One step ahead, p.1
One Step Ahead, page 1
One Step Ahead
Detective Robin Matthews Series - Book 2
Audrey Walker
Contents
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Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
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Also by Audrey Walker
Copyright
Copyright © 2021 by Audrey Walker
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locations is purely coincidental. The characters are all productions of the author’s imagination.
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Shelby Griffin Mystery Series:
Academy Assassin (a Prequel) for FREE
Shelby Griffin Series BOX SET
Sleepless Night (Shelby Griffin Book 1)
Sleepless Mind (Shelby Griffin Book 2)
Sleepless Street (Shelby Griffin Book 3)
Sleepless Hunt (Shelby Griffin Book 4)
Sleepless Shelby (Shelby Griffin Book 5)
Mark Fropp Series:
Fropp’s Identity Boxset (Book 1-5)
Act of Vengeance (Fropp’s Identity Book 1)
Act of Deception (Fropp’s Identity Book 2)
Act of Deliverance (Fropp’s Identity Book 3)
Act of Defiance (Fropp’s Identity Book 4)
Act of Destruction (Fropp’s Identity Book 5)
Robin Matthews Series:
The Butcher’s Head (Robin Matthews Book 1)
One Step Ahead (Robin Matthews Book 2)
The Child’s Plan (Robin Matthews Book 3)
Past Unveiling (Robin Matthews Book 4)
The Abandoned Child (Robin Matthews Book 5)
Chapter One
“You really thought you could run from me?” he whispered in her ear. “You really thought it was all coming to an end? Did you really think that I was gone?”
Robin shivered as she looked around the dim room.
“Who are you?” she whispered.
“You don’t recognize me?” the voice whispered. “Could it be possible? Have you really forgotten me so soon?”
“Or maybe,” his sinister yet silky voice echoed in the small room. “Maybe you thought I was gone. You didn’t think I was truly dead, did you?”
Robin screamed as the man stepped into the light. It just wasn’t possible. She had seen his severed head; he was supposed to be dead. And yet here he was, standing in front of her.
The Butcher.
“You’re dead!” Robin gasped.
“That’s what you thought,” he whispered. “I can never truly be dead. I cannot be killed! You got away from me once; you will not get away again!”
He started to laugh maniacally, and Robin shivered as tears fell from her eyes. It couldn’t be true; it couldn’t. It just couldn’t.
__
Robin woke up with a gasp, her heart throbbing in her chest and her ears ringing. Her eyes were blinded with bright light, and she closed her tired eyes.
“Robin?” She heard Abby’s voice. “Oh, Thank God! You are awake!”
Robin opened her eyes and found her sister peering down at her.
“What? Where am I?” Robin asked. Her head was throbbing, and she felt nauseous.
“In the hospital,” Abby said. “I am so glad Kyle got to you in time. Otherwise you could have died! Oh, Robin!” Her sister pulled her into a hug, bursting into tears on her sister’s shoulder. “I thought I had lost you.”
“It’s okay,” Robin whispered.
The door opened, and the Captain stepped in.
“Robin,” he said, looking much older than his age. “I am really glad that you got back safe.”
“How?” Robin asked, her throat parched.
“Kyle,” he said. “He received a call from an unknown number that told him you are in danger and gave the address. He rushed to find you and got there just in time. You had already lost a lot of blood.”
Robin reached out and touched her throbbing head, which was wrapped up in bandages.
“What call?” she asked.
“We don’t know,” he said. “It came from a burner phone, and we failed to trace it. We don’t know who he was or how he knew about you.”
Robin winced as her memories started to return, and she gasped, “There was a body there –”
“Yes,” the Captain said, sighing. “Another murdered woman. We found her hanging from the crane. Her severed head was lying nearby. The Executioner has been very active.”
“I don’t understand; who called Kyle?” Robin said. Her mind was racing, but she could barely think because of the throbbing ache in her head.
“Well, we are entertaining some possibilities,” He said. “But so far –”
“Who would know where I am?” Robin whispered to herself, her heart racing in her chest. “Who? Except for the killer.”
“Why would the killer want to save you?” Abby asked, looking shaken.
“Because he doesn’t want me dead,” Robin whispered. “Not yet, anyway. Not until he has completed whatever he has planned for me.”
