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

by Dominika Waclawiak

  “Sara Caine.”

  “Everybody back into the cars. We need to get the Alexas hotel. Now.” She said, already running out the door.

  67

  Sara Caine rushed to the window of the metal box and peered inside. To her relief, Lorelei’s chest rose up and down. She was alive, but barely. Lorelei’s skin had a purplish white tint to it and, if it weren’t for her shallow breathing, Sara would have definitely thought she was dead. Lorelei’s foot twitched and her eyes fluttered open.

  Sara unlocked the door and threw it open. She estimated she had a couple of minutes before he came in to hide Lorelei and prepare herself for the fight. She rushed to Lorelei’s side, wrapped her arms underneath her armpits and dragged her towards the door.

  The girl was heavy for someone so little and Sara grunted with the effort. She would not make it. Stop it, Sara and pull, she admonished herself and got back to work.

  To her horror, Sara heard the door slam right behind her. She was too late. Sara lowered Lorelei’s body to the ground and turned to the window. Asmodeus stood on the other side of the glass.

  Her heart caught in her throat. He trapped her like he wanted to and now she would die. Like Lorelei and all the other’s before her. Sara sank to the ground and cradled the girl’s body in hers. The room grew quiet and the barely perceptible hissing sound was gone.

  The film showed a girl suffocating and Sara would now go through the same torture. Sara glared back at him. She would not give him the satisfaction of seeing her fear. The spinning motion that was his head stopped for a second and she saw the man Asmodeus inhabited. He seemed familiar but she couldn’t put a name to his face. Asmodeus smiled and Sara shivered. He mouthed goodbye to her. She squeezed Lorelei tight and waited for death to come.

  “I failed and I’m sorry. I tried to save you. I got here too late.”

  “Use the ring, Sara.” Johan’s voice filled her mind.

  “I don’t know how. I don’t even know if it’s the right ring,” she said and pulled out the ring on her thumb. “It’s my father’s wedding ring,” she said.

  “No, it’s not. That’s the Ring of Solomon.” His voice boomed and made her head spin.

  “I’m feeling faint. Tell me how to use this thing.”

  “Drop all your walls and pull all your energy towards him. Focus all the anger and pain of your father’s death and Lorelei’s capture and my incarceration and hit him with it.”

  “That’s it?”

  “You’re trying to send him to hell. How else are you going to get him there?”

  “All right.” Sara dropped her walls and pointed the ring at him. All her anguish of the last fifteen years, her fury over Lorelei’s kidnapping and worry over Johan’s whereabouts raced towards Asmodeus. Sara concentrated on his spinning head and imagined it exploding. A light formed from the ring and shot out towards him. He backed away from her as the ring’s fire jumped across the floor and burned a hole through the window and shot him in the chest

  A blue green fire consumed Asmodeus, the likes of which Sara had never seen. He screamed and clawed at his face as the floor beneath him opened and brilliant orange flame joined the cooler blue, They intermingled and danced around one another as the human form of Asmodeus melted.

  A popping sound signaled the closing of the portal. All that remained of a demon who destroyed many lives was a pile of ash where the portal had appeared.

  Sara dragged Lorelei to the hole in the window and its life giving oxygen. She heaved the young woman up around her shoulders and leaned in as close as she could towards. They would have to wait for someone to come find them. At least, they had air, Sara thought. She worried that Lorelei wouldn’t last that much longer but she couldn’t think about that right now.

  “Sara? Sara?” Ritchie yelled as he barged through the hidden door and came to a halt in front of the window. The moment he saw them, sucking the oxygen out of the small hole, he threw open the exterior door and got them out of there. Sara gasped for breath as Lorelei coughed beside her. They lay her down onto the concrete floor. Lorelei’s eyes opened.

  “Are we both dead?”

  Sara dropped to the ground next to her head. “No, honey. We made it. We survived. We’re alive.”

  “Eva is on her way as is Agent Kate Harper and the SWAT team. But apparently they’re not needed here?” Ritchie said with a raised eyebrow. “What happened here?” He asked.

  “The ring. It wasn’t my father’s wedding ring after all. It made him catch on fire. The ground opened and then all that was left was the pile.” She said and was about to explain how when Agent Kate Harper and Eva Murphy blocked out the light of the doorway to the outer chamber.

