Page 10 of Say Now
"Yeah, talk to you soon."
Alison came off the phone.She had to keep her mind on the case.She had to catch the killer.She couldn’t lose focus, or people would die.She had to put her sister’s case aside for now, only for a few days.All she had to do was catch a killer and then solve a twenty-year-old cold case.
Let’s do it
CHAPTER FIVE
Dr.Kevin Hartley lay slumped against the wall.
"Hey, come on!"the man said to Kevin.He bent down and slapped Kevin on the arm."Hey, get up!Come on."He burst into fits of laughter when Kevin didn't move.After twenty seconds of constant laughter that hurt his throat and brought on a cough, the man turned more serious."Oh, I’m sorry, doc.I forgot that you can't move, can you?You have a condition that many refer to as being dead."
The man remained crouched beside the dead doctor, and he reached out a gloved hand to trace a line across Kevin’s bruised throat.The bruises were freshly delivered by his own gloved hands.He admired his handiwork for a few seconds more before he stood up to dress the room with the homemade props.
He went to the desk and picked up the crime scene photo.Then, he went back to the body and shifted the doctor slightly to the right, tilting his head and placing his hands in his lap.He looked at the crime scene photo again to make sure he had it exactly right.A nod of satisfaction at how it was shaping up.
The man went back to the desk and took the hammer and nails from his bag, hammering the crime scene photo into the wall just above the victim’s head.Back to the bag again to retrieve the other crime scene photos.He nailed them to the wall, spacing them an inch apart each, making sure they all lined up.He only had one shot to make the crime scene look perfect, and he didn’t want any mistakes.
He stood back from his creation: one dead body and six crime scene photos.A smile crossed his face at the tableau he was building.
"This is your own fault, Doc," he said to the dead body."You recommended his release; you were adamant that he should be let out of prison, and what happened when he was let out?He went and killed, didn't he?How long was he out?Weeks?Days?This is your mistake, and it is up to me to clean it up.How could you have been so wrong?People depend on your decisions, and you messed it up worse than anyone else.This.Is.Your.Fault!"
The man took a breath.The anger coursed through him, and he had to remind himself that anger didn't help.He would use it to fuel his mission, but he couldn't let it take control.
Another deep breath before he went back to the bag again.He took out the plastic evidence markers.Small, white, tent-shaped objects that he had printed at home.He went back to the photos on the wall with a stack of them.There were nine evidence markers spread among the photos, and he had printed eleven, just in case.He went through them one by one, placing them in the exact spots as at the original murder.Between placing them, he went back to the photographs to check that the previous marker was in the correct spot and to double-check the position of the next.
"What is the punishment for professional arrogance and psychological hubris, Doc?"he asked.
Dr.Hartley remained silent.
"Rachel Kent made a mistake.You made a mistake.Many others made a mistake.How much death do we need to accept before someone says something?Well, I’m saying something.I’m saying it loud and clear.They’ll have to listen to what I say."
He placed the last marker and stood back to survey the overall scene again.It looked exactly as it had in his head when he’d planned it out.
"And do you know what they’ve done, Doc?"the man asked."In response to my first message, I sent Dr.Payne.They say she’s the best, but she’s messed up, too.You only have to look at the Walsh and Sinclair cases.Perhaps I will need to kill her, too.It is like the blind leading the blind.Still, compared to the people in this city, she’s the sort of challenge I can use to hone and sharpen my skills."
He took another breath.There was something intoxicating about the smell of death.He didn’t want to leave the scene, not yet.It was another brick in the wall of his masterpiece.He would build it brick by brick, only stopping when they finally sat up and listened.
"Thank you for being a part of this, Doc," the man said."I have to say, you were relatively easy to kill.Rachel?She was a lot harder.She was the first.I think it will be plain sailing from here on.What do you think?"
Silence from the doctor.
"Right, you’re still dead."
He packed up his bag and slung it over his shoulder.
"Well, I suppose it’s time to go.Don't worry, you won't be alone for long.I’m sure someone will be along soon to keep you company."
The man left the room, then the building, and he walked straight toward the trees.He didn't want to take the road and be seen, and he preferred the comfort of the Montana wilderness.If someone wanted to escape for good, that was the place to do it.
He knew he would be a martyr.They would vilify him, even though his message was good, even though it was justice.If the time came, he would disappear into the wilderness and never be found.
Before that, there is a lot of work still to be done.First, they will chase me, intent on stopping me from doing this again.I must do it again, not only to punish those for their mistakes, but to highlight the situation.I must continue for long enough that they can't cover up what I’ve done.Two is far from enough.I have much grander plans.
The man ran with his bag on his shoulder and a smile on his face.
All he could think about was the next person he would kill.
CHAPTER SIX
