by Paris Morgan
“Why, thank you.” Shea smiled in return. “You must be Flora, the psychic. Ryan promised to take you out to dinner for your help on this last case.”
“That I did. Shall we?” he suggested as the waitress came to show us our table.
As everyone settled into place, I just hoped that they could all play nice. “I brought everyone together because you’re all special to me in some way or another. Flora, for showing me a new side to myself that I didn’t know existed. Shea, thanks for keeping Ryan in line. Without your guidance, he’d be dreadful. Jerome, these are my friends, and now that you’re in my life, I want you to know the other parts of it,” I spoke, almost pleading with him. “Ryan, this is the second case we’ve worked together, and it’s been really tough. You and I are going to have to lean on the ones closest to us at this table if we’re going to catch this person who’s decided that other people’s zodiac signs are a game.”
I picked up a glass for a toast. “To our future of catching lots of bad guys, and seeking justice for those that need it.”
We all clinked glasses, and slid my hand into Jerome’s as we all enjoyed dinner, looking forward to the evening to come. Tomorrow was another day with a different set of problems for us to work on. For just one night, I wanted to have it all, which I knew was just a dream, but it was a nice one.
The End-ish
I wasn’t sure they were going to let me stay considering my brand of killing. I’d been doing this for years, but the ad in the paper had a special flair when I’d answered it. I couldn’t believe I’d had to go through an interview process to meet the requirements before I could even have an introduction.
What kind of serial killer club was this anyway?
“He’ll see you now.”
I was used to a lot of scary crap, but walking down a dark hallway in an abandoned building with a secretary guarding the door? This guy was certainly into intimidation.
Knocking on the door seemed silly, but those had been the instructions.
“Enter.”
The room was filled with shadows. A spotlight blinded me, keeping me from seeing the person behind the light.
“What kind of game is this?” I growled out in anger.
“Games? I hear that you enjoy playing games with your prey.”
This guy knew more than he should about my hobbies. I’d managed to stay away from the cops for years. One mistake could end all the fun forever.
“I want you to play a game, but much bigger and better than what you’ve been doing so far. It will give you more satisfaction, and the chances of being caught all depend on you. Will you accept the challenge?”
“What’s the challenge?”
“No other questions. I need a yes or no answer, now.”
I didn’t really have to think about it. This person already knew too much, and I was going to have to play his game so that I could silence him.
“I accept.”
“Good.”
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A Note from the Author
If you enjoyed this story, please leave a review even if it is one short sentence. Do you want to know when the next book comes out or to get to know me better? Feel free to stalk me on all the social media sites. (No real-life stalking because that’s just not cool.) Thanks for reading and I hope to hear from you.
-Paris Morgan
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Paris Morgan
Aries
Murders of the Zodiac
Book #3
Copyright © 2019 Alathia Paris Morgan writing as Paris Morgan
Aries-Murders of the Zodiac Book 3
This is a work of fiction and in no way is meant to portray actual people, names, places, events or situations. The ideas were from the author’s own imagination and any resemblance to people living or dead is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission, except in the case of quotations for articles and reviews.
Editing by: Rebel Edit & Design
Book cover: Widget Wyvern Studios
Interior formatting: That Formatting Lady
Table of Contents
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
A Note from the Author
Dedication
To my daughters: You just take it in stride that I’m writing. You never hesitate to interrupt for hugs and to talk about life. You three are my world; thanks for letting me be in yours.
More from Paris Morgan
Murders of the Zodiac
Aquarius Book 1
Pisces Book 2
Aries Book 3
Taurus Book 4
Gemini Book 5
Cancer Book 6
Leo Book 7
Virgo Book 8
Libra Book 9
Scorpio Book 10
Sagittarius Book 11
Capricorn Book 12
Surviving Death
Witness Protection Book 1
Writing as Alathia Morgan
Against Zombies Series
Moms Against Zombies Book 1
Military Against Zombies Book 2
Co-Eds Against Zombies Book 3
Churches Against Zombies Book 4
Geeks Against Zombies Book 5
Governments Against Zombies Book 6
Infected History Series
Infected Waters: A Titanic Disaster
Infected Poppy Fields: A WWI Disaster
Infected Storm Troopers: A WWII Disaster
Writing Romance as Pepper Paris:
Summer of Love
Carter: Summers of Love 1
Kelly: Summers of Love 2
Wade: Summers of Love 3
Jay: Summers of Love 4
Prologue
Leslie
I knew better than to glance back over my shoulder while I was running, but it was hard to go against my natural instincts. I ducked, barely missing the arrow that thunked into the tree inches from my head.