  “They’re here.”

  68

  “Ritchie, do you have a light?” Sara asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “See all those film canisters?” Ritchie nodded.

  “They need to burn for the souls to release. We can’t risk these souls getting stuck in some evidence locker room in the FBI’s basement.”

  “If we burn them, then we won’t know which girls went missing.”

  “We don’t know how many girls went missing because he ate their souls. This bunch is the only one that he hasn’t eaten yet. At least we can release them so they can find peace.” Sara said, stepping closer to them

  “How are we going to explain that to Agent Harper and Eva?” Ritchie asked.

  “I don’t know. How do we explain the pile of ash that used to be the serial killer?” Ritchie flicked the lighter on and went over to the corner.

  “Are we gonna burn this entire place down?”

  “Hope not. All the walls are damp and I’m hoping the fire will be isolated to that corner. The walls are rock as well. I don’t think rock burns. This fire isn’t going anywhere.” Sara sounded more sure than she felt but releasing those souls were imperative.

  Ritchie hesitated above the stack. “Are you sure about this?”

  Sara nodded, and he touched the flame to a slightly open canister. He jumped back as the pile exploded in front of them. As the film canisters burned, they heard the screams and terror of the women who’d died within the metal box.

  They had done the right thing, FBI be damned.

  69

  “FIRE!”

  Sara knew the voice immediately. Agent Kate Harper had arrived. She turned and saw Agent Harper and Eva Murphy in the doorway.

  Agent Harper leaned back and yelled at some unseen person. “Bring the fire extinguisher.”

  Sara met Eva’s eyes and nodded. She knew that Eva Murphy was free. She had her mind back. Anderson was no longer in her head.

  Before Sara could say anything, SWAT, LAPD cops, firemen and others surrounded her. Everyone had a job and was doing it. Except for her and Ritchie. They stepped off to the side to get out of everyone’s way.

  The SWAT team broke through the metal box’s door and crowded over Lorelei. Sara saw them check her vitals and nod to Agent Harper, who got on the phone immediately.

  “She must be calling the senator,” Ritchie said, reading her thoughts.

  “Probably.”

  “Where would he be keeping Johan?” Sara said as the medics rushed by them, Lorelei on a stretcher. Agent Harper stared at the pile of ashes that was once Asmodeus and went over to where Sara and Ritchie were huddled.

  “Would you like to tell me what that is?”

  “It was the killer.” Sara said.

  “He’s a pile of ash?” Agent Harper asked.

  “I’m not sure how to respond to that.”

  “We will need a statement from you both,” Agent Harper said and Sara and Ritchie nodded.

  “We’ll do our best but I’m not sure if you all will believe us.” Ritchie said.

  “Right,” was all Agent Harper managed.

  Sara seized on the opportunity before she lost Agent Harper’s ear.

  “Has your team searched the entire basement?” Sara asked.

 
Kate Harper nodded.

  “You didn’t find any other bodies here?”

  “What body are you looking for?”

  “Johan Luken. He went missing.” Sara said.

  “We know.” Agent Harper said. “We had him under surveillance and then he disappeared. Bad operation.”

  “He’s here somewhere.” Sara said, not sure if she should tell her she felt his presence here. Taking a look at the woman, she decided not to mention it.

  “I’ll have my team look again but they’ve done a thorough search and haven’t yet found anything.”

  “I see.” Sara slid down the wall, while Ritchie tried to hold her up.

  “I need to sit down.” She muttered to him.

  “We’ll find him, I promise,” Agent Harper said and went back to her team.

  70

  Sara Caine was grateful Agent Kate Harper allowed her to sit in the corner of the kill room as her team sifted through all the evidence Asmodeus left behind. The team discovered an incinerator in one of the storage rooms and was busy sifting through the ash to uncover bone fragments to compare to the DNA of the missing women.

  If that was the last piece of Johan left, she wanted to be there for its retrieval. The crime scene investigation team had come and was dusting for prints inside and outside of the room. The other team was trying to scrape what was left of Asmodeus into an evidence bag.

  It had been a long day and it would not end for her until she found out what happened to Johan. She felt him somewhere nearby. Ritchie had brought her lunch and a drink, which she ate in the lobby, and the very act of eating had a normalcy that was surreal to her.

