part of the problem but Kate didn’t know what else she was supposed to do. She was doing her best to keep a professional face. The last thing she wanted was to have some sort of heart to heart with the junior agents under her command. As Kate saw it, the only way she’d redeem herself in Agent Morris’ eyes was to solve this case and get Lorelei back and she was ready to go.

  The Lexus revved its engine and pulled out of its parking spot. Here went nothing, thought Kate as Agent Marks followed suit in their ancient Toyota Corolla. She didn’t believe for a second that Senator Richards would get Lorelei out of this exchange but something was going on and Kate needed to find out what the game was. This whole setup was artificial, like something out of the movies. She didn’t know how Johan Luken was involved yet, but she was sure this would lead to him.

  She went through the instructions again trying to find the part that bothered her. Sen. Richards would drive to the stated address and park at one end of the street. The kidnapper then requested she walk the entire length of the block and leave the briefcase filled with money in the dumpster at the other end of the street. She was supposed to be alone. No police, no FBI.

  The kidnapper warned her she’d be watched the entire time and if he saw any law enforcement, he’d shoot her himself. Sen. Richards took the chance and let the FBI follow her and surround the neighborhood as she dropped off the money. She told Agent Morris she didn’t care whether she lived or died. She had to have her granddaughter back. Kate believed her when she said that and admired the woman for taking such a risk.

  The plan Agent Lipsky put together was similar to the one Kate would have if she was still in charge and believed this was legitimate. Her team was responsible for the Senator. He had five other teams ready to surround whatever block the address would be on. There would be snipers on the top of the buildings and agents at every corner. There was no way that money was getting out without catching the bag guy. The kidnapper claimed the moment the briefcase was dropped he’d text her with Lorelei’s location. That’s the part that felt off to her, she realized.

  In the kidnappings she’d dealt with in the past, the kidnapper needed to have the money in hand before giving up the location of the victim. Or there would be some exchange. Not this. It felt like the money didn’t matter. This scenario only took into account the briefcase being dropped without the thought of collection. She called Lipsky back on a private channel. His gruff voice answered immediately.

  “Lipsky, Harper here. This doesn’t smell right. Why is he going to text the location of the girl without having hands on the money? The money doesn’t appear important.”

  “I’ve discussed that scenario with Agent Morris. We’re to let the bagman through. No one will break cover until we get that text.”

  “Could this be an assassination attempt on the senator?”

  “That’s why you’re following her. Keep her alive, Harper. That’s your only job now.” Static shrilled through the headset as he signed off. Kate snatched the thing off her head as a low pitch whine took over her right ear. She wiggled her finger trying to ease the pain.

  “We’re to keep the Senator safe at all costs. That’s our goal.” Kate said.

  “We know,” Agent Marks said and Kate couldn’t help but flush red.

  “Oh, right. Of course.” Kate stumbled on the words and turned her face away from him. They were almost there.

  He’d kept them at about twenty feet behind her car and when the Senator took a right onto Molino Street, they inched forward and waited for the Lexus to park. Kate and Agent Dale ducked out of sight. Kate stayed doubled over until Agent Marks, pulled into an empty spot. She lifted her head.

  “She’s out of the car,” Agent Marks said. The plan was to keep sight of her at all times but no real contingency if a sniper took a shot at the Senator. How they were supposed to keep the Senator safe was anyone’s guess.

  “We should follow her. We have the cover of the nearby cars,” Kate began.

  “That wasn’t the plan Lipsky laid out for us, Agent Harper. If we’re seen, we’ll jeopardize...” Kate put out a hand to stop him.

  “I know, I know.”

  Kate put her hand on the door handle and waited for the gunshots to ring out.

  46

  Johan did the best search he could under the circumstances but came up empty. He’d not discovered how Asmodeus knew about his meeting with DannyG and he had found no clues as to where the missing film reels were located. He needed to get out of here, he thought, as he passed DannyG’s body one more time. Johan contemplated calling the police. He shook that thought off. If he had gotten to DannyG’s on time, he could very well be on that wheel... he broke off the thought as he saw a woman cross the window. He recognized her instantly.

  It was Senator Richards, Madeleine’s mother and Lorelei’s grandmother. She held a suitcase in her right hand and kept glancing back towards the way she came. Asmodeus must have made a ransom demand, he thought, brow furrowed. He would have walked here like a fool and the FBI would have come down on him like a hammer. He’d be implicated in Lorelei’s kidnapping. Johan had to give it to Asmodeus. It was a clever play.

  Johan headed towards the back of the loft. If he had luck on his side, the FBI wouldn’t have had the time to set up a perimeter yet. He wouldn’t know until he tried to get out of there.

  He ran past DannyG’s body and had his sleeve over his hand as he opened the back door. J
ohan waited several seconds and when the cavalry didn’t show up, he sprinted down the alley opposite the direction that Senator Richards had come. His car was back there but he couldn’t chance going in that direction. He’d almost gotten to the end of the alleyway when a man stepped out of the shadows of the nearest doorway. Johan noticed the earpiece snaking up to the man’s ear. He had to be a fed.

  “Stop right there,” the man ordered and Johan slowed. He could dive by him and try to make it to the bridge or face the consequences. The immediate problem was that FBI went in groups. The man’s buddies might be just around the corner. Johan walked to the man. He would say he was a jogger out for a night run. It was dark and the man couldn’t have recognized him from such a distance. Johan could barely make out the features on his face. In fact, the face seemed blurry, its features indistinct.

  “May I see some ID?” Johan asked.

  “Of course, Mr. Luken,” the Agent said and Johan’s heart raced. His blood ran cold as the agent’s head began to spin. It was he. It was Asmodeus. Johan’s mind race with possibilities of escape when he felt it. The gun jammed into his gut.

  “Turn around and place your hands on your head,” Asmodeus said. Johan did as he was told and waited to die. He turned slightly and saw the syringe coming his way. He spun around, but it was too late. The needle was in his neck and the world was spinning.

  Johan dropped to the ground and the man’s silhouette blocked out the little light there was from the nearest streetlamp.

  “This way will do just as well,” Asmodeus said and grabbed him by the legs. Johan wanted to kick, to struggle, find some way to get away from Asmodeus but whatever he’d given him was speeding through his system and making his body go haywire. Asmodeus dragged Johan towards the doorway he’d appeared out of. Johan struggled to see the number or any identifying signs of where he was taking him but saw trash. It was over and he’d failed.