One Step Ahead, Audrey Walker [best book club books of all time TXT] 📗

said, taking the note. “More importantly, why didn’t you inform the crew about it when you found this message? Why did you go there without a backup?”

“Because I didn’t have time to inform anyone,” Robin said. “I had to hurry; I was hot on his trail and –”

“You didn’t even have time to call me?” Kyle said softly. There was a hint of betrayal in his eyes, and Robin felt her heart sinking.

“Kyle –” she started to say, but he held his hand up to stop her.

“I know we have a friendly bet between us, but I honestly thought in a situation this serious, you would have shown more sense. I am your partner, Robin!” he said. “Partner! And that means something! If you felt like you couldn’t share it with anyone else, why didn’t you tell me? Better yet, why didn’t you tell me when you were going after him? Why didn’t you call and tell me about the message you found?”

“Where did you even find this note?” the Captain whispered.

“From the Butcher’s house,” Robin said, looking away.

“Jesus,” Kyle said. “That long? You hid it for so long?”

“I just didn’t want to give you guys another reason to remove me from the case,” Robin said.

“I don’t know why you just don’t understand that everyone,” Kyle proceeded, “in this room, just wants to protect you! Everyone here is just trying to watch out for you. We all just want you safe! We all blamed ourselves when we lost you all those years ago, Robin. And when we got you back, we vowed that we would never let any harm ever come to you again. Your recklessness doesn’t just affect you. It affects the people around you as well. Look! Look around you. Look at your sister. If we don’t mean squat, just think of her. You are the only family she has ever had. For God’s sake, Robin, get some sense into yourself!”

With that, he turned around and walked out, slamming the door shut behind him.

“Well,” the Captain said. “I don’t think I have anything to add to that.”

Robin turned to look at her sister, who was looking at her with tear-filled eyes.

“Don’t do this to me again,” Abby whispered. “I love you, Robin. Don’t do this to me.”

Chapter Two

“The body that was found hanging from the crane belonged to Sasha Dale,” Kyle said. “She was a cleaner who worked at the public library. She fits into the same description as the other girls; the same dark hair, eyes, and the same general facial features. She has the same obvious resemblance to Detective Matthews. She lived alone on the corner of E Street in a small apartment. She had no family. Both her parents are dead, and she never married or dated. The age bracket also matches that of Detective Matthews.”

“She was last seen working at the library over a week ago,” Kyle continued. “She completed her shift and left for home, but she never made it back to her apartment. We checked with her neighbors and her employer. She was a good woman, and no one remembered seeing anyone suspicious around.”

“The library never reported her missing?” Robin asked.

“No, when she stopped showing up, they simply assumed that she had found some other work,” Kyle said.

“What about the forensic reports?” The Captain asked.

“The same MO was used as before,” Kyle said, swiping on his tablet to shift the images onto the projector screen. “Head severed using the same weapon and in the exact same manner. This time the body was left hanging from the crane. This body is around seven days old and had been hanging there for quite some time. The only reason it went unnoticed is that the area is rather desolate. Construction had been called off due to some law dispute going on about the land. Once again, we didn’t find enough blood. Hence she was probably murdered elsewhere. What we did find was blood on the cement, which, when analyzed, revealed that it belonged to the body we found in the park.”

“So, our killer killed Sasha somewhere else and then left her body at the construction site,” Robin said. “Then at the same site where he had put Sasha’s body, he brought our second victim, Cecile, and killed her there before burying her in the park. Then our first victim, Laura, was kidnapped and taken to the park where she was killed and then buried at the warehouse.”

“So, every new victim is killed at a site where the previous victim was disposed off,” Kyle said. “He has been doing this for a while now. Killing and leaving dead bodies hanging around. He even might have done some killings that were in another state or before we were aware of his existence.”

“Look at all cold cases,” the Captain said. “See if you can find any reports similar about murder victims that were killed in the same way. Look into newspaper articles, go as far back as ten years at least. Let’s see if we can uncover the trail of murders that he has left behind.”

“Oh shit,” Robin said, a realization dawning on her.

“What?” Kyle asked.

“Whoever his next victim is, he must have killed her at the warehouse,” Robin whispered. “That’s where he disposed off Laura’s body. There could be another woman lying dead somewhere.”

The Captain slammed his hand down on the table in frustration. “Send an alert to all departments to keep an eye out for such a case.”

“I don’t understand one thing,” Kyle said, thoughtfully. “He had been killing for at least a week as far as we know, maybe more. All these bodies, he just killed and disposed of them elsewhere. He left notes for Robin, but they were all hidden. The construction site was abandoned; no one would have found the body for weeks. The park was also abandoned; that body wouldn’t have been found soon either. So, he disposed of all the bodies in places where they wouldn’t be immediately found. And