DEATH (The Justice Cycle Book 1) by J Kiefer (best classic books to read TXT) 📗

the middle of an amorous encounter that had all gone wrong. Her eyes were still open, and Dana couldn’t help but feel that they were fixed on her. It unnerved her, but she refused to show it. She gazed into the woman’s lifeless eyes and knew full well who had done this to her.

“I think I am going to have to call the FBI and let them know we have another Stalker body on our hands,” she told the doctor.

“That’s what I was thinking as well. Of course, I won’t know for sure until I get her back and examine her more closely, but I would wager a week’s pay that the wounds on her body will match those of the other two.”

“Shit. If the press gets wind of this, we are going to have a panic on our hands. I am sure he has moved on since no more bodies have been found and this one looks to have been killed around the same time as the others, but that won’t stop locals from panicking.”

Her mind raced as she looked at the girl. Hadn’t Steve stayed at Jared’s house right before they had decided to go to the city? Come to think of it, the other bodies appeared right around the time he had mysteriously shown up, as well. Was it just a coincidence? Her detective mind did not believe in coincidences. Of course, she had no proof that Steve was involved, but too many coincidences pointed in his direction.

“You okay?” Doctor Hudson asked, knocking her out of her thoughts.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said, unclenching her fists. “Let me know what you find after you have examined the body more closely.”

She made her way out of the small bedroom past the bustling CSI technicians and out into the hallway where she was finally able to breathe again. They had been at it for hours, but she knew that they would not find anything. They never did with the Eastside Stalker.

God, if it’s Steve killing these girls, how is he not leaving any evidence behind? she wondered. She knew that he was smarter than he let on, but she found it hard to believe that he could be some genius serial killer. But isn’t that what people say about every genius serial killer? She pulled out her phone and dialed the captain. Either way, she would find out, and if he was involved, then she was going to kill him.

As she walked down the hallway, she didn’t notice the eyes that watched her from Jared’s apartment. Steve had been observing the unfolding scene since the police had arrived. What was happening to him? First, he had been so careless that he had almost allowed Jared to walk right up on him while he was dispatching his second victim in Binghamton. Then Jared had stumbled on to him after the show in the city.

Now the police were right across the hall, admiring more of his work. He really did need to control his impulses. Otherwise it was only a matter of time before one of the cops got lucky and he’d be caught.

He cracked the door a little wider just in time to see Dana pass by with her phone to her ear. She stopped only a few feet away from where he was watching. Damn, should he close the door and let the whole thing blow over, or go out and feign ignorance?

Steve cocked a smile. Of course he was going to go out and talk to her. It wasn’t his style to sit back and skulk in the shadows, regardless of what the papers said about him. Sure, he liked to stalk his victims before he killed them, but not for the reasons the papers suggested. No, he liked the hunt; it was exciting. The more daring the kill, the more of a thrill he got out of it.

Happily meditating on his favorite subject, he moved his fingers as if flipping a knife, and was surprised to feel the cool weight of a knife. He held a thin shiny ebony blade. It was sharp and beautiful as all such tools are. There was no handle attached to the blade, and to his amazement, it seemed to grow in his hand like a shadow growing in the fading light. He pointed it away from himself, and with breathtaking swiftness, it elongated until it struck the wall directly across from him. It hit the wall with such force that it cut through the drywall, and did it without making a sound.

As quickly as the knife materialized, it was gone. Dissipated into the shadows.

Well, that’s new, he marveled. It never seemed to amaze him just how powerful he was becoming. Nearly every day he discovered some new ability.

So many possibilities! If he could master this new gift, he would never again have to worry about the police tracing a murder weapon back to him. Impulse control be damned; he could kill people from a distance with such a knife. Of course, there was no fun in that. Now, tormenting them before going in for a close kill—that had potential.

He swung the door open and stepped out into the breezeway. Dana’s back was to him, so he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned up against the door. Surprisingly, he made no sound as he moved. In fact, even the noise from the door swinging open had been muted. It was as if some strange sound suppressing cloud surrounded him. Mere feet away, Dana still hadn’t noticed he was there.

“Okay, Chief, I will keep you up to speed on the investigation. I guess my hiatus is over. You’re going to need everyone on this if we are going to keep one step ahead of the press.” She turned, and her eyes met Steve’s. “Sorry, Chief, but I gotta go.”

She hung up and lowered her hand to the duty weapon on her hip. Never taking her eyes from Steve’s, she dropped the phone