Malia
I tossed and turned all night long. The following morning, my alarm blared as I hit the snooze button. A few more minutes would hurt until my phone rang. Ugh.
I fumbled with my phone and put it against my ear. "Hello?"
Good morning, Sunshine.
"Damon, do you want me to hurt you?"
Well, who will keep you and Luka from killing each other?
"You have a point."
Get your ass out of bed and head to the station. The Chief wants a meeting with us.
"How did you know I was still in bed?"
Because we've been partners for the past ten years, I've had to drag your ass out of bed. Plus, I'm standing outside your house with coffee.
"You had me at coffee."
Damon chuckled as I slid out of bed. I padded to the front door, opened it, and waved Damon inside. He handed me a coffee. I took it and went to shower. After showering, I dressed, then left went Damon.
We both pulled up to the station and parked our cars.
Damon looked over the roof of his car. "Play nice."
I rolled my eyes. Damon chuckled as we went into the station.
"Where's the Chief?" Damon asked Charlie.
"He's waiting for you stragglers." Charlie gave me a knowing look.
I shook my head. We walked to Dad's office and entered to find Luka sitting in Dad's office with Dad.
"I see that you found your way to work," Dad said.
"It's been a rough morning." I sat down in a chair.
Damon leaned against the file cabinet.
"Well, your morning will get rougher. I received this a few days ago." Dad handed me an envelope.
I took it, removed the contents, then read the letter. After finishing, I placed the letter back into the envelope and handed it back to Dad.
"I don't understand. Why does the Lakewood Serial Killer want to meet me?"
"He won't reveal any information unless he meets you."
"But last night has nothing to do with the Lakewood Serial Killer. It could be a random act."
"I already contacted the prison about the correspondence. The Lakewood Serial Killer is in solitary confinement. He's a danger to society, and I don't want you to interact with him."
I nodded. Dad discussed the murder case with us. He was ruling it a random, isolated incident unless another murder happened.
After our meeting, Dad had Damon and me show Luka the cold case files. I didn't know why since the cold cases were petty crimes.
"How many cold cases are there?" Luka asked, peeking into storage boxes.
"Too many," Damon said.
Luka noticed the storage box sitting on the table. He lifted the lid, pulled out a file, and flipped through it. "This file is about the Lakewood Serial Killer." He glanced at us.
"I was looking for a clue when someone attacked me."
Luka's face snapped in my direction. "Someone attacked you?"
"It happened one night after I had dinner with Abby. The person whispered. Curiosity killed the cat."
Luka's brows knitted.
"I thought I would find a clue in the files. But nothing is jumping out at me." I didn't want to discuss my attack with Luka. Dad scheduled me with the state police therapist. It was mandatory after an incident involving a civilian.
Joe popped his head into the cold case room. "We received a call about a disturbance near Leland."
"It's old man Jenkins disturbing his neighbors," Damon said.
"Gabe wants you three times to check it out and behave." Joe pointed at Luka.
Luka rolled his eyes as Damon, and I snickered.
******
Luka
Malia's attack bothered me. My gut was telling me that was a random act. But I didn't say anything. I would ask Damon about it later.
Damon drove to the area since it's been ten years that I've been here. He pulled up to a house, and we emerged from the car. I followed Malia and Damon as they walked up to the front door and knocked.
The door creaked as it opened. An older man poked his head around the door.
"Hi, Mr. Jenkins," Malia said.
"It's about time you showed up. I've been trying to get through forever. By the time someone answered my call, I'll be dead."
Well, old man, Jenkins was pleasant.
He opened the screen door and waved us through the opening. We followed Mr. Jenkins as he shuffled through his house. He led us to the back door. "I told them youngins not to swim here. But you can't tell kids anything. They do whatever they want."
"We'll talk with the trespasser," Damon said.
Mr. Jenkins nodded. We left the house and made our way down to the makeshift dock. The soles of our shoes thumped against the boards until we reached the end and stopped.
"I doubt kids are trespassing," Damon said.
I glanced at Malia and Damon, then knelt in front of the body of a girl. I pulled latex gloves out of my pocket and put them on. I shifted the girl's head to reveal her throat slit. She was tired to the railing in a pose. The ligature marks on her wrists and throat were fresh.
"Damon, call the sheriff's office, then contact the ME," I said.
Damon pulled out his cell phone and called the station.
Malia crouched next to me. "Is it me, or is this body posed?"
I looked at Malia. "It's not you."
Malia arched a brow.
I had Malia gather evidence as I checked the surrounding area, finding boot prints. They were a size ten, male. I looked around, noticed a trail between the trees, and followed it. I reached a clearing next to the road and saw tire marks. There wasn't much around the area except for a few houses. Trees obscured the view.
"Luka?"
I didn't turn my head as I thought about the past ten years.
"Luka."
I turned to face Malia. "We have a serial killer."
Malia's brows furrowed. One murder is random. Two murders become a pattern.
"We don't know that for certain."
I stepped towards Malia. "I do." Then I walked back to the crime scene, leaving Malia standing there. I wanted to tell her why I stayed in Chicago, but I wanted to make sure my hunch was correct. It was leading in that direction.
******
Unknown
I peered around the tree and watched those cops study my artwork. It pleased me that they took an interest in my work. The Lakewood Serial killer made the mistake of not displaying his work.
Watching the person's eyes bulge as their mouth opened was satisfying. The excitement that flowed through my body made my work worthwhile. I would have to get creative with my pieces.
I turned and stepped through the trees, making my way back to my car. One must keep their vehicle clean without making it dirty with their art. With the festival coming, I would have more chances to display my artwork. But I have two pesky cops to eliminate in my quest for fame.
A smile curled upon my lips. Yes, I would become the most infamous artist in the world.
******
Malia
It wasn't long before Dad arrived with Joe. I finished bagging and tagging the evidence as Luka talked to Dad and Joe.
The MEs untied the body and laid it on the ground as I studied it. The MEs loaded the body into a black body bag. But I stopped them. Something bothered me. I examined the body, then stopped.
They finished taking care of the body.
Damon walked over to me. "I know that look. It's the same one that says you'll get us killed."
I gave Damon an annoyed look. "No, but why would someone use a knife on one part of the body. The Lakewood Serial killer didn't stick to one area. But he always used a knife and boots."
"What do boots have to do with anything?"
"Hiking boots give a person traction, especially through a wooded area. The Lakewood Serial killer used the woods to escape or gain access to people."
"Yeah, but the Lakewood Serial killer used different people to help him. We thought Patrick was the killer."
"Because who better to blend in than a mirror twin?"
Damon gave me a knowing look.
"But I don't think that's the case this time."
"Great, now we veered off into no man's land." Damon sighed.
"What if this person is trying to emulate the Lakewood Serial Killer?"
"Are you thinking it's a copycat killer?"
"Most famous serial killers had people who wanted the same notoriety. But they let their ego run amuck by trying to outdo the original serial killer."
"Well, you wanted excitement."
I shook my head. I had two issues to deal with now. First, figure out the new serial killer who's copying the Lakewood Serial killer. Second, find out Luka's reason for leaving me hanging.
Something told me that Luka's reason coincided with the current situation.