  Sara no longer wanted to be an investigator. That dream was over. Her father’s murder destroyed her life and she sure would not let that tragedy rule over her reality anymore. If Johan were still alive, she’d force them to leave Los Angeles and go somewhere quiet. They could have some kids, open up a grocery store, and do things normal couples did.

  She wanted to be normal, she’d told Johan fifteen years ago when she was a teenager. That truth still held today. It had taken her fifteen years but she was determined to make it work. She didn’t notice Agent Harper next to her. The agent tapped her on the shoulder a second time.

  “I have news.” Agent Harper said.

  “You found him.” Sara said. The look on Agent Harper’s face told her everything she needed to know.

  “Could you please come and make an identification?”

  Sara nodded. She got up and hobbled behind Agent Harper to another storage room. A latch door opened into the empty room. Sara could see investigators moving down below her.

  “My office found the architectural drawings for this place and noticed tunnels dug down here around prohibition to move bootleg liquor.”

  “I see.”

  “It took us a while to find it but when we did well, you’ll see.” Sara nodded and took the roughhewn stairs down to a tunnel carved from the bedrock underneath the building. A shape slumped against the wall of the hallway some distance away.

  It was Johan. He’d been stripped naked and left there for dead. He’d tried to claw his way out but hadn’t managed to get very far.

  “He’s dead?”

  “I’m afraid so.” Agent Harper said.

  “Can I touch him?”

  “Yes, you can.” That was against protocol but Sara was thankful Agent Harper allowed her this tiny courtesy. Sara touched his face and heard his voice in her head.

  “I’m not dead yet,” he said. “Check my pulse.” Sara went searching for the artery in his neck. She heard his heart. The sound was faint but there.

  “He’s alive. Call the medics! He’s alive!” Sara screamed and heard Kate running down the hall calling for the medics herself.

  “You’re in a coma like I was?” Sara asked him.

  “I think so. I’m in limbo. He put me into the same labyrinth he had put you. I understand now why you never wanted to speak about this place. I’m sorry I pushed you so hard. Please, help me out of here. Please.”

  “I will move heaven and earth to get you out of there. I love you, Johan. I promise, I’ll get you out.” She said and stayed there until the paramedics pried her away from him.

  THE END

  Letter from Dominika

  I want to say a huge thank you for choosing to read Silent Death. If you did enjoy it, I would be so grateful if you could write a review. It can be short and makes such a difference. It helps new readers discover one of my books for the first time.

  I’d love to hear from you. What did you think of Sara Caine and Detective Eva Murphy latest case? Do you think Johan will survive Limbo?

  I’m excited to hear from you, and I read every message. And to introduce you, my dear reader to more of my work, I’d love to send you a free copy of Missing Soul, a Sara Caine novella, detailing her first case. CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE BOOK. By joining my readers’ group, I’ll let you know of my new releases, sales and special offers. Your email address will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

  Thank you again for reading, and I hope you’ll be back soon!

  Yours sincerely,

  Dominika Waclawiak

  About the Author

  Dominika Waclawiak is the author of Grim Angel (formerly called The Elk), Missing Soul, Guilty Deeds and Silent Death, all in the Caine & Murphy thriller series.

  Dominika lives in Los Angeles with her husband, daughter and two huskies. When not running behind her toddler or running the dogs, she’s busy writing her next novel, several film and TV projects, and plotting a visual effects laden science fiction feature film project to direct.

  In her former life, Dominika created visual effects for blockbuster movies that netted three Oscars: LIFE OF PI, HAPPY FEET, and the CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE. She also created images for THE GOLDEN COMPASS and THE INCREDIBLE HULK to name just a few.

  You can find me at:

  @domWaclawiak

  dmwaclawiakauthor

  www.dominikawaclawiak.com

  dominika@dominikawaclawiak.com

  Dedication

  For Dave and Iza

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2016 by Dominika Waclawiak

  All rights reserved.

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  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, businesses, events or locales is purely coincidental.

  I greatly appreciate you taking the time to read my work. Please consider leaving a review wherever you bought the book, or telling your friends about it, to help me spread the word.

  Thank you for supporting my work.