The Evil One (Guess The Killer Book 3) Page 2

  He licked his lips and turned away down towards his phone which was vibrating incessantly.

  He saw it was Justin calling.

  “Hello?” Ryan answered.

  Chapter 5

  Justin was sitting at the top of the steps in the emergency exit located right next to their apartment which was on the end. The door behind him was closed and Amelia was back inside, hopefully calming things down if not telling everyone to go outright. He pressed the phone into his ear as Ryan answered.

  “Hi man. How far are you from getting here?”

  “Seven, eight minutes at the most,” Ryan answered. “Haven’t changed your mind about what we’re drinking, have you? The tequila is already bought and paid for.”

  “Uh, no…”

  “What is it?”

  “I’ve got a bit of a situation that I’m not sure how I’m supposed to deal with. It could be extremely serious. Or … not serious at all, I guess.”

  “You had a fight with Kellie?”

  “No. Uh… Big no on that. Totally wrong direction.”

  A pause. “Do you want to wait for me to get there or do you want to tell me now?”

  “Alright, just… Get here as soon as you can. And … I’ll meet you at the front of the building.”

  “The front of the building? Oh I guess you need your card to use the elevator, right –”

  “I’ll see you soon.” Justin exited the call. He stood back up and put the phone away, opening the fire door. He stepped back out into the hallway, his head sunken a little. Unsure whether he should tell Kellie what was happening. Now that he thought about it leaving the apartment unattended might not even have been the greatest move.

  Justin glanced at the door, shaking his head. “Oh, it’s not like he’s going to come after her.” Certainly not now with all those people around.

  He wouldn’t do that.

  Right?

  Chapter 6

  Ryan had to park his vehicle across the road from the complex, in a space normally reserved for those dinning in a nearby burger joint. He got out, clutching the bags to his chest, reaching out to press the light by the pedestrian crossing. Upon making it over he saw Justin was already approaching from the other end of the footpath, a fair distance from the front of his building.

  “Hey man,” Ryan said. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to bring –”

  “It’s alright,” Justin said taking one of the bags off him. “Just … let’s go inside.”

  “Alright.” Ryan glanced at him as they walked together. “I must say you left me in suspense about this problem you’re dealing with.”

  “I know,” Justin said. “We’ll talk in the lobby area.”

  “Lead the way…”

  Ryan hadn’t been to this apartment before. Justin and Kellie had only moved in a couple of days ago. Ryan had offered to help with the move but his help was knocked back. Kellie’s family were already doing enough.

  In all honesty, when Ryan heard about their plans to move in together, he hadn’t pushed much support for it. Despite being together for ten years or whatever, Kellie never seemed like the right gal for Justin. Ryan was sure there were good times between the pair – there had to be. But most of them came and went long before he and Ryan were partners.

  The bags went to ground inside the lobby and they stood around the seating area, rather than going straight to the elevators. Justin still wasn’t getting to the point right away. He seemed agitated, and kept saying things that led nowhere. It was time to be specific.

  “Look man, you’re not making any sense,” Ryan said. “Just come out with it already.”

  Justin nodded. “Fine.” He pulled out his phone, played with it a little, then handed it to Ryan. “Read that.”

  “Okay…”

  Ryan browsed through the email. It took a couple of minutes.

  Then he looked up.

  “Well?” Justin asked.

  “Does Kellie let you take nude photos of her?”

  Justin’s eyes widened. “What?!”

  “I never could get a girl to do that for me,” Ryan said. “I’m serious. It’s one of my main fantasies –”

  Justin snatched his phone away.

  “What?” Ryan said innocently.

  “I take it you don’t find the rest of the email all that interesting?”

  Ryan considered. “Well, it’s obvious what it is and where it came from.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Clearly someone wants to fuck with you. Definitely a little on the stalker side as well. So, without even analyzing it, I’d say it has to be one of Kellie’s exes.”

  Justin scrolled through the email, reading it again. “That isn’t obvious to me.”

  “Oh yeah, has to be a jealous ex-lover. Or – or just some psycho who has a crush on her.”

  “But the email is directed at me. It’s my class photo he’s referring to –”

  “Yours and Kellie’s.”

  “Oh. Yeah. Okay.”

  “I’m really surprised you didn’t already figure this out. More than that, I guarantee you Kellie will know who wrote the email just by reading it.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Because he will have written it that way. So she knows.”

  Justin shook his head. “I’m not convinced the focus is Kellie. I mean, maybe it’s not me. But … it’s the class. The people in the photo he’s saying he’s going to kill.”

  “Well, what’s your theory then?”

  “Supposing one of my former classmates has snapped. They’re having their mid-life crisis ten or twenty years early.”

  “And in this theory, the person writing this email is totally serious about what’s being written.”

  “I don’t know. Yes?”

  “Because they have it in for the class. They’re going to start killing their old school chums.”

  “Well, it’s not like we all got along like some happy family, is it?”

  “Yet they still find the time to stalk you and Kellie while you’re on vacation. I assume you validated those photos.”

  Justin nodded. “They’re real. And of course they hacked our accounts.”