“Oh, God,” Abby whispered, sounding horrified. A second later, Robin feels a pair of arms surround her as her sister pulled her into a hug. She sobbed into Robin’s shoulder, and slowly Robin hugged her back. For a minute, the two sisters just reveled in the comfort of each other as the Captain stood there shuffling his feet.
“Well, I am glad to know you are okay, Detective Matthews,” He said, looking uncomfortable. “We will have a formal discussion about this incident when you return. We will obviously have to file an official report about this.”
“I don’t think it can wait this long,” Kyle’s voice echoed from the doorway. He stood there, leaning against the door frame, his hands in his pocket and a stern expression on his face.
“Why did you go to that particular construction site?” Kyle asked. “How did you happen to be there at that particular time?”
“I –,” Robin stammered.
“Could it have anything to do with this note I found in your apartment?” He said, holding out the note that had led Robin there. “Where did you find this? And why was it with you, instead of being stored in evidence?”
“Jesus,” the Captain 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
&n bsp; “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 then, all of a sudden, he leaves a body right there at the warehouse, with a huge message smeared in blood. He was so cautious, but then he starts to advertise his crime; calling attention to it? The other two victims were both women that won’t be missed, but suddenly, he kills someone who has a family and would note her absence. Why the sudden change?”
“Something must have triggered him,” Robin whispered.
“On that note,” the Captain said. “Did we find a message this time?”
“Yes,” Kyle said, throwing a look toward Robin. He clearly felt hesitant about showing it to her.
“What is it?” Robin whispered.
He put the note down on the table, and Robin slowly read it.
“Be scared not of the monster that haunts you. Be scared of the one that resides within you. A small gift for you. You might have forgotten me, but I will never forget you.”
“Gift?” Robin asked.
“There was a body of a mangled cat lying right next to it,” Kyle said. He put the picture of the cat down on the table, and Robin suddenly felt a wave of nausea.
“What? What did you do?” She gasped out, horrified.
“Don’t you like it?” A voice whispered next to her.
“No! No!” Robin shouted. “Take it away!”
The Butcher stood in front of her, laughing.
“Really? I thought you might like it. There was much thought put into it,” he said. “Well, if you don’t like this one, I think I have another gift for you.”
He held up his knife and grinned, “I think you are going to enjoy this one.”
“Robin?” She heard voices calling her name. “Robin?”
Her eyes shot open, and she looked around, panting. She was lying on the floor as the concerned faces of her team gazed down at her.
“What happened?” she whispered.
“You fainted,” Kyle said softly.
Robin sat up, her head was throbbing and she felt as if she couldn’t stop shivering. She could see the pity in the eyes of everyone around her, and she hated it.
“Are you alright, Matthews?” the Captain asked.
“Yes, Sir,” Robin said, forcing herself to stand up even though her head was spinning.
“I have another question.” She heard Andrews’ meek voice behind her. “All the previous locations were something that was somehow or the other related to Detective Matthews. What about this one?”
“That construction site used to be a group of small houses before they were demolished,” Robin whispered. “And one of those houses was mine. I was born in one of those houses. For a very short period of my life, that was my home.”
Chapter Three
“The police still haven’t found leads regarding this serial killer, the Executioner,” the reporter said. “Three women have been found dead so far, which begs us to ask the question, what are the police doing? How many more women lay dead, waiting for the police to bring them justice? The public is riddled with fear and paranoia as the very streets they live on have become hell for them.”
The camera cut to the image of a man on the street, “I don’t know what to do anymore. These streets aren’t safe anymore. My daughter goes to school, and I am scared of what might happen to her. The police need to get their stuff together.”
“I can’t even explain how horrible this all is.” The screen changed to a woman. “I think of those poor girls, just lying there. Those poor women. Who will protect them? I don’t trust our police to get anything done. The only thing I know is that I am going to be staying home as much as I can.”
“This is all just bullshit,” Kyle said, switching off the TV.
“Calm down, will you?” Robin said absentmindedly. She was busy scouring old cases to see if she could find any similar ones. “If you keep watching the news, you are going to end up becoming an angry, old geezer.”
“Oh, as opposed to just a tired old geezer?” Kyle asked.
“Hey, I am just looking out for you,” Robin said. “Did you find anything in the old newspapers?”
“No,” he said, balancing his pen on the tip of his finger.
“Did you try to look?” Robin asked, sighing.
