I Can Kill: An FBI Thriller (The O'Reilly Files Book 1)

by Angela Kay

“You’re wrong,” Aidan told him. “The difference between us is you kill for sport. You’ve brutally abused and murdered ninety-one people. You tried to kill three more. Anything that happened to you would be considered justified.”

  “Justified?” Kent laughed lightly. “Call it what you want. But you know the truth.”

  Aidan ground his teeth together and gripped the cell phone in his hand. He heard the door open behind him but didn’t turn around.

  “Tell me something. Why me?”

  “You?”

  “You always left me a message. You wanted me to be sure I was chasing you. Why?”

  He heard a breathy chuckle.

  “Well, I’m sorry to say I must cut this conversation short.”

  “Wait,” Aidan said. “Grant…Kent…tell me. Why did you want me investigating you?”

  “I don’t want to be a phone hog.” Kent told. “But, don’t worry. You’ll be seeing me again, Agent O’Reilly. I guarantee it. Maybe then we can talk specifics. Until that day comes, keep a lookout for a parting gift I sent especially for you.”

  Kent ended the call and Aidan sat staring across the yard.

  Shaun sat in the chair next to him.

  “Was that him?”

  “Yeah,” Aidan replied distantly.

  “Hope life on the inside is treating him unkindly,” Shaun replied.

  “Hey, Aidan,” Laura said from behind.

  He turned, not realizing she’d come out. She handed him a box.

  “This just came for you.”

  Aidan accepted the unmarked box and opened it.

  “I don’t believe it,” Shaun whispered.

  Aidan stared into the box, his throat raw.

  Inside was a bouquet of white carnations.

  “The man’s got some nerves,” he muttered.

  Aidan pushed to his feet and made his way to the trash can. He tossed the box of carnations inside.

  “I think we’ll rest better knowing he’ll answer for what he’s done,” Aidan said. “He can’t do anything to us any longer.”

  “No, he can’t,” Shaun agreed.

  “Laura’s got a Wii system,” Aidan said, making his way inside. “Wanna play a little bowling?”

  “Sure,” Shaun replied with a coy smile. “But, I should warn you, I’m a master.”

  “Sounds like a challenge,” Aidan said.

  Grabbing two beers from the fridge, Aidan led the way to the living room to set up the game.

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  I Can Hunt

  Sneak peak

  12

  “HEY, RACHEL.” AIDAN lowered himself to sit in the kitchen chair, directly across from her. “I want to start by thanking you for allowing us to talk to you. We’ll try to make this as quick as possible. How are you doing?”

  Rachel Amos remained silent, looking as if she’d been without a shower for several days, and Aidan supposed she had been. She wore a blue tank top with black shorts, both wrinkled as if she’d been sleeping in them. When Aidan first looked into her eyes, they were dark and sad. She now stared down at the surface of the table, tearing a napkin into small pieces.

  “I know this is hard for you,” Aidan continued. “You’ve been through a great trauma, then having to be questioned time and again. But my partner and I…well, we’d like to find out what happened that day at Phinizy Swamp. To do that, we need your help. We need to hear your side of things. You’re the only one who can tell us.”

  Rachel continued to maintain her silence, and her father, sitting next to her, wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

  “I’m sorry, agents, but my daughter has been through a lot this past week. Can we—.”

  “Phil,” Mrs. Amos said sharply, standing in the corner by the sink. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she glared at her husband. “One of her friends is dead. Another close to death. These agents want to know what happened. I want to know what happened.”

  “Krystal, she needs time,” Mr. Amos protested, his voice cracking. He looked from Aidan to Shaun and back again. “My daughter just needs time. Can you try to understand that?”

  “What our daughter needs is to talk about what happened that day,” Mrs. Amos exclaimed, cutting her hand through the air as if making a point. “I know you want to protect her, Phil, but what good is it if she’s not talking about it? She hasn’t spoken a word since it all happened. And…and…one of her best friends is dead! Leon’s in a coma…and…”

  Mr. Amos pushed his chair back, screeching it angrily across the floor. “You don’t have to spell it out for me, Krystal! I know! I know!” He spewed out a curse. “I’m trying to protect my daughter.”

