Authors: Jack M. Paton
The detective took his keys and opened his car. He said, “Okay, meet me at the office tomorrow. Try not to get too much attention to yourself, got it?”
“Got it!”
2 Weeks Later
The day finally came. The day the killer had been waiting for. Cade had no idea what was about to happen. In a matter of days, he’d be losing everything he had, and by everything it meant his sister Freline.
Detective Cade was about to go in his office just as usual to check on the latest findings of the case. With the help of Sade, he was able to find a few new leads regarding the killer’s possible identity. What he didn’t know was that the leads he got, though seemingly credible, couldn’t be further from the truth.
He knew accepting help from someone outside the station is risky, but he was at a disadvantage right now. The killer consistently pulled off murder after murder without leaving any trace.
Just before going in, Cade noticed his friend and fellow investigator absent from his desk. He called out to one of the interns walking by and said, “Hey, have you seen James?”
The girl, who was one of the new secretaries, shook her and said, “I’m sorry. I’m new here. I don’t know who James is. My name is-”
“No, it’s fine. I’m sorry. I have to check on some files again. If he’s absent, I guess I’ll have to cover for him today.”
Cade opened the door to his office and went inside; the room was pitch black. Just before he could flip the switch, someone grabbed at his neck.
“What the? Who-”
Cade tried punching the intruder, but it was too dark, he cannot see anything. The killer slammed him against the wall, intent on killing him.
“Eck. Hghkk.” Cade struggled to breathe.
He put all his force into his lower body and kicked the person on the stomach. This made the killer loosen his grip, giving him enough time to punch whoever was trying to choke him. It hit. But he didn’t know where. All he knew was it hit the person hard.
“Who are you?”
The room was silent. Cade reached for his gun, but he was too late. The killer plunged the knife into Cade’s chest. He punched back, knocking the steel chair away from his table. He missed. The killer covered his mouth just before hitting him with his own office chair.
“Die!” The killer whispered. Cade tried moving, but found that he couldn’t. His entire life flashed before his eyes. His mind went from suspect to suspect as he struggled to see what he’d been missing. Then it him.
“Freline. Freline. Fre-”
His body gradually became numb and it wasn’t long before he finally gave out. Cade thought of his sister in his last few moments. He couldn’t live long enough to save her from his dark past. The one mistake that cost him everything and now, even his own life.
Freline sat on her bed, studying the list of suspects. She couldn’t find any leads, but she always knew something was odd. It didn’t add up that all their suspects had no connection to the murders except being spotted by a few people.
“Who are these people? Why didn’t anyone spot the real killer?” she thought to herself.
Freline heard someone coming in. She went downstairs to check on the door. She was sure it was locked.
“Cade, is that you?” No, it wasn’t his brother.
“James? What are you doing here?”
He stood in front of the door, eyes bawling with tears.
“I’m sorry, Freline. I’m sorry.”
End of the book