  “Well, that’s nothing. You slip any old IT expert a hundred bucks and they’ll fuck up anyone’s computer.”

  “Alright,” Justin said. “Maybe I’m not thinking about this clearly. I’ve had some champagne and … I just … what do you think I should do?”

  Ryan shrugged. “I don’t know. Nothing.”

  “Nothing?”

  “What’s the worst that could happen?”

  Chapter 7

  Nine thirty pm. Justin and Ryan stood silently in the elevator, each with a bag under their arms, waiting for the floors to tick up. Justin had brought Ryan into this thing not only because they were friends and partners, but also because he anticipated Ryan would give a more grounded perspective on things, which – to be fair – he did. But Justin wasn’t sure he agreed with it.

  A couple of minutes later they were in the apartment, surrounded by the people noise and the strobe lights and the music. The bags were set down on the kitchen table as Amelia quickly pulled away from the pack to meet them.

  “What’s the latest?” she demanded.

  Ryan raised his eyebrows as they shuffled around. “You told her?”

  “She’s in the photo too, man,” Justin said quickly.

  “But you haven’t told Kellie yet?”

  Justin turned Amelia. “Did you…?”

  Amelia shook her head. “She’s drunk.”

  Justin peered through the crowd. Kellie was at the centre of a group of people, spinning across the floor.

  “That’s probably for the best then,” Justin said.

  Ryan slapped his arm. “We need her to look at the email. She’ll tell us who sent it.”

  “Oh right.”

  “What’s he talking about?” Amelia asked.

  “Uh … Ryan thinks it came from Kellie’s ex or –”


  “What ex?” Amelia interrupted. “You’ve been together since high school.”

  Justin shot Ryan a glare.

  “Or –” Ryan said, “Or – some creep from her work or something.”

  “Who knows all about our high school days?” Justin scoffed.

  “He doesn’t know about them!” Ryan exclaimed. “He just took one Goddamn picture.”

  An awkward pause between them was enough for Chip Hannebury to strut on over again with his bowl of mixed nuts. “Ryan!” he shouted. “Where you been, man? You’re missing all the fun!”

  “Not now, man,” Ryan said. “We’re in the middle of something.”

  “Ooh, is that tequila?” Chip gasped hurrying across to the table. “Can we all do a shot now?”

  “Chip, fuck off,” Ryan tried again.

  “Hey everyone!” Chip announced. “Tequila! ON THE HOUSE!!!”

  Justin grabbed Chip by the collar and threw him against the wall. “Not. Now.”

  Chip looked nervously over his shoulder. “Can I have one of your beers instead then?”

  “What? JUST –”

  Ryan put a hand on Justin’s arm. “Come on, man. Relax.”

  Justin released him.

  Chip sighed with relief, then had a bit of a chuckle. “I’ll see what’s in the fridge.”

  “Yeah, you do that,” Ryan said.

  He ushered Justin away into the hall outside the bathroom.

  “Listen, I just don’t feel right about this,” Justin said. “I don’t know who’s fucking behind it or what the explanation is, but we can’t just ignore it, can we…”

  Ryan nodded. “I see your point.”

  Amelia walked over. “Nothing’s going to happen to us here. But one of you should go and get someone else to look at that email. So it’s out of your hands.”

  “Alright,” Ryan said. “I’ll do it.”

  “No, Ryan you can’t –” Justin began.

  “Give me your phone,” Ryan said.

  Justin looked at him. “This is…”

  “Give it to me.”

  Justin handed him the phone.

  “What’s the unlock code?”

  “Uh… 1, 2, 0, 3.”

  “Alright. I’ll swing round the precinct and give it to one of the detectives. That way we’ve done all we could.”

  Justin shook his head. “Jesus.”

  “What?”

  “Well, which detective?”

  “I don’t know. Whoever’s there. That’s not the point.”

  “The email was adamant that I solve … who is behind it…”

  Kellie and a couple of her friends appeared at the front of the hall, approaching.

  “I’ll be there and back in twenty minutes,” Ryan said.

  “Hey guys,” Kellie interrupted. “You’re blocking the toilet. We have to get through!”

  Justin and Amelia squirmed across the walls, making way.

  Ryan went to turn and leave.

  “Ryan!” Kellie squealed. “Where are you going? You just got here!”

  Ryan turned, with half a grin. “Duty calls I’m afraid. But I’ll be back before you know it.”

  “Where are you going?” Kellie repeated. “Can you pick me up some mints? I’ve run out.”

  One of Kellie’s friends leaned in her ear.

  They both giggled.

  “And more vodka!” Kellie shouted. “We’ll pay you… We just need to find our…”

  They checked each other’s pockets.

  “That isn’t necessary,” Ryan said.

  “No?” they both said at the same time, batting their eyes.

  Ryan looked past them to where Justin was. The light bouncing off his face in two second intervals.

  “It’s on me,” Ryan said.

  Chapter 8

  Ryan had a way of telling what sort of night it was going to be, just by the fragrance of the air. Temperature, texture, the color of the sky – these were also important in understanding the night’s character – But the smell of the air. There was no better way to test it.