  “Mr. and Mrs. Amos,” Shaun said, although the bickering of the parents overtook his voice. “Mr. and Mrs. Amos, please—.”

  Mr. Amos continued to ignore him. “I know exactly what the stakes are—.”

  “Obviously, you don’t—.”

  “Krystal—.”

  “Stop it!” Rachel screamed, gripping the sides of her head. “Stop fighting! I’m sick of listening to you! That’s all you ever do! I can’t take it anymore!”

  She pushed out of her chair, forcing it to fall back against the floor with a clatter. Rachel pulled the kitchen door open, face streaming with tears, and stormed out, despite the protests of her parents. The door bounced off the table against the wall, then slowly closed, settling against the door jam.

  “Let me talk to her if you will,” Aidan said quickly, holding up his hand to prevent Mr. Amos from chasing after his daughter. “If you don’t mind.”

  “She’s not ready to face it.”

  “The sooner she talks about it, the sooner she can focus on healing,” Shaun replied. “And the sooner Agent O’Reilly and I will leave your family to your grief. Think of your daughter, Mr. Amos. Think of her friends. Ray Parsons deserves justice, and Rachel may be a way to get it for him.”

  For what seemed like long minutes, Mr. Amos stared at his wife, whose face was twisted in pain and wet with tears. Finally, he nodded at Aidan, pulling his wife into a tight hug.

  “It’ll be okay, sweetheart,” Mr. Amos said, his words muffled in her hair. “We’ll get through this. I promise.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Amos,” Aidan said. “Do you know where Rachel went?”

  Rachel’s dad raised his eyes to Aidan. “She’ll be in her treehouse out back. It’s her safe place. I built it for her a few summers ago. But if you ask her, we built it together.” He smiled. “A little girl with a hammer, and me holding the nail.”

  Shaun smiled. “And you’d do it a thousand more times.”

  “A million,” Mr. Amos said and gently kissed his wife’s hair.

  Aidan found a glass and filled it with iced water before walking out the door. He shut it behind him, staring toward Rachel’s treehouse.

  He slowly walked toward it.

  “Rachel?” Aidan called as he approached. “It’s Agent O’Reilly. Do you mind if I come up there?”

  When she didn’t respond, Aidan began to climb to the top, holding the glass of water in one hand.

  “Wow,” he said as he stuck his head inside. “This is an impressive hideout.”

  Rachel sat on the floor in the corner, a blanket covering her body, her eyes red and cheeks soaked with tears. She was shivering with anguish, rocking back and forth.

  “I thought you might be thirsty, so I brought you a glass of water,” Aidan offered. He set it next to her, then went to his own corner to give her a little space. A table sat underneath a window with a photo of Rachel, Leon, and Ray. Beneath the table, were stacks of board games. “Did your dad build you this treehouse?”

  He looked her way and waited until she finally nodded.

  �
��That’s great. Really cool. I never had a treehouse like this, but in Ireland, where I’m from, my sister and I used to hang out in some caves. That was our clubhouse.”

  Rachel seemed to be paying attention, however, made no effort to talk, so he continued to carry the conversation.

  “We’d have passwords for those interested in coming in. I can’t remember what it was, though. Something silly like colcannon.”

  Aidan allowed his speech to lull, giving her a chance to respond.

  “You don’t sound very Irish,” Rachel finally pointed out shyly.

  “I don’t?” Aidan asked with a smile. “I guess it kind of went away after a while of living in the states. It still comes out sometimes. But my sister, she still sounds a little Irish.”

  “Does she live here too?”

  “Mairead’s in Boston. She moved there from Ireland a few years after I did, wanting to be closer to me. But then, I needed to transfer out of state, so I moved to Atlanta. Now I’m here.”

  “Your job made you leave your sister?”

  Aidan frowned, his heart growing heavy at the memory which still resurfaced when he wished it didn’t. “Actually, not directly. A close friend of ours was killed. She was a victim of a serial killer called The Carnations Killer.”

  “I’m sorry,” Rachel said.

  “Thanks,” Aidan replied.

  “Did you find out who killed your friend?”

  Aidan nodded. “We did catch the killer. It took about ten years, but he’s in jail now. He’s on death row.”

  She looked up at him now, through her long eyelashes. “Will you catch who killed Ray?”

  “I’d like to,” Aidan said. “I’d like to very much, Rachel. But I need you to help me. Do you think you can help me?”

  Rachel diverted her eyes again and sniffed, before nodding.

  “Why don’t you start from the beginning?” Aidan suggested. “You and your friends went to Phinizy Swamp for a class trip, right?”

  With hesitation, Rachel nodded.

  “We left the group.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m not supposed to tell. It’s all stupid, really. But…” She trailed off, trying not to cry again.

  “Go on,” Aidan said. “I won’t talk about anything to anyone unless it is directly pertinent to the case.”

  Rachel looked back at Aidan and studied him, then sighed, wiping her eyes. “A few weeks ago, Ray had gotten involved with a game.”

  “What kind of game?” Aidan wondered.

  “A scavenger hunt,” Rachel told him. “It was kinda like Pokémon Go, except the game started out in the emails. If you’re interested, you have to sign up. So Ray did. Only certain people were eligible to play.”

  “What was included in the emails?” Aidan pressed. “Did it come with instructions?”

  “It had a map of the search area. There would be miscellaneous hidden items. We’d have to solve a riddle, and the answer would be what we needed to find.”

  “When you did find the object, did you have to somehow tell him? Or did he give another riddle?”

  “We’re given twelve hours from the time we open the email to finding the item. Then we’re supposed email a picture of ourselves with the item. And the next clue would come in a new email. When we got the map of Phinizy Swamp, Ray started thinking it was someone in our class. We knew we needed to go to the bridge because there was a red X over it on the map.”

  “Interesting,” Aidan muttered, rubbing the nape of his neck.

  Rachel narrowed her eyes. “Why? Did I say something helpful?”

  “Maybe,” Aidan muttered. “When was the first time Ray started getting the emails?”

  Rachel was silent for a few minutes before she frowned with a shrug. “I don’t know. Two weeks? Three…it’s a blur. I’m sorry.”

  “And neither you or Leon received the emails?”

  “No.”

  So, Ray was no doubt the target, Aidan decided.

  “Did you find the final prize at the bridge?” he asked.

  Rachel nodded. “Leon found it. It was a photo of some guy. That’s when I heard the gunshot. I turned around and saw Ray falling into the swamp.”

  She paused, her bottom lip quivering again.

  “It’s okay,” Aidan assured her. “Take your time.”

  She began to cry. Aidan had to strain to understand her near unintelligible words.

  “I remember…screaming. I remember…Leon…he…he froze, then he started to run. But he…he tripped and hit his head. I-I tried to get him to move, but he was…wouldn’t. Ray, too. They weren’t moving, so I ran. I-I-I left them.”

  Tears came full force and Aidan left his corner of the treehouse to go to her. He wrapped his arms around her and allowed Rachel to let loose the tears.

  When she was able, Rachel pushed herself away and turned to look at him, blinking back tears the best she could.

  “I don’t understand why anyone would want to kill us,” she whimpered. “We never hurt anyone. It doesn’t make sense. Do you think the killer will come after me?”

  “No,” Aidan promised. “I don’t think he will.”

  Of that, he was certain.

  Rachel wiped her eyes with the heel of her hands.

  “Can you answer a few more questions for me?” Aidan asked her. When she nodded, he said, “Have you ever seen the guy in the photo before?”

  Rachel shook her head.

  “Can you describe what he looked like?”

