AllFreeNovel
Share Us
There she was. He paused, drawing in a sharp breath, standing very still as he saw her. So innocent. So uncaring. So uninvolved, just like his mother had used to be.
At first, when he’d begun following her a day ago, he hadn’t known if this target would be suitable, but as he’d watched for longer, it had become very clear to him that she deserved to die.
He could see the similarities to his mother in this pretty red-haired woman who seemed to be in her early twenties. He could see the casualness in her attitude. It was clear to him as she turned to serve a customer in the convenience store where she worked. That carefree smile, the way she didn’t seem worried or concerned at all, as if she was ready and willing to turn her back on a man in trouble. Just like his mother had done.
Anger flared inside him as he saw that smile. He would change that attitude. And then he would strip the life from her without hesitation. And that would make him feel just a little better about his own past, his own history.
“Setting the balance right. That’s what I’m doing.”
He said it aloud, and laughed at his own words, because his mission was so simple and so perfect.
A man, walking by, swathed in a scarf and coat, gave him a curious glance, but there was no suspicion in the gaze, and Boy knew that was because he was ever so ordinary. There was nothing about him that attracted attention, nothing that would set him apart or make him memorable. He was a little taller and stronger than average, but he’d developed a stooped posture that concealed that well.
He’d been made for this. His ordinary face, his average appearance that hid the scars he carried inside. His low, almost monotonous voice that contrasted so wildly with the thoughts he had – oh, those thoughts. How they excited him. It was as if he had another person within him that controlled the outer shell.
Although now he felt a flash of fear as the man who had passed him turned back.
“Excuse me,” the man said, and for a dreadful moment, caught up in his memories, he wondered if he was going to call him by his secret name - if he was going to call him Boy. But he didn’t. Instead, he said, “Can you tell me where I can find the nearest print shop? I was told there is one in this street.”
Boy could have laughed aloud. A print shop. That was how innocent he’d looked – innocuous enough that a passer-by had just consulted him for help in finding a local business.
“You must walk to the end of the road, and it’s the last shop on the right,” he said, pointing. He would have liked to mislead the man. That person who capered and cavorted inside him would have adored to cause some mischief that way, but Boy knew it wasn't wise. If he misdirected the man, then he might think back and remember him. If he gave him the correct directions, then he would go on his way and never think about him again.
He watched as the man walked away, and then he turned his attention back to the brightly lit window that was across the street. That was where she’d be for a while longer. He thought her shift was finishing at about six p.m.
He needed to head for her home now.
It was time to plan her welcome. His face, unused to smiling, stretched into a cold grin as he strode swiftly down the road.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Anxiety surged in Cami as she picked up the words Connor was saying. But she didn’t pick up very many of them because he hastily lowered his voice. Connor didn't keep much from her, but it was obvious that this conversation was not for her ears.
That made her even more worried. What was happening?
And why was it being kept from her?
Connor hung up and turned back to her.
“Right,” he said, just as if that call had never come through at all. “We have two suspects, and we have two phones that may contain additional information. So, let’s get inside and start working.”
Cami followed him in, her mind racing. Maybe the fact he hadn't said anything meant that it wasn't a problem, and she didn't need to worry. She should probably just go along with that and trust that if it was serious, he would have said something.
At any rate, he was now leading the way into the police station and back to the small office where they had based themselves earlier. Walking in, Cami was struck once again by its impersonality. Connor's office at the FBI, though not filled with personal touches, had a few of them that she enjoyed, and which made her feel grounded. Cami had become used to seeing the relatively new photo of him and his fiancé, which he kept on his desk, as well as several photos of their adopted cats, which always made her happy to look at them.
It felt unsettling to be kicking off a case in this small, plain room.
“So, the phones,” Connor asked. “Can you get into them?”
Cami opened the evidence bag and took a look at the two. Both iPhones, one older and one very new. Both could be hacked using patience and, with the newer one, some luck. She’d assumed for some reason that the newer one would belong to Lisa Court, seeing she had her own house and a better job, but she was wrong. The newer model belonged to Debbie Maynard.
So, of the two, Debbie’s would be more difficult to hack and Lisa’s would be easier. That was good, she thought, because they did have some information on Debbie already, but they needed the exorcist’s number from Lisa’s phone.
The exorcist, she thought again with a shiver. This case was weird.
Using her phone, as well as her laptop, she set up her password-hacking programs and waited patiently to see if they were going to get results. Or rather, with Lisa’s older phone, not if but when. Debbie’s one would be more of a challenge. Not impossible, but time consuming, and she’d need to get lucky with it.
While she waited, she used the time to look up more information on the two men that the manager at the diner had mentioned. Derek Corrigan and Samuel Cotton. They had been very friendly toward Debbie, although the manager had vehemently protested that they’d acted innocently. What did their social media say? Were there any red flags there?
