Page 1 of Girl, Empty
PROLOGUE
Ella Dark dropped the TV remote.The batteries spilled out, but she couldn’t move to pick them up.
Ben Carter’s face was on the screen, and the scrolling text beneath said:LOCAL SPORTS PERSONALITY SHOT DEAD IN CA.The world began to spin, and if not for Luca’s hand on her shoulder, she thought she might collapse.
‘He’s your… ex?’Luca asked.
Stupid.How could Ella have been so blind?She had cops positioned outside the doors of everyone close to her in D.C.Thirty-six guards watching thirty-six doors, protecting thirty-six people who'd made the mistake of knowing Ella Dark.All of them in this city.All of them close enough to watch.
But she'd drawn her protective circle too small.
Ben Carter had been the only guy smart enough to get a million miles away from Ella, because he wanted to be safe from the cloud of death that followed her every move.A year ago, he’d fled to California and – Ella assumed – moved on with his life, but even the other side of the country hadn’t been far enough away.
She’d overlooked his safety because he wasn’t in her orbit anymore.And that had gotten him killed.
Ben's photo had been replaced by shaky cell phone footage of the venue's exterior.Fluttering police tape was illuminated by flashing red and blue lights, and then two paramedics pushed a gurney into the back of an ambulance.A sheet was draped over whatever was left of her ex-lover.
At that sight, Ella clutched her stomach and began to retch.She found herself suddenly leaning on the sofa with one knee as the heaving scraped her throat.Nothing came up.She had nothing left to vomit.
‘Ell,’ Luca said and put a hand on her back.
‘Don’t,’ she snapped.It wasn’t Luca’s fault.He was trying to be supportive, but any kind of touch felt wrong when her ex was being bagged up three thousand miles away – all because she was too blind to see the obvious.Because she’d forgotten that her problems travelled at the speed of obsession, and obsessed people didn't respect state lines.
Someone out there was taking revenge on her by killing everyone close to her.First, Julianne, her landlord.Then Jenna, her old roommate.Now Ben.Wonderful Ben, the athlete who'd fought side by side with Ella even though he didn't have to.On screen, some blonde reporter with fake teeth was talking about shocked the local community were.Shocked.As if people didn't get shot every day in America.As if Ben Carter was special because he was a good looking, semi-famous athlete.
Except Ben Carter had been special.Just not in any way the reporter would understand.He was a man who’d stayed with Ella much longer than he should have, and even helped her track down one of America’s most infamous serial killers.He’d forgiven her when he shouldn’t have, and never complained when Ella had to interrupt their evenings to disappear to some other state.She hadn’t deserved him, and one day he’d realized that.
‘Do you want some water?’Luca asked.The poor guy must have felt useless.
‘Turn the TV off, please.’
Luca did.Ella climbed back to a standing position, then collapsed on the sofa proper.She held her head in her hands and fought the urge to scream her lungs raw.Luca fetched her water anyway.
‘Ell, you don’t know if this is related.’
She took the drink.‘Come on, Hawkins.Of course it’s related.’
‘Julianne and Jenna were both stabbed, weren’t they?This guy was shot.’
‘Ben.His name is Ben.’
‘Sorry.Ben was shot.That’s a drastic change in M.O.’
‘No it isn’t.The killer is going for convenience.Ben is an athlete, nimble.He could have avoided a knifer, but he couldn’t outrun a shooter.The killer knew this.’
‘I’m just saying.This is the only one of the murders that’s happened in public too.And what about the hair?The other victims all had their lips sewn shut.’
Ella thought back to her working theory about her phone.She’d lost her cell a few months ago but couldn’t remember exactly when or where.She was working on the assumption that her murderous stalker had it, and was using it to extract details of people close to her.
And that made sense here, too.
‘The killer has my cell.That’s how he found Julianne and Jenna’s addresses.My phone didn’t haveBen’s address, so the killer would have had to research him.If he couldn’t find Ben’s address that way, he would have had to ambush him in public.’
Luca went quiet for a minute.It was just after 6 AM according to the clock on the wall, and the world outside was still pitch black.
‘I’m sorry.It’s just…’
Ella shot him a look.‘Just what?’