  So Ryan was on the footpath. And then he was crossing the road. He was back in his car and the windows were down while driving. The air crashed through his nostrils and filled his lungs.

  There was something…

  About it.

  Something constant. Sharp. Unrelenting. Perhaps even, definitive…

  As though the night had been waiting for him.

  As though it had something to say.

  “Yeah,” Ryan muttered to himself. “Well, I’m onto you. You ain’t gonna surprise me.”

  And he thought about the email. The character behind the person who’d written it.

  It was almost as though, Ryan was speaking to him…

  Nine fifty. Time to be serious. Ryan got out of his car parked in the street, a decent stretch away from the precinct. He fumbled with Justin’s phone in his pocket. He checked his own phone. Eventually regulated his hands to his coat pockets. His steps made a small echo as he strode across the dry pavement. A tree on his left, bouncing into view. Then passing along behind him. At the foot of the precinct steps, a couple of teenagers were standing there, smoking. Ryan brushed past them on his way up and entered through the grand sliding doors.

  Officer Danielle Perkins was stationed at the front desk. Ryan approached her without interruption, Officer Perkins feigning mild interest on his approach.

  “Dobbs,” she said. “We can’t get rid of you.”

  “Hey,” Ryan said leaning against the desk. “Something’s come up. I need a set of eyes on something.”

  “Will mine do?”

  “I was actually hoping to speak to one of the detectives. If there’s any available.”

  “Alright then. Why don’t you take a seat and I’ll see if I can get one down here for you.”

  “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

  Ryan moved over to the wall and sat down, immediately correcting his posture.

  There was a deadbeat sitting on the other side of the room. Half staring at him. But half not even looking. Ryan looked up at the analogue clock ticking on the wall.

  Six and a half minutes left.

  Chapter 9

  Justin splashed water on his face in the bathroom. Dried his hands with the towel. He walked out of the bathroom and into the hall, following it along to the kitchen and living area. The music was as loud as ever. He spied Kellie. He spied Amelia. He walked through the centre and back out to the balcony. Not quite sure what he was looking for.

  Satisfied, he returned back inside, locking the balcony door. He surveyed the room again, his lips moving and making words as people pressed them. He could feel their fingers on his arms. At his waist. Pulling him.

  His arms went up and he moved on.

  Kellie.

  Amelia.

  Check, check.

  Everyone was safe.

  He walked through the kitchen again, past the bathroom, the bedroom and back to the apartment’s front door. He opened it and stood in the corridor outside. He pushed open the emergency exit door.

  Nothing.

  No one.

  Back to his left again, the elevators were at a standstill.

  He went for his phone to see what time it was. To see if there were any calls or messages.

  Or emails.

  But he didn’t have his phone.

  Chapter 10

  9:58. Ryan stared at the floor. His neck beginning to tilt.

  “Officer Dobbs?”

  Ryan looked up and saw one of the detectives was standing in front of Officer Perkins at the desk. He got up hastily.

  “Who are you trying to get a hold of?” the Detective asked.

  Ryan glanced around. “Specifically?”

  “Yes, is there anyone you know?”

  “Uh… I’ve spoken with Detective Shandling a couple of times.”

  The present Detective directed his attention back over the desk. “Could you give Shandling a bell and se
e if she’s in?”

  Perkins picked up the telephone.

  Ryan approached them.

  The Detective was staring at him.

  A pause.

  “She’s not answering,” Perkins said. “I think she may have left a while ago.”

  The Detective grunted. He pulled out his cellular and put it to his ear.

  A few seconds passed.

  “G’day Shandling. Yes… That’s right. I’ve got someone here at the precinct looking for you –”

  “It doesn’t have to be her,” Ryan interrupted. “Whoever is available.”

  The Detective turned away from him.

  “Said he knows you… Officer Dobbs…” The Detective glanced back. “Uh-huh. I see… Alright, I’ll tell him. Later.”

  He put his cell away. Turned to face Ryan.

  “I was just saying if she isn’t available –”

  “Detective Shandling is on duty from seven am tomorrow morning. I suggest you arrive early to make sure you catch her. Anyway … I’m going home.”

  The Detective moved past him.

  Ryan turned to Officer Perkins. “Is there someone else?”

  Perkins shook her head. “I don’t know.”

  Frustrated, Ryan hurried after the Detective. He had already begun to exit the building.

  “Just hold on a second!” Ryan called.

  He touched his back and the Detective turned around.

  “Is there something else?”

  “Yes,” Ryan said quickly. “This is a rather urgent matter. I need to see someone now. Can you go back there and find out if there’s anyone free?”

  The Detective checked his phone again. “What’s it regarding?”

  “Yeah, well, my partner received a threatening email. As in this person is claiming they’re going to start killing people.”

  “Who sent the email?”

  “It’s anonymous.”

  “Anonymous?”

  “Yeah. They uh … signed off as ‘The Evil One’.”

  “And … you’re taking this seriously.”

  “We have reason to.” Ryan swallowed. “I just need someone to look at the email. Tell us we’re crazy. So we can relax and not worry about –”