The Reaper {The Collectors} Book 1

Chapter 1

Author's Warning: Please read this book first. I have two sequels to this one, but you will get many spoilers for this book if you read them before this one. Otherwise, happy reading. Thank you for not stealing my story!

The Seine, Paris 7 months earlier

He stared at her lifeless body and thought if she hadn't crossed his path, she would be alive today. Oh well, at least her father was rich and would give him the reward money for her. He pushed her out towards the river's edge and watched her float away slowly. He laughed as he walked away. He kicked her engagement ring away. She wouldn't need that ring where she was going. Her body stopped by the water's edge. She was the daughter of a predominant doctor; now, she was nothing more than swamp food. He knocked on her father's door and told him: "I'm here to tell you I found your daughter." Her father asked, "Well, where is she?" He said, "I'm sorry to say this, but she is dead." Her father's mouth dropped. The strange man looked at him for a moment and asked coldly, "I know I found her dead, but I still technically found her, so can I still get the reward money?"

With that, her father gave him the $20,000 reward and asked: "Where is her body?" The strange man said, "I've called the police, and they will call you after they get her out from where she is." He left, leaving her father dumbfounded. Her father got the call no sooner after the rude man left. They told him his daughter was on her way to the corner office, and he needed to come to make a positive ID of her.

After he made the id, he went to a bar to drown his sorrows. He thought about her and how in the world she ended up in the river like yesterday's garbage. Who could have hated them or their family to do this? At least she was now with her mother in heaven. He also wondered how in the world the rude guy knew where she was or was he walking by and found her body. He called his son to tell him that his baby sister was gone. He took his wallet out to pay for the drinks and saw her picture and cried.

Who could have done this to his sweet Betty? Her fiancé will be heartbroken. He called and told him, but the odd thing was there was no emotion in his voice. Her father wondered if he cared about her, her death, or was he, right about him being a jerk? He ended the call and left the bar. Her fiancé paced the room and wondered if he should be more caring.

He kept thinking about what a nasty guy he was to her father on the phone, so he went to see him. He knocked on her father's door and said: "I am sorry for my inconsiderate nature; it was just a shock I didn't react right, and for that, I am sorry." Her father looked at him strangely for a moment and asked: "Well, that's understandable, but I still wonder if you loved her?" He answered him, "Of course, I do. I wish I could have caught the jerk who did this and wring his neck!" Her father responded with: "Let the police handle him or them. We don't know how many there were." There was a knock on the door, and it was his son to see how his father was doing. He told his son what had happened. "But Dad, who would have this to Betty?" Tim asked. "I do not know, son, but whoever did this will pay!" his father replied.

Her fiancé chimed in apprehensively with, "Are you sure the police can find this jerk?" Her father looked at him strangely, was it him, or was he sweating bullets? With that reaction, Kenny, her father, asked: "Yes, they can, not nervous, are you old boy?" "No, I just want to make sure this doesn't happen to another girl," he said. "Don't worry, the police will be there to make sure they don't do this again," said Kenny.

Her fiancé then left for work. Tim looked at his father and asked, "Should we ask the police to keep a close eye on him?" Kenny responded, "Might not be a bad idea." Then Tim left for work too. Kenny called the police and asked them if they could watch him more closely. Then he called the newspaper and asked them to print this headline for the front page. It read...

DERANGED KILLER AROUND THE STREETS OF PARIS! Please be extra vigilant when walking around; walk in pairs. They are very dangerous! Don't approach; call the police immediately if you see anything suspicious. They may be armed and dangerous! Some of the killer or killers' trademarks are taking the victim's heart out (might be a trophy) and marks on the neck that look like animal marks or a VAMPIRE!

Once people read this and decided right there, Dan Ocean, the town vampire, had to die to stop the killing!

In the shadows, under a low street lamp, the strange man is reading the paper and smiling.

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Author's note: To God, thank you for saving me so many times, and thank you for the opportunity to write this book, even though I would never do what this book is about in real life. To my favorite author Lisa Jackson, if you ever see this, thanks for the idea of making readers hate or introducing the villain in the beginning. To my readers, please leave a comment and happy reading. Thanks, Serenity. If you like my books, thanks, and if they give you ideas of your own, great. But please write your own stories and characters; don't steal mine. Thanks again, Serenity. 💜