Terror raced through my body. He knew exactly where I was. This was a game to him, and I was his prey. I knew I wasn’t the first one he’d chased through these woods because I’d seen the bodies of those who hadn’t made it. I wasn’t sure about everything that he did to his victims, but I refused to be one. Not tonight.
The moon shone through the trees, giving just enough light for me to see a path, but it also meant he could follow me easier through the less vegetative area.
A scream pierced the night, and instead of heading to safety, I turned back. I couldn’t let him have another girl. He wasn’t going to win this game; not if I could stop him.
Chapter 1
Three Weeks Earlier — Somewhere in California
A dog barked, alerting the hunter of his find. His owner ambled over, assuming that he’d found another dead squirrel, that is until he saw the hand sticking out of the dirt. Fumbling to grab his dog’s collar, he managed to keep him away from sniffing the finger pointing up to the sky.
The leash clipped into place as he pulled out his phone to make a call. “Sheriff, you need to get
out to the wooded area over off the highway. Fred found a hand sticking out of the ground.” The hunter looked around self-consciously. “No, I didn’t check to see if there was a body attached.”
“Yes, it looks real, and Fred went crazy trying to get to it. No, I don’t think he’d act that way if it was fake. Sure, I’ll wait here, but hurry. I’m all creeped out now.”
***
Twenty minutes later, I pulled up behind Leroy Blake’s vehicle and parked. It wasn’t hard to follow the path he and Fred had made through the woods.
I’d barely made it a few steps away from the squad car when I heard Fred barking.
“That you, Sheriff?” Leroy called out, his voice echoing through the wooded area.
“Yep. Make sure you don’t shoot me,” I chuckled, knowing that he was always careful when out in the woods. We didn’t have much in the way of woods near the beach highway, but there was just enough on the inner side for tourists to get lost in.
“Hey there, Leroy. What’ve you got for me?” I put my hand down near Fred for him to sniff me, before trying to pet him.
“Well, Fred’s the one who found it. We hadn’t gotten far when he took off. I had to chase after him, and that’s when I found him sniffing this hand. I was all I could do to get his leash on and pull him away to call you. Good thing it was out here on the edge, because if we’d have gone much farther, there wouldn’t have been any cell reception.”
I pulled on a pair of latex gloves and bent down to examine it. When I touched the finger that was pointed upward, the hand stayed steady, so I was going to assume that it had been buried and might still be attached to the arm. Wiggling the dirt away from the wrist, I could see there was indeed an arm underneath. Green paint decorated the nails, and the fingers looked a little soft, with few to no wrinkles on the back of the hand. I was going to say they belonged to a woman, probably younger than twenty-five.
This was going to take more than just me to find out what had happened. I’d done my part in checking out a call from a friend, and now it was time to make it official and call in the crime techs.
“Leroy, can you do me a favor?”
“Yeah. Need Fred to help track down the body?” Leroy asked eagerly.
“Uh, no. I’m afraid it’s not very exciting.” I stood up, looking at the area around the hand sticking out of the ground. “I need you to cancel your hunting trip for the day and call my office when you get out to the road.”
“Aw, Sheriff. That’s not fair. I’m the one that found it—well, Fred did, but we’re a pair, and he can’t have his picture taken or be interviewed by the news channels, but I can speak for him.” Leroy groaned in dismay.
“Now, Leroy, you know I wouldn’t want you to miss out on all the fame this could bring. If you can keep quiet for about twenty-four hours, I’ll make sure to call the media myself and tell them that you were the first person on the scene.” I held up a hand in warning. “But, I’ll only vouch for you if you don’t tell anyone about it until I tell you to. If I catch wind that you’ve gone and told the whole town before I say you can, then I might tell them you’re a suspect.”
Panic filled Leroy’s features. “Now, that’s not fair. I won’t say anything unless you tell me to, but how am I supposed to call your office if I can’t say anything?”
“Just tell my office where I’m at, and that I need a crime scene team. This way, if nothing important comes to light, then they won’t laugh at you down at the barber shop. If we do find something, then you’ll be the town hero.”
Leroy scratched at his stubbled chin. “I guess that makes sense. You wanna keep from letting the killer know about it. I’ll do just what you say, Sheriff.”
“Thank you. It’s people like you that make police work easier.” I watched as he straightened with pride before pulling on Fred’s leash.
“You can count on me,” Leroy called over his shoulder, hurrying toward the road.
Exhaling the breath I’d been holding, I scanned the area around the strange finger, noting four other mounds that looked like burial plots as well. I’d been worried that I had one body on my hands, but if these others were similar, then we had a serious problem.