  “I-I-I don’t remember,” Rachel said. “Light brown hair…maybe blonde? I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay. I don’t want you to force your memory. It may come back to you later. You can let me know then. You’re doing good, honey.”

  Rachel wiped her tear-stained face with her hands.

  “Tell me a little about Ray,” Aidan suggested. “Did he get into a lot of trouble?”

  Rachel shook her head. “He’d never been in trouble before. Ray doesn’t really talk to anyone except me and Leon.”

  “What about Leon? Does he ever make trouble?”

  Rachel shrugged carelessly. “I guess he was more outspoken than either of us. He thought the emails Ray got were exciting. At first, Ray didn’t want to bother with the last prize because we were supposed to stay with our class, but…”

  “But what?”

  “But like Leon, Ray wanted to try to earn the big prize.”

  “Do you know what the big prize was?”

  “No. Leon thought it might be money. I kinda thought the whole thing was weird, but we played Pokémon Go many times, so I didn’t think too much about it.”

  “Think back on the day you and your friends were on your class trip,” Aidan began, “Do you remember if anyone spoke to you before parting from your class? Or afterward?”

  Rachel considered the question. “I don’t think so. I’m sorry.”

  Aidan reached over and gently squeezed her shoulder. “Don’t be sorry. Be glad you’re okay.”

  “I don’t think I’ll ever be okay again. Ray’s dead. And Leon…they said he might not live.”

  “Rachel, I promise we’ll do all in our power to find out who did this to you and your friends. Okay?” Aidan hesitated a beat. “I have one last thing I need to ask you. We heard you’ve been having some trouble at school, with a kid named Mitchell Garvey.”

  She nodded, wiping her eyes with the heel of her wrists. “He’s a jerk. No one cares that he’s been bothering me. At least not until Ray and Leon got involved.”

  “Have you had issues with him since the altercation at school?”

  “No. Not really.”

  “Do you believe he has a reason for picking on you?”

  “I went on a date with him once,” Rachel explained. “It wasn’t really a date, though. We went to the movies with some other couples. He tried to get me to sleep with him, but I said no. I wanted to save myself. He got rough. I never told Ray and Leon about that part.” Rachel paused, dra
wing in a long, shaky breath. “But ever since, he started spreading rumors that we got hot and heavy and that he taped us. It was all lies, but the kids in school believed it and called me a slut.”

  “And a few days before your field trip, Garvey cornered you in the locker room?”

  Rachel nodded. “He started touching me while his friends watched and laughed. I kneed him and got away. Ray and Leon saw me and asked what was wrong. I told them then.”

  “And they defended you?”

  She nodded. “I didn’t know they’d gang up on him. I didn’t want Ray and Leon to get into trouble. But Mitchell was getting worse. He scares me sometimes. I couldn’t face school the next day.”

  “All right,” Aidan said with a smile. “That’s useful information. What do you say we go down now? Talk to your parents? I’d also like you to look at a photo. See if you recognize someone. Maybe you saw her at school, or someplace else.”

  “Okay.”

  Aidan let Rachel climb down the ladder first, then followed her into the house.

  Her parents watched them, keeping their concerns quiet as Aidan showed her the photo of Stephanie Carpenter.

  Rachel studied her for a long few minutes before finally looking up at Aidan.

  “No,” Rachel said. She looked down again as if trying to be sure. “I haven’t seen her before. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s all right,” Aidan assured her. “Thank you, Rachel, for talking to me. You helped shed a lot of light on some things.”

  Aidan thanked Rachel’s parents for allowing him to have the time with her, then he and Shaun left.

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  A Note from the Author

  Thank you so much for reading I Can Kill, the start of it all. I truly hope you enjoyed it and leave a review on Amazon. I think among the books I have out so far, this is my favorite. Not only do I engross myself in learning about serial killers, but there’s something about Aidan’s and Shaun’s characters. I loved writing them.

  Thank you again for turning the pages! If you haven’t already, don’t forget to click here now to buy I Can Hunt, book two of The O’Reilly Files.