The Wrath Walker (The Wrath Series Book 1) by Matthew Newson (fun to read .txt) 📗

He also had a buzzed head, but he looked to have dark brown hair. However, I’m not exactly sure what color it is. He must’ve had some serious body armor under his jacket because it stopped all six shots from Ron’s three-fifty-seven like they were spit wads. The guy didn’t even look like he was hurt or got pushed back from the force of the bullets.”

“Did you get the guy’s name, and did you try and stop him?”

“He said his name was Wrath, must be some sort of nickname. I wanted to stop him, but it took me some time to regroup after he threw me into the wall.”

“I’ll say, I’m surprised you’re not hurt. When you hit the wall, you broke not only the dry wall, but two of the studs as well. A guy that strong, you’re lucky you made it out of there alive.”

Wow. I had broken the studs. That would explain the extreme pain I was in, and why I couldn’t really move. “Yeah, I know, Lizzie. I mean, Detective Elizabeth. Sorry.”

A quick twinge of anger flashed across her face but vanished when I quickly corrected myself.

“It’s okay, Brandon, please continue.”

“This guy, Wrath, said he was there to punish Ron for the things he had done in his life. He accused Ron of killing a bunch of elderly people with a knife, which was news to me. I wasn’t aware of anyone Ron had killed, if in fact he really did kill someone. Anyway, then he picked Ron up by his jacket with one hand and stabbed him with a yellow knife that read Brimstone on the blade. There must have been something on it, because when he pulled it out from his jacket, the room smelled like sulfur.”

“The CSIs found traces of sulfur in the stab wound. But do you know why this Wrath guy would have a knife with sulfur on it?” She looked up from her notes. Her still-flawless skin almost undid me.

“I do not. Maybe it’s his gimmick, calling card, or something like that. Just like his weird name, but after he stabbed and dropped Ron to the floor, I tried to reach for my gun. He came over and moved it from my reach and told me not to try anything or he’d kill me next. Then he looked at his watch, and said he had to leave because he had a schedule to keep. He mentioned he had four other targets to get to, and he couldn’t afford to be late. I believe you have a serial killer on your hands, and not just another run-of-the-mill hit man. It was something about the way the guy talked and carried himself that felt like it wasn’t his first time taking a life. He also said he had been to Black Castle several times, so I’m certain he’s killed people before in the city. We need to check unsolved murder cases where people were stabbed to death, and there were traces of sulfur in the wounds. If you ask me, this guy isn’t going to stop after he’s killed those other four people, whoever they are. This guy is going to keep killing people until we stop him.”

“I agree he needs to be stopped, and my fellow officers and myself will stop him, and not you. You’re not a police officer anymore, Brandon, and vigilantism is illegal in this city. From your description, he sounds like a hit man to me, so I’m assuming you’re probably mistaken in your assessment of his motives. I will be performing the investigation since I am the lead detective on the case, and I’m sure you’re needed to track down all the cheating lowlife spouses of the city.”

The smile on her face was a cruel one.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” I said as I looked away. Every word she said was filled with total and utter contempt for my continued existence. They pierced me like the knife that killed Ron, and I knew it would be a long time before the sting from that exchange lessened. If I lived long enough for it to subside at all. Lizzie must have picked up the fact that I was upset from more than just Ron’s murder, because her tone softened a little toward me.

She pulled out my car keys from her jacket pocket and slid them over the desk. “Here, I had an officer bring your car to the station, and it’s parked out front. I figured it’s the least I could do since you had to come all the way down here.”

I reached out and took the keys while keeping my eyes fixed on the table. “Thank you, I really appreciate that.”

“Speaking of your own business, being a private investigator, how’s that going? Old habits die hard I guess.”

“I guess and it’s fine.” I wanted nothing more than to be out of the room and away from Lizzie as quickly as possible. Her perfume caused a flood of memories to rush back of the better times we shared. The scent reminded me of the time I took her to dinner, told her how I felt, and asked her if she wanted to take things to the next level and be exclusive. Her face shone like the sun as she told me she felt the same. I immediately reached over the table and took her hand, and I never wanted that moment to end. What was once one of the happiest memories of my life was now one of the most painful that I had relived several times in my dreams. The hardest part of all was how she moved on so quickly as if what we had never meant a thing to her. “Like you said, tracking down cheating spouses, and delivering the heart-wrenching, soul-crushing news isn’t as great as one thinks.”

Her voice shifted to a more concerned tone. “Tell me, Brandon, how have you been holding up?”

I looked up at her and realized I hadn’t been that