This was going to bring the Feds into my town, and that wasn’t good for the tourist business, as we were just getting into the spring season. One of California’s major tourist highways ran through our town, drawing people in to stop for the night, or to take advantage of the beaches that went crowded with college students on break.
Walking in a small circle around the five mounds, I didn’t see anything that stood out. This person hadn’t left even a gum wrapper behind, which told me that this wasn’t their first kill. This part of the woods had a few regulars that came out to hunt birds or squirrels. There wasn’t much wildlife beyond that, and the hunting rules were pretty strict if it wasn’t the right season for that license.
Leroy, a town local, was one of the few that still went out hunting on a regular basis, but he always returned with very little to show for it. I felt pretty sure that he just went out with his dog to get away from people who weren’t quite sure what to do with him and his quirky behavior.
My radio beeped, meaning that other squad cars were in close enough range to communicate.
“Hill, that you?”
“Yes, sir. We’re pulling up behind your vehicle now.”
“Did you request the cadaver dog?”
“I sent Sam out to borrow one. He’ll be back with it shortly,” Hill answered.
“Great. Follow the path, and you shouldn’t have any problem finding me.”
“On our way with the equipment.”
“Roger that. And keep off the radios with information.”
“Yes, sir.”
Patience wasn’t one of my strong suits when it came to this type of thing, but thankfully, this wasn’t a stakeout. I hated those with a passion.
Most of my team was used to working in the woods or on the beach, but hauling the tools needed for this job would make the ten-minute hike take longer. I leaned against a tree, wishing that I hadn’t quit smoking. It would at least give me something to do while I waited.
Standing there, it was easy to see that the five mounds were laid out in a row, each one at the foot of a tree. I wasn’t more than ten feet away from them, but it appeared that something was etched into the tree about six feet up from the ground.
Carefully walking around the mounds, which I was certain were graves, I pulled on another pair of gloves to trace the symbol that was carved into the tree. It looked like two circles with a V in between them. I’d seen it somewhere before, but at the moment, it escaped me. The carving looked fairly fresh, and now that I was looking for it, I could see that both of the other trees had the same symbol etched into the bark.
A branch snapped behind me, and I had my gun halfway out of the holster when I realized that it was my officers.
“What’ve we got, Sheriff?” Hill asked, out of breath, dropping the bags he was carrying onto the ground.
“Five murder victims, and the killer left us his sign.” I turned, confident that our quiet little town was about to become anything but quiet in the coming days.
***
There had been five bodies, all young women. Damn, I hated to be right about something like this. We’d sent them to the county coroner, but since we didn’t normally have things like this happen in our county, and with only one coroner, I wasn’t sure that we’d get all the evidence we’d need off of five bodies. I’d asked them to hold off on doing anything with them while I made a few phone calls.
Pat Hill was my second-in-command, and he was going to stay with the bodies until I could work out some sort of protective detail. We didn’t have the workforce for something like this, and I already had everyone out in the woods searching for any signs of the killer.
I fingered the business card that I’d been given at a training meeting two years ago by the speaker, Ava Perez. I really didn’t want to dial, but this wa
sn’t about me. It was about the town I protected.
“Hello, this is Ava Perez.”
“Hi, this is Vance Turner. We met at the sheriff training function two years ago.”
“What can I do for you, Sheriff Turner?”
“We just found five bodies, all young women, buried out in a patch of woods. I’m afraid that we don’t have the skills to process the bodies appropriately, and might miss crucial evidence.”
“Ah. So, you need a little extra help from our labs?”
Holding my breath wasn’t going to make this any easier. “You said, that if we needed help to call. Well, I’m calling. We have a killer on the loose, and it’s not going to go over well when it gets out. I don’t have the manpower to watch over the overflow of people and try to find this killer at the same tiime.”
“I’m glad you reached out. I’ll have a team headed your way in about an hour. How long before the media gets wind of this?”
“I’ve given strict orders to keep it quiet, so maybe a few hours before the entire town knows what went down.”
“Can you make reservations for someplace quiet for about ten people?”
“Yes, I can do that.”
“Don’t let them touch the bodies. Our autopsy guy will do those on-site.”
“I’ve got the bodies under guard right now. We’ll hold down the fort until you get here.”
“Thank you, Sheriff Turner. See you soon.”
Wearily sinking back into my chair, I felt relieved that someone else was going to handle it. This was going to cost me the election in the fall if I didn’t play things very carefully. Picking up the phone, I called the only bed & breakfast in town that could handle that many people to make the reservations.
