Ethan squared his shoulders, regaining his composure. âI have been insulted enough for the day by strangers and I certainly wonât condone it from a lady,â
She came a bit closer as if assessing his eyes. âAre you lost?â
âNo, not that it concerns you but I know exactly where I amâ
âSure you doâ she added with a tone thick with sarcasm. She studied him a little more and cleared her throat, she said âI think weâve started on the wrong island, my nameâs Kate,â She reached out.
âI am one who preferred not to be bothered this time of the night.â
âOuch, that was rude,â she replied mockingly, âIf you werenât so damned cute,
I would have let your three little friends harass youâ
âYou know the people who were following me?â
âNot that it concerns you, but you should thank me. I could smell your fear from
a mile away.â She said. âYou really shouldnât be moving this late if youâre going to
punch like that.â
âI am not going to be counseled by a woman who also happens to be walking
aloneâ
âI can take care of myselfâ
âSo can Iâ
She laughed. âI like you. Whatâs your name?â
âEthan,â he said, âEthan Westâ He braved a quick look at her. Everything about her
was screaming danger and fire. But she had the beauty that made every other
woman in his thoughts appear gaunt and ugly. âYou are brutishly strong for a ladyâ
âCompliments will take you everywhere mister,â she said. âIâd love to chat but Iâve got to run.â
âAm I boring you to death already?â
âI beg to differ. Iâve just got a ravenous hunger and I need to get home.â
âIf itâs the food you want, my house is just around the corner. I wouldnât forgive myself if I allowed a woman to continue alone this hour of the nightâ
âAnd here I thought chivalry was deadâ Her eyes had a strange glow in them. âI gladly accept your offer, but I think Iâll only have a drink instead
â¦
âThree dead bodies and no sign of physical struggleâ¦.â The police officer
worked his flashlight, assessing the victims. âThe killer has a very strange M.O.â he cursed. âWhere is this town heading to?â
âIt wasnât human, officer,â Detective Bradley Burke imposed as he crossed the yellow tape. Blue and red lights had already lit the side of the road. This was an active crime scene. âThose puncture wounds on the side of the necks are bite marksâ
he finished.
âYou donât certainly believe that this was the work of a wild animal Detective
Burke?â
âIf youâd seen the things that I have over the years, you would believe anythingâ he answered back absently. He knelt in front of the victims. âDid you manage to I.D them yet?â He could tell that these were common criminals, but no one deserves
to be killed like this. The first victim didnât even seem any older than twenty.
âWeâve got John Quire, previously convicted on multiple charges of drug
possession, DWI, and robberyâ¦â¦â his debriefing faded quickly to obsolete words when Detective Burke caught an odd detail laying alongside the victimâs bodies. A switchblade.
âThey didnât have time to fight back,â he thought out loud. The killer was doubtlessly fast enough to hit them before they could even see it coming. âOfficer, how long ago did you find the bodies?â
âHalf an hour ago. We received a distress call from a woman who was just driving by. She has been detained for questioning.â
âTake me to her,â
The police officer led him across the distance, behind the yellow tape where a few police cars had parked. Forensics had just arrived and the usual scandalous
routines were about to disturb the silence of the frosty night. Detective Burke had seen so many dead bodies in his days that their faces were all starting to look the
same. The mind of the killers was never different. There was going to be found some
trace of evidence left behind revealing the inhumane intent and possibly the face
behind the murder. The lady in mention had been nestled and wrapped with a blanket behind an ambulance. Her car had veered off the road after spotting the dead bodies lying in
the middle of the road. She had been shaken up by the experience so much that she
was going to need a few weeks of therapy at least.
âMaâam, my name is Detective Bradley Burke and Iâd like to ask you a few questions.â He stooped low in front of her. The normal line of questioning would drive them in circles. Each second they would waste would lead the killer further away from them. He would only ask the one question that reveals the mystery. âDid you see anything unusual when you were driving here?â
She looked up, meeting his stern eyes, and her fear was lost in thought right away. She had seen something unnatural. The killer was still out there, roaming the night and he needed to find him, for his own sake, and for Danielle who wasnât answering her phone. If the killer gets to her, this night, then his whole world would come tumbling down.
The woman turned to the officer next to him and then back to him, almost confused.
âMaâam, itâs very important that you tell me everything you saw, all the gory details. I know this must be hard on you, but itâll all be over soon.â
âAm I being arrested?â
âNo, far from it. We just want to know what happenedâ
She sniffed, sobbed, and inhaled deeply. âOkay,â she said, âIâll tell you.â She
took her time, bracing her memories. âI saw a man and a womanâ¦